A CALL FOR APPLICATION: Project Officer | ALIGN – Advancing Local Innovations For Adolescent Health & Nutrition

Position Title: Project Officer | ALIGN – Advancing Local Innovations for Adolescent Health & Nutrition

Contract Type:Consultancy

Duration: 2 years

Eligibility and Geographic Scope : Kenya, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (with occasional travel to target countries)

Reports To: Project Manager – ALIGN at The Youth Café

Mode of Engagement: Hybrid/online

Project: ALIGN – Advancing Local Innovations for Adolescent Health & Nutrition

Collaborates With: Consortium partners (Action Against Hunger, ENN), CSOs, YLOs, and national stakeholders

About the Project

ALIGN is an initiative funded by the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) and administered by the World Bank. The project aims to improve adolescent health and nutrition outcomes by empowering local civil society organisations (CSOs) and youth-led organisations (YLOs) to adapt, scale, and integrate proven, community-driven innovations into national health systems across up to 12 African countries.

The project is implemented by a two-member consortium. Action Against Hunger USA (ACF USA) serves as the prime recipient and leads overall programme management and fiduciary responsibility. The Youth Café (TYC) is the youth-focused implementing partner responsible for youth engagement, sub-grant portfolio management, community-of-practice facilitation, and evidence-based advocacy. The Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) serves as the technical knowledge and research partner. Together, the consortium bridges the gap between local civil society innovation and national-level systems change in adolescent health and nutrition.

Project Components

Component 1: Strengthening CSO and YLO Capacities for Networking and Enabling Pathways to Scale

This component strengthens the organisational and technical capacity of CSOs and YLOs to co-design, expand, and integrate high-quality adolescent health and nutrition innovations into public systems. It delivers Technical Support Packages covering baseline capacity assessments, tailored technical assistance and mentorship in programme design and grant management, policy dialogue facilitation, and the establishment of youth engagement mechanisms such as youth councils and social listening channels. It  establishes and manages a Cross-Country Community of Practice (CoP) that connects local innovators with technical experts, policymakers, and partners through peer learning platforms, stakeholder convenings, structured knowledge exchange, and the documentation and dissemination of lessons on scaling and health system integration.

Component 2: Supporting CSOs and YLOs to Effectively Engage Government Entities in Adolescent Health and Nutrition

This component provides sub-grants to eligible CSOs and YLOs across up to 12 countries to scale proven adolescent health and nutrition innovations. Work Stream 2.1 covers all grant management and administration activities including the development of an Operational Manual, formation of a technical selection committee, targeted country-level outreach to attract strong applicants, sub-grantee selection, and compliance and fiduciary management. Work Stream 2.2 focuses on sub-project implementation by supporting CSOs to identify and scale promising interventions, conduct sensitisation workshops, execute awareness and communications campaigns, and carry out periodic adaptive sub-project reviews.

Component 3 : Generating Evidence and Influencing Policy

This component builds a robust evidence base and uses it to drive policy change and sustainable scale. Work Stream 3.1 covers operational research and M&E: conducting mixed-method studies on performance and cost-effectiveness, strengthening CSO and YLO monitoring systems, and piloting adolescent feedback mechanisms such as SMS polling and social listening. Work Stream 3.2 covers knowledge management and advocacy: documenting successful co-design models, producing policy briefs and academic papers, and engaging with national and global decision-making forums to advocate for policy integration and financing.

The Youth Café's Role in ALIGN

As a consortium partner, The Youth Café leads youth engagement, sub-grant portfolio management, Community of Practice facilitation, and evidence-based advocacy across the project. TYC is specifically responsible for ensuring that adolescent voices and youth-led innovations are at the centre of the project's policy influence and systems integration work. TYC's ALIGN team is based in Nairobi with responsibility for country-level coordination across all target countries.

Staff recruited under ALIGN will operate within TYC's administrative and programmatic structure, in close coordination with ACF USA and ENN. All positions are governed by TYC's human resources policies, the World Bank's Environmental and Social Framework requirements, and the safeguarding and labour standards set out in the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP). Each staff member assigned to ALIGN is expected to support TYC's designated Environmental and Social Focal Point and to uphold TYC's and ACF USA's safeguarding, anti-discrimination, and gender equality policies throughout implementation.

Note to Applicants

The position for which you are applying is part of The Youth Café's ALIGN project team. This background document is a standard introduction provided with all ALIGN Terms of Reference and should be read together with the specific position description that follows. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate in their application how their experience relates to the project's three-component structure and to TYC's specific implementation responsibilities as described above.

Key Responsibilities

  1. Component 1: Implementation Support for Capacity Strengthening and CoP

  • Support the Project Manager in planning and executing Technical Support Packages: coordinate the scheduling and logistics of baseline capacity assessments for sub-grantees; liaise with consultants and technical experts delivering training and mentorship sessions; prepare activity briefs and session documentation; and track delivery against the annual workplan.

  • Coordinate TYC's support for the co-design of priority interventions including digital campaigns against health misinformation, school-based health and nutrition curricula, and community peer-support groups for iron and folic acid supplement uptake by liaising with in-country Technical Experts to ensure activities are progressing and outputs are documented.

  • Support the establishment and ongoing functioning of in-country youth engagement mechanisms, youth councils, scorecards, and social listening channels by coordinating with Technical Experts, consolidating feedback from country-level youth engagement activities, and ensuring outputs feed into the ALIGN workplan and reporting cycles.

  • Provide hands-on coordination support for Community of Practice activities: manage participant communications, logistics coordination, and scheduling for CoP webinars, thematic sprints, lab-storms, and workshops; prepare pre-event briefing packs and post-event minutes; and maintain the CoP attendance and engagement tracker.

