UNV Programme Officer

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 UNDP Strategic Plan embraces the complexity of development and commits the organization to helping countries find faster, more durable solutions to achieve Agenda 2030. Important development trends like urbanization, climate change, and rising inequalities pose significant challenges on our path to achieve the 2030 agenda of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UNDP has begun incubating a number of strategic initiatives aimed at ensuring UNDP is ‘fit for purpose’ to deliver a new generation of solutions in line with the challenges the world faces. One such key strategic initiatives is the UNDP Accelerator Lab Network which operates as part of UNDP’s sustainable development offering.

The UNDP Accelerator Lab (AccLab) is the world’s largest and fastest learning network on sustainable development challenges. Co-built as a joint venture with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and the Qatar Fund for Development, the Network covers 115 countries, and taps into local innovations to create actionable insights and reimagine sustainable development for the 21st century.

The AccLabs are transforming our collective approach by introducing new services, backed by evidence and practice, and by accelerating the testing and dissemination of solutions within and across countries. Sense-making, collective intelligence, solutions mapping, and experimentation are part of the Network’s offerings.

Job organizational context: The Programme Officer will work under the direct supervision of the Head of Solutions Mapping of the UNDP Bangladesh Accelerator Lab. In carrying out her/his responsibilities, s/he will support with different programmatic and administrative tasks, organising workshops and seminars, preparing reports, provide necessary support to keep a record of related programme documents etc.

Under the supervision of Head of Solutions Mapping, Accelerator Lab, UNDP Bangladesh, the key functions of UNV Programme Officer are:

• Support the Accelerator Lab team in coordination and implementation of the lab’s planned activities;

• Contribute to the development of new pipelines that support its growing portfolio of innovation including in leveraging AI for systems transformation;

• Support in preparing concept notes, ToRs, meeting reports, field reports, work plans etc.;

• Support the lab’s service offering to the CO including portfolio development, foresight exercise and horizon scanning initiatives etc.;

• Assist with the lab’s R&D activities including identifying and exploring innovative solutions, conducting background research, undertaking analytical reviews, and capturing results during field missions;

• Support the team in exploring unusual data sources, identifying trends and patterns in data, and systematically report data insights;

• Assist the team’s collaborative initiatives including in communicating and engaging with different government, non-government and private sector stakeholders;

• Assist in the identification and mapping of non-traditional actors that allow the identification of new opportunities for UNDP Bangladesh;

• Support the team in organizing events such as consultations, workshops, dialogues etc.; Provision of both internal and external support (such as service providers) in organizations of events, workshops, seminars and other necessary activities;

• Assist in reporting activities and consolidating insights and learning for communication in the form of event briefs, blogs, and summary reports;

• Perform any other tasks as required including maintaining liaison with lab’s vendors/contractors, and administrative tasks such as processing contracts and payments.

Core competencies:

 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.

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.

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 • Commitment and Motivation • Commitment to Continuous Learning • Working with teams • Communication • Integrity • Judgement and Decision-making • Planning and Organizing • Professionalism • Respect for Diversity

:-

• Professional experience working with development projects.

• Working experience on development issues, frontier tech issues, data analysis, and drafting development content.

• Experience in writing analytical reports, blogs, concept notes, donor reports etc.

• Experience in organizing workshops, consultations, etc. and preparing event-related documents (e.g., concept notes, events’ 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.