DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT

Transcription

1 DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT Preamble: The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers. In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long-established, ancient traditions of sharing and support within the communities. In this context, UN Volunteers take part in various forms of volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with coworkers, host agencies and local communities. In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive. 1. Type of Assignment: International UN University Volunteer 2. Type of Assignment Place: Family Duty Station Youth Volunteers assignments are always without family. 3. Assignment Title: UN University Volunteer in Women Community Development 4. Link with UNV Strategic Framework: Youth 5. Duty Station, Country: Vientiane, Lao PDR 6. Duration (in months): 5 months 7. Expected Starting Date: end of September/early October Host Agency/Host Institute: UN Women, Lao PDR 9. Organizational Context/Project: Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

2 Placing women s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the efforts of the United Nations system to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. Lao PDR project office focuses on women s economic empowerment, ending violence against women and supporting UN coordination in gender equality. A Community Development Officer will mostly support the two programmes; i) EVAW programmes aimed at ending violence against women through community engagement and ii) WEE programmes aimed at helping to improve the lives of women through economic empowerment activities. The role seeks to involve communities in seeking solutions to the problems they face in partnership with statutory and voluntary bodies. The Community Development Officer will also support the other programme to be developed through strategic engagement with key service providers and other regional and national bodies. 10. Description of tasks: Under the direct supervision of Programme Specialist in EVAW, UN Women Lao PDR, the UN University Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: Liaison with community organisation (CO) to facilitate the implementation of projects by ensuring the effective involvement of key stakeholders in the delivery of the programme; Assist in building links with strategic partners to ensure plans are aligned and integrated with the programme priorities in the context of EVAW and WEE respectively; Assist in expanding partnerships and cooperation between COs and the government to identify the local needs to be integrated into the planning of UN Women Lao PDR; Coordinate with CO-members to initiate social and economic/environmental development strategies in community sites of the region. Research in the areas of possible collaboration with community organization to identify funding opportunities to deliver local and regional initiatives Collect good practices with community engagement in the context of Lao PDR to develop UN Women s strategies on partnership development Prepare progress reports, and other reports as required by the organization. Assist with donor visits, provides services of a guide during donor visits and events Furthermore, UN University 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.;

3 Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN University 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. 11. Results/Expected Outputs: Supported community development plans in the context of EVAW project and mainstreamed; Supported community development plans in the context of WEE project and mainstreamed; A pool of community organisations in Lao PDR collected and reviewed; UN Women Lao initiated projects and programmes supported; Supported preparing a package of resources on good practices of community engagement. Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment; A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed. 12. Qualifications/Requirements (including competencies, values and skills): Currently studying towards a degree in political science, project management, communication, international development or other relevant fields; Demonstrated interest and/or experience of working in community development; The ability to communicate easily and effectively with a wide range of people and organisations and to produce good quality written reports and materials; 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; Fluency in spoken and written English is required; Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded; Computer skills (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, social media, and others). 13. Learning expectations Learning and development are a central part of the UN University Volunteer s assignment and take place before, during and after his or her assignment in the field. Ideally, offering diverse opportunities for learning and development aim to strengthen the volunteer s skills and competences, improve the quality of the assignment and keep the volunteer s motivation high.

4 Learning elements for the UN University Volunteer include the development of: Professional skills: including specific competencies and reflection on assignmentrelated abilities; and on-the-job skills such as time management, problem solving, team building; and career preparedness such as interview skills, CV preparation, job searching. Inter-personal skills: including communication and listening skills; multi-cultural awareness and cultural competency; and conflict and stress management. Volunteering-related skills: including leadership; civic responsibility; and engagement and active participation. Beyond the learning opportunities provided by UNV, UN Women will support knowledge and capacity development in the technical areas that are relevant to the UN University Volunteer s assignment. UN Women will provide, at its expense, UN University Volunteers with equal opportunity to participate in training courses and workshops offered to its personnel. 14. Living Conditions: Living conditions in Vientiane are relatively good and comfortable but residents must make concessions due to the tropical climate and under developed infrastructure, especially health facilities. The UN Clinic provides health services for all staff and dependents but for some specialized treatments it is necessary to seek health care outside Laos. Most commodities may be purchased in Vientiane or across the border in Thailand 1 or 2 hours away from the capital. Bag snatching and traffic accidents are number one hazards in the capital. Whilst traveling in the Lao provinces, staff will experience more hardship due to lack of infrastructure and general commodities. 15. Conditions of Service International University Volunteer The duration of your assignment is five months. A 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 US$952.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 ( For example, if the PAM for the current month is 54.6%, then the VLA for that month will be US$952X1.546=$1472. Furthermore, UN University 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.

5 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, flight tickets for the final repatriation travel (if applicable). UNV will provide, together with the offer of assignment, a copy of the Conditions of Service, including Code of conduct, to the successful candidate. Description of Assignment prepared by the UNV Field Unit/UN Agency: Ms. Ji Young Nam, Programme Specialist in EVAW, UN Women Lao PDR Ms. Vipunjit Ketunuti, Country Programme Coordinator (Thailand/Lao PDR), UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Representative in Thailand Date: 31/01/2017 Description of Assignment approved by UNDP/RR/CD or UNV Field Unit Ms. Chelsey Parish, UNV Programme Officer, Lao PDR Date: 31/01/2017 United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.