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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Youth Program Officer

💰 $38,000 - $70,000

Youth DevelopmentProgram ManagementNonprofitSocial Services

🎯 Role Definition

The Youth Program Officer leads the design, implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement of youth-focused programs that promote education, life skills, civic engagement and psychosocial well-being. This role manages stakeholder relationships, ensures compliance with safeguarding and donor requirements, and uses data-driven decision-making to increase program impact and scalability. The ideal candidate combines hands-on youth facilitation experience with strong program management, monitoring & evaluation, and community partnership skills.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Youth Worker / Youth Outreach Worker with field experience in community programs
  • Program Assistant or Community Outreach Assistant in NGOs or local government
  • Volunteer Coordinator or School-Based Youth Facilitator

Advancement To:

  • Senior Youth Program Officer / Senior Program Manager
  • Regional Youth Coordinator / Youth Programs Manager
  • Director of Programs / Head of Youth Initiatives

Lateral Moves:

  • Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Specialist
  • Community Engagement Manager
  • Capacity Building / Training Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, develop and refine youth program curricula, training modules and activity plans that align with organizational strategy, donor objectives and evidence-based best practices to achieve measurable learning, life-skills and wellbeing outcomes for diverse youth populations.
  • Plan, coordinate and lead the delivery of workshops, after-school programs, camps and community events, ensuring sessions are interactive, culturally responsive and adapted to different age groups and learning needs.
  • Manage day-to-day program operations including scheduling, logistics, vendor coordination, material procurement and venue arrangements to ensure safe, timely and cost-efficient program delivery.
  • Build, cultivate and maintain partnerships with schools, community-based organizations, local government bodies and private sector stakeholders to increase program reach, referrals and resource sharing.
  • Develop and manage program budgets, monitor expenditures, prepare financial forecasts and ensure compliance with donor financial policies and organizational procurement procedures.
  • Lead recruitment, onboarding, training and supervision of program staff, facilitators, volunteers and interns, providing regular feedback, capacity building and performance evaluations to maintain high-quality delivery.
  • Create and implement child protection and safeguarding protocols, conduct risk assessments for activities and settings, and ensure immediate reporting and follow-up for any safeguarding concerns per policy and legal requirements.
  • Establish and maintain robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems including performance indicators, data collection tools, baseline/endline assessments and feedback loops to measure program effectiveness and inform adaptive management.
  • Collect, clean, analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative program data to produce timely reports, impact briefs, dashboards and donor deliverables that demonstrate results and learning.
  • Draft high-quality narrative and financial donor reports, concept notes, program proposals and funding applications that clearly articulate program design, theory of change and expected outcomes.
  • Coordinate beneficiary selection, enrollment and case management processes ensuring transparent eligibility criteria, documentation and follow-up on vulnerable youth including referrals to protection, health and social services.
  • Lead continuous quality improvement processes by conducting regular program reviews, field visits, focus groups, and incorporating youth voice and community feedback into program adjustments.
  • Facilitate life-skills coaching, mentorship programs and peer-led initiatives; monitor mentor-mentee relationships and provide support to strengthen positive youth development and leadership capacities.
  • Ensure compliance with institutional policies, local regulations and donor contract terms, including safeguarding, data protection, health & safety, accessibility and equal opportunity requirements.
  • Advocate for youth priorities internally and externally by preparing policy briefs, representing the program at stakeholder meetings, and engaging in networks that influence local youth policies and resource allocation.
  • Coordinate multi-sectoral referral pathways and collaborate with health, education, social protection and employment services to create holistic support options for at-risk youth.
  • Oversee digital engagement and outreach activities, including social media campaigns, online learning modules and virtual youth events, ensuring accessibility and safeguarding for online spaces.
  • Plan and manage program evaluation exercises and external audits, liaising with external evaluators, providing required documentation and following through on recommendations for improvement.

Secondary Functions

  • Support the development of grant proposals, donor liaison activities and the identification of new funding opportunities to diversify program resources and secure multi-year sustainability.
  • Maintain organized program documentation, participant records and data protection systems to support audits, reporting needs and knowledge management.
  • Provide ad-hoc training and technical assistance to partner organizations and community stakeholders on youth-centered approaches, safeguarding and participatory program design.
  • Assist in the development of communications materials, success stories, case studies and multimedia content that showcase impact and amplify youth voices.
  • Participate in cross-functional working groups and contribute program-level insights to organizational strategy, resource mobilization and policy development.
  • Support contingency planning, emergency preparedness and rapid response strategies for youth programming in crisis or humanitarian contexts.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Program design and curriculum development for youth-focused education, life-skills and psychosocial support programs.
  • Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E): indicator design, data collection tools, quantitative and qualitative analysis, baseline/endline evaluations and results reporting.
  • Grant writing and donor reporting experience, including development of budgets, logical frameworks and compliance with donor terms.
  • Case management and referral coordination systems for vulnerable youth (protection, health, social services).
  • Child protection and safeguarding policy implementation, risk assessment and incident reporting procedures.
  • Budget development, financial tracking and use of financial management tools to monitor expenditures against program budgets.
  • Proficiency with data tools and software such as Excel, Google Sheets, KoboToolbox/CommCare, basic SQL or data visualization platforms (Power BI, Tableau) for reporting.
  • Digital program delivery skills including virtual facilitation, content adaptation for online platforms and basic multimedia content creation.
  • Knowledge of participatory methods, youth engagement frameworks and inclusive pedagogies for diverse learners.
  • Familiarity with local education systems, social services structures and community-based organizations relevant to youth programming.

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills for stakeholder engagement, reporting and advocacy.
  • Facilitation and group management skills to engage youth in active learning, conflict resolution and leadership development.
  • Cultural sensitivity and ability to work respectfully across diverse communities, languages and contexts.
  • Organizational and time-management skills with attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Problem-solving and adaptive management mindset, using data and feedback to iterate program design.
  • Emotional intelligence and resilience when working with vulnerable populations and complex safeguarding situations.
  • Collaborative team player who can build partnerships and coordinate across multi-disciplinary teams.
  • Leadership and mentoring capability to develop junior staff and volunteers.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Social Work, Education, Sociology, Psychology, International Development, Public Administration, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree or postgraduate diploma in Youth Development, Community Development, Social Policy, Education, Public Health or a related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Social Work
  • Education
  • Psychology
  • International Development
  • Public Policy
  • Community Development

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of progressive experience in youth programming, community outreach or case management in NGOs, government or educational settings.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of experience including demonstrated success in program design, M&E, donor reporting and partnership management; experience working with adolescents and young adults in low-resource or multicultural contexts.
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