UN VOLUNTEER DESCRIPTION OF ASSIGNMENT
Preamble:
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism tosupport peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature ofdevelopment and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peaceand development
elopment by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism
into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers
volunteers.
In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long
long-established,established, ancient traditions of sharing andansupport 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 coco-workers,
workers, host agencies and local communities.
In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote vo
volunteerism
lunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging involunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, aswell as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make thetime they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.
1. UNV Assignment Title:

Participatory Governance Analyst

2. Type of Assignment:International UN Volunteer

3. Link to UNV Programme Strategy: Outcome 4 (Volunteer contributions towards crisis prevention andrecovery in UNV programme countries strengthened and recognized); Outcome 7 (Youth, women andmarginalized groups’ voluntary participation in recovery and development decision-makingdecision
is enhanced);outcome 9 (Policies and partnerships established to implement the Programme Strategy)
Strategy
4. Project Title:

UNV Support to Governance for Palestinian Statehood

5. Duration:

12 months, renewable upon UNDP availability of funds and performance

6. Location, Country:

Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Territory

7. Expected Starting Date:

Immediate

8. Brief Project Description:
The United Nations Development Programme / Programme of Assi
Assistancestance to the Palestinian People(UNDP/PAPP) is implementing the three
three-year
year programme “Governance for Palestinian Statehood”. The
ultimate goal is to strengthen Palestinian aspirations to achieve a functioning, accountable andindependent State focusing on three principal areas of support namely, i) strengthen public institutions, ii)
foster civic engagement in national planning and policy processes, and iii) strengthen national andinternational advocacy platforms for Palestine. The incumbent will contribu
contributete to the establishment ofsustainable platforms for inclusive dialogue and accountable interaction between State authorities and thecivil society, with a special focus on women’s groups and youth.
9. Host Agency/Host Institute: UNDP PAPP, see at http://www.undp.ps/en/index.html
10. Organizational Context:
In December 1978, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 33/147, which called on UNDP toprovide assistance to the Palestinian people. By this date, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip had enduredover 10 years of occupation, which had lead to increased levels of poverty and unemployment. Hundredsof thousands were living in refugee camps in slum conditions without the most basic amenities.
Infrastructure
ructure had been allowed to deteriorate, including schools, health facilities, housing, roads, andwater and sanitation systems, despite the steady population growth.In response to the UN resolution in
support of the economic and social development of the Palestinian people, UNDP launched theProgramme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP). A programme office was established, initiallyin New York and subsequently in East Jerusalem. A donor campaign was organised, and field operationscommenced in August 1980.
11.. Type of Assignment Place: assignment withwithout family (HPC specific)
12. Description of tasks:
Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader and Senior Governance Advisor,
Advisor the UN Volunteer
analyzes political, social and economic trends and participates in the formulation, management andevaluation of programme activities. In particular, s/he will focus on reinforcing the social contract byencouraging civil society participation in policy fo
formulation
rmulation with a particular focus on youth and womenorganizations.The
The UN Volunteer may supervise and lead programme support staff. S/he will work in close
collaboration with the Programme Management Support Unit
Unit, programme and operations units, staff inotherther UN Agencies, UNDP HQ sta
staff, as well as national partners such as the PNA, the Private Sector,
NGOs, and donors.
Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader and Senior Governance Advisor, the UN Volunteerwill undertake the following tasks:•Ensure implementation of programme strategies under the concerned portfolio, focusing on
achievement of the following results:
O Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in the oPt;
o Provide support to the Democratic Governance Trust Fund (DGTTF) and Bureau for Crisis
Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) programmes/projects;
o Analysis and synthesis of proposals for support and interventions within areas related to social
accountability and democratic dialogue such us civic engagement, civil society participation inplanning and policy processes, inclusion of women’s groups and other vulnerable groups into
decision making processes.

•Formulation of programmes within the area of civil society participation and social accountability bytranslating UNDP’s priorities into local interventions and ensuring mainstreaming issues such as
capacity development, gender equality, and conflict sensitivity:
o Initiation of a project, presentation of the prproject
oject to the Project Appraisal Committee, finalizationof contribution agreement; and participates in recruitment processes for projects;
o Application of conceptual models in support of programme design;o Financial and substantive monitoring and evalua
evaluation
tion of the projects, identification of operationaland financial problems, development of solutions; assistance in audit of projects under the Direct
Execution /National Execution
xecution modality
modality;o Preparation of inputs for reporting, including donor reportingreporting.

