1. Position Information
Office/Unit/Project |
UNDP TRCO /Prepadness, Response and Resillience Programme |
Title |
Project Associate (2 Positions) |
Level |
NPSA 7 |
Duty station (City and Country) |
Ankara/Türkiye |
Type (Regular or Short term) |
Regular |
Office- or Home-based |
Office |
Expected starting date |
15 April 2025 |
Expected Duration |
December 2025 with posibility of extension |
Position Number |
221738 |
2. Office/Unit/Project Description
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
UNDP is the leading United Nations organization in fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. Learn more at undp.org or follow at @UNDP
The Crises Preparedness, Response, and Resilience program is designed to strengthen the capacity of communities and institutions to manage a wide range of crises across the entire Disaster Risk Management (DRM) cycle—from preparedness and immediate response to recovery and long-term resilience. Aligned with UN principles and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the program takes a holistic approach that addresses both sudden-onset and protracted crises, including geophysical events (such as earthquakes and floods), public health emergencies (like pandemics), technological accidents, industrial hazards, forced displacement, and complex humanitarian crises. Recognizing that all disasters are shaped by human vulnerabilities and systemic inequalities, the program focuses on reducing risk and strengthening resilience before crises occur.
3. Scope of Work
Support the project team to ensure effective project planning and implementation.
- Compile and summarize information and data for the formulation of project work plans, draft annual/quarterly budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements, and on other specific project related topics or issues.
- Provide comprehensive support in all aspects of project implementation in accordance with the project documents, annual work plans and other agreements between UNDP and responsible partners. Ensure quality of delivery by consultants, beneficiaries, and contracted companies; and communicate findings to the supervisor.
- Ensure compliance of project business processes with UNDP Project Operational Policies and Procedures (POPP) and UNDP Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). When necessary, provide guidance to project staff on business processes, administrative and other requirements and procedures.
- Support mainstreaming gender equality in the project implementation, including in data collection and compilation. Prepare gender equality background materials for use in discussions, briefings, and correspondence.
- Provide administrative and logistical support to ensure successful project delivery that includes organizing/coordinating project events and selecting appropriate venues, coordinating project procurement procedures, maintaining project records and files, recruiting project team members, and supporting contracting activities.
Support partnerships and resource mobilization.
- Establish and maintain contacts and cooperation with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, NGOs, tertiary institutions, partners, and other relevant stakeholders. Provide support in updating the database of the relevant public and development partners, and other stakeholders who are counterparts for the project.
- Ensure regular communication and coordination with partners, project counterparts, stakeholders, and beneficiaries; and develop and maintain effective mechanisms for integrating and responding to their feedback and insight.
- Support creation of high quality information and visibility of the project activities among the stakeholders; and ensure careful selection of communication tools and tailoring the messages to take into account the overall socio-political and development context in host countries.
- Undertake horizon scanning and explore opportunities for resource mobilization in consultation with direct supervisor.
Provide support to the effective monitoring, evaluation, and reporting on progress of project implementation.
- Support implementation of the project monitoring system in alignment with its Monitoring and Evaluation framework to ensure effective information sharing, provision of feedback, and elaboration of high-quality progress reports.
- Collect, analyze and present information for monitoring and evaluation of project implementation against project targets as well as for audit purposes. Identify gaps in implementation and provide support in bridging those gaps in consultation with supervisor and partners.
- Assist in the organization of field and study visits, missions, workshops, roundtables, and conferences within the project.
- Assist in implementation of effective risk management for the project with a well-documented risk mitigation plan in place. Support monitoring of previously identified and emerging risks.
- Regularly monitor expenditures and commitments against the project budget and relevant plans, and provide finance-related information to support project implementation. When necessary, recommend corrective actions and draft various correspondence concerning finance, operations, and budgetary issues.
- Prepare and consolidate required project reports on a timely basis and in line with monitoring and reporting guidelines and donor requirements.
Support knowledge building, knowledge sharing and capacity building relevant to the assigned project.
- Participate in training and organize briefings on internal procedures for the project staff. Provide support to other capacity building activities, including to the design and delivery of tools, materials for workshops, or platforms that tap into the collective intelligence of communities and mobilize action.
- Provide support in the dissemination and sharing of relevant data and lessons learned within the CO and regionally. Keep pulse on emerging best practices nationally, regionally, and internationally that relate to the work of the assigned project.
- Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice. Support compiling and systematizing project knowledge, products and tools as well as their wide distribution to partners.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
4. Institutional Arrangement:
The Project Associate works under the general supervision of the Project Manager and collaborates closely with the preparedness, Response and Resillience Programme Team.
5. Competencies
Core |
|
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 |
Cross-Functional & Technical competencies
Thematic Area |
Name |
Definition |
Business Management |
Working with Evidence and Data |
- Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making
|
Business Management |
Digital Awareness and Literacy |
- Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed
|
Business Management |
Customer Satisfaction/Client Management |
- Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers’ needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients’ immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.
|
Business Management |
Communication |
- Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels.
|
Business Management |
Monitoring |
- Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results.
|
Technical – Finance |
Budget management |
- Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets
|
Technical – _Procurement |
Procurement
management |
- The ability to acquire goods, services or works from an outside external source
|
|
|
6. Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA
Minimum Education requirements |
- Secondary education is required, or
- University Degree in Business Administration, Economics, Public Administration, or equivalent field will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement.
|
Minimum years of relevant work experience |
- A minimum of 7 years (with high school diploma) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of progressively responsible administrative or project experience is required.
- Minimum 2 years of experience working with international institutions/organizations.
|
Required skills |
- Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems, and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.Experience in organizing and coordinating events
|
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section |
- Experience in implementation of Refugee Crisis Project,
- Experience in preparation of Project Progress Reports and/or financial reports
- Knowledge of Project Management Processes
- Experience working in UN Organizations
|
Required Language(s) |
- Fluency in Turkish and English
|
Professional Certificates |
Project Cycle Management Certificate is desired. |