African Union UNDP African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL) 2023

For the African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is looking for young, talented African women to lead the sustainable development agenda If you are an African Union citizen, apply to the African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Program.

• Do you want to work to advance the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals?
• Do you want to fight poverty and ensure sustainable development?
• Do you want to lead change and develop your skills to do so?

If so, we invite you to apply to the African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme – a partnership between the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

This exciting partnership aims to build a new generation of young African women leaders and experts to serve Africa and the world in designing and implementing development programmes in the context of the SDGs and Agenda 2063.

We are looking for up to 40 talented young African women to join the third cohort of this 12-month fellowship programme. As an AfYWL Fellow you will be assigned with a UNDP office under a learning and development programme. You will embark on a journey where you will need to demonstrate agility and adaptability to an environment and an assignment where your skills and potential will be leveraged. Applicants should be ready to accept any location offered in either HQ, Country or Regional office (no hardship locations). There will be no possibility for extension of the Fellowship assignment beyond the 12 months.

• Table of Content
• About United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
• African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL)
• Aim and Benefits of African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL)
• Requirements for African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL) Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL)
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

UNDP works in about 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience in order to sustain development results. This is a critical time for the world. At UNDP, we see this period as a huge opportunity to advance the global sustainable development agenda. In September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all ... continue reading

African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL)

Aim and Benefits of African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL)

The Fellowship programme will cover expenses related to travel and medical insurance for the fellow only (no entitlements applicable for dependents/family). Each fellow will receive a monthly stipend to cover accommodation and basic living costs at their respective duty station. In addition, paid leave and an earmarked learning budget will be allocated for undertaking relevant learning and development activities.

Supervision
As part of the AfYWL Fellowship Programme, the fellows will benefit from the following supervision modalities:

• Joint structured induction programme hosted by UNDP and AUC.
• Structured guidance provided by the supervisor.
• Coaching and mentoring by experienced UNDP People Manager.
• Establishment of a work plan with clear key results and deliverables.
• Effective supervision through knowledge sharing and performance/development feedback throughout the assignment.
• Participation in Unit/Team/Office meetings to ensure integration and operational effectiveness.
• Guidance and career advice in relation to learning and career growth opportunities within the field of expertise.

Requirements for African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL) Qualification

We are looking for engaged young African women who embrace UNDP’s values:

• Integrity
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Professionalism
• Mutual Respect
• Results Orientation (Through Principled Performance

Competencies

• Innovation: Ability to make new and useful ideas work. Adapts deliverables to meet client needs.
• Leadership: Ability to persuade others to follow. Proactively seeks and recognizes contributions of others.
• People Management: Ability to improve performance and satisfaction. Appropriately involves team in different stages of work and decision-making.
• Communication: Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform. Expresses information and views with adaptive reasoning and appreciation for complexity and variation.
• Delivery: Ability to get things done. Takes responsibility for addressing critical situations and delivering core value.

Interview date, Process and Venue for African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme (AfYWL)

Selection:

Education:

• Completed Master’s degree or equivalent in Economics, Political Science, Business Administration, International Relations/Development, Law, Communications, Digitalization or other related development field.

Experience:

• Maximum cumulative two years (post bachelor/postmaster degree) of relevant and paid working experience in research, analysis and programme/project development, implementation and management.

Language Requirements:

• Strong working knowledge of English
• Proficiency in at least one additional AU working language (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese or Spanish) is an advantage

Additional Criteria:

• Female candidates accepted only
• National of an African Union member state.
• Maximum Age of 30 at the date of application.
• Available in 2023/2024 to dedicate 12 months for a fellowship assignment.
• Available early 2024 to participate in an induction workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (timing to be confirmed/all costs covered).
• Willing to relocate to duty station, live and work outside country of residence on an assignment which leverages on your skills & potential.
• Understanding of, and interest in, poverty eradication, sustainable structural transformation, the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
• Capacity to gather comprehensive information on complex problems or situations, and ability to evaluate and analyze information accurately in order to identify key issues and solutions.
• Additional expertise and background in digital transformation, strategic partnerships and communications, development intelligence and innovation will also be considered.

Documents Required for Application

To initiate your application you will need:

• Copies of your national ID/Passport for upload.
• Copies of your academic degrees (tertiary education/Bachelor and Masters) for upload.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

You are required to submit your application in English. Please follow the APPLY Link above to initiate your application.

During the application process you will be taken through different stages of assessment and selection. Hereunder, you should be readily available to produce the required information and material requested enabling the AfYWL Recruitment team to review and assess your application.

Applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria and include the requested documents will not be taken into further consideration.

The application procedure will undergo the following stages:
Stage 1: Upon initial review of your Eligibility you will be invited to submit additional information to support your application.
Stage 2: Candidates under further consideration will be invited to an on-line test with the objective to test your competencies and cognitive abilities.
Stage 3: Should you be considered following successful completion of the test, you will be invited to submit the following additional documents.

• A written Essay (Instructions to follow)
• Personal History Form, P11
• 3 Written references

Stage 4: Should you be considered following successful assessment of your submitted essay, you will be further shortlisted and invited to conduct a self-recorded video interview. The video interview will include a separate assessment of your listed language skills.
Stage 5: A final evaluation of your submitted self-recorded video interview will be conducted as the final stage of your application process.

Successful and fully recommended candidates will be included in a final roster considered for the available AfYWL Fellowship placements at a location/assignment determined by UNDP.

Stage 6: Candidates under final consideration may be invited for a follow-up interview with the hosting UNDP Headquarters, regional or country office or AUC office. Offers to join the 3rd Cohort of African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme will be communicated to the up to 40 most successful candidates including the location of assignment and job description. The location of assignment will be determined through a final matching exercise where candidate profiles will be matched against assignment profiles/duty stations where the most suitable fit is identified. Applicants should be ready to accept any location offered in either HQ, Country or Regional office (no hardship locations). There will be no possibility for extension of the Fellowship assignment beyond the 12 months.

All applications and submitted documentation will be treated in the strictest confidence.

For more details, visit UNDP website