Mission and objectives

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children’s rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been present in Brazil since 1950, supporting the most important changes in childhood and adolescence in the country. UNICEF participated in major immunization and breastfeeding campaigns; the mobilization that resulted in the approval of Article 227 of the Federal Constitution and the drafting of the Child and Adolescent Statute; the movement for universal access to education; programmes to combat child labour; among other great advances in guaranteeing the rights of Brazilian girls and boys. In recent decades, Brazil has promoted a strong process of inclusion of children and adolescents in public policies. However, a significant portion of the population remains excluded. Therefore, in its cooperation programme with the Brazilian Government for the period 2024-2028, UNICEF focuses its efforts on the most vulnerable and excluded girls and boys, with a special focus on children and adolescents who are victims of extreme forms of violence. These children and adolescents in situations of greater vulnerability are spread throughout Brazil, but they are more concentrated in the Amazon, in the Northeast and in large urban centers. Through the UNICEF Seal, UNICEF promotes commitments to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents in the Northeast and in the Amazon regions in Brazil. In large cities, UNICEF works with a focus on reducing intra-municipal inequalities, through the #AgendaCidadeUNICEF.

Context

Since 1950, UNICEF has exercised the mandate on promoting the rights and well-being of children and adolescents in Brazil. The UNICEF Brazil Country Programme focuses on addressing the needs of the most excluded and vulnerable children, particularly those in the Amazon and Semi-Arid regions, as well as in the peripheral areas of major cities. Through initiatives like the Selo UNICEF and #AgendaCidadeUNICEF, the organization works to ensure these children receive equity the support, protection, and opportunities. In recent years, UNICEF’s work in Brazil has expanded to include efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change on children and adolescents. The organization has also responded to emergency crises such as the Venezuelan Migration Crisis in northern Brazil, the drought in the Amazon, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Agency is committed to ensuring that investments made during the first decade of life are built upon in the second. Through studies, research, and data collection, the organization has worked to shift the social perception of adolescence—from a stage defined by challenges to one seen as full of potential and opportunity. This approach is supported by the Development and Citizenship Participation for Adolescents and Youth Program, which adopts an intersectoral approach by collaborating with other UNICEF areas such as Education, Health, Protection against Violence, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), Climate Change, and Social Protection. The Program advocates for the continuous recognition of young people’s voices, emphasizing their crucial role in both their own development and societal progress. By influencing government policies, academic discourse, and media narratives, adolescents are recognized as active agents of change, not merely as vulnerable populations. In this context, the focus is on emphasizing adolescents’ right to civic participation, while encouraging the creation of practices, languages, and approaches that engage them meaningfully and contribute to realizing their rights. A key pillar in promoting the development and citizenship of adolescents and young people is the creation and implementation of Adolescent Citizenship Groups (NUCAs) through the UNICEF Seal, particularly in small and medium-sized municipalities across the Brazilian Legal Amazon and Semi-Arid Region. A major driver of adolescent participation as agents of change in their communities has been the #EntreNoClimaUNICEF movement. Other prioritized issues addressed by the NUCAs include the empowerment of girls and gender equality, sexual and reproductive rights, and the prevention and facing of racism and violence. In large urban centres, UNICEF’s efforts to promote rights and engage the most vulnerable adolescents during their second decade of life are supported by the #AgendaCidadeUNICEF initiative. This partnership between UNICEF and municipal governments in eight Brazilian capitals, including Recife, focuses on violence prevention through an intersectional approach that includes social inclusion, mental health, and opportunities for positive workforce integration.

