Solutions Mapping and Research Assistant

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.

As part of UNDP’s global policy teams and country offices, the Accelerator Lab in Jordan is seeking a national UN Youth Volunteer, Solutions Mapping and Research Assistant, to aid in various aspects of its operations. The assigned UN Volunteer responsibilities include translating field research findings into actionable insights, offering technical guidance for experiment design and implementation, conducting workshops to harness community intelligence, and assisting in project delivery according to established plans. He/she will also be tasked with creating communication materials, documenting lessons learned, and supporting the Heads of Explorations and Experimentations in research and development efforts. Additionally, the assigned UN Volunteer will help in designing criteria for evaluating local solutions, conducting field research to identify effective transfer methods, and building media relations. As well as some administrative tasks such as managing logistics, recruitment, and payments are also part of the role.

National UN Youth Volunteers in Jordan are entitled to: - Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) at the amount of JOD 854.8; - Annual and learning leaves; - Free Medical and life insurance; and - Free access to different learning platforms.

For more information on UN Volunteer benefits, entitlements and support, please visit: https://www.unv.org/volunteer-your-country-conditions-service

Under the direct supervision of Communications Analyst, the UN Volunteer will: ● Translate of field research findings into learning and action points for the Accelerator Lab activities. ● Provide technical guidance for experiment design, roll-out and validation based on the experiment conditions, resources available, and requirements. ● Design and deliver workshops, tools, or platforms that tap into the collective intelligence of communities and mobilise action. ● Participate in delivering the project’s outcomes and activities following the Lab requirements and agreed work plan. ● Draft and design high-quality communication materials such as blogs, human stories, weekly reflections, short reports, social media posts, and newsletters. ● Document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices from the project in various outreach tools. ● Support the Head of Explorations and Head of Experimentations in Research and Development.
● Support designing criteria for consolidating incoming local solutions. ● Support designing specific field research and participatory methods to focus on the most vulnerable populations and those not usually engaged in public policy debates on development methods. ● Analyse system-level issues that local solutions address (and those that they don’t address, therefore creating insights into the gaps) ● Support designing methods for integrating collective intelligence into UNDP programmes and engage with programme and project managers to translate ideas into concrete practice. ● Design and deliver engaging and meaningful methods for reflection on learning from field research and grassroots innovation. ● Conduct field research to determine the best methods for making solutions transferable. Design methods to test and stretch ideas for their applicability and diffusion as part of a portfolio approach. ● Support building relations with editors, journalists, and key media focal persons in Jordan and prepare any materials related to this task, such as briefing notes, PR packages, etc. ● Support the lab's administrative work, such as managing field trip logistics, booking cars and hotels, preparing Terms of Reference, following up on recruitments, following up on consultants’ payments, and managing the Lab’s archive. ● Support the Accelerator Lab with any other tasks as needed.

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

Up to one year of experience in research, admin support, or public relations context at national and/or international level. • Excellent Research and Development skills. • Excellent creative writing, storytelling, and content creation skills. • Experience in managing logistics of small events. • Excellent fluency in both Arabic and English.

Amman, the capital, is a peaceful city with over four million residents. People are friendly to visitors. Services in terms of banking, transportation, health and communications are easily available. Though Arabic is the official language, English is widely spoken among the majority of the population, especially in Amman. Road network is good both in terms of spread and quality of the roads. Public transportation in Amman is limited. Taxis are relatively cheap and easily available. There are a number of shopping malls, restaurants, gyms, and cinemas. A large variety of accommodation options can be found; however, it is worth noting that prices in Amman have generally increased in the past few years. There are no specific security threats. Amman is a very easy city in which to live; large, many amenities, very modern and serviced by an international airport with direct flights to most capital cities. According to the assessment of the UN Department of Safety & Security (UNDSS) Jordan is a family duty station (category A hardship). 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 insurance plan.