Mission and objectives

As the lead United Nations agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. UNDP helps countries develop policies, leadership skills, partnerships and institutional capabilities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s work is centred around six core development areas or signature solutions: poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, environment, energy and gender equality. Established in 1965, UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the SDGs. UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels offers a spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in its Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in UNDP’s Strategic Plan. Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS staff provide technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represent UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private, government and civil society dialogues, and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas.

Context

UNDP’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan highlighted our continued commitment to eradicating poverty, accompanying countries in their pathways towards the SDGs and working towards the Paris Agreement. As part of the Global Policy Network in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP’s Nature, Climate Change, Energy, and Waste (NCE&W) Hubs promote and scale up integrated whole-of governance approaches and nature-based solutions that reduce poverty and inequalities, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive growth, mitigate conflict, forced migration and displacement, and promote more resilient governance systems that advance linked peace and security agendas. UNDP’s climate adaptation portfolio under the climate hub, assists government partners to scale up the integration of climate change adaptation into policy, planning, and investments at both national and local levels through the support to the National Adaptation Planning (NAP) process and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). UNDP supports climate change adaptation action in the context of agriculture and food security, water resources, coastal zone management, ecosystems protection, public health, resilient infrastructure, urban resilience, livelihoods, and climate information/early warnings. Under the portfolio, it is also working to enable countries to harness the land use and agriculture sectors’ potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation, aligned to countries’ national climate pledges through its Support Programme on Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through NAPs and NDCs. (https://www.adaptation-undp.org/scala) This German Ministry of Environment (BMUV)-funded Programme is currently under implementation and is designed to assist countries to translate their NDCs and/or NAPs into actionable and transformative climate solutions in land use and agriculture with multi-stakeholder engagement. This Programme is a joint effort of UNDP and FAO. It works across 12 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. A key outcome of the programme is to increase private sector engagement and investment to support the achievement of NDCs and NAPs. Knowledge management is a major part of UNDP’s adaptation portfolio, including the SCALA Programme, as it seeks to identify, promote and disseminate tools and good practices on climate adaptation. As a global programme, SCALA provides a crucial link between international climate negotiations and individual country action that meets the agriculture development and climate goals of communities. A key objective of its knowledge management interventions is to foster a platform for mutual learning between partner countries and feed lessons learned to international discourse. UNDP is therefore seeking the support of an international UNV Youth Volunteer with knowledge management and reporting experience to support the implementation of the SCALA Programme and contribute to the broader knowledge management outputs of the climate adaptation portfolio. In addition, the UN Volunteer will support the monitoring of SCALA’s implementation progress and support its reporting and tracking processes.

Task Description

Under the overall guidance of the Senior Advisor on Adaptation Policy and Planning, and the direct supervision of the Technical Specialist on Adaptation Policy and Planning, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks, including; • Regular oversight, coordination and updating of SCALA’s knowledge management workplan and milestones; • Contribute to knowledge management deliverables of the SCALA Programme by undertaking primary desk research, drafting case studies, preparing PowerPoint slides and other outreach materials; • Facilitate liaison with knowledge product developers/writers to achieve milestones within set timelines; • Support the review, finalization and publication of the SCALA knowledge products coordinating on quality assurance processes, layout and design; • Support the organization of a series of webinars, peer-to-peer exchanges and regional and international events in collaboration with FAO; • Contribute to the management of the SCALA internal Teams space, including compiling deliverables and organizing Programme material; • Coordinate the monitoring of SCALA’s implementation progress and the updating of the Programme results tracking matrix; • Liaise with country and global team members to collect, review and finalize country progress reports; • Develop SCALA biannual and annual reports for submission to the donor; • Support the monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, reporting and evaluation requirements of the adaptation portfolio; • Contribute to data analysis and the development of knowledge products for the wider adaptation portfolio, focusing on topics related to agriculture, water and rural livelihoods; • Any other related work/task assigned by supervisor(s).

Competencies and values

• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement and decision-making • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management

Living conditions and remarks

The UN Volunteer will be based in Istanbul. The UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging her/his own housing and other living essentials. The full entitlements at the duty station: https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service: https://explore.unv.org/cos The Summary of UN Volunteer Entitlement (International Youth): • Current Monthly Living Allowance (MLA) is USD 2,193 • Accommodation supplement (per month): %20 of monthly living allowance (appx. USD 438) only if locating in Istanbul • Private insurance: Health, dental, life and dismemberment coverage by CIGNA • Entry allowance (one-time): USD 4000 upon relocation • Exit allowance: USD 225 per month upon the satisfactory completion of assignment • Dependent allowance and insurance are provided based on eligibility criteria. • Annual leave: 2.5 days accrued per calendar month • Free access to different learning platforms and UN & UNV network Notes: 1) The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward or salary in exchange for volunteer work. 2) It’s important to note that UNV assignments are volunteer assignments, not employment. The purpose of the allowances and entitlements paid to UN Volunteers is to enable UN Volunteers to sustain a secure standard of living at the duty stations in line with United Nations standards without incurring personal costs. The allowances are in no way to be understood as compensation, reward, or salary in exchange for the UN Volunteer’s service. Contingent on specific eligibility criteria, location of the volunteer assignment, and contractual type and category, the payment of allowances will begin from the date of Commencement of Service For more information on entitlements please read the Condition of Service (https://explore.unv.org/cos).