Programme Officer – Adolescent Cash Plus Programme

General

Description of assignment title: Programme Officer – Adolescent Cash Plus Programme

Assignment country: Kenya

Duty stations: Homa Bay

Work location: On UN premises

Expected start date: 12/01/2026

Duration: 12 months (with possibility of extension)

Sustainable Development Goal: 1. No poverty

Host entity: UNICEF

Modality: Onsite

Type: National

Volunteer category: Specialist UCoS from Apr2026

Work schedule: Full-time

Number of Assignments: 1

Details

Mission and objectives

UNICEF, also known as the United Nations Children's Fund, is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. The agency is among the most widespread and recognizable social welfare organizations in the world, with a presence in 192 countries and territories. UNICEF's activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters.

Context

The Government of Kenya, through SDCS, is implementing the Adolescent Cash Plus component under the Second Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Programme. UNICEF Kenya is providing technical assistance to strengthen implementation, quality assurance and sustainability across Bungoma, Homa Bay, Kilifi, Mandera, Marsabit, Migori, Nairobi, Samburu and Wajir counties. The programme will be implemented in a staggered approach, starting with Wajir, Samburu, Kilifi, Homabay and Nairobi.

Please note that the Homa Bay assignment includes a planned change of duty station in the second year. The UN Volunteer will be based in Homa Bay county in year 1 and will relocate to Bungoma county in year 2. Prospective candidates should therefore be aware from the outset that the assignment involves relocation to Bungoma in the second year and should be prepared and available to relocate accordingly.

The programme aims to support poor and vulnerable households with adolescents to remain in or re-enter school, reduce adolescent pregnancy, improve adolescent wellbeing and strengthen access to integrated social services. The cash transfer component is complemented by a “plus” package that includes establishment and management of adolescent safe spaces, provision of life skills and light touch entrepreneurship, positive parenting, safeguarding, case management, psychosocial support, school attendance monitoring, social behaviour change, referrals and linkages to other relevant services.

The UN Volunteer will provide county-level technical and operational support to SDCS, for the government to be able to roll out the integrated safe spaces curriculum, support implementing partners as necessary, strengthen programme management and monitoring, and facilitate referral of adolescents to complementary cash plus interventions, including child protection, health, education, psychosocial support, positive parenting, disability inclusion, TVET and livelihoods services.

Task description

Under the overall guidance of the designated UNICEF Kenya supervisor [LH2.1] and in close coordination with the UNICEF Child Protection, Social Policy, Adolescent Development and Participation, Gender and Social Behaviour Change teams , SDCS, relevant county government departments, implementing partners and community structures, the UN Volunteer will support the following tasks:

• Support SDCS and county teams to plan, coordinate and monitor county-level implementation of the Adolescent Cash Plus programme, including work planning, action tracking, meeting documentation, bottleneck follow-up and timely escalation of implementation issues.
• Support operationalization and implementation of the integrated adolescent safe spaces , including facilitator guides, job aids, quality checklists, attendance tools, safeguarding protocols, referral tools, reporting templates and learning materials.
• Provide practical implementation support to Children Officers, Child Protection Volunteers, safe space facilitators and community structures to deliver adolescent safe spaces, life skills, positive parenting linkages, social behaviour change activities and adolescent participation processes in line with approved standards.
• Support implementing partners (CSOs) to align workplans, budgets, Programme Documents, training plans, reporting schedules and field-level activities with the Adolescent Cash Plus programme design, UNICEF procedures, donor commitments and SDCS priorities.
• Facilitate coordination between SDCS, county departments responsible for children services, education, health, gender, youth, social protection and relevant community structures to strengthen multisectoral referral pathways and local ownership of the programme.
• Support identification and referral of adolescents and households requiring complementary cash plus interventions, including child protection case management, psychosocial support, health and Social Health Authority linkages, school re-entry support, disability inclusion services, parenting support, gender-based violence response, TVET, livelihoods or other locally available services.
• Maintain and periodically update county service directories, referral pathway maps and non-identifying referral-tracking tools, ensuring that confidentiality, informed consent or assent, data protection and do-no-harm principles are observed.
• Support programme monitoring, supportive supervision and quality assurance visits to safe spaces and related programme sites, documenting progress, service gaps, safeguarding risks, partner capacity needs, referral bottlenecks and recommended follow-up actions.
• Assist SDCS and UNICEF to strengthen programme management systems, including implementation trackers, county dashboards, training databases, field monitoring templates, supervision checklists, issue logs, partner follow-up matrices and monthly update notes.
• Prepare concise technical updates, field visit reports, meeting notes, training summaries, action trackers, inputs to donor and programme briefs and reports, presentations and documentation of lessons learned and promising practices, ensuring that sensitive case information is not disclosed in routine reports.
• Support peer learning, county exchange, community feedback and adolescent participation activities to inform adaptive implementation and continuous improvement of the Adolescent Cash Plus programme.
• Other support as may be necessary to help ensure effective implementation of the Adolescent Cash Plus programme (e.g. helping to resolve bottlenecks at county or sub-county level including other aspects of the programme).

