ABOUT THE COMPANY:

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. We work with partners to integrate qualified, highly motivated and well supported UN Volunteers into development programming and promote the value and global recognition of volunteerism. UNV is administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and reports to the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board.

JOB SUMMARY

Position Purpose

Reporting to the Portfolio Manager/Specialist, Regional Office, the Programme Specialist leads and manages the UNV Field Unit.

She/he is responsible for effective strategic business development and intelligence, and relationship management leading to mobilization and placement of UN Volunteers, and identification of entry points for UNV’s support and showcasing the value added of volunteers and volunteerism based on UNV’s Strategic Framework.

She/he builds and nurtures relationships with government counterparts and other key stakeholders to ensure strong positioning of UNV and administrative/operational support to UN Volunteers.

The Programme Specialist, UNV effectively coordinates with the Regional Office and HQ organizational units, on volunteer mobilization, and provision of substantive inputs and facilitation of corporate initiatives.

The main responsibility of the Programme Specialist, UNV is to increase volunteer volume in the country through these partnerships, and advocate for integrating volunteerism as a cross-cutting means of implementation into the 2030 Agenda.

• Keep abreast of and analyse development challenges and priorities in the country to identify relevant entry points for UNV’s mobilization of volunteers;
• Build and strengthen relationships with UN partners in the country to ensure an understanding of UNV’s mandates, key offers and the added values that UN Volunteer assignments bring in support to the achievement of their respective mandates;
• Uphold the Field Unit’s position as regional and global leader in volunteer mobilization by continually enhancing service quality;
• Foster consistent growth and diversification in volunteer engagement, aligning UNV efforts with both the UN System’s initiatives and country’s national priorities;
• Oversee the Field Unit’s operations;
• Navigate the diverse client base and address the complexities of expanding operational and programmatic demands;
•  Design and formulate the Field Unit’s mobilization strategy, aligning it with UNV’s global priorities tailored to local context;
• Manage and monitor the strategy’s implementation through a result-based management approach to assess effectiveness and make necessary adjustments;
• Maintain business intelligence on UN agencies, UN joint programmes, identifying specific entry points to diversify partnerships with the key results of increased volunteer assignments, including reporting on the forecast demand for UN Volunteers in the country;
• Identify volunteer placement opportunities and present UNV value proposition and volunteer categories with the objective of maximizing international and national volunteer presence, including collaboration in the preparation of descriptions of assignments, with partner agencies and other partners;
• Advise the Regional Office on critical and emerging issues, as well as coordinate and consolidate inputs relevant to the country for developing briefings and other strategic documents for senior management meetings and missions;
• Oversee the overall recruitment process of UN Volunteers and efficient volunteer management, bringing critical issues timely to the attention of the Regional Office and other relevant sections in the HQ;
• Ensure that incoming and outgoing UN Volunteers are adequately briefed and debriefed and extend personal support and guidance to UN Volunteers in the country;
• Work closely with UNDSS and provide support to the UN Designated Officials to ensure a detailed understanding among UN Volunteers on all security-related issues;
• Maintain close relationships with UN Volunteers serving in the country, monitoring their well-being and performance through routine online meetings, field visits to their duty stations and consultations with their supervisors and counterparts.

  Ensure that volunteers receive the necessary support to thrive in their roles and contribute effectively to their assigned entities;

• Ensure overall management and administrative support to UN Volunteers.

2.   Advocacy, Partnership Building, and UNV Programme Integration

• Lead UNVs’ field efforts as the representative of the organization in the country, ensuring key results and delivery of the Strategic Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals;
• Establish, foster and maintain effective outreach and relationships, including the formalization of partnerships and other exchanges of confidence such as inclusion in the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), Country Programme Document (CPD), as well as with government, UN agencies, NGOs, the private sector and other relevant development partners; 
• Participate in priority fora, including inter-agency meetings and events, such as the UN Country Team (UNCT) meetings, Operations Management Team (OMT) meetings, UN thematic forces, UN-led assessments, Programme Management Team (PMT) meetings, post-conflict needs assessments, UNSDCF planning processes, relevant working groups, technical missions and funding appeals to identify opportunities for volunteerism and volunteer placement; 
• Proactively identify and create opportunities for Special Programme Initiatives (SPIs).

