Apply to the African Young Women Leaders (AfYWL) Fellowship Programme (Fully-funded by UNDP and African Union)

The African Young Women Leaders Fellowship Programme is 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.
It 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.

They 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.

Benefits

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.

Selection Criteria

1. Completed Master’s degree or equivalent in Economics, Political Science, Business Administration, International Relations/Development, Law, Communications, Digitalization or other related development field.
2. Maximum cumulative two years (post bachelor/postmaster degree) of relevant and paid working experience in research, analysis and programme/project development, implementation and management.
3. Strong working knowledge of English
4. Proficiency in at least one additional AU working language (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese or Spanish) is an advantage
5. Female candidates accepted only
6. National of an African Union member state.
7. Maximum Age of 30 at the date of application.
8. Available in 2023/2024 to dedicate 12 months for a fellowship assignment
9. Available early 2024 to participate in an induction workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (timing to be confirmed/all costs covered).
10. Willing to relocate to duty station, live and work outside country of residence on an assignment which leverages on your skills & potential.
11. Understanding of, and interest in, poverty eradication, sustainable structural transformation, the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
12. 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.
13. Additional expertise and background in digital transformation, strategic partnerships and communications, development intelligence and innovation will also be considered.

Application Procedure

You are required to submit your application in English.
During the application process you will be taken through different stages of assessment and selection. 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:

1. Copies of your national ID/Passport for upload.
2. Copies of your academic degrees (tertiary education/Bachelor and Masters) for upload.
3. A written Essay (Instructions to follow)
4. Personal History Form, P11
5. 3 Written references

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

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

GOOD LUCK