Deputy Director, Governance

The Bureau of Governance & Policy Support (BGPS) has the responsibility for researching and analyzing all relevant youth policies and guidance to support the results of the IYF's strategic interventions.

What difference will you make?

To voluntarily represent, positively promote, and uphold the mission of "Empowering youth for a better world" in various programs and opportunities throughout the IYF interventions across member countries.

What are we looking for?

7+ years' experience in policy, strategy or research. Experience working on youth-related issues or UNSDGs is highly advantageous.

What will you be doing?

The International Youth Federation is an international non-profit youth organisation network governed by the present Statutes and the Swiss Civil Code. It is neutral politically and non-denominational, aiming to empower youth worldwide.

The Bureau of Governance & Policy Support (BGPS) has the responsibility for researching and analyze all relevant youth policies and guidance to support the results of the IYF's strategic interventions. BGPS's staff provides technical advice to Country Teams; advocates for the IYF corporate messages, and represents the IYF at multi-stakeholder fora, including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and cooperation initiatives.

Under the overall guidance of the BGPS Director, the Deputy Director provides strategic support in BGPS and advice and guidance to the BGPS Director Chair and oversees and leads BGPS's efforts to facilitate and support implementation of the Bureau's strategic priorities and related coordination goals.

Responsibilities

• Strategic management of the Bureau
• Support BGPS Director in leading and manage the work on policy advocacy within the Bureau to ensure optimization of resources and nurturing a culture of results and solutions orientation with the highest performance standards;
• Co-lead on the annual work planning and strategic target setting for the Bureau and ensure strategic guidance and advice on BGPS priorities, and support BGPS team in the establishment of output-based plans and management plans;
• Act as Director of the Bureau, undertaking delegated decisions and representation responsibilities, in the absence of the Director – as appropriate;
• Facilitate strong coordination between BGPS and BPS teams to ensure efficient deployment of technical and advisory capacity on policy-related issues;
• Create an environment of team spirit and high motivation and provide coaching and mentoring to BGPS Bureau staff; and
• Co-supervise the Bureau's staff and ensure that performance management assessments are carried out according to IYF procedures.
• Empowering the Global Policy Working Group
• Ensure joined-up work, integrated approaches, staff release and a culture of cooperation across the GPWG and the rest of the IYF;
• Develop guidelines and principles to underpin a collaborative approach and culture in support of IYF's policy capacity to ensure speed of support, provision of integrated substantive, innovative, strategic and operational resources when required;
• Oversee the creation of the business process design, work plans, workflows and terms of reference for the BGPS team to leverage the capacities and capabilities within the GPWG on policy-related issues, ensuring coherence with BGPS team and functions;
• Ensure the proper functioning of BGPS team in engaging with key partners.
• Partnerships and advocacy support
• Identify, develop and sustain partnerships with think tanks, academia, INGOs, NGOs and other policy partners to leverage knowledge, expertise and resources to contribute to crisis- and fragility-related issues;
• Liaise and collaborate closely with partners on policy advocacy-related issues; and
• Forge partnerships and collaborate with bilateral, multilateral, and emerging donors and IFI partners on policy advocacy issues.