•Support creation of strategic partnerships and implementation of the resource mobilization strategy,
focusing on achievement of the following results:o Analysis and research of information on donors and other partners, including internationalorganizations
zations and CSOs, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation,identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects;
o Contribution to the overall office effort in resource mobilization through analysis and synthesisof proposals;•Liaison and network with other international organizations working in the field of civil societysparticipation and civic engagement in the oPt (e.g. DFID, GIZ, EC, USAID, etc.);

o Contribution to the formulation of joint UN programmes as appappropriate;o Liaison with appropriate HQ
HQ-based
based colleagues such as those in Regional Bureau for ArabStates (RBAS) and the Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Recovery (BCPR);•Provide advisory services to the Palestinian Authority and ensure facilitation of knowledge building
and management focusing on achievement of the following results:o Identification of sources of information related to policy
policy-driven
driven issues focusing on participatory
planning and inclusive politics; identifi
identification
cation and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned
directly linked to programme country policy goals;
o Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;o Organization of training for the projects staff on programme issues;o Professional growth through active learning.

Promotion of the United Nations Volunteers Programme mandate

1

UN volunteers are expected to integrate the UN Volunteers Programme mandate within theirassignment as well as promote voluntary action through engagement with communities (urban & rural)
during the course of their work. As such UN volunteers should dedicate a proportion of their working
week to the following in support of and in synergy with his/her primary role as UNV Participatory
Governance Analyst:•Strengthen knowledge and understanding of the influence and impact of voluntary action bycommunities through the following:
o•••
•

•

research of the subject matter,o develop knowledge of nonnon-profit
profit community based organizations developing new orapplying traditional methods in engaging with communities,o undertake awarenessawareness-raisingraising (promotion) activities for increased community
participation and action,o encourage local people to volunteer thought and action to enhancing their community.

Build relationships
ps with a wide range (private/public) local organizations, groups or individuals andsupport and/or participate in community driven voluntary activities and assist them to tell theirstories to the World Volunteer Web site;
Encourage, mobilize and support co-workers
workers and fellow UN volunteers to better understand theconnections between community participation and voluntarism;
Monitor on a continual basis the impact of policy reform on voluntary action at the community level;
Contribute to articles/write-ups
ups on the findings from the monitoring process and experiences fromthe above outlined activities and submit them to UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press
releases, etc.;
Promote and/or advise local groups in the use of OV (online volunteering), and encourage
erelevantlocal individuals and groups to use OV whenever technically possible.

13. Results/Expected Output:••
1

Palestinian Statehood programme and other projects within the Governance Unit are efficientlysupported and implemented.
Strategic partnerships established and resource mobilization targets achieved.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme was created by the General Assembly (GA) in 1970 through GA resolution 26/59.
26/59 Since then, UNV’s mandate has
been expanded by GA resolution 31/131 in 1976, GA resolution 56/38 in 2001 and others in the follow-up
up to the International Year of Volunteers in 2001.

••

UNV Programme mainstreamed and integrated within partnerships and resource mobilization
activities among donors’ community
A final statement of achievements towards volunteeris
volunteerism
m for development during the assignment,such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities
developed.

14.. Qualifications/Requirements:
The incumbent must be a dynamic, multi
multi-functional
functional person, who supports
support UNDP/PAPP withprofessionalism, dedication and client orientation. The following qualifications are required•••••

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Political Science, Peace & Conflict Studies, Social Sciences or any
related field.
2-3 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing managementadvisory services and hands
hands-onon experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development
projects;
Experience in the use of computers and office software pa
packagesckages and handling of web-based
webmanagement systems;
Fluency in English, both in reading and writing; undunderstanding
erstanding of Arabic is an advantage;advantageHave affinity with or interest in humanitarian relief, post
post-conflict
conflict situations, volunteerism as amechanism for durable development.

15. Living Conditions:
The UN Volunteer will reside in Jerusalem, which is in security phase 1. As is the case for UN staff andpartners, the volunteer will make his/her own arrangements for housing and transportation to and fromwork. Jerusalem is a family duty station. Travel into the West Bank is only permitted in a UN vehicle with aUN driver, and no overnight stays are permitted. Travel into Gaza is only permitted in an armored UNvehicle with a trained driver. Overnight stays in Gaza are strictly confined to an approved, secure hotel.
12-monthmonth contract; monthly volunteer living allowance (VLA) intended to16. Conditions of Service A 12
cover housing, basic needs and utilities, equivalent to US$ 2,757 for single person, US$ 250 for person
withth one dependant, and US$ 450 for person with two or more recognized dependants; settling-in-grant;
settling
life, health, and permanent disability insurance; return airfares; resettlement allowance of US$ 150 per
month of satisfactory service.

ignment prepared by the UNV Field Unit/UN Agency:
Description of Assignment
Ms. Abla Amawi, Team Leader and Senior Governance Advisor, UNDP PAPP
Date: 24 January 2013

Description
n of Assignment approved by UNV Field Unit:
Mr. Ernesto Maio, UNV Programme Officer
Date: 24 January 2013