  Lead the negotiation, design, and implementation of these initiatives, upholding the Field Unit’s commitment to innovation and client responsiveness; 

• Ensure exemplary service in piloting and executing volunteer solutions within the UN System, responding effectively to the country’s rapidly evolving challenges in humanitarian aid, peace, and development; 
• Analyze and research information on potential UNV donors, such as South-South and/or international cooperation agencies in the country.

  Initiate connections to encourage their engagement as emerging donors, leveraging opportunities through the SVF fund and the UNV Fully Funded mechanism;

• Establish, foster and maintain effective outreach and relationships with local civil society organizations throughout the country, prioritizing those focused on volunteerism, to contribute to community-led sustainable development in the country; 
• Keep abreast of and analyze the multifaceted challenges faced by UN Entities in the country, which span humanitarian aid, peacebuilding, and sustainable development, to enable a higher-level engagement with stakeholders, government counterparts, and donors ensuring the continued success and relevance of UNV’s efforts in the country; 
• Establish, foster and maintain effective outreach and partnerships with potential sourcing partners, at local and sub-national levels, including civil society organizations, research centers, NGOs, academia, etc, to ensure a diverse and representative pool of local talent and potential Volunteer candidates consistent with evolving client agency demand; 
• Promote UNV as a strategic partner in advancing the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS) and fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI);  Emphasize UNV’s role in leveraging community-based talent to effectively integrate diverse local perspectives and develop comprehensive solutions for addressing the multifaceted challenges facing the country; In close coordination with the Regional Office and the Communications Section at headquarters, prepare, disseminate and present country-specific promotional information on the mandate and work of UNV with relevant development partners and the media; 
• Coordinate activities and plan events, in collaboration with other agencies, for annual, national and UN-recognized international celebrations, including the International Volunteer Day (IVD); 
• Encourage and monitor serving UN Volunteers to embrace the ideals of volunteerism, act as advocates for volunteer action, and document their experiences in promoting volunteerism;
• Establish/strengthen national advocacy networks.

  Implement relevant, high-impact advocacy with key partners.

3.   Management, Quality Assurance, Knowledge and Innovation

• Develop, manage and monitor the implementation of the Field Unit’s annual work plan, including management and reporting on UNV support funds and budget; 
• Lead UNV’s presence in the country to ensure coordinated and effective delivery of services as well as enable a supportive and collaborative work environment; 
• Ensure strategic use and implementation of all UN Volunteers categories as per prevailing relevant provisions under each scheme; 
• Ensure comprehensive programme design and integration.

  Constantly monitor trends analysis for future informed and anticipatory decision-making; track achievement of strategic results, and effectively apply results-based management tools; 

• Manage any UNV assigned personnel within the Field Unit, including supervision, performance assessment and capacity development; 
• Ensure, as the senior UNV staff member in the country, that UNV Outposted personnel are incorporated into the UNDP security arrangements and UN security plan, facilitate the on-boarding of newly outposted personnel (including appropriate working facilities, asset custodial management, IDs, IT support, etc) in addition to duty of care, team-building support and regular information-sharing practices;
• Oversee workflows and ensure cross collaboration between Field Unit and Outposted teams.;  Embrace UNV digitalization strategy and transformation and lead related processes in the Field Unit;  Maintain coordination and collaboration with the UNV Team supporting serving volunteers in UN Missions in the country, as applicable;
• Ensure knowledge is documented, systematized and fed back into volunteer mobilization and evidence building on volunteerism for the SDGs, and actively contribute to knowledge networks, communities of practice, and digital knowledge platforms; 
• Act as a peer-support resource for UNV Country Coordinators in the region as needed, facilitating the exchange of relevant information, best practices and lessons learned aimed at fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment that contributes to the success of the region.

Competencies

• Only short-listed applicants will be contacted;
• The successful candidate will hold a UNDP letter of appointment;
• This post is for local recruitment only.

  It is open to citizens of Colombia.

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Good luck!