Livelihoods Pathways Consultant, GPD, Generation Unlimited, 12 months, NYHQ, USA (Remote, potential 1-week missions to India and Brazil) # 594255

UNICEF

4d•Remote

About The Position

Generation Unlimited (GenU) supports young people to move from learning to earning through integrated skilling, employment, entrepreneurship and social impact pathways. Through the Creative Academy, supported by Adobe, GenU will equip young people with creative, digital and AI-enabled skills and support them to translate these skills into dignified and sustainable livelihoods. The Creative Academy will initially focus on India and Brazil, while also establishing a global model that can be adapted by other countries. The programme aims to support young people to progress from foundational creative skilling into tangible portfolios, and from portfolios into earning opportunities, including employment, freelancing, self-employment and entrepreneurship. The programme will build on GenU’s existing platforms and initiatives, including Passport to Earning, YouthHub, 1MiO and imaGen Ventures, as relevant to country context. Under the supervision of the Senior Advisor, Global Programmes, in collaboration with the GenU global team and Country Offices, the Creative Academy Livelihoods Pathways Consultant will support GenU to develop a flagship livelihoods model and practical tools for the Creative Academy. This work will also inform GenU’s broader skilling-to-earning portfolio across other global initiatives including, but not limited to, Green Rising, Passport to Earning, YouthHub, 1MiO, imaGen Ventures and Yoma. For this consultancy, the livelihoods model refers to the overall approach for supporting Creative Academy graduates to transition from skilling into earning opportunities. The operational frameworks will define how the employment, freelancing and entrepreneurship pathways can be structured and adapted across countries. The practical tools and templates will support implementation, including guidance for portfolio development, partner mapping, pathway design, and country-level planning. A key focus of the role will be to ensure that the Creative Academy moves beyond skilling alone and provides young people with structured, flexible and realistic pathways into earning through employment, entrepreneurship and/or freelancing. This will require attention to the non-linear nature of youth transitions to livelihoods, the different levels of support young people require, the role of portfolios as proof of skills, and the ways in which creative skills can support income generation across sectors, including through services to MSMEs, local businesses, digital commerce, creative industries and self-employment. UNICEF/GenU will facilitate required system and email access from the inception phase to enable access to relevant internal documentation, platforms and coordination channels.

Requirements

Advanced (Master's) university degree in international development, education, economics, public policy, workforce development, livelihoods, creative industries, entrepreneurship, social innovation, or a related field.
Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in youth livelihoods, youth employment, workforce development, skills-to-work transitions, creative economy programming, entrepreneurship, or a related field.
Demonstrated experience designing or supporting programmes that help young people transition from skilling into employment, freelancing, self-employment, entrepreneurship or other income-generating opportunities.
Experience applying youth livelihoods, workforce development or skills-to-work approaches to creative, digital or adjacent sectors.
Experience developing practical programme frameworks, guidance, tools or templates for use by country teams, implementing partners, governments or private sector stakeholders.
Strong writing skills, including experience producing high-quality analytical reports, guidance notes, frameworks, tools, presentations and recommendations.
Fluency in English is required.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with youth within the creative economy is an asset.
Experience supporting multi-country or large-scale programmes in international development contexts is desirable.
Knowledge of another official UN language or a local language is an asset.
Strong analytical skills, including the ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative information, assess programme models, identify practical implications and translate analysis into clear recommendations.
Experience undertaking partner mapping, ecosystem analysis or stakeholder analysis related to employment, livelihoods, entrepreneurship, workforce development or youth economic opportunity.
Strong understanding of the barriers young people face in moving from training to earning, particularly in low- and middle-income country contexts.
Demonstrated ability to work across diverse teams and stakeholders, including global teams, country teams, implementing partners, private sector actors and youth-serving organizations.
Understanding of how creative and digital skills can support income generation across sectors, including through services to MSMEs, local businesses, digital commerce, content creation, design, marketing, freelance work or entrepreneurship.

Responsibilities

Support GenU to develop a flagship livelihoods model and practical tools for the Creative Academy.
Inform GenU’s broader skilling-to-earning portfolio across other global initiatives.
Define how the employment, freelancing and entrepreneurship pathways can be structured and adapted across countries.
Develop practical tools and templates to support implementation, including guidance for portfolio development, partner mapping, pathway design, and country-level planning.
Ensure the Creative Academy provides young people with structured, flexible and realistic pathways into earning through employment, entrepreneurship and/or freelancing.
Address the non-linear nature of youth transitions to livelihoods, the different levels of support young people require, the role of portfolios as proof of skills, and the ways in which creative skills can support income generation across sectors.