UNV Programme Associate

Contract

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

The Transformative Governance for Sustainable Development is an Initiation Plan (IP) Project of the Democratic Governance Portfolio of UNDP Bangladesh. It aims to strengthen and deepen UNDP’s ongoing engagement with key public institutions, including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Bangladesh National Parliament, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), justice institutions, and legal aid service providers, including the National Legal Aid Service Organization (NLASO), Women Judges Association to explore innovative solutions to governance challenges. The project aspires to support the parliamentarians with constituency-specific data to articulate their demands and contribute to evidence-based policy formulation, planning, and allocation of resources to address regional differences and encourage inclusive development. Besides, this project will explore engagement with the NGO Affairs Bureau and Inspection, Monitoring, Evaluation Division (IMED) of the Ministry of Planning to support strong monitoring and oversight functions of development projects considering the country’s Annual Development Programme size is increasing with over 2500 projects as well as donor-funded projects through national and international NGOs. Moreover, UNDP, through this project, will support the relevant Government Ministries/Divisions/Agencies, such as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), etc. in promoting transformative economic policies to deliver environmentally sustainable, inclusive, and resilient economic development in Bangladesh. This will include technical and policy advocacy supports, such as a Digital Business Identification (DBID) platform, socio-economic dashboard, digital transformation of Government-to-Business (G2B) services, and research support for evidence-based economic policymaking on the investment climate.

This project consists of seven components:

1. Support the Bangladesh Parliament and MPs in evidence-based policy formulation
2. Engage with the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) to advance governance innovation solutions)
3. Promote civic education for responsive citizenship to support sustainable LDC graduation
4. Enable peaceful national election, strengthen citizen engagement and policy support
5. Support access to affordable justice and legal aid services
6. Provide technical assistance to NGOAB and IMED to improve monitoring and oversight functions of development projects
7. Promote transformative economic policies for sustainable, inclusive, and green economic growth, trade, and investment in Bangladesh

The Programme Associate will work under the direct supervision of the Coordinator and Economist of TEPP (component 7) of the IP project. In carrying out her/his responsibilities, s/he will support organising different workshops and seminars, prepare different reports, provide necessary support to keep a record of related programme documents etc. The key functions of Programme Associate are:

• Provide support to the TEPP team for the implementation of the project’s planned activities; • Support in preparing concept notes, reports, work plans, etc.; • Assist the team in the preparation of quarterly and annual progress reports for UNDP and donor; • Support the team in archiving the necessary project data, reports and documents properly; • Help the team in communicating with different government and non-government stakeholders; • Support the team in organizing events such as consultations, workshops, dialogues, etc.; • Assist in drafting the events’ summary reports; • Support in organizing team coordination meetings, taking meeting notes, and preparing meeting minutes; • Perform any other tasks as required.

Results/Expected Outputs: The key results have an impact on the overall success of the programme tasks and goals. In particular, the key results have an impact on the design, operation and programming of activities, creation of strategic partnerships and reaching overall programme targets.

 Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline  Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements  Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback  Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible  Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident  Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships  Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Corporate Competencies:  Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision, and values.  Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning:  Shares knowledge and experience.  Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Management and Leadership:  Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and results for the client and responds positively to feedback.  Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.  Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills.  Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.  Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards.  Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.  Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

• Managing/coordinating policy advocacy projects/programmes. • Working experience on economic development issues including trade, investment, and LDC graduation, economic data analysis, and drafting development content. • Experience in writing analytical reports, concept notes, donor reports, etc. • Experience in organizing workshops, consultations, seminars, dialogues, etc. • Experience in preparing event-related documents (e.g., concept notes, event summary reports, etc.) • Experience working in the UN system will be added as an advantage. • Familiarity with volunteerism for development, and direct experience as a volunteer is desirable.

Dhaka is located in central Bangladesh along the Buriganga River. Not only is it the capital city, but it is also the largest in the country. It is the centre of political, cultural, and economic life in Bangladesh. The official language is Bengali, while English is the working language of UN Agencies. In recent decades, Dhaka has seen the modernization of services, communications, and public works. The city is attracting large foreign investments and greater volumes of commerce and trade. It is also experiencing an increasing influx of people from across the nation; this has reportedly made Dhaka one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Good English-speaking medical, dental services, and educational centres are available for internationals. Dhaka is connected to other cities by rail, road, and by air and internationals can move easily from one city to another.

Dhaka has venerable green spaces, including many gardens and parks, historical places, and nice restaurants. The weather is tropical - hot and very humid during the summer monsoon season (April-September) and drier and cooler in the winter (October-March).

Historically, Bangladesh has been a safe country for internationals so far. While Dhaka is not categorized as a hardship station, the volunteer should be prepared for limitations in freedom of movement on foot, by public transport, and to certain locations.