Youth Development Assistant, Beijing

General

Description of assignment title: Youth Development Assistant
Assignment country: China
Duty stations: Beijing
Work location: On UN premises
Expected start date: 11/13/2026
Duration: 12 months (with possibility of extension)
Sustainable Development Goal: 8. Decent work and economic growth
Host entity: UNDP
Modality: Onsite
Type: National
Volunteer category: Associate UCoS from Apr2026
Work schedule: Full-time
Number of Assignments: 1

Details

Mission and objectives

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. It is on the ground in about 170 countries, working on solutions to global and national development challenges. UNDP assists China in integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into development decisions, promotes the transition to an inclusive, low-carbon economy and a sustainable society, protects biodiversity, and informs China’s international development cooperation engagement to advance global progress on the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement.

Context

UNDP China has been working in China more than 45 years, partnering to advance various phases of China’s development. UNDP China’s actions and programmes for the period of 2026-2030 are defined in its Country Programme Document for China (CPD), prepared in cooperation with the Government of China and other development partners. The CPD contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for China (UNSDCF) 2026-2030 and is aligned to support the development priorities outlined in the Government of China’s 15th Five Year Plan. UNDP’s CPD implementation in China encompasses engagement with more than 21 Ministries and government representatives at the national and sub-national levels.

Align with the UNDP Youth Strategy, UNDP China aims to support youth development as a major contribution to sustainable development. To create an inclusive and enabling environment for empowering youth in achieving SDGs, UNDP China and their counterparts are implementing a multi-year Youth Project to empower youth in achieving SDGs.

Movers Programme

The Movers Programme is a grassroots movement that aims to equip youth with the tools to take action in their community by raising awareness about the SDGs and Entrepreneurship. With our strong network of partners dedicated to youth empowerment, we are on a mission to leave no one behind: we aim to reach the most vulnerable groups and to empower them by using a training of trainers approach.

We envision youth to take ownership of the movement and train other youth in their respective communities, while developing leadership and other essential employable skills in the process. The Movers Programme is an ongoing learning experience: the most committed and impactful Movers will have access to additional learning opportunities in order to develop new skills and expand their network, in order to take their initiatives to the next level.

Movers4Climate

Movers4Climate is a joint initiative launched in 2024 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the China Education Programme. As the official youth green rural education practice initiative in China under the Youth Empowerment in Climate Action Platform (YECAP) – UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau’s flagship programme – it aims to enhance youth climate literacy by providing young people with knowledge on sustainable development and climate action. The project encourages university students to carry out “green class” in rural areas through volunteer teaching, thereby promoting sustainable development and environmental education in rural communities, focusing on green rural development, bridging the gap in rural education for sustainable development, and ensuring that no young person is left behind.

As of December 2025, the project has attracted the participation of 732 university teams from 694 higher education institutions, covering 269 regions across 31 provincial-level administrative divisions nationwide, and has benefited over 100,000 rural youth.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Project Analyst of UNDP China, the UN Associate Volunteer will:

1. Support the implementation of youth flagship initiatives under UNDP China Youth Portfolio, including Movers Programme, Movers4Climate, and any other events planned:
   • Support the implementation of UNDP China flagship youth initiatives, including Movers Camp and Movers4Climate for youth from China and facilitate online and offline Movers Workshops among youth communities in China;
   • Support the management of youth events-related social media communications in China;
   • Assist in community engagement and management with alumni of the youth programme, including Movers Programme, Movers4Climate, etc;
   • Support in designing, adapting and localising Movers SDG training curriculum and toolkits for the Chinese context, targeting Chinese youth to mainstream SDG education in China; Prepare paperwork including but not limited to work plan, concept note, communication plan, agenda, report, etc;
   • Travel to support on-site events if needed;
   • Support vendor procurement, volunteer recruitment and travel logistics;
2. Promote communication among project partners and foster multilateral knowledge sharing and learning:
   • Help to maintain regular communication between partners including UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub (BRH), CICETE, UNV and other key stakeholders on project management and respond promptly to requests for project reporting;
   • Provide support on the implementation of the M&E framework to ensure regular, mid-year and year-end monitoring and evaluation by aligning with project outputs and results;
   • Collect and compile relevant data and information in the youth areas and contribute to the international and cross-country learning and sharing initiatives at monthly regional meetings;
   • Support the implementation of potential international youth events to support multilateral knowledge exchanges and experience sharing;
   • Support the youth pipeline project development with potential partners.
3. As an active UNDP China Youth team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNDP China and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:
   • Support engagement with targeted domestic and Asia-Pacific youth networks;
   • Effective support to the design and implementation of UNDP China’s youth projects;
   • Effective support to assure the quality of youth events and youth materials, including reports, issue briefs, speeches, press releases, briefing notes, etc;
   • Ensure Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment;
   • Support the record of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.
4. Support any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18 - 80
Required experience: 1 month
Donor priorities: -
Nationality: Candidate must be a national, legal resident or hold refugee status in the country of assignment.
Additional eligibility criteria: As this assignment is funded by CYVA, specific eligibility criteria apply. Candidates must be Chinese nationals affiliated with a university participating in CYVA’s programme.

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience: 1 month
Languages:

• Chinese, Level: Native language, Required
• English, Level: Working knowledge, Required

Required education level: Secondary education

Competencies and values:

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Self-management

Skills and experience:

• Good command of English and Chinese, written and oral;
• Knowledge of managing development projects in financial, technical and administrative aspects is a great asset;
• Relevant youth work experience, preferably at the national or international level in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of development projects;
• Demonstrates ability to effectively maintain relationships with different stakeholders, including government agencies, academia, and international and national volunteer organizations;
• Previous experience with the UN system and government agencies, including solid knowledge of UN/UNDP programme and operations policies and procedures is an asset.
• Working experience with government partners and civil society is highly preferred;
• Innovative, forward-thinking, sound coordination and organisational skills, teamwork;

Area(s) of expertise: Administration, Youth, Project management, programme development, strategy
Driving license: -

Other information

Volunteerism is understood as a wide range of activities undertaken of free will, for the general public good, for which monetary reward is not the principal motivating factor.

Living conditions and remarks

The duty station is located in Beijing. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.

You may check the full benefits and allowances applicable to the duty station using the UVP calculator (https://app.unv.org/calculator). Please see the Conditions of Service for UN Volunteers for more information and details.

Inclusivity statement

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements

Selected candidates for certain occupational groups may be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in line with the applicable host entity policy

Scam warning

The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.