With a population of 12,316,895 people and a significant youth and adolescent proportion forming a huge youth bulge, Somalia faces an unprecedented challenge in addressing the youth and adolescent needs in a complex context where conflict, natural disasters and climate change divert resources from the needs of this important cohort of the population. Just under half (45.6 percent) of the population is less than 15 years old, and three-quarters (75 percent) of the population is under 30 years,  while three-quarters (75%) of the population is less than 30 years old.
Two-thirds of youth are unemployed – one of the highest rates of unemployment in the world.  Youth unemployment in Somalia is high, with only an estimated 27% of youth employed (58% male and 42% female), while majority of the employed (70%) are in the primary sector that is agriculture, forestry and fisheries. This provides an incentive for migration.
A 2013 report estimated that between 500 to 3,000 individuals travelled from Hargeisa to Addis Ababa en-route to Europe per month, while in 2014, the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat reported that 400-700 Somalilanders were joining irregular flows each month. In 2015, over 78,000 migrants arrived in Yemen via the Arabian Sea while at the beginning of 2017 over 92,000 migrants are reported to have fled Yemen for various countries in the Horn of Africa.
The push factors encouraging  migration by young people include: economic factors (limited employment opportunities, limited education prospects, and poverty; violence and instability (due to poor governance and civil conflict; and belief in migration as an opportunity for socio-economic improvement as a result of pressure from parents and relatives. For example, an overwhelming majority (69 percent) of 2,685 males and females in the Somali region, including South Central Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland, surveyed by the Heritage Institute considered either the lack of opportunities (48 percent) or the poor economic situation of families (21 percent) as key reasons for out-migration.
Youth on migration are exposed to risks including trafficking, physical and sexual abuses, violence, deaths and kidnapping for ransom resulting in the extortion of resources from parents whose children are detained by traffickers. The youth dilemma is made even more difficult by the fact that returnees from Tahriib (irregular migration) face an uncertain future on return, facing the same challenges that made them migrate. An innovative livelihoods program, UPSHIFT, has been launched by our client to address the needs of the young and restless youth seeking income opportunities.

The purpose of this assignment is to provide technical support, supervision and coordination of the UPSHIFT innovative Livelihoods activities in the North West Zone and North East Zones in Somalia.
The Field Officer will be involved in providing technical support, mentorship and support business incubation for youth innovations to catalyze youth self-employment and income growth.
The post holder will work closely with partners implementing UPSHIFT, conduct regular field visits to incubated businesses, and provide updates on the progress of the project activities.

The Youth and Innovation Associate will perform the following tasks;

• Conduct regular (monthly) meetings (face to face or skype as applicable) with all UPSHIFT partners to assess progress, challenges and lessons learnt from UPSHIFT Innovative Livelihoods implementation.
• Conduct regular project field visits to assess implementation of youth enterprises formed during UPSHIFT boot camp.
• Visit project teams formed during UPSHIFT bootcamps and document best practices.
• Provide technical support to the establishment, implementation and monitoring of UPSHIFT innovation labs.
• Provide weekly sitreps on project progress.
• Support Project Officer in the field officer in drafting case studies and human-interest stories on the successes of the project.
• Support the Project Officer in facilitating bi-annual assessment of incomes earned from successful enterprises and submit reports as necessary
• Provide support during evaluation and reviews of the project.

Key Deliverables
The Youth and Innovation Associate will submit a monthly report with the following deliverables:

• Project reports related to the implementation of the UPSHIFT Innovative Livelihoods project finalized and submitted on a monthly basis as needed;
• Assessment reports, case studies and human-interest stories on successful incubated businesses by youth in South Central, Puntland and Somaliland available;
• Contribution into annual review, and quarterly reports to donors prepared and submitted;
• Coordination of regular meetings with partners to review progress against workplan and targets   with meeting minutes shared regularly.
• Visibility materials on the project and its achievements are available and informed by quality assurance fromour client communication programme.

The Consultant will report directly to the Project Manager, Children on the Move (CoTM) for technical supervision, and to CTG for security management.

Not applicable.