Community Engagement Volunteer

Details

Mission and objectives

UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) derives its mandate from the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 33/147 of 20 December 1978. Called upon by United Nations Member States in that year, UNDP was requested “to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people by identifying their social and economic needs and by establishing concrete projects to that end”. UNDP/PAPP is a responsive development agency that works together with the Palestinian people to fulfil their aspiration for sustainable human development based on self-determination, equality and freedom.

Context

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization 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. UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) derives its mandate from United Nations General Assembly Resolution 33/147 of 20 December 1978. Called upon by United Nations Member States in that year, UNDP was requested “to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people by identifying their social and economic needs and by establishing concrete projects to that end”. UNDP’s Palestinian Programmatic Framework (PPF) 2023-2025 sets out a vision of “a world in which all Palestinians can enjoy a dignified life and fulfil their own vision of a unified, peaceful and free society”. The PPF is centred around the concept of “Transformative Resilience” and its three elements: a cohesive Palestinian identity, self-reliance, and ownership and leadership. Over the next three years, UNDP/PAPP will build on its experiences and achievements to make critical contributions to the priorities defined by the Palestinian national development plans and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), through interventions in three programmatic priority areas: i) democratic governance and quality services; ii) inclusive economic opportunities; iii) sustainable natural resources management. This UNV assignment is part of UNDP’s Investment Programme for Resilience (IPR). The overarching objective of IPR is to enhance the socio-economic resilience of marginalized Palestinian communities, including greater self-reliance, enhanced ownership and leadership and cohesive identity, with a specific focus on women’s empowerment and gender equality at the community level (impact). To do so, the programme has embedded community engagement throughout the life cycle of the project, thus building leadership and ownership of the community. In its first three phases, IPR addressed community needs through: enabling the health sector to respond to COVID-19 and strengthening local service delivery and enhancing social cohesion in marginalized communities (phase 1); expanding its investments in community infrastructure linked to stronger community resilience (phase 2); and further expanding the community infrastructure component, strengthening access to socio-economic services and enhancing social engagement in marginalized and disadvantaged communities (phase 3). In its fourth phase, IPR is integrating a focus on gender equality as a means to further advance its work and contribution to community resilience. Overall, IPR IV seeks to ensure inclusive and more resilient access to gender-responsive and, whenever possible, gender-transformative socio-economic opportunities, supported by community engagement and addressing environmental sustainability. A key strategic approach of IPR is the engagement of men as allies for women’s socio-economic empowerment and agents of change towards gender equality.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Community Mobilizer in Jerusalem and the Community Engagement Specialists in the West Bank, and with technical guidance and support from the Gender Consultant, the UN Community Volunteer will: •Support community profiling exercises (data collection) in the targeted geographic locations, with a key gender focus to enable a comprehensive understanding of key gender issues and dynamics within the targeted communities. • Identify (male and/or female) role models in targeted communities, who can become champions/agents of change and mobilize inclusive community engagement and support for social inclusion and gender equality within and across targeted communities. • Support in the implementation of gender-sensitive surveys or questionnaires to gather feedback from targeted community members with guidance and training provided by UNDP. • Co-design and co-facilitate inclusive community engagement processes, integrating a gender transformative approach with technical guidance and support from the Gender Consultant. • Assist in organizing workshops and forums within communities, ensuring inclusion of all groups as well as integration of a gender transformative approach (e.g., dialogues on positive masculinities and engaged fatherhood), with technical guidance and support from the Gender Consultant. • Act as champions for social inclusion and gender equality, actively promoting gender equality principles and practices within and across targeted communities (training and guidance will be provided by UNDP). • Develop relevant documentation and reporting on processes, results and findings. • Any other related tasks, as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. UNDP will provide capacity building and mentoring programme for selected UNVs on concepts of gender to enhance the UNVs understanding of the social constructs of gender roles, responsibilities, expectations, and power dynamics within specific cultural and community contexts; Equality vs. Equity; Gender Transformative Approach; and inclusivity and social inclusion, among others. The training will be delivered through workshops, e-learning, knowledge materials, and practical exercises. Furthermore, UN Community Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day); • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.