Mission and objectivesUNDP works with the Government and people of Pakistan to develop local solutions to development challenges. In an evolving development context, we support Pakistanโs efforts to build a more equitable, prosperous, peaceful and resilient society, and to achieve its SDGs and COP25 targets. UNDP promotes transformational change by fostering strategic partnerships with national counterparts in the federal, provincial and regional governments, civil society, the private sector and the local and international community. UNDP supports transformational change by providing technical assistance focusing on developing capacity within national and local authorities, providing solutions with strong monitoring and evaluation tools, and delivering programmes with maximum efficiency, transparency and accountability. UNDPโs ultimate goal is to improve the lives of the people of Pakistan through keeping people out of poverty; governance for peaceful, just and inclusive societies; crisis prevention and increased resilience; nature-based solutions for development; clean affordable energy; and women's empowerment and gender equality.
ContextUNDP works to improve the lives of vulnerable communities, with the overarching objective of preventing loss of development gains, promoting human rights, and finding sustainable pathways to development. UNDP projects under the democratic governance portfolio aims to strengthen state institutions, support democratic development and the rule of law, ensure crisis prevention, support policy development, and integrate gender equality into all areas of work. UNDP works to support the human rights ecosystem by strengthening human rights institutions to promote and protect human rights for all. This UNV assignment is part of UNDP Pakistanโs Decentralization, Human Rights and Local Governance (DHL) project. The DHL project is a multi-sector project aimed at strengthening rights-based development, community stabilization, gender equality, and social inclusion across all regions and provinces of Pakistan. The core objective of the project is to ensure inclusive and equitable service delivery by providing technical assistance and capacity development support to relevant federal ministries, provincial line departments, statutory bodies, civil society, and private sector organizations. A key aim is to support the creation of an enabling environment for accelerated access to rights, people-centered justice, and people-centered security. The project focuses on institution building while connecting with vulnerable and at-risk communities to build trust between rights. Under the European Union supported Huqooq-e-Pakistan II programme, UNDP-DHL is engaged with institutes of higher education to design curricula and knowledge materials that are predicated on respect for human rights, tolerance and inclusivity. This also entails the facilitation of an exchange of best practices between academic stakeholders in Pakistan and international partners, primarily through the platform of a human rights education centre (HREC) in Lahore. In this regard, UNDP-DHL is collaborating with international universities, academic networks and research centres to provide technical support to local academic partners.
Task DescriptionFacilitate an exchange of best practices between UNDP-DHL and international academic partners โข Coordinate with the Global Campus of Human Rights to ensure the integration of their technical inputs into UNDP-DHLโs human rights education initiatives. โข Prepare substantive briefs regarding the latest developments in the field of human rights education globally, with a particular emphasis on the European Union. โข Provide technical and logistic support to international academic experts to develop a revised human rights curriculum by liaising with the academic task force and partner universities. โข Submit regular reports to relevant focal persons at UNDP-DHL and its international partners detailing the integration of international best practices in the curriculum and operations of partner universities. โข Provide monitoring support to partner international academic institutions and ensure that the academic task forceโs surveying reports align with UNDP-DHLโs quality assurance mechanisms. Support the functioning of the Human Rights Education Centre by ensuring the integration of technical support from international counterparts โข Support the EU Human Rights Education Officer to pilot developed modules and courses at the human rights education by monitoring and evaluating learning outcomes. โข Support the Human Rights Education Centreโs international advocacy and strategic relationships with international partners, various global academic centres and research organisations. โข Facilitate international academic experts to monitor the activities of the centre and to ensure the integration of technical inputs. โข Ensure alignment of the centreโs advocacy and knowledge materials with global best practices pertaining to human rights education. โข Assist UNDP-DHL and its global partner universities to raise awareness for international academic conferences and student exchanges related to human rights education and research. โข Streamline the deployment of the programmeโs summer exchange opportunities by assisting universities to nominate students and supporting the centre to implement guidance and orientation materials developed by UNDP-DHLโs international partner universities. Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing and advocacy relevant to human rights education โข Assist the human rights education centre and partner universities by ensuring the alignment of organized trainings, workshops, panel discussions, report launches with international best practices, and facilitating the participation of international experts. โข Participate in knowledge networks and consultations with international organizations and facilitate the participation of key stakeholders such as academics, human rights defenders and civil society in these networks. โข Collaborate with international partners to identify relevant global advocacy events and international days related to youth engagement and human rights education and develop strategic plans for disseminating key messages and developments in Pakistan through these platforms.
Competencies and valuesโข Accountability โข Adaptability and flexibility โข Creativity โข Judgement and decision-making โข Planning and organising โข Professionalism โข Self-management
Living conditions and remarksPakistan is situated in South Asia. Located along the Arabian Sea, it is surrounded by Afghanistan to the west and northwest, Iran to the southwest, India to the east, and China to the northeast. Pakistan has an extremely varied geographical outlook, including mountains, deserts, major rivers and the sea. Pakistan experiences frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe, especially in north and west. Security: Islamabad is a family duty station. For all official travel, UN Security Clearance is required/mandatory. Registration with home embassy is highly recommended. International Staff deployed in Pakistan are required to report to Security Unit for detail briefing. Guest Houses: The UNV Field Unit will help arrange your initial accommodation, at your expense (Settling-in Grant is foreseen for this). Telecommunications: There is one major fixed line provider (PTCL) and 4 cellular companies (Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and Zong). 4G service is being provided by almost all cellular companies. Call rates vary but are extremely cheap for some Western countries. All cellular operators in Pakistan use GSM platform. Country code for Pakistan is +92 and City code for Islamabad is (0)51. Electricity (Voltage): Electricity in Pakistan is 220-240 Volts. Health: State of the art health facilities are available throughout the country and especially Islamabad. Dental care facilities are also available. There are no mandatory vaccines required to travel to Pakistan. Currently dengue fever is on the rise in Pakistan especially in Punjab. Mosquito repellents are recommended. There are other health facilities in Islamabad which have been recognized by WHO. Diet, Food and Water: There are many local markets around Islamabad as well as various supermarkets that are stocked with imported goods. Islamabad has a large number of restaurants and cafes. Tap water is not advisable and bottled water is available almost everywhere. Using alcoholic drinks in public is illegal in Pakistan. Money/banking: Current US dollar exchange rate is 1 USD = PKR 280. To receive payments locally, UNV unit will help you open a bank account with Standard Chartered Bank. This will be a paired account where you can use it both for US dollar as well as Pak Rupee. ATM machines can be found throughout the country. Climate: The climate is generally characterized by hot summers and cool or cold winters. From June to September, most of the country is lashed by the South West Monsoon, which leads to heavy rainfall and high humidity. Islamabad has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers accompanied by a monsoon season followed by fairly cold winters. The hottest months are May and June, where average highs routinely exceed 38 ยฐC (100.4 ยฐF). Respect: Pakistan is a conservative country and it is advisable for women to wear long skirts or trousers in public (Pakistani women wear the traditional shalwar kameez, but in the big cities, women wearing jeans and khakis is not very uncommon sight, especially in casual settings, shopping malls and around picnic spots). Dress codes for men are more lax, though shorts are uncommon. Men should never shake hands with or touch a woman they don't know very well. As with most of South Asia, the right hand is used for eating, shaking hands and giving or receiving everything (including money), while the left hand is reserved for handling shoes and assisting in toilet duties. Discussion about religion and Islam should remain respectful and positive.