The AfYWL Fellowship Programme

Application Deadline: 13 August 2023

The African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme offers an interesting 12 months assignment with UNDP at its HQ in New York or in one of its regional or country offices. There will be no placement in hardship locations.

The AfYWL Fellowship Programme:

Do you want to work to advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063?
Do you want to contribute towards youth empowerment and employment, gender equality and women empowerment, strategic communications and partnerships, and South-South Cooperation to unleash the development potential of Africa?
Do you want to develop your skills and join a new generation of global leaders?
Do you believe in the potential of young women in driving transformational change?
Are you able to mainstream youth priorities and gender in development?

The AfYWL Fellowship Programme is a partnership under the framework of the AUC Chairperson’s 1 Million Next Level Initiative, which aims to provide opportunities for African youth in the key areas of Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Engagement, and mainstream youth and women in key development spaces. 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. The Fellowship Programme will explore different areas of development within the six strategic impact areas of UNDP’s Renewed Strategic Offer in Africa: 1) Natural Resource Governance; 2) Youth and Women’s Employment and Empowerment; 3) Structural Economic Transformation; 4) Sustainable Energy; 5) Climate Change; and 6) Peace and Security.

UNDP 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.

Eligibility Criteria
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.

Training and Learning
As part of the fellowship assignment, the fellow will benefit from the following training and learning opportunities:

Participation in a dedicated induction workshop in Addis Ababa (early 2024) hosted jointly by AUC and UNDP (all costs covered).
Access to an earmarked learning budget for relevant learning/development activities.
Participation in regular mentorship by senior UNDP staff.
Participation in a transformative leadership development training programme jointly developed by AUC and UNDP.
Participation in tailored learning and community events targeted UNDP Young Professionals
Support from UNDP on other corporate learning and development activities.

In addition, the Fellow will benefit from the relevant training and learning modalities/opportunities offered in the receiving office.

Application Procedure
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.

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.

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.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the AUC-UNDP African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme

Application Deadline: 19 September 2021 (Extended)

UNDP is searching for 25 young African women to join the second cohort of the African Young Women Leaders (AfYWL) Fellowship Programme.

The AfYWL Fellowship Programme offers an interesting assignment with UNDP at its HQ in New York or in one of its regional or country offices. The fellow may also be assigned to the UN Secretariat or the AU Commission. For the second cohort (2021-2022), UNDP will work with the AUC and AU member states to enhance women’s leadership and representation in public and private institutions through targeted leadership training and capacity development to promote the participation of young women in decision-making roles.

The 12-month fellowship rests on three pillars:

Equipping outstanding young African women leaders with the leadership skills and experience required to advance the SDGs and Agenda 2063 and contribute effectively to decision-making in public, private and multilateral institutions at home and abroad.
Creating a diverse pool of talent to enhance UNDP’s organizational efficiency and contribute to more responsive and effective policies and programmes.
Developing a network of African young women professionals that engages in promoting innovative, sustainable and inclusive development through South-South development exchange.

The fellowship is a partnership between the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Established under the framework of the AUC Chairperson’s 1 Million by 2021 Initiative, the fellowship aims to provide opportunities for African youth in the key areas of education, employment, entrepreneurship and engagement, and mainstream youth and women in key development spaces.

Eligibility and selection criteria:

Female candidates only.
National of an African Union member state. Priority will be given to nationals of AU member states that did not benefit from the first cohort of the Fellowship Programme.
Aged below 34 years at the date of application.
Master’s degree or equivalent in Economics, Political Science, Business Administration, International Relations/Development, Law, Communications, Digitalization or other related development field.
Maximum one year (post master) of relevant and paid working experience in research, analysis and programme/project development, implementation and management.
Available in late 2021/early 2022 to participate in an induction workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Available in 2021/22 to dedicate 12 months to a fellowship assignment.
Willing to live and work outside their country of residence.
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.

Benefits

The programme will cover expenses related to travel and medical insurance, and each fellow will receive a monthly stipend to cover accommodation and living costs at their respective duty station.
An earmarked learning budget will be also allocated for undertaking relevant learning and development activities.
Applicants should note that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical travel will be dependent on the recommended guidelines of each recruiting office.

Content and methodology of 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.

Training and Learning

As part of the fellowship assignment, the fellow will benefit from the following training and learning opportunities:

Participation in a dedicated induction workshop in Addis Ababa (early 2022) hosted jointly by AUC and UNDP (all costs covered).
Access to an earmarked learning budget for relevant learning/development activities.
Participation in regular mentorship by senior UNDP staff.
Participation in a transformative leadership development training programme jointly developed by AUC and UNDP.
Support from UNDP on other corporate learning and development activities.
In addition, the Fellow will benefit from the relevant training and learning modalities/opportunities offered in the receiving office.

Apply Now for the AUC-UNDP African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme 2021/2022

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the AUC-UNDP African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme

AUC-UNDP African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme Cohort 3 (Fully Funded)

AUC-UNDP African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme 2021/2022 at UNDP Headquarters in New York or in a regional or country office (Fully Funded)