Event Coordination and Communications Support Assistant

Volunteering Admin Communications & PR

Overview

Provide support for project activities and communications

You have:

• Bachelors degree is preferred
• Work experience of 1 year is preferred
• Work experience in the field of research, communications and/or event planning is required
• Experience in organizing regional and international conferences is required
• Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment
• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications
• Have affinity with or interest in maritime crime, maritime law and/or maritime security
• Experience in project management or implementation is desirable
• Experience in volunteerism is an asset

Contract

This is a UNV National Youth contract. This kind of contract is known as National UN Volunteer. It is normally only for nationals. More about UNV National Youth contracts.

The Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was established in 2010 as the Counter Piracy Programme (CPP), in response to United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for a concerted international response to address piracy off the Horn of Africa. Since then, its mission and mandate have expanded both thematically and geographically, covering a much wider spectrum of maritime crimes within six ocean spaces globally. With its headquarters located in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Programme is committed to supporting Member States through its mandate to develop cooperation both at a regional and international level and build law enforcement capacity among Member States to counter serious organized crime within the maritime domain. Under its Indian Ocean East portfolio, the Programme is providing technical assistance to maritime law enforcement authorities and criminal justice actors in Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Within this context, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is looking for a National Youth Volunteer - Event Coordination and Communications Support Assistant to be based in Sri Lanka under the guidance and direct supervision of the GMCP National Project Officer for Sri Lanka, to provide administrative and implementation support to the project activities on the ground.

Under the direct supervision of the UNODC GMCP Project Officer for Sri Lanka, the National Youth Volunteer - Event Coordination and Communications Support Assistant will undertake the following tasks: Provide implementation support to the project: • Provide logistical and administrative support to the GMCP National Project Officer in Sri Lanka with regard to consultative and other meetings, workshops, conferences, training sessions, missions, etc., including preparing background documents and presentations, drafting meeting minutes, etc.; • Provide coordination support in securing nominations for UNODC events, communicating with nominated participants, following up on any queries, organizing and coordinating filing and maintaining of mailing lists; • Assist the GMCP National Project Officer in Sri Lanka with administrative processes related to the procurement of equipment and services and recruitment of experts, including support on the preparation of terms of reference, monitoring and follow-up on related payment requests, along with relevant GMCP Admin and Finance personnel in Sri Lanka, in line with UN financial rules and regulations; • Assist the GMCP National Project Officer in Sri Lanka and GMCP Indian Ocean East team in effective liaison and communications, ensuring flow of information to internal and external stakeholders through coordination, preparation and circulation of regular updates, newsletters, reports, briefs and other written outputs to ensure visibility of the Programme, in line with any donor visibility requirements; • Contribute to the preparation of various written outputs, e.g. draft background papers, briefing notes, speeches, position papers, analytical notes, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, etc., relating to maritime crime issues, in collaboration with the substantive team; • Support the research and collation of information on maritime crime and its impact in Sri Lanka and/or the Indian Ocean, as required; • Perform any other duties as required/assigned.

Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management

Bachelors degree is preferred - Work experience of 1 year is preferred • Work experience in the field of research, communications and/or event planning is required. • Experience in organizing regional and international conferences is required; • Experience in project management or implementation is desirable; • Experience in volunteerism is an asset is desirable. • Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills; • Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing; • Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including government stakeholders; • Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel; • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment; • Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines; • Have affinity with or interest in maritime crime, maritime law and/or maritime security; volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

Sri Lanka is an island nation located off the south coast of India. An estimated population of around 21 million people is sheltered in this multi-ethnic, multi- cultural and multi- religious country. Colombo is situated in the Western Province of Sri Lanka and is the commercial capital of the country. The city is located on the west coast of the island, adjacent to the administrative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Bandaranaike International Airport is located 35km from Colombo and is served by the main international airlines. Sri Lanka is a tropical country with moderate temperature and high humidity all throughout the year. Average temperature in Colombo ranges between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius. The island experiences two main monsoon seasons, where heavy rainfalls occur, from May to August and October to January. Rice and curry comprise the main dishes. Sri Lankan cuisine tends to be quite spicy. There are hotels and other types of accommodation options available in Colombo. Supermarkets, banking and medical facilities are present within the city. Telephone and Internet service is widely available. Phone plans and data are inexpensive; however, it should not be expected that the internet services work consistently or at a high speed. At present Sri Lanka is undergoing high inflation and an economic crisis. The public unrest and protests are common. The prices of common commodities fluctuate on a daily basis and shortages can also be experienced. Main health advisories are related COVID 19 and Dengue, which is also highly prevalent in Sri Lanka, especially after the rainy seasons. Mosquito repellent is available in all local drug stores. Sri Lanka is a unique country and UN is providing unique humanitarian operations in Sri Lanka. It provides for an interesting and enriching environment, but also requires a mature level of cultural awareness, as well as more resilience and commitment than elsewhere to make life comfortable and affordable. Therefore, flexibility and the ability and willingness to live and work in challenging conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort, are essential. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: unv.org