UN VOLUNTEER 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 co-workers, 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.
This assignment will contribute to mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
1. UNV Assignment Title:
SDG Mainstreaming Support Officer
UNV Strategic Framework 2014-2017; Outcome 1, Output 1.2 ‘Volunteerism is integrated within UN
entities’ programming through the implementation of UNV-UN partner joint programmes / projects in four
priority areas: (a) youth; (b) peace building; (c) basic social services; (d) community resilience for
environment and disaster risk reduction’
2. Type of Assignment:
International UN Volunteer
3. Project Title:
Mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
Contributing to Resident Coordinator’s (RC) Offices and UN Country Teams
(UNCTs) efforts to support Member States and national stakeholders in
tailoring the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to national contexts
(“mainstreaming”) within the MAPS approach.
4. Duration:
preferably 24 months
5. Location, Country:
tbd
6. Expected Starting Date:
2016
7. Brief Project Description:
Responding to requests from Member States for coordinated support from the UN development system in
implementing the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) – under its Sustainable
Development Working Group (SDWG) – has adopted a common approach for effective and coherent
implementation support, under the acronym ‘MAPS’ , which stands for Mainstreaming, Acceleration and
Policy Support.
Through this assignment, the UNV Programme aims to strengthen capacities within Member States
and the UN system and to create an enabling environment for moving the SDGs into the localization
and implementation phase. The focus of the assignment is to support UN Resident Coordinator’s Offices
and UN Country Teams in their efforts to assist national governments and other stakeholders in aligning
national plans, policies and strategies to the new framework. The assignment is expected to facilitate
coordination of national level UN System support, including through better aid coordination, thus enhancing
development effectiveness.
One lesson learnt from the extensive consultations of 2012 – 2015 and from the global conversation leading
up to the adoption of the 2030 Agenda is that people demand to remain engaged in the implementation and
monitoring of the Agenda at national and local levels. It is therefore key to maintain the engagement of a broad
coalition of partners, including the participation of the most marginalized groups and youth to shape the
implementation, localization and participatory monitoring of the SDGs. This includes setting up of locally
appropriate implementation and accountability frameworks for the new agenda as well as empowering
people to concretely address development challenges to give shape to their own future through voluntary
action.
While the MDGs predominantly defined progress based on quantitative data, the SDGs will increasingly have
to take into consideration qualitative indicators of progress covering issues related to satisfaction with services
provided, perceptions and attitudes. This will require an increased focus on and engagement of people at the
local level through direct person-to person outreach as well as through leveraging internet and mobile
technologies.
Based on the successful experience in supporting the UN Resident Coordinator System through placement of
dedicated UN Volunteers in the context of the post-2015 agenda, this proposal envisages (i) to strengthen
RC Offices and UNCT capacity to coordinate support to Member States and national stakeholders in
tailoring the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to national contexts (‘mainstreaming’) and (ii)
to strengthen the inclusion of the voices of all people through participatory elements and facilitation
of local level data collection both during the implementation and monitoring of SDG progress.
The UN Volunteer will support the RC Office in its efforts to build dialogue between decision-makers such as
parliamentarians, local governments, mayors and citizens, including young people, to promote a “people’s
perspective” on how to implement the new agenda at different levels.
The UN Volunteer will also act as national focal point for the UN Global Campaign for Sustainable
Development, which aims at popularizing and localizing the SDGs, while gathering citizen driven data through
the MY World 2030 survey and strengthening national level partnerships and innovations for the SDGs. The
Volunteer will liaise with other UN Volunteers assigned to comparable roles in other countries.
8. Host Agency/Host Institute:
UN Resident Coordinator’s Office
9. Organizational Context:
The Resident Coordinator (RC) system encompasses all organizations of
the United Nations system dealing with operational activities for development, regardless of their formal
presence in the country. The RC system aims to bring together the different UN agencies to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities at the country level.
Resident Coordinators lead UN country teams in more than 130 countries and are the designated
representatives of the Secretary-General for development operations. Working closely with national
governments, Resident Coordinators and country teams advocate the interests and mandates of the UN
system while drawing on the support and guidance of the entire UN family.
Coordinating development operations promotes more strategic support for national plans and priorities,
makes operations more efficient and reduces transaction costs for governments. This helps the UN to be a
more relevant and reliable partner for governments.
10. Type of Assignment Place: assignment with family/ without family (please choose)
11. Description of tasks:
Under the direct supervision of the Resident Coordinators’ Office in [insert country], the UN Volunteer will
undertake the following tasks:

Act as a point of contact for the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office / Country Team for facilitating
support to the government and national stakeholders in landing and tailoring the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development to national contexts (‘mainstreaming’).

Support the government in developing national SDG implementation plans and policies including
national SDG targets, baseline assessments and monitoring mechanisms (SDG domestication).

Work within the Resident Coordinator’s Offices to build stakeholders’ capacities to strengthen
participatory forms of monitoring and evaluation of SDG progress, including through crowdsourcing,
crowdseeding and crowdfeeding as well as innovative forms of data visualization based on
aggregation of offline and online data and the development of qualitative and disaggregated indicators
to assess progress for the most marginalized populations, including women and youth. This can be
achieved with the support of the online Volunteering modality - https://www.onlinevolunteering.org/

Support the RC Office in the development of awareness-raising and mainstreaming initiatives to
popularize the 2030 Agenda/SDGs and act as focal point for UN-led outreach and monitoring initiatives
such as MY World 2030

Widen spaces for the inclusion of people’s voices; including by identifying and convening interested
stakeholders at national and local level

Develop initiatives for outreach, awareness raising, community mobilization and contribution to SDG
review and implementation, in conjunction with volunteer steering committees and volunteer involving
organizations as well as other partners, including through facilitation of training of trainers activities to
form a corps of local level volunteers, engaged in data collection and feedback loops between local
authorities and local population.

