Peer Educator

Contract

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

Urban Agriculture and community resilience towards gender equality and women's empowerment and Sexual and reproductive health and rights and prevention of gender based violence.

The programme seeks to promote urban agricultural practices to provide alternative ways of sourcing nutritious food and strengthening community level resilience social cohesion, through knowledge and skills transfer and providing commodities in the areas of food production, nutrition, hygiene and Sexual and reproductive health and rights and prevention of gender based violence. The programme has been designed based on previous programmatic data, preliminary assessments and a holistic understanding of the needs of the urban poor communities in Colombo city in the current socio-economic crisis. The PUNOs will partner with the CMC, the Provincial Ministry of Agriculture of the Western Province (MoAWP), community volunteers and CSOs to engage in and support the scaling up of urban agriculture community and household gardens.

The project outcome: Food security, hygiene and health of urban poor in Colombo city is improved through the adoption of community and household gardening and increased access to essential hygiene items, counselling and health services. The two key outputs include Output 1 - Household and community based urban agriculture developed towards urban food production and Output 2 - Communities of practice created to strengthen the resilience, household food security, health and nutrition of vulnerable communities in urban Colombo.

The target of the programme is 1,200 women and men and 150 young people covering upto 600 urban poor households (HHs) in Colombo city that have approximately 1 perch of available land for adopting urban agriculture. 600 households will receive household “agriculture kits”, “nutrition packs” and 800 “dignity and maternity kits” of which 400 households will be selected to receive comprehensive counselling on food, health and nutrition. The programme has a multiplier effect of strengthening communities and has built in with the peer educators, CSOs and private sector upscaling the projects to benefit vulnerable populations.

Under the direct supervision of supervisor, the UN Community Volunteer will:

● Visit the Households (HH) of the identified families within the community and provide the necessary information and referral to seek technical guidance for home gardening ● Ensure guidance is provided for the successful and proper use of the agriculture kits, dignity and maternity kits and nutrition. ● Facilitate the development/ implementation process of the agriculture kits and nutrition kits, dignity and maternity kits with relevant communities ● Share knowledge and training with the community youth, volunteers, CSOs, Mother Support Groups pregnant lactating mothers, people with disablities, young people, women headed house holds etc etc ● Facilitate community consultation sessions with the support of relevant community groups to gather local knowledge on nutrition, hygiene and SRH, GBV community plot and the imposing threats, make awareness on these topics and share values of “urban harvesting” around them. ● Support in documentation of consultation sessions with the relevant stakeholders and records collected and documented for the project. ● Engage with community representatives who are selected for community forum to conduct regular meetings, other CMC officers and UN field representatives ● Engage in monitoring of the progress and completion of tasks and progress update of the V-Force Volunteers ● Conducing home visits and sharing IEC BCC material and creating refreshing awareness etc ● Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisors

Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to UNDP; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to UNDP procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented;

Integrity: demonstrate the values and ethical standards of the UN and UNDP in daily activities and behaviours while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour; does not abuse power or authority;

Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues;

Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment. Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities;

Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;

Flexibility: adaptability and ability to live and work in potentially hazardous and remote conditions, involving physical hardship and little comfort; to operate independently in austere environments for protracted periods; willingness to travel within the area of operations and to transfer to other duty stations within the area of operations as necessary;

Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards UNDP’s mission and vision, as well as to the UN Core Values.

coordination, nutrition, gender equality, health, monitoring, emergency response or other relevant programmes; experience with mentioned is an asset, as is experience working in the UN or other international development organization;

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 grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development;

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;

Sound security awareness;

Have affinity with or interest in health, gender, nutrition, agriculture, sociology development etc , volunteerism as a mechanism for durable development, and the UN System.

Colombo is located on the Western Province of Sri Lanka and is the commercial capital of the country. Colombo is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the administrative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura, Kotte. The climate is temperate all throughout the year, but humidity is usually high. From March to April the temperature averages around 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit). The only major change in the Colombo weather occurs during the monsoon seasons from May to August and October to January when heavy rainfall occurs. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.