Mission and objectivesUNICEF Thailand was established in 1948 and has since partnered with the Royal Thai Government to advance the rights and well-being of every child and adolescent. Its work has evolved from supporting basic health and nutrition to promoting equity, inclusion, and participation across all dimensions of child and youth development. UNICEFโs mandate in Thailand focuses on ensuring that every child survives and thrives, learns, is protected from violence and exploitation, and has the opportunity to participate meaningfully in shaping their own present and future. This UNV assignment is part of UNICEF Thailandโs Young Peopleโs Resilience, Connectedness and Empowerment Programme, which aims to strengthen young peopleโs health and well-being, enhance their employability and skills, and expand platforms for youth expression, participation, and civic engagement. The programme promotes young peopleโs active participation in the design and monitoring of policies and services that affect their lives, contributing to more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable systems. Key partners include the Department of Local Administration (DLA) under the Ministry of Interior, the Department of Children and Youth (DCY) under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the Ministry of Labour (MOL), the Thailand Professional Qualification Institute (TPQI), the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Other key stakeholders include the Children and Youth Council of Thailand (CYCT), UNICEF Thaiandโs Young People Advisory Board (YPAB), youth-led organisations and civil society organizations. Together, they work to strengthen youth participation, resilience, and empowerment nationwide.
ContextThailand has a vibrant and diverse youth population whose participation is essential to building an inclusive and sustainable future. Across the country, young people are increasingly active in community development, climate action, and social innovation, yet their voices remain underrepresented in policymaking and programme design. UNICEF Thailand is working to strengthen meaningful youth participation across all areas of its work, ensuring that adolescents and young people are not only beneficiaries but active partners in shaping programmes on education, health, climate resilience, child protection, and social inclusion. The Country Office supports national and local efforts to expand youth engagement platforms such as the Children and Youth Council of Thailand and the Young People Advisory Board (YPAB), while fostering stronger collaboration between young people, government, and civil society. Within this context, the National UN Volunteer Specialist will play a key role in mainstreaming youth engagement across UNICEF programmes and ensuring that young peopleโs perspectives inform decision-making at all levels.
Task DescriptionUnder the supervision of the Chief of Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) and in close collaboration with the ADAP Officer (Participation), the National UNV Specialist will support youth engagement processes and contribute to mainstreaming meaningful participation of young people across UNICEF Thailand programmes. The tasks include, but are not limited to, the following : 1. Coordinate and support the Young People Advisory Board (YPAB) - Serve as the main liaison for the YPAB, facilitating regular meetings, preparation of agendas, and follow-up of action points. - Ensure the YPAB membership is representative of diverse geographical areas, backgrounds, genders, marginalized youth, and support recruitment, orientation, and capacity building of YPAB members. - Support youth leadership within YPAB, mentor members as needed. - Ensure that YPAB inputs are integrated into programme planning, monitoring, evaluation, and advocacy, and that feedback loops are established so that YPAB sees how their contributions influence decisions. 2. Programme management support - Collaborate with programme sector teams to embed youth participation strategies into their workplans and annual work cycles. - Map and analyze existing youth-led platforms, networks, and mechanisms in Thailand (national, regional, local), identify gaps and opportunities for scaling or replication. - Maintain updated databases and records of youth partners, YPAB membership, youth engagements, contacts, events, consultation outcomes, and follow-up. - Prepare periodic progress reports, contribution to programme updates, and documentation of youth engagement outcomes. - As needed, travel to regions/provinces to support youth engagement activities, capacity building, consultations. 3. Capacity Building and Technical Assistance for Youth Consultations, Participation Platforms & Dialogue - Support the delivering of training, workshops, webinars, toolkits and guidelines for partners, and local stakeholders on adolescent and youth participation, facilitation methods, youth-friendly engagement, inclusive practices, and ethical engagement of children and adolescents. - Facilitate meaningful consultations with young people (in-person and virtual) across diverse contexts to gather their inputs, aspirations and feedback on programme design, implementation, and evaluation. - Document youth voices, stories, case studies and feedback and help package them for use in advocacy, communications, research and stakeholder dialogues. 4. Youth Partnerships Management - Liaise with youth organisations to promote youth participation, co-design and alignment of youth policies or plans. - Foster collaboration with youth networks and local-level youth groups. - Represent UNICEF in youth forums, coordination meetings, national or regional youth events, and ensure that UNICEFโs youth engagement agenda is visible, responsive, and informed by young people.
Competencies and values- UNICEFโs core values: Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability, and Sustainability (CRITAS) - Adaptability and flexibility - Creativity - Planning and organising - Self-management.
Living conditions and remarksBangkok provides basic living needs, including accommodation, banking facilities, medical facilities and telecommunications/internet services are readily available. All staple foods can be found in the markets, eg: rice, meat, vegetables, fruit, cooking oil, salt, etc. Many imported goods are available in Bangkok and other places throughout Thailand. Bangkok has many good restaurants with good health standards, and most guesthouses provide food. In Thailand the most used means of transportation are taxi or local bus (and, in Bangkok, the elevated train service). Mobile phone is the most dependable tool to be in- touch with colleagues and friends. Internet service is readily available and affordable at most apartment complexes. ATMs are everywhere in Thailand and Western cards can usually be used to withdraw Thai Baht. For those with children, schooling options in Bangkok are to be well evaluated and determined before taking your children at duty station. School fees and area really depends on your preferences. Admission fee for school in Thailand ranges from $3,000 - $9,000 and tuition fee from $5,500 - $25,533 (per annum). Depending on educational quality and the area which comes with price tags, you may need to explore more on schools to find out what they could offer that serves the needs of your children. No specific allocation is available for schooling and Volunteers will need to bare the entire costs.