Background
UNICEF Maldives supports national efforts to strengthen learning-to-earning pathways for adolescents and young people through education, skills development, digital learning, career guidance, employability and partnerships. The Maldives skills ecosystem includes schools, technical and vocational education and training providers, higher education institutions, government agencies, employers, youth and civil society organizations, and development partners. However, a consolidated system-level picture of actors, mandates, programmes, pathways, labour-market signals, financing, data flows, inclusion barriers and coordination mechanisms is needed.
The assignment will apply an ecosystem approach that examines how formal, non-formal and co-curricular pathways develop foundational, transferable, digital, green and sector-specific technical skills. It will also assess how skills provision responds to employer demand, youth aspirations and the geographic realities of the Maldives, including access for young people in outer atolls and groups at risk of exclusion.
This assignment builds on the World Youth Skills Day Policy Dialogue held on 12 August 2026, which highlighted the need to better understand the national skills ecosystem, including key actors, pathways, policy linkages, gaps and opportunities for strengthening learning-to-earning transitions.
Therefore, seeks an individual consultant to undertake a rapid, evidence-based Skills Ecosystem Mapping that will support programme design, partnership development and future investment decisions.
How can you make a difference?
The purpose of the consultancy is to map and analyze the skills development ecosystem in the Maldives and produce practical recommendations for strengthening inclusive, responsive and coordinated learning-to-earning pathways for adolescents and young people.
- Map the policies, institutions, programmes, services and partnerships that shape skills development and education-to-work transitions.
- Assess formal, non-formal and co-curricular skills provision across foundational, transferable, digital, green and technical skills domains.
- Identify current and emerging skills needs in priority sectors and assess alignment between skills supply, labour-market demand and youth aspirations.
- Analyze coordination, financing, data, quality assurance, career guidance, and transition mechanisms across the ecosystem.
- Identify barriers affecting girls, young people with disabilities, young people on remote islands, out-of-school adolescents, and youth not in education, employment or training.
- Provide prioritised, operationally feasible recommendations and a concise action roadmap for UNICEF, government and partners.
Academic qualifications
An advanced university degree in education, skills development, labor economics, public policy, social sciences, development studies, research, monitoring and evaluation, or another relevant field is required. A first university degree combined with substantial relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.
Experience
- At least five years of relevant professional experience in skills development, education-to-work transition, TVET, labour-market analysis, youth employment, workforce development, education systems strengthening, or policy and programme analysis.
- Demonstrated experience conducting ecosystem mapping, stakeholder mapping, qualitative research, key informant interviews, document review, and rapid analysis.
- Familiarity with the Maldives education, TVET, higher education, youth employment, labour-market, and skills development landscape is highly desirable.
Core competencies
- Strong analytical and synthesis skills.
- Excellent writing and presentation skills.
- Sound understanding of skills systems, labour-market trends, learning-to-earning pathways, and institutional coordination.
- Ability to translate evidence from policies, programmes, labour-market information, and stakeholder consultations into practical and actionable recommendations.
- Ethical awareness, confidentiality, and child safeguarding.
Desirables
For every Child, you demonstrate...
The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…
(1) Builds and maintains partnerships
(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness
(3) Drive to achieve results for impact
(4) Innovates and embraces change
(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity
(6) Thinks and acts strategically
(7) Works collaboratively with others
UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.
Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks.
Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially
Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service
Remarks
As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.
UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.
Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.
UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.
Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.
All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.