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the Recife Chief of Field Office and technical coordination of Adolescents and Youth Work Group, the UN Volunteer will collaborate with the development and implementation of UNICEF Brazil Country Programme specially on the Adolescent Development and Participation programme and Climate Change programme via UNICEF Seal, in the Northeast region with main focus in Alagoas, Paraíba e Pernambuco and the #AgendaCidadeUNICEF in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco state, contributing to the following activities: • Identify, articulate, promote and strength the participation of adolescents and young people in local, municipal, state level and national initiatives for citizen participation and the promotion of rights, and connect them to networks, formal spaces and instances of participation based on an ecosystem of adolescent and youth participation, and contributing to improve public policies for adolescents based on gender, race and ethnicity equality. • Technical assistance for implementing partners (IPs) and other UNICEF’s partners on the implementation of the adolescents’ citizenship strategies into Seal UNICEF 2025-2028. • Technical support on the main thematic regarding adolescents’ development and citizenship required in the Seal UNICEF 2025-2028 such as integrate health, positive transition to the world of decent work, prevention and facing racism and other violence against adolescents and climate change, menstrual dignity and public budget. • Designing and implementing strategies for mobilization, engagement, training, and systematization in collaboration with the UNICEF Brazil office in Recife and its partners, for the successful execution of the Green Rising initiative, known in Brazil as the #EntreNoClimaUNICEF movement. • Support the engagement of adolescents and youth in dialogue, fora and spheres of public policies decision on climate change to aim that theirs demands can be reflecting at national and subnational plans related of mitigation and adaptation responses. • Ensure the engagement and activism of adolescents and young people on the issue of climate change, participation in the preparatory conferences and COP 30, and the strengthening of the #EntreNoClimaUNICEF. • Implement the UNICEF Action Strategy for Guaranteeing the Rights of Adolescent Girls in Brazil, aligned with the Global Strategy: Building Back Equal, With and For Adolescent Girls, with the objectives of ensuring greater involvement of adolescent girls in decision-making at all levels for greater social recognition of girls’ rights. • Contributing to the Recife Field Office Team and its partners within the UNICEF City Agenda and UNICEF Seal initiatives with focusing on adolescent and youth involvement. The UN Volunteer selected may be required to travel, to participate in collaborative work with internal and external teams, including territories and communities in rural areas far way into the States. In addition, the UN Volunteer will participate in face-to-face events, webinars, and virtual meetings with colleagues and/or partners. Activities such as organizing meetings, conferences, workshops and training will be required. Contribution with articles, innovative methodologies, production or provision of inputs for reports, proposals for donors, notes and audiovisual pieces for the purposes of communication, analysis, data collection and systematization will be requested in Portuguese and/or English.

Competencies and values

UNICEF’s values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. The UNICEF competencies required for this post are: • Professionalism • Integrity • Teamwork and respect for diversity • Commitment to continuous learning • Communication • Flexibility Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance, and commitment towards UNICEF’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values

Living conditions and remarks

Recife is the capital of the state of Pernambuco. Surrounded by rivers and with numerous bridges, it is the oldest capital in Brazil at 487 years old. With a population of 1,625,583 (one million, six hundred and twenty-five thousand, five hundred and eighty-three) people, it is the third most densely populated urban area in the country, behind São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The city boasts a blend of colonial architecture and contemporary buildings, with notable landmarks such as the historic Recife Antigo district, which showcases 17th-century buildings and cobblestone streets. Recife is also famous for its beautiful beaches, including Boa Viagem Beach, renowned for its clear waters and bustling promenade. As a cultural hub, Recife hosts various festivals throughout the year, including the famous Recife Carnival, which features vibrant parades, music, and dance. The city’s cultural scene is further enriched by its numerous museums, theatres, and art galleries. Recife plays a significant role in Brazil’s economy, with a diverse industrial base, including port operations, technology, and finance. Its strategic location as a major port city enhances its importance in regional and international trade. In terms of education and research, Recife is home to several prominent universities and research institutions, contributing to its reputation as an academic center. In 2021, Recife was the sixth most unequal capital in the country, with a Gini index of 0.556. On the other hand, the city prides itself on its cultural diversity and titles such as the third largest gastronomic center and one of the largest technological centers in the country. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has pointed out that the capital of Pernambuco is the 16th most threatened city in the world by environmental changes. The causes of these changes are varied, such as pollution, global warming, the wrong disposal of solid waste, excessive use of environmental resources, overpopulation, flat terrain, the region’s insufficient drainage network, the proximity of urban buildings to the coastline, among others. Most of these are anthropogenic actions, i.e., caused by humans. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging their own housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan. United Nations Department of Safety and Security UNDSS Brazil advises to exercise a high degree of caution in Brazil due to high levels of serious and violent crime, particularly in major cities. Violent crime as muggings, armed robbery, kidnappings, and sexual assault, is very high. Avoid shanty towns (favelas) in the big cities and if you are attacked or robbed, do not resist. Demonstrations can occur at any time and may turn violent with little or no warning. All United Nations personnel must scrupulously comply with UNDSS procedures and recommendations during their assignment in Brazil. For missions in rural areas or indigenous reservations, special procedures may apply; UN personnel should consult with the local DSS office in advance. Information on entitlements at the duty station is available at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements