Team Leader, Youth Wellbeing and Mental Health (Volunteer)

Overview

The International Youth Federation is an international non-profit youth organisations network governed by the present Statutes. It is neutral politically and non-denominational and aims to empower youth worldwide.

The IYF Bureau of Programme Support (BPS) is the programme management body within the IYF interventions. The Bureau is responsible for implementing the global programme and supporting Regional Administrations in programme management.

BPS serves as the programme management and strategic support function for IYF’s youth empowerment interventions. BPS develops programme frameworks, guidance, and support mechanisms to enable regional and country-level implementation and strengthen quality, alignment, and learning across the organisation. BPS develops, oversees, and implements general programmes, policies, requirements, and processes utilised by the International Youth Foundation (IYF) to achieve programmatic results.

Aligned with the IYF Strategy 2026–2030, BPS operates as a resource, connector and convener to support Regional Directors, Country Directors/Representatives to implement youth centered interventions while advancing the global youth agenda.

About This Opportunity

The International Youth Federation (IYF) is currently entering a new phase of development and organisational growth. As part of this process, the Bureau of Programme Support (BPS) is establishing and strengthening its global programme architecture to better support youth empowerment efforts across the organisation.

This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the design and development of a strategic programme pillar from its early stages. Rather than joining a mature and fully established programme area, the selected Team Leader will contribute to defining priorities, developing resources and partnerships, establishing the foundations, and ways of working that will guide IYF’s work in this thematic area in the years ahead.

We are looking for dynamic candidates who are motivated by the opportunity to help shape an emerging programme area, establish key foundations, and contribute to its long-term success and sustainability.

Position Purpose

Under the overall guidance of the BPS Global Programme Manager, the Team Leader – Youth Wellbeing and Mental Health - provides strategic and operational leadership for Pillar 3 of the BPS Programme Framework.

As the technical focal point for youth wellbeing and mental health within BPS, the Team Leader provides guidance to the organisation on evidence-informed and context-appropriate approaches that strengthen youth wellbeing, resilience, and supportive environments across diverse operational contexts.

During this foundational phase of programme development, the Team Leader will play a key role in supporting the establishment and operationalization of the pillar by contributing to the development of frameworks, resources, partnerships, guidance, and enabling mechanisms that strengthen youth wellbeing efforts across IYF.

Working collaboratively across HQ divisions, regions and functions, the Team Leader supports translation of strategy into practical resources, partnership opportunities, awareness approaches, and learning mechanisms that contribute to Youth’s promotion and sustainability of their wellbeing and resilience.

Mission Statement

To voluntarily represent, positively promote, and uphold the mission of “Empowering youth for a better world” in various programs and opportunities throughout the IYF interventions across member countries.

Scope of Work

The Team Leader provides leadership across the following intervention areas:

1.0 Youth Wellbeing Resources

• Engage in IYF’s youth engagement efforts, working with youth and youth actors to determine needs, priorities, and gaps. Stay abreast of research and policy trends in the area of Youth Wellbeing and Mental Health.
• Lead the development and curation of resources related to youth wellbeing, healthy habits, resilience, and stigma reduction.
• Promote access to practical tools and standards related to wellbeing and protective factors.
• Facilitate knowledge exchange related to youth wellbeing approaches.
• Support dissemination of curated resources that strengthen youth's wellbeing
• knowledge.

2.0 Youth Wellbeing Promotion Initiatives

• Promote awareness approaches related to wellbeing, healthy lifestyles, and resilience.
• Determine relevant audience and adapt initiatives to their profiles and location as relevant.
• Support development of context- and audience-sensitive wellbeing, messaging and promotion efforts.
• Encourage dialogue and collaboration around digital safety and responsible engagement.
• Facilitate collaboration and exchange around wellbeing promotion practices across IYF.

3.0 Cross-Cutting Wellbeing Mainstreaming

• Encourage integration of wellbeing considerations across programmes and initiatives.
• Advise IYF divisions (programmes, policy, etc) on wellbeing considerations, particularly in how they engage with youth.
• Support development of guidance and practical approaches for mainstreaming wellbeing messages.
• Promote collaboration with relevant stakeholders working on youth wellbeing.

Responsibilities

(A) Pillar Leadership and Coordination:

• Serve as technical leader on the subject of Youth Wellbeing and Mental Health, stay abreast of good practice in the area as well as unfolding needs, trends and gaps, and guide IYF on their added value, positioning and programme design.
• Lead annual and quarterly planning discussions for Pillar 3.
• Coordinate implementation priorities and monitor progress across initiatives.
• Facilitate regular coordination with relevant BPS colleagues and regional teams.
• Support prioritization and sequencing of pillar activities.

(B) Programme Design and Quality Support:

• Contribute to development of frameworks, concepts, guidance, and tools related to youth wellbeing and resilience.
• Promote alignment with Results-Based Management principles and tools related to youth wellbeing and resilience.
• Support identification of indicators, evidence generation, and learning approaches.
• Encourage practical, scalable, and context-sensitive approaches aligned with youth priorities and in close collaboration with regional and country colleagues.

(C) Knowledge Management, Partnerships and Convening:

• Identify opportunities for partnerships and collaboration relevant to youth wellbeing and resilience.
• Support the development of curated resources and knowledge products.
• Promote collaboration with community actors, youth organizations, educational institutions, and relevant stakeholders.
• Facilitate exchange of lessons learned and promising practices across IYF.
• Contribute to external visibility and positioning of pillar achievements.

(D) Team Leadership

• Recruit, manage, convene and coordinate volunteers and contributors working under the pillar.
• Foster collaboration, transparency, predictability, and accountability.
• Build an inclusive and youth-centered working culture.
• Encourage cross-pillar collaboration and learning,

Expected Results

Within the first 12 months, the Team Leader is expected to contribute to:

• Recruitment of Pillar 3 volunteer team completed.
• Pillar annual workplan developed and maintained.
• Quarterly coordination and progress updates.
• Knowledge/resource package developed or curated for use by regional/country teams and available on our website for global audiences.
• Support to development or strengthening of at least one pilar initiative or enabling mechanism.
• Contribution to programme monitoring and learning processes.
• Partnership mapping and engagement recommendations.
• Report of knowledge exchange opportunities relevant to youth wellbeing and mental health.

Functional Competencies

• Ability to support the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of youth wellbeing initiatives and programmes.
• Ability to contribute to planning, results-based management, reporting processes, and achievement of programme outcomes.
• Ability to coordinate and facilitate collaboration across teams, regions, volunteers, employers, ecosystem actors, and external stakeholders.
• Ability to support the development of partnerships, networks, and collaborative initiatives that strengthen youth wellbeing and resilience.
• Ability to contribute to knowledge management processes, including resource development, learning documentation, and dissemination of good practices.
• Ability to support corporate strategic initiatives and contribute to the advancement
• of the IYF youth agenda.

Education

A minimum of a bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Psychology, Social Work, Education, International Development, Social Sciences, Community Development, Public Administration, International Relations, Youth Development, Communications, or another related field is required.

A master’s degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant field is considered an asset.

Additional certifications or training in youth wellbeing, mental health promotion, psychosocial

support, safeguarding, programme management, resilience, or Results-Based Management

(RBM) are desirable.

Experience

Required: Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in two or more of the following areas:

• Youth wellbeing and resilience initiatives
• Mental health promotion and prevention approaches
• Youth development programming
• Public health and community wellbeing initiatives
• Psychosocial support programming and approaches
• Safeguarding, protection, or supportive environment initiatives
• Social and behaviour change initiatives
• International development programmes focused on youth wellbeing
• Programme design, coordination, or technical advisory roles related to wellbeing and resilience

Preferred:

• Experience working across countries, regions, or multicultural contexts with field experience considered an asset.
• Experience developing resources, guidance, or support mechanisms for youth wellbeing
• Experience supporting ecosystem partnerships or multi-stakeholder collaboration.
• Experience supporting cross-sector collaboration related to youth wellbeing or resilience.
• Experience working in non-clinical approaches to youth mental health and wellbeing promotion.

Experience should demonstrate application of evidence-informed approaches to youth

wellbeing, partnership development, resource development, and multi-stakeholder

collaboration.