Programme Associate

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The military offensive launched by the Russian Federation against Ukraine on 24 February 2022 triggered one of the fastest-growing displacement and humanitarian crises on record.
As of December 2023, over 6.3 million refugees from Ukraine are recorded globally and 5.9 million in Europe. As 90% of refugees from Ukraine are women and children, the nature of the refugee crisis in neighbouring countries has led to distinct protection risks.

The war in Ukraine has become a regional crisis, demanding a regional response. As the humanitarian crises become more complex and challenging, it places bilateral and multilateral (UN) partners/organizations in a position to prioritize humanitarian assistance to meet the immediate needs of those impacted, and therefore a well-coordinated gender-responsive humanitarian response is critical more than ever.

UN Women’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (UN Women ECARO) works across the regional humanitarian and refugee response to ensure a gender-transformative response framework. UN Women ECARO is a leading agency through the Regional Gender Task Force (RGTF) on Gender in Humanitarian Action across the Regional Refugee Response, with a particular focus on Ukraine and neighboring countries, to mitigate the impact of the Ukraine crises on women and girls in the immediate and short-term response by placing them at the centre of the response.

Reporting to the Regional Humanitarian Specialist, the UN Volunteer works with and provides support to the members of the Humanitarian Programme Team in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations. The UN Volunteer contributes to research, financial management, and programme implementation including providing necessary operational, administrative and programmatic support. The UN Volunteer works in close collaboration with the operations, programme and projects’ staff in the Regional Office (RO) and UN Women HQs as required for resolving complex finance-related issues and exchange of information.

1. Provide advanced administrative, logistical, and financial support to programme formulation and management:
• Support programme work plans, budgets, and proposals
• Guide partners on delivery, reporting, and financial aspects
• Monitor projects, suggest improvements, and coordinate audits
• Contribute to SOPs, guidelines, and business processes
• Review and compile programme data for the RO website
• Collect data for documents, guidelines, and position papers

2. Administrative financial support to the Humanitarian Programme Unit:
• Manage Quantum system for project creation, budget revisions, and financial reporting
• Monitor budget preparation, prepare reports, and manage FACE forms
• Review financial reports and process non-PO vouchers
• Maintain internal expenditure control, create requisitions, and handle cost-recovery bills

3. Provide advanced administrative support to the Humanitarian Programme Unit:
• Manage logistics, administration, and finances for meetings, workshops, events, and missions
• Coordinate travel arrangements and prepare public information materials
• Liaise with high-level officials on administrative issues and assemble briefing materials

4. Support Resource Mobilization:
• Manage logistics, administration, and finances for meetings, workshops, events, and missions
• Coordinate travel arrangements and prepare public information materials
• Liaise with high-level officials on administrative issues and assemble briefing materials

5. Facilitate Knowledge Building and Sharing:
• Assist in developing knowledge products and documenting lessons learnt
• Coordinate the organization to partners on programme and operations related issues

The UN Volunteer will at any time provide support in any programme-related areas to ECARO and the region as requested by the ECARO Regional Humanitarian Specialist.

Furthermore, UN 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.