Programme Research and Communications Support Volunteer

Mission and objectivesAs the United Nations lead agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities, and to build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is concentrated in three focus areas: sustainable development, democratic governance and peace building, and climate and disaster resilience. Accountable, inclusive and effective governance is both a goal in itself, in that it supports the realisation of human rights, and, as evidence shows, an enabler of the whole of Agenda 2030. For that reason, governance is at the heart of UNDP’s policies, strategies, and interventions, is one of UNDP’s six Signature Solutions, and is an integral part of programming across the organization. UNDP also considers access to public goods and services a priority. Taking into account the challenges countries across the globe face to anticipate and respond to the growing demand for public services (such as education, social protection, tele-medicine or open-data) and public goods (such as nature, the internet and Digital Public Goods) UNDP established a dedicated small team that contributes to thought leadership, policy development and supports programmes and projects on ‘Governance for Public Goods and Services’ (GPGS) across all regions. The GPGS team is part of UNDP’s Governance global team in the Bureau of Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and includes personnel in New York and outposted colleagues in Istanbul and Oslo. The Global Lead on GPGS is based in Istanbul.

ContextThe 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign (between 25 November – 10 December) for the elimination of violence against women and girls. Every year, the UNITE Campaign focuses on a specific theme. The campaign calls on citizens to show how much they care about ending violence against women and girls by sharing the actions they are taking to create a world free from violence towards women and girls. In 2025, the campaign focuses on ending digital violence against all women and girls, including persons with disabilities. The selected national UN Community Volunteer will assist the Global Policy Specialist and the Communications Specialist to conduct targeted research on gender-based violence (GBV) policies/practices across different country contexts, with a particular focus on the interface between GBV and (i) a ‘Legal Identity for All Agenda’; (ii) integrity and anti-corruption in the public sector; (iii) innovation in the public sector, including through the use of behavioural insights, digital tools and data to inform decision-making. Through such research, and through the relevant data entries and content classification/categorization, s/he will contribute to the FutureGov Knowledge Bank: https://futuregov.org/knowledge-bank/

Task DescriptionUnder the supervision of the Communications Specialist and GPGS team, the UN Volunteer will contribute to the following tasks: • Support the development, organization, and maintenance of the FutureGov Knowledge Bank database, ensuring systematic categorization and tagging of resources on GBV – particularly as it interfaces with key thematic areas for the Governance for Public Goods & Services Team — including Legal Identity, Public Sector Transformation (digitalization/data; behavioural insights), Integrity and Anti-corruption. • Conduct targeted desk research to identify relevant policies, case studies, tools, and good practices and propose a curated list of materials (with relevant tags and concise summaries) to the Communications Specialist for review. • Draft concise summaries and descriptions for uploaded resources to enhance accessibility and user engagement. • Assist in uploading and organizing approved materials in both the FutureGov Knowledge Bank and the FutureGov AI database, ensuring proper tagging, integration, and version control. • Contribute to communications and knowledge-sharing outputs, such as newsletters, social media content, and highlight stories promoting the new FutureGov Knowledge Bank and AI features. • Engage with relevant personnel in UNDP Country Offices, under the direct supervision of the Communication Specialist, to support relevant research and communications activities in preparation for the 16-Days of Activism against GBV at country level. • Perform any other related tasks as assigned by the supervisor to support knowledge management and communications efforts.

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

Living conditions and remarksUN Community Volunteers are expected to be recruited locally and work within their communities. For this specific assignment, if the selected UN Community Volunteer is required to travel or attend specific events, travel and daily meal expenses will be covered by the host entity. Upon successful completion of the assignment, UN Community Volunteers will receive a UNV Certificate of Service. 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 UN Volunteer will be based in Istanbul Türkiye and will preferably be working from the office (location is Istanbul, Sisli area) two days a week to connect and collaborate with staff members. The UN Volunteers are responsible for arranging her/his own housing and other living essentials within UNV contract period. Summary of this national UN Volunteer Entitlements: • Private insurance: Health, dental, life and dismemberment (coverage by CIGNA) • Certificate of Service • Experience with UN programme • There will be no payment, stipend, or any allowances. UN Volunteer supporting SPI in Europe and Central Asia region: The support provided by the UN Volunteer for tasks supporting the host UN entity in the region of Europe and Central Asia is a Special Programme Initiative (SPI) by UNV. SPIs respond to volunteer-specific needs of the United Nations system and donor entities. They are established by specific policy documents that address the desired programmatic aims and broader SDGs’ outcomes in line with UNV guiding principles. UN Volunteers for this SPI in the Europe and Central Asia region are governed by the particular conditions set out in their offers and contracts.