Project and Administrative Assistant

UNESCO LKA organization mission TBD

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding and a more perfect knowledge of each other's lives. UNESCO's programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in the 2030 Agenda, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) assignment is part of the project titled ‘Social Dialogue for Peace and Crisis Prevention in Sri Lanka’, jointly implemented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Labour Organization (ILO), and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The project aims to enhance the voice, access, and equitable and inclusive participation of Sri Lanka’s social partners and local communities, through inclusive social dialogue at national and local levels in shaping and implementing economic and social recovery efforts, thereby strengthening peace and cohesion. The project focuses on both national and sub-national level engagements, specifically in the Districts of Gampaha, Badulla, Batticaloa, and Jaffna.

The project aims to build institutional capacities for structured, gender-responsive, inclusive, and constructive dialogue and dispute resolution. It will achieve this by enhancing the effectiveness and inclusivity of existing dialogue mechanisms for the private sector, and, by establishing and making more inclusive dialogue and dispute resolution mechanisms for the public sector. Policy and decision-making dialogue and recovery initiatives at the national level will be informed by evidence, generated on the economic and social priorities of the most marginalized communities, including those in the informal economy, women, and young people with intersectional vulnerabilities. The existing networks at the community level, will also be capacitated to contribute to and participate in decision-making and dialogue mechanisms at local and national levels. The initiative thus aims to empower local communities to participate in policymaking, ensuring that women, young people, and informal economy workers influence district and national policies.

Under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO New Delhi Regional Office, functional authority of the Chief of Social and Human Sciences (SHS) Sector, and direct supervision of the National Project Officer, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

Project Assistance (30%)

· Project Planning

o Assist the National Project Officer in implementing project activities and regularly following up the developments.

o Establish and maintain regular contacts and advance partnerships with key project partners, local communities, relations with local agencies or organizations present in the area of responsibility, ensure the liaison between implementing partners, and other key stakeholders.

o Assist in organizing meetings (preparing minutes of the meetings, sending out invitations and take care of logistical issues

o Assist consultants and partners in successful implementation of the foreseen activities when necessary.

· Monitoring and Reporting

o Support in developing and maintaining monitoring frameworks to track the progress of project activities.

o Support the preparation of project reports and other project related materials – including 6 evidence-based knowledge products (policy briefs, fact sheets, infographics) for presentation to the Tripartite Labour Market Task Force and other decision-making forums.

o Conduct site visits to monitor and evaluate the progress and quality of the project activities when necessary.

Administrative Assistance (50%)

· Human Resources: Follow up on coming human resource actions and oversee maintenance, update and clean-up of database.

· Finance and Procurement Accountabilities:

o Assist the SHS sector on financial management of the PBF project funds using UNESCO tools on information management and reporting.

o Assist the sector on basic financial procedures, payment requirements, banking and currency provisions with support from the administrative services.

o Keep track of budget levels and alert the supervisor and concerned managers to avoid potential shortfalls in funds (validating information and identifying any errors or irregularities).


· Vendor and Contract Management:

o Assist the SHS Sector in identifying cost-effective vendors/suppliers/service providers for various operational requirements of the sector.

o Assist completing the process of vendor registration and manage accurate and updated vendor information as per UNESCO’s standard procedures whenever needed.

o Support the SHS Sector to prepare the Terms of Reference (TORs) of vendors/suppliers/consultants/service providers and draft contracts in compliance with UNESCO’s procedures, rules, and regulations.

o Verify and prepare payment request ensuring relevant supporting documents.

o Assist in each stage of contract management, through the preparation of contracts, follow up with vendors and consultants on deliverables and deadlines, and submitting and keeping track of payments administrative rules and regulations.

o Maintain information systems and databases in both physical and electronic media by recording, updating and retrieving information, documentation and data.


Logistics Accountabilities (10%)

· Shipment: make arrangements, assist and advise on shipping; liaise with customs. Procurement: assist in initiating procurement action, in the preparation of purchase orders and contracts, monitor status of requisitions and maintain contact with suppliers.

· Travel: assist and provide guidance in preparation of travel plans, review travel claims, prepare travel orders; issue travel advances. Assist in all security related matters. May liaise and cooperate with UNDSS on matters related to safety and security.


Communications (10%): In coordination with the New Delhi Regional Office’s Communications and Public Engagement Unit, support the National Project Officer in the development and promotion of key findings from local-level dialogues and assessments through advocacy campaigns targeting mainstream media, social media, and expert forums. Create and disseminate aligned communications materials—such as articles, blog posts, human impact stories, and newsletters—to raise public awareness, inform government economic policy reforms, and highlight progress and insights, ensuring compliance with RCO, UNFPA, and ILO guidelines.


Perform any other duties, related to the assignment, including administrative support, if and when required.


Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:

· 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;

· Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;

· 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.