Identify programmatic entry points for volunteerism as a form of civic participation in efforts to
mainstream SDGs at national level

Systematically include and mainstream gender and social inclusion parameters in all initiatives and
activities (with related baseline, indicators and means of verification)

Work with UN online volunteers to contribute to participatory forms of data gathering and monitoring.
Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:

Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant
UNV and external publications and taking active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark
International Volunteer Day (IVD).

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 with articles/write-ups on their field experience and submit them for UN/V
publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.

Assist newly-arrived UN Volunteers through the Buddy Scheme for UN Volunteers;

Promote and/or advise local groups in the use of UNV Online Volunteering, or encouraging relevant
local individuals and organizations to use this service whenever technically possible.
12. Results/Expected Output:






Capacity of Resident Coordinator Offices and UN Country teams strengthened in the area of
coordination efforts to mainstream the 2030 Agenda.
Awareness raised and knowledge about the SDGs enhanced among relevant partners through
outreach presentations and other activities.
Gender mainstreaming and social inclusion related approaches are systematically reflected in all
activities ranging from outreach, awareness raising to capacity development
MY World 2030 promoted through all channels with a particular focus on offline rollout and focal point
function ensured.
Stakeholder capacity for engagement in SDG localisation, implementation and monitoring
strengthened.
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
13. Qualifications/Requirements:

Master’s degree preferred in social sciences, human geography or development-related fields or a first
degree with a combination of work experience

At least 4 years of professional experience in development, coordination, or community liaison

Specialization in subjects relevant to the area of sustainable development is an added advantage

Experience in participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation and reporting

Experience / Background in data collection analysis and statistics is an asset

Familiarity with networking / alliance building and advocacy

Prior experience and knowledge of gender mainstreaming highly desirable

Experience in working with volunteer programmes, NGOs, CSOs, and VIOs

Experience with volunteerism an asset

Fluency in spoken and written English / French /Spanish (as appropriate)

Strong interpersonal and social skills

Competence in using standard office software

Facilitation and organization of events and meetings desired

Research and report writing experience desired.
Competences and Values:

Professionalism: broad and in-depth knowledge, understanding and experience in in accounting,
finance and basic audit processes; demonstrate ability to apply good judgment and be accurate; ability
to take initiative, ownership, and work independently under established procedures; willingness to
accept wide responsibilities;

Integrity: demonstrate the values of the UN in daily activities and behaviors while acting without
consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions
that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of
unprofessional or unethical behavior; does not abuse power or authority;

Communication: good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to draft clear and
concise reports; good interpersonal skills.

Corporate Responsibility and Teamwork: Demonstrating commitment to UNV’s vision and values,
supporting information-sharing environment, developing self-awareness, understanding and valuing
diversity, developing team skills and coaching, assessing performance, promoting excellence in
performance, facilitating learning from others, preventing and resolving conflicts;

People Skills: Listening, giving, and receiving feedback, demonstrating interpersonal effectiveness,
sharing knowledge and experience, handling criticism, showing empathy and becoming assertive;

Service Client Orientation: Considering others in decisions and actions, designing/implementing
processes and procedures that effectively meet partners’ and/or colleagues’ needs, providing effective
and appropriate service to serving volunteers/other clients;

Accountability: Taking responsibility and accountability for one’s own actions; considering the
consequences before acting and making a decision; interpreting and following UNV’s policies and
procedures accurately.
14. Living Conditions:
15. Conditions of Service (International CoS_2015)
The duration of your assignment is 24months. A volunteer receives a Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) which
is composed of the Monthly Living Allowance (MLA) and a Family Allowance (FA) for those with dependents.
The VLA is intended to cover housing, basic needs and utilities and is equivalent to US$....... for volunteers
with no dependents, US$ ……for volunteers with one recognized dependent, and US$ … for volunteers with
two or more recognized dependents.
The above-mentioned amounts are calculated using the MLA rate applicable for the duty station to which the
family allowance(if applicable) is added: $US250 for one dependent and $US 450 for two or more dependents.
The MLA for the duty station is obtained from the base rate of US $ 1,554 which is reviewed once a year, and
is adjusted on a monthly basis according to the movement (upwards or downwards) of the Post Adjustment
Multiplier (PAM) applicable for each duty station. The PAM is established by the International Civil Service
Commission (ICSC) to ensure that international UN Volunteers have comparable purchasing power at all duty
stations despite varying costs of living. The applicable MLA is calculated as follows: MLA = (MLA base rate x
PAM) + MLA base rate. See ICSC website http://icsc.un.org for more information on the applicable PAM rates.
In addition, UN Volunteers are provided a one-time settling-in-grant (if applicable); Well-Being Differential
(applicable only in hardship non-family duty stations) life, health, and permanent disability insurance; return
airfares (if applicable); resettlement allowance for satisfactory service.
Description of Assignment prepared by the UNV Field Unit/UN Agency:
(please indicate name and function)
Date:
(day/month/year)
Description of Assignment approved by UNDP/RR/CD or UNV Field Unit: (please indicate name and
function)
Date:
(day/month/year)
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.