Eligibility criteria

Age: 18 - 80

Required experience: 3 years

Nationality: Candidate must be a national, legal resident or hold refugee status in the country of assignment.

Assignment requirements

Relevant experience: 3 years

Languages:

• English, Level: Fluent, Required
• Kiswahili, Level: Working knowledge, Desirable

Required education level:

Bachelor's degree in social work, social sciences, child protection, psychology, public/population health, community health, education, development studies, gender studies, community development, project management, monitoring and evaluation or related fields.

An advanced (or ongoing) degree or professional certification in child protection, social protection, safeguarding, adolescent programming, case management, MHPSS, programme management, monitoring and evaluation or related fields is an asset but not a requirement.

Competencies and values:

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Respect for diversity and inclusion
• Integrity and confidentiality
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organizing
• Professionalism
• Communication and collaboration
• Client orientation
• Self-management

Skills and experience:

• At least 3 years of progressively responsible experience in programme support, child protection, social protection, safeguarding, adolescent or youth programming, community engagement, safe spaces, case management referrals, partner coordination, field monitoring, capacity building or related development/humanitarian programming.
• Demonstrated experience supporting multi-sectoral programme implementation, partner follow-up, work planning, field monitoring, coordination meetings, reporting and action tracking, preferably in child protection, social protection, safeguarding or adolescent programming.
• Experience supporting adolescent safe spaces, life skills, psychosocial support, positive parenting, social behaviour change, school retention or referral-based service delivery is highly desirable.
• Good understanding of Kenya’s child protection, social protection, gender equality, education and health systems, including county coordination structures, Children Officers, Child Protection Volunteers, referral pathways and community-based mechanisms.
• Ability to support rollout of curricula, training packages, job aids, quality assurance tools, safe space checklists, referral directories, supervision templates, meeting notes and partner follow-up trackers.
• Experience working with government, civil society, community structures, adolescent groups, women- or youth-led organizations and implementing partners in county-level programming.
• Strong facilitation, coaching, coordination, interpersonal communication, report-writing, documentation and problem-solving skills.
• Computer literacy, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. Experience with programme monitoring systems, dashboards, digital data collection tools, eTools or secure case documentation systems is an asset.
• Prior UN experience or knowledge of working with International organisation including United Nations systems is an advantage but not a requirement.
• Knowledge of local languages used in Adolescent Cash Plus target counties is desirable but not a requirement.

Area(s) of expertise: Community development, Education, Communication, advocacy, public information

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 Republic of Kenya is an equatorial nation on the coast of East Africa, neighbouring Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Indian Ocean. Kenya has two levels of Government; Nation-al Government and 47 sub-national Governments called Counties. Counties are further divided into sub-counties. Kenya is a multi-party state with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Kenya’s population of more than 40 million is growing at an annual rate of 2.2%. The country’s GNP per capita estimated at purchasing power parity (PPP) is $975, and the GNP is growing at an average rate of 0.1% annually. More than 26% of Kenya’s people live below the international poverty line of $1 per day. Kenya’s main food crops are “maize, wheat, pulses, roots and tubers.” (FAO). Nairobi is a modern metropolitan city where most basic goods and services, health facilities, public transport, telecommunication and banking services and educational facilities are readily available.

The assignment will be based in Homabay (with transfer to Bungoma in year 2) respectively in Kenya. Living conditions vary by duty station, but county headquarters generally have basic accommodation options, road access, telecommunications, banking services, food markets and health services. The assignment will require regular travel to sub-counties, government offices, safe spaces, partner locations and community sites, including remote or underserved areas. Flexibility, cultural sensitivity, respect for local norms and strict adherence to UNICEF and UNV standards on safeguarding, confidentiality, inclusion and ethical conduct are essential.

The UN Volunteer will be expected to work closely with UNICEF, SDCS, county teams, implementing partners and community structures while maintaining neutrality, professionalism and respect for communities at all times.

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.

Reasonable accommodation

UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for UN Volunteers with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process and afterwards in your assignment.

Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements

In addition to duty station-specific vaccine requirements, appointments are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the appointment. It does not apply to UN Volunteers who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their contracts.

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• • Contribute to capacity building, coaching and mentoring of frontline workers, partner staff and community actors on adolescent engagement, safe space facilitation, safeguarding, PSEA, referrals, case management linkages, disability inclusion, MHPSS-sensitive practice and documentation standards.

• • Ability to handle sensitive information responsibly and uphold UNICEF/UNV standards on child safeguarding, PSEA, confidentiality, ethical practice, data protection and do-no-harm.

• Contribute to capacity building, coaching and mentoring of frontline workers, partner staff and community actors on adolescent engagement, safe space facilitation, safeguarding, PSEA, referrals, case management linkages, disability inclusion, MHPSS-sensitive practice and documentation standards.

• Ability to handle sensitive information responsibly and uphold UNICEF/UNV standards on child safeguarding, PSEA, confidentiality, ethical practice, data protection and do-no-harm.