Mission and objectives

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s goal is to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health, realize reproductive rights, and reduce maternal mortality to accelerate progress on the ICPD agenda, to improve the lives of adolescents and youth, and women, enabled by population dynamics, human rights, and gender equality. UNFPA launched efforts to achieve three transformative results, ambitions that promise to change the world for every man, woman and young person: 1.) Ending unmet need for family planning 2.) Ending preventable maternal death 3.) Ending gender-based violence and harmful practises UNFPA recognizes that innovation is a key accelerator to achieve these results. UNFPA will harness innovation to meet tomorrow’s challenges and boost its impact, especially in addressing furthest behind populations, and leverage opportunities, social capital, funding and technology by (a) strengthening the corporate innovation architecture and capabilities, (b) scaling up innovations that have proven to be effective and impactful, (c) forming new partnerships and connecting with relevant innovation ecosystems, (d) strengthening and leveraging financing for innovation, and (e) expanding communities and culture for innovation.

Context

The YES–UN partnership represents a transformative model for youth engagement in South Africa. By integrating YES youth into the UN system through the UNV programme, the initiative creates a coordinated pathway for professional development, SDG advocacy, and com-munity impact. It leverages UNV’s structured volunteer modalities to ensure rapid deployment, wellbeing support, and career coaching, while connecting YES with Generation Unlimited partners to expand employment opportunities. Together, the UN and YES aim to empower youth as agents of change, strengthen local ownership of development goals, and build a re-silient, inclusive workforce that contributes meaningfully to South Africa’s national priorities and global commitments. The National UN Volunteer Specialist will coordinate efforts to place YES youth in structured professional roles across UN agencies, government departments, and private sector partners. The role ensures operational excellence, youth empowerment, and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 8 (Decent Work) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) focal point of the UN Youth Employment Service (UN-YES) partnership, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: 1. Programme Coordination & Stakeholder Engagement • Serve as the focal point for coordination between United Nations Volunteers (UNV), YES, UN agencies, and Generation Unlimited (GenU) partners. • Facilitate stakeholder consultations, partnership agreements, and joint planning sessions. • Support the design and implementation of a national UN–private sector youth engagement programme focused on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) localization. 2. Youth Recruitment & Placement Oversight • Coordinate the recruitment, onboarding, and placement of YES youth in 6–12-month assignments. • Ensure structured work plans, mentorship, and career coaching are in place for each youth participant. • Monitor placement outcomes and ensure alignment with YES and UNV standards. 3. Monitoring, Evaluation & Knowledge Sharing • Track youth progress and programme outputs using the Unified Volunteers Platform (UVP). • Document field stories, lessons learned, and best practices for inclusion in YES and UNV annual reports. • Contribute to reporting for the UN South Africa Annual Report, YES Results Report, and the Global State of the World’s Volunteerism Report. 4. Capacity Building & Wellbeing Support • Facilitate access to UNV e-Campus, soft skills training, and technical workshops. • Ensure wellbeing protocols are implemented, including psychosocial support, peer mentoring, and safety measures. • Promote transition pathways for youth into long-term employment or further development opportunities.

Competencies and values

Accountability, Adaptability and Flexibility, Building Trust, Client Orientation, Commitment and Motivation, Commitment to Continuous Learning, Communication, Creativity, Empowering Others

Living conditions and remarks

Bigger cities in South Africa can be highly cosmopolitan. In Johannesburg and Pretoria, you will find an abundance of world class gyms, restaurants, bars, recreational classes, galleries, parks etc. The bigger shopping malls host a large selection of international brands. There is a plethora of international cuisine to be sampled, and quirky independent cinemas to be discovered. OR Tambo International Airport is a world class airport, offering highly sophisticated facilities. It is located just outside of Johannesburg, in Kempton Park. It has many international airlines that fly into this airport. Crime rates in South Africa are ranked on the high end, petty theft and opportunistic crimes are common, and armed robberies, smash & grabs and hijackings are also fairly frequent in certain areas. One needs to remain vigilant especially at night and at road intersections. There are usually sign posts that indicate such hot spots. Periodic security information updates are sent via email providing information at national level, with regards to circumstances such as incidents of civil unrest, transport security, computer and networking safety and trends in criminality. UNDSS sends weekly security updates via email. Updates from wardens are on an ad hoc basis, following security related events in your residential area. Updates from UNDSS are provided weekly. UN Volunteers receives the below entitlements: • A Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA): R23 820.16 per month. • A once off entry lumpsum of $350 at the start of the assignment. • Medical insurance; Life cover, and annual leave. • A once off exit lumpsum at the end of the assignment.