Associate Programme Officer

The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was established in 1997 and in Vienna, Austria. UNODC is s a world leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime. It operates through 54 regional offices, covering more than 150 countries. Its regional office for Western and Central Africa (ROSEN) is located in Dakar, Senegal and has been active in the region for more than 20 years. Currently ROSEN covers 22 countries and has established 13 field offices.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime. Established in 1997, UNODC is mandated to assist Member States in their struggle against illicit drugs, crime and terrorism.

Within the framework of the UNODC’s Strategic Framework for Engagement with West Africa (2024–2030) and the commitment of the Regional Office for West and Central Africa (ROSEN) to promoting and supporting effective responses by Member States in West Africa, it has become clear that the challenges posed by synthetic drugs requires overarching and comprehensive support which encompasses legal, technical, and policy aspects, at national, regional and international levels.

This United Nations Volunteers (UNV) assignment is part of UNODC’s Synthetic Drug Strategy(SDS), which falls under the Laboratory and Scientific Section (LSS) through its Global Scientific and Forensic Programme, which is leading a coordinated UN-wide response to the opioid crisis, collaborating with different UN agencies and programmes and bringing existing expertise together under one umbrella providing a framework for comprehensive and integrated action to counter the threats of synthetic drugs.

Projections indicate that by 2030, the number of people using drugs will increase by 11 per cent globally and by as much as 40 per cent in Africa. This underscores a growing drug problem on the continent. The problem is exacerbated by the rising threat of synthetic drugs, including the increasing manufacture and use of methamphetamines in Eastern and Southern Africa, the non-medical use of tramadol in West and Central Africa, and the rising use of synthetic cannabinoids in the Indian Ocean States. However, there is a significant lack of data and information on synthetic drugs in West and Central Africa, which limits the current understanding of the issue and hinders the development and implementation of effective countermeasures.

In response, UNODC ROSEN aims bring a comprehensive response to the threats posed by synthetic drugs and the national and regional capacities to implement the four spheres of action of the UNODC Synthetic Drug Strategy:

• Multilateralism and international cooperation.

• Early warning on emerging synthetic drug threats.

• Promote science-informed health responses.

• Strengthen counternarcotic capacity and support international operations to disrupt trafficking in synthetic drugs.

To support the implementation of the Strategy, UNODC requires the services of an International UN
Volunteer to assist the overall implementation of related projects by:

Within the delegated authority and under the direct supervision of the SDS Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa and the overall guidance of the UNODC Regional Representative for West and Central Africa in Senegal, or their designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will:

•Support the implementation of SDS activities, including drafting presentations, managing letters of invitation, monitoring list of participants, vetting of participants, speechwriting for key panellists, talking points, and other tasks as required under the guidance of the Regional Coordinator;

•Support the Regional Coordinator on liaise with national and regional authorities, maintaining two-way communication, to ensure beneficiaries’ needs are acknowledged and addressed, and supporting the engagement and outreach to newly identified strategically important countries in West and Central Africa.

•Draft quarterly reports for relevant donors to the SDS and provide assistance for the drafting and/or editing of other documents required from ROSEN or UNODC HQ.

•Assist all actions pertaining to the evaluation of the project’s activities to centralize and communicate critical feedback to relevant stakeholders.

•Support the Regional Coordinator in the daily tasks pertaining to project management, including updating monitoring databases, events tracking and gender breakdowns to measure progress and to meet UN objectives towards greater gender mainstreaming.

•Carry out research and assist in drafting of contextual analyses and justifications for new project proposals, under the guidance of the Regional Coordinator.

•Assist in drafting of materials to be presented at the SDS annual regional or international meetings, ensuring narrative and key figures are updated.

•Assist the organization of meetings with donors and support the development of fundraising strategies.

•Provide translation services on an ad-hoc basis for operational meetings.
•Translate and edit SDS presentations and communication materials from and to French and English, as needed.

•Assist with outreach and advocacy activities and support the implementation of the broader SDS with other tasks as needed, under the guidance of the Regional Coordinator.

•Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

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.