Programme Specialist, Population Dynamics & Youth

According to the 2022 Population Census of Timor-Leste, the country has a population of 1,341,737. The total fertility rate declined from 6.4 to 3.6 live births per woman between 2010 and 2022, while the life expectancy has increased, from 62.9 years in 2000 to 68 years in 2022. With 62 per cent of the population under the age of 25, Timor-Leste’s youthful demographic presents both opportunities and challenges. Although harnessing a demographic dividend is possible, nearly 29.3 per cent of youth are not in education, employment or training (NEET), underscoring the urgent need for investment in education, vocational training, job creation and gender-inclusive labour policies, as well as meaningful youth engagement and leadership.
UNFPA’s fifth Country Programme (CP5) in Timor-Leste covering 2026-2030 is aligned with the UNFPA Strategic Plan (2026-2029), national development plans and strategies, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2026-2030). The programme is aimed to achieve the interlinked four outputs, one of which focuses on empowering young people through coordinated multisectoral programmes and strengthened evidence-based policy advisory towards harnessing the demographic dividend. The country programme also envisages a technical data working group with the Resident Coordinator, the World Bank, other UN agencies, and INETL (National Institute Of Statistics Timor-Leste) to strengthen the quality and use of demographic and socio-economic data for planning, monitoring, and evaluation, and supporting periodic demographic analysis for policy and advocacy engagement. This IUNV position was established to work with the UNFPA Country Office team in Timor-Leste and deliver dedicated technical and programmatic leadership on population dynamics, harnessing the demographic dividend, youth investment and development issues.

Under the overall guidance of the UNFPA Representative and direct supervision of the International Programme Coordinator, the International UN Volunteer will lead UNFPA’s technical work on population dynamics, demographic dividend and youth development, translating demographic evidence into policy dialogue, multisectoral youth programming and programme results, and ensure linkages with UNFPA’s programmatic outputs and initiatives in sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality, prevention and response to gender-based violence, and climate change.
Within delegated authority and under the overall supervision of the International Programme Coordinator (IPC), the IUNV Programme Specialist, Population Dynamics and Youth will:
● Analyse and assess relevant political, economic and social trends, population dynamics, age structure trends, and their socio-economic and environmental implications, and provide inputs to national development frameworks.
● Lead and manage the planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the Population Dynamics and Youth Development portfolio under the Country Programme, in close collaboration with relevant ministries, the National Institute of Statistics, civil society organizations (CSOs), and youth groups.
● Lead development of youth investment cases and demographic dividend analysis in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, National Institute of Statistics and other partners, to integrate youth development issues into national and local plans, and advocate for investment in youth development issues
● Produce decision-ready policy and programme briefs for government counterparts, UN partners, UNFPA, and other partners to support efforts to harness the demographic dividend and strengthen evidence-based policies and programmes.
● Support policy dialogue and technical coordination with the Government of Timor-Leste, line ministries, INETL, UN agencies, and development partners, including co-facilitation of the inter-agency technical working group on Data for Development.
● Represent UNFPA’s technical position on population dynamics in interagency forums, national policy dialogues and planning processes as delegated.
● Lead resource mobilization and partnership development for population dynamics and youth development by preparing funding proposals, concept notes, conference papers, donor reports, and other relevant resource mobilization and partnership materials.
● Support strengthening of multisectoral youth coordination mechanisms to enhance intersectoral coordination, monitoring, reporting and financing of the National Action Plan for Youth (NAP-Youth).
● Provide guidance and support to strengthen youth programme implementation, including improving comprehensive sexuality education for in-school and out-of-school adolescents and youth, youth empowerment, and strengthening youth networks.
● Provide capacity-building support to national counterparts and Country Office staff on demography, population dynamics, megatrends, and the use of population and youth data through training, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing.
● Perform other related tasks as required by the Country Office management.