  • Coordinate the curation of in-country inputs for the CoP learning agenda by gathering lessons, case studies, and innovations from Technical Experts across all 12 countries and packaging them for use in CoP sessions and dissemination materials.

2. Component 2: Sub-Grant Coordination and Sub-Project Monitoring

  • Support the Project Manager and Logistics and Procurement Officer in coordinating the development and finalisation of the Operational Manual, ensuring inputs from all relevant team members and consortium partners are collected and integrated on schedule.

  • Coordinate TYC's country-level outreach activities for the sub-grantee identification and selection process by maintaining a pipeline tracker for each of the 12 countries, following up with Technical Experts on application progress, and ensuring all outreach activities are documented and reported to the Project Manager.

  • Support the sub-grant agreement execution process: track the status of all sub-grant agreements across all countries, coordinate with the Finance and Admin Officer on agreement signing and onboarding, and maintain the sub-grant agreements register.

  • Monitor sub-project implementation progress: consolidate quarterly sub-project progress reports from Technical Experts, flag risks or delays to the Project Manager, and maintain the sub-project monitoring tracker covering all active sub-grants across the 12 countries.

  • Coordinate logistics for Component 2 sensitisation workshops in target countries by liaising with Technical Experts, the Logistics and Procurement Officer, and sub-grantees to ensure workshops are planned, resourced, and documented in a timely manner.

3. Component 3: Evidence, Documentation, and Knowledge Management

  • Support the Project Manager and Technical Experts in coordinating operational research activities: track the implementation of in-country research activities, follow up on data submission timelines, and coordinate with ENN and the Project Manager on research outputs.

  • Maintain TYC's M&E data management system: consolidate monthly M&E data submissions from Technical Experts across all 12 countries, conduct a first-level quality check on submissions, and flag gaps or inconsistencies to the Project Manager for resolution.

  • Support the tracking and documentation of adolescent feedback mechanism data — SMS polling results, social listening findings, and community scorecard outputs — ensuring findings are packaged and submitted to the Project Manager for integration into programme improvement cycles and donor reporting.

  • Contribute to knowledge management activities: support the systematic documentation of successful co-design models and scaling processes; draft or compile case studies, success stories, and meeting records for review by the Project Manager and Outreach Officer; and maintain ALIGN's documentation archive in an organised, accessible format.

4. Reporting, Coordination, and Financial Accountability

  • Contribute substantively to TYC's quarterly and annual donor-compliant narrative reports: draft activity progress sections, compile supporting documentation and attendance records, and ensure submissions to the Project Manager meet agreed internal deadlines.

  • Prepare monthly activity reports summarising implementation progress across all components, upcoming activities, risks, and lessons, for the Project Manager's review and submission to ACF USA.

  •  Facilitate day-to-day communication and coordination between the ALIGN Nairobi team and in-country Technical Experts: maintain the team coordination calendar, prepare and circulate agendas and minutes for regular coordination calls, and follow up on action points.

  •  Coordinate with the Logistics and Procurement Officer on activity-level logistics for workshops, training sessions, and consortium meetings by providing timely advance notice of requirements and reviewing event logistics plans before submission to the Project Manager.

  •  Submit monthly timesheets and activity expense reports to the Finance and Admin Officer on time, and support team members in doing the same.

Deliverables

  • Monthly activity reports and documentation of outputs

  • Quarterly donor-compliant reports (contributions to consortium reporting)

  • Records of workshops, trainings, and community of practice sessions

  • Case studies and success stories highlighting youth-led innovations

  • End-of-project documentation summarizing contributions and lessons learned

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

  • Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences, Public Health, Development Studies, International Relations, Business Administration, professional accounting, project management or a related field.(A masters degree is preferred ).

  • Minimum 5 years of experience in project implementation within youth empowerment, health, high-level executive office administration or international development programmes.

  • Demonstrated experience coordinating multi-stakeholder activities and maintaining accurate project documentation and reporting systems.

  • Proven ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously, track progress against targets, and flag risks proactively.

  • Experience working directly with CSOs, YLOs, community-based organisations, youth boards, or local Governments in a coordination, advisory or support capacity.

  • Applicants must hold a valid work permit or be legally authorised to work in their country of residence at the time of application. The Youth Café will not sponsor or facilitate work permits for this assignment.

  • Strong written communication skills with the ability to produce clear, structured activity reports and meeting documentation.

  • Excellent organisational skills and high attention to detail in maintaining project records and trackers.

  • Fluency in English.

Desirable

  •  Experience supporting donor-funded projects with reporting requirements from bilateral or multilateral funders.

  • Familiarity with M&E data management and progress tracking tools or systems.

  • Experience coordinating virtual and in-person events, webinars, or community of practice activities.

  • Knowledge of adolescent health, nutrition, or RMNCAH+N programme contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Proficiency in French (advantageous given the project's Francophone country coverage).

Duration and Compensation

Duration: 2 years

Compensation: Competitive salary aligned with donor budget provisions

Payment Schedule: Monthly, upon submission of deliverables and timesheets

Application Process

Interested candidates should submit:

  • A cover letter of not more than one page setting out your suitability for the role and confirming availability from 1 July 2026.

  • An updated CV of not more than four pages.

  • Contact details for two professional referees (referees will not be contacted without prior notification to the candidate)

Email applications to: human.resource@theyouthcafe.com 

cc:admin.compliance@theyouthcafe.com

Subject Line: Project Officer – ALIGN Project

Deadline for submission: 30th June 2026. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Equal Opportunity

The Youth Café is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion and strongly encourages applications from women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups.