Programme Assistant

Contract

This is a UNV International Youth contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Youth contracts.

UNDP has been present in Nepal since 1963, working towards greater development impact for the people living in the most remote, poor, and vulnerable areas. Reduction of vulnerability to disaster and climate risks is one of the core programmatic approaches in promoting sustainable and resilient development. UNDP’s programme priorities for 2023-2027 are: Sustainable and inclusive economic transformation; Governance, federalism, participation and inclusion; and Environmental sustainability, climate and disaster resilience.

UNDP is Government of Nepal's trusted partner on disaster and climate risk management through strong policy and institutional support and enhancing capacities for resilience building at all levels including support for community-level risk reduction, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, preparedness and recovery. It has built partnerships with all three tiers of government, international agencies, NGOs and academic institutions and expanded the institutional and knowledge base of risk management in Nepal. UNDP’s interventions through different programs and projects on adaptation and mitigation, urban risk management through building code, risk sensitive land use plan, safer construction practices and retrofitting, climate and disaster risk informed development, information management, community-based resilience, and emergency preparedness and aim to build resilience to climate and disaster risk in Nepal.

UNDP-led consortium, with UNICEF and UN Women as consortium members, is implementing ‘Strengthened Urban Preparedness and Earthquake Response’ in three provinces of Nepal (Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim Provinces) to enhance understanding and shared realization of earthquake and urban risks amongst local and provincial stakeholders. This project is funded by the European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) and responds to the Humanitarian Implementation Plan (HIP) 2021 call for both earthquake preparedness in Western Nepal and urban preparedness. It focuses on building capacities and skills at community, ward, municipal, cluster and provincial levels for planning and implementing inclusive earthquake and urban disaster preparedness and emergency response actions. UNDP is collaborating with provincial and local governments to foster an integrated approach towards urban risk management and resilience building through formulation of integrated and inclusive risk sensitive land use plan and implementation of electronic Building Permit System (e-BPS).

In order to build resilience for strengthening human security at local and community levels, UNDP is implementing a Government of Japan funded project ‘Enhancing human security through local climate actions’ in Nalgad Municipality and Barekot Rural Municipality of Jajarkot district, Karnali Province. The project aims to improve human security through local climate actions in targeted municipalities, which include building capacity of communities and its immediate governance authority i.e. municipalities, nature-based solutions and community infrastructure for climate risk mitigation, adaptive agriculture practices, energy efficient solutions, early warning at community level, awareness generation in school and communities, and human security and climate risk informed local development planning and implementation.

Under the direct supervision of Risk Management Specialist, the International UN Youth Volunteer will:

• Assist in drafting project reports and documentation. • Assist project teams in preparing Terms of Reference, work plans, budgets, concept notes and proposals. • Assist in the collection, compilation and analysis of programme and project data and its visualization and communication products. • Assist to liaise with project partners and donors including Embassy of Japan, for smooth implementation of administrative and operational activities of the projects. • Coordinate and schedule project teams meetings, and support follow-up actions. • Provide support including logistics support to organize workshops and other meetings and follow-up actions. • Provide support in monitoring the execution of project work plans and ensure that project activities are properly and realistically scheduled, monitored and reported. • Perform any other tasks assigned by the supervisor.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day). • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
•Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

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.

development sector or writing/drafting reports; Good report drafting skill and data visualization; Proficiency in various MS Office applications (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc) and other graphic design tools such as Canva, Photoshop and others; Good interpersonal, networking and communication skills; Willingness to contribute and work as part of a team; Flexible and open to learning and new experiences; Respect for diversity and adaptability to other cultures, environments and living conditions; Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be regarded; Willingness and possibility to join at the earliest; Women candidates are encouraged to apply.

The contract is for the period indicated above with the possibility to extend subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.

A UN Volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) per month and is paid at the end of each month to cover housing, utilities, transportation, communications and other basic needs. The VLA can be computed by applying the Post-Adjustment Multiplier (PAM) to the VLA base rate of (choose from the drop down menu the appropriate rate here): US$1,305. The VLA base rate is a global rate, while the PAM is country-specific and fluctuates on a monthly basis according to the cost of living. This method ensures that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all duty stations irrespective of varying costs of living. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) and is published at the beginning of every month on the ICSC website http://icsc.un.org .

In non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, international UN Volunteers receive a monthly Well-Being Differential (WBD).

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are provided a settling-in-grant (SIG) at the start of the assignment (if the volunteer did not reside in the duty station for at least 6 months prior to taking up the assignment) and also in the event of a permanent reassignment to another duty station.

UNV provides life, health, permanent disability insurances as well as assignment travel, annual leave, full integration in the UN security framework (including residential security reimbursements).

UN Volunteers are paid Daily Subsistence Allowance at the UN rate for official travels. A resettlement allowance is paid for satisfactory service at the end of the assignment.

UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate.