Organization Mission

UN Women exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality, and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality and secretariat of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women shift laws, institutions, social behaviours, and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world. UN Women’s partnerships with governments, women’s movements, and the private sector coupled with its coordination of the broader United Nations translate progress into lasting changes.

Context

In Türkiye, in line with its Global Strategic Plan 2026-2029 and the overall UN-Turkiye Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2026-2030, UN Women works towards the overarching goal of “Women and girls including, those at greatest risk of being left behind, fully exercise their human rights; enjoy a life free from violence and discrimination, and lead, influence and benefit from sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development towards the advancement of gender equality in Turkiye”.

Towards these goals, UN Women implements programmes and projects that aim to advance gender equality, improve women”s access to opportunities, rights and services in political, social and economic life and combat gender stereotypes, discrimination, and violence, as required by international and national legal and policy commitments. UN Women collaborates with numerous partners – central and local level government authorities, civil society organizations, including women”s organizations and platforms, academia, private sector companies, other UN agencies. It commits itself to the Leaving No One Behind principle by supporting targeted actions to remove the obstacles that marginalized and vulnerable groups of women face in accessing their rights and to promote them as agents of change.

Globally and in Türkiye, UN Women engages with and supports civil society organizations (CSOs), in particular women”s organizations, as key advocacy and knowledge partners, as well as implementing partners in operational activities in advancing women”s economic, political and social rights. UN Women”s work with civil society encompasses facilitating and expanding spaces for CSOs to come together for coordinated actions and to engage in dialogue with duty-bearers and decision-makers at local, national, regional and international levels, and in the context of inter-governmental processes. UN Women is focused on convening multi-stakeholder partnerships and engaging a wide variety of stakeholders, including men and boys and young people, to bring forth transformative change towards gender equality, in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Sustainable Development Goals and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Under this framework, UN Women embarked on the second phase of “Strong Civic Space for Equality and Women’s Empowerment“with the financial support of the European Union. The overall objective of the project to be implemented until October 2027 is to reduce gender inequalities by enhancing the ability of CSOs in Türkiye to be agents of transformative change towards gender equality and women”s rights. The specific objective is “Women”s rights groups, women-led CSOs and other relevant rights-based CSOs more effectively influence the gender equality and women”s empowerment agenda at the national and local levels.”

Reporting to Programme Specialist (NOC), the Programme Assistant based in Ankara, will provide administrative support in day-to-day implementation of activities of the projects under the CSO Portfolio. The Programme Assistant will work in close collaboration with team members of the CSO Portfolio as well as with the Operations, Communications and other project teams for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex programme/project-related issues and information delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of Programme Specialist, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

1. Provide administrative and logistical support under the CSO portfolio.
• Provide administrative support in day-to-day implementation of activities under the projects including in the preparation of work plans, budgets, and proposals on implementation arrangements, including tracking the delivery of funds,
• Support the team in the organization of events, workshops, trainings under the projects. In particular: prepare invitation letters, contact participants, ensure collection of all relevant documentation related to travel of participants, prepare background materials for meetings and events, etc.,
• Participate in meetings, training sessions, conferences and other programmatic events and prepare reports/minutes as required,
• Provide support related to the logistics and organisation of travel under the CSO portfolio, including drafting travel mission plans and preparing travel authorizations and logistical information. Ensures Travel Claims are properly filled, and original documents kept on file,
• Maintain mailing lists,
• Support with filing system in the office and ensure documentation as per UN Women rules and guidelines,
• Provide administrative support to the management of Partnership Agreements and Small Grant Agreements, including entries to Partner and Grant Agreement Management System (PGAMs),
• Draft routine correspondence and provide assistance with English – Turkish translation, as needed,
• Support full compliance of administrative activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and strategies.

2. Provision of procurement and financial support under projects and interventions under the CSO portfolio
• Provide support with the collection of offers for selection of venues, services etc., in line with UN Women procurement rules,
• Create requisitions in Quantum for financial processes under the project,
• Receive invoices for procurement of goods and services and submit them to the buyer and finance unit for creation of purchase orders and payments in a timely manner. Ensure that correct information on vendors is provided,
• Draft and create payment requests for pre-approval. Ensure all original financial records are kept on file, including both vendor and partner contracts and documentation,
• Support the operational procedures and completing documentation on the preparation, selection, and payment processes for the national/ international/ local consultants.

3. Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing
• Provide support to the synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices,
• Draft inputs to reports and briefing notes as requested,
• Participate in and contribute to staff trainings to strengthen programmatic and operational skills, and
• Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Required Skills and Experience

• 1 year of experience in procurement, travel, event management, administration, or logistic support service is required.
• Knowledge of and professional experience in gender equality and women”s empowerment is highly desirable.
• Previous experience in providing administrative support to EU or UN projects is highly desirable.
• Experience in working with different partners (Governmental organizations, donors, CSOs) is highly desirable.
• Experience in organizing events and trainings is desirable.
• Experience in the use of ERP systems, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines is desirable
• Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, CSOs particularly women’s organization, and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development is desirable.
• Previous experience in supporting a team is desirable.

Core Competencies

Core Values:
• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:
• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:
• Ability to administer and execute administrative and procurement processes and transactions;
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats;
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
• Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities;
• Ability to extract, interpret, analyze and resolve operational issues;
• Ability to support a team and team building skills;
• Good financial and budgeting skills;
• Good IT and web management skills.

Living Conditions

This is a volunteer assignment, not employment. By sharing your time, energy, and talents, you can support communities in need and become part of something greater than yourself — a global movement for peace, development, and humanitarian aid. Volunteering strengthens trust, solidarity, and reciprocity among citizens, and it can promote a sense of belonging and purpose.

The assignment will be based in Ankara, Turkiye and requires full-time engagement with 3 to 5 days presence in the office or field. The UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging her/his own housing and other living essentials.

The Summary of UNV Entitlement (National UN Volunteer Specialist): All paid in TRY currency based on monthly UNORE rates.
• Current Monthly Living Allowance (MLA): USD 1291.78
• Private insurance: Health, dental, life, and dismemberment coverage by CIGNA
Note to citizens of Türkiye: As per UN’s diplomatic mission status, it is not included in National Security Institution’s (SGK) system but can be only initiated on private basis.
• Entry allowance (one-time payment): USD 400
• Exit allowance: USD 134.56 per month and upon the satisfactory completion of assignment
• Annual leave: 2.5 days accrued per calendar month
• Free access to different learning platforms and the UN & UNV network

Notes:
1) The allowances are in no way to be understood as a compensation, reward or salary in exchange for the 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.
3) You can check full entitlements at the duty station: https://app.unv.org/calculator
4) Please read the complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos