NATIONAL CONSULTANT: Individual Consultant - Mapping of Youth-Led Networks Organisations & Influencers in Ghana

The Position:

Under the direct supervision of the EmpowerED Focal Point at UNFPA Ghana Country Office, and will work in consultation with the Country Office M&E Officer and the Gender Officer. The consultant will work closely with the NYA Regional Directors in the seven regions covered, and will also liaise with implementing partners, including ARHR, PPAG and AfriYAN Ghana, as well as the Ghana Youth Federation, for context and stakeholder introductions relevant to the mapping.

You will report to

The consultant will report directly to the EmpowerED Focal Point at FPA Ghana Country Office and will work in consultation with the Country Office M&E Officer and the Gender Officer. 

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff who embody these international norms and standards and will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact sustained results, ensuring effective external relations, communications, partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results

Job Purpose:

EmpowerED is UNFPA's global initiative to expand universal access to comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for adolescents and youth. The programme seeks to enhance their sexual and reproducti e health and rights (SRHR) and ensure they live a life free from violence and is implemented in Ghana in alignment with the UNFPA Ghana 8th Country Programme Document (2023 to 2027).

Ghana has a vibrant ecosystem of youth-led and adolescent girl-led organisations, networks, associations, digital influencers and content creators engaged in reproductive health education (RHE) advocacy and in wider youth development work, including climate and environmental action, agriculture and agribusiness, peace and security, governance and entrepreneurship. This ecosystem, however, remains largely informal and undocumented. Existing data on these actors tends to be localised or project specific, limiting the programme's ability to build structured, sustainable partnerships with them.

A mapping exercise is therefore required to identify and profile these actors across two tiers of regions: the EmpowerED programme regions of Greater Accra, Oti and Bono East (primary), and the other UNFPA Ghana programme regions of Eastern, Ashanti, North East and Volta (secondary). The mapping will assess the thematic depth, funding sustainability and capacity gaps of SRHR actors to inform a structured partnership model under the EmpowerED framework. It will also produce a comprehensive database that can serve as a reference for the National Youth Authority (NYA), AfriYAN Ghana and the Ghana Youth Federation in further engagement and the advancement of youth empowerment.

You would be responsible for:

• Review the EmpowerED baseline findings and relevant national reproductive health planning documents, including the Ghana Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan 2024 to 2030 and the National Strategic Framework on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health.
• Develop and deploy a digital data collection tool to identify and map youth networks, organisations, associations, girl-led and women-led groups, content creators and influencers working on SRHR and RHE, as well as on climate and environmental action, agriculture and agribusiness, youth, peace and security, youth in governance and youth entrepreneurship, in the primary regions (Greater Accra, Bono East and Oti) and secondary regions (Eastern, Ashanti, North East and Volta).
• Work with the NYA Regional Directors in each of the seven regions to obtain and verify records of youth groups, organisations, networks and associations known to and registered with the Authority, and ensure that these are captured in the data collection and cross-referenced in the final database.
• Conduct an audit of existing interventions delivered by mapped SRHR actors, including out of school RHE delivery, digital campaigns and peer to peer counselling, and assess the credibility and rights-based grounding of digital content creators and influencers advocating on SRHR issues.
• Review the fmancial landscape of mapped organisations, including sources and sustainability of financing, and evaluate their technical and operational capacity gaps, including in monitoring and evaluation, financial management and RHE technical accuracy, to inform the design ofEmpowerED training modules.
• Conduct regional consultations, in collaboration with NYA regional offices and AfriYAN, to validate emerging findings with stakeholders.
• Prepare a final mapping report, comprising a structured database of youth-led actors disaggregated by region and thematic area, a sustainability assessment identifying organisations best positioned for longer-term partnership with UNFPA, and strategic recommendations for strengthening localised RHE advocacy and wider youth empowennent and engagement, with particular attention to the Greater Accra, Oti and Bono East regions. A shareable version of the database, prepared in line with data protection principles, will also be submitted for use by UNFPA, the NYA, AfriYAN Ghana and the Ghana Youth Federation.

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

• An advanced degree in social sciences, public health, development studies, communication or a related field

Knowledge and Experience: 

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in stakeholder mapping, landscape analysis or research involving youth-led organisations or civil society networks.
• Demonstrated experience applying youth-centred and participatory data collection methods, including digital and social media-based approaches, appropriate to reaching infonnal and youth-led networks.
• A working understanding of the socio-cultural context of the regions covered, particularly Greater Accra, Oti and Bono East, including linguistic considerations relevant to RHE communication.
• Knowledge of youth development issues beyond SRHR, including climate and environmental action, agriculture and agribusiness, youth, peace and security, youth in governance and youth entrepreneurship.
• Demonstrated experience engaging national youth institutions, including bodies such as the National Youth Authority and the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in a research or programming capacity.
• Proficiency in digital data collection platforms.
• Excellent analytical and report writing skills

Languages: 

• Fluency in English is mandatory

Required Competencies: 

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity, 
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system, 
• Embracing cultural diversity, 
• Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,

Functional Competencies:

• Managing data
• Job knowledge/technical expertise
• Planning, organising and multitasking
• Providing financial and budget support
• Audit of existing interventions 

Managerial Competencies (if applicable):

• <Managerial Requirements>

Compensation and Benefits:

 This position offers an attractive remuneration package.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.