Programme Officer

Contract

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

UN Women in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 was launched in 2021 and the corresponding UN Women Bangladesh Strategy Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh, has also been finalized. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The Sub-Office in Cox’s Bazar was established in January 2018 for UN Women’s Rohingya response in Cox’s Bazar district. UN Women has developed a response programme in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to meet the specific needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized Rohingya refugee women and girls, and the women and girls in the host communities affected by the refugee influx in Cox’s Bazar. The objective of UN Women’s engagement is to ensure protection, as well as equal and safe access to and benefit from the humanitarian and development assistance for the most vulnerable, and marginalized Rohingya and host community women and girls. The programme also promotes women’s participation and leadership in the camps and host community, and women’s active role in maintaining peace and social cohesion. It also supports women’s livelihoods and education and addressing gender- based violence. UN Women has five Multi-Purpose Women’s Centers

(MPWCs) in the camps and three in the host communities, which are the one-stop hubs for women to access multi-sectoral services. The MPWCs are managed in partnership with UN Women’s responsible partners. In addition, UN Women is increasing the gender-mainstreaming capacities of humanitarian actors by working closely with all sectors, through the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GIHA WG) of which UN Women is co-chair together with UNHCR, to promote gender-responsive humanitarian action.

Under the direct supervision of Head of Sub-Office, the Programme Officer works with and provides support to the members of the Programme Team in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations. The Programme Officer contributes to research, financial management, and programme implementation including providing necessary operational and programmatic support. The Programme Officer works in close collaboration with the operations, programme and projects’ staff in the UN Women BCO Dhaka Office, RO and HQ as required for resolving complex finance-related issues and exchange of information. The UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

1. Provide advanced administrative and logistical support to the formulation and management of programmes • Provide advanced administrative support and inputs in the preparation of programme work plans, budgets, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements; • Provide technical guidance on routine delivery and reporting of programme supported activities and finances; • Coordinate the collection of information for the audit of programmes/ projects and support implementation of audit recommendations;
   • Contribute to the development or update of standard operating procedures, guidelines, checklists, templates and business processes in programme and project management; • Identify sources, and gather and compile data and information for documents, guidelines, speeches and position papers. • Oversee all logistical, administrative and financial arrangements for organization for meetings, workshops, events, and missions; • Prepare and assemble briefing materials and prepare power-point and other presentations; contribute inputs to the materials.

2. Provide advanced administrative support to the financial management of the Programme Unit • Provide support to create projects in Quantum, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds and the operational and financial close of a project; • Provide support to budget preparation and the finances of programmes/projects; prepare periodic reports; support to finalize FACE forms; • Review financial reports; • Maintain internal expenditures control system; support to update the utilization plan.

3. Provide administrative support to Resource Mobilization • Prepare cost-sharing and other agreements; follow up on contributions within the BCO resource mobilization efforts; • Organize, compile and process information from donors, BCO and programme team, as inputs to various databases and documents.

4. Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing • Support synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices related to programme management and finance; • Coordinate the organization of training for the office staff and partners on programme and operations related issues. • Support the research, assessment and evaluation undertaken within the programme portfolio. • Donor liaison to explore possibilities of further collaboration with JICA/the Government of Japan.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • 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; • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; • 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

• Accountability • Adaptability and Flexibility • Building Trust • Client Orientation • Commitment and Motivation • Commitment to Continuous Learning • Communication • Ethics and Values • Integrity • Planning and Organizing • Professionalism • Respect for Diversity • Working in Teams

• Administration or programme management/support (ideally 3-5 years) • Working in a computer environment using multiple office software packages; • Experience in the use of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) i s an asset. • Experience in supporting a team.

Functional Competencies: • Knowledge of programme management; • Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats; • Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow; • Good financial and budgeting skills; • Good IT skills.

Cox's Bazar is a district of Bangladesh and it is famous for fishing port and tourism. It is one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Bangladesh. The beach in Cox's Bazar is an unbroken 120 km (75 miles) sandy sea beach with a gentle slope, making it the second longest sea beach in the world. The climate of Cox's bazar is similar to the rest of the country. The climate of Bangladesh is generally determined by its location in the tropical monsoon region: high temperature, heavy rainfall, generally excessive humidity, and distinct seasonal variations. It is further characterized by the location in the coastal area. Historically Cox’s Bazar, like other parts of Bangladesh, is a safe place to live. Since August 2017, with the large scale Rohingya influx from Myanmar, Cox’s Bazar is seen as a district with a humanitarian crisis. Culturally Cox’s Bazar is very diverse and well-known for its traditional heritage. The communications systems in Cox’s Bazar is well developed and the district is well-connected with other cities. All the national mobile networks are operational in Cox’s Bazar. Walking within Cox’s Bazar city is only allowed during day time. Travel by rickshaw is also permitted within Cox’s Bazar only during day time. Cox’s Bazar has a domestic airport and is currently classified as a family duty station (Security Level 3-moderate; Hardship category-D). Accommodations are safe, clean and comfortable, but basic. The UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.