Programme Assistant

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.

In Türkiye, in line with its Global Strategic Plan 2026-2029 and the overall UN-Turkiye Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2026-2030, UN Women works towards the overarching goal of “Women and girls including, those at greatest risk of being left behind, fully exercise their human rights; enjoy a life free from violence and discrimination, and lead, influence and benefit from sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development towards the advancement of gender equality in Turkiye”.

Towards these goals, UN Women implements programmes and projects that aim to advance gender equality, improve women's access to opportunities, rights and services in political, social and economic life and combat gender stereotypes, discrimination, and violence, as required by international and national legal and policy commitments. UN Women collaborates with numerous partners – central and local level government authorities, civil society organizations, including women's organizations and platforms, academia, private sector companies, other UN agencies. It commits itself to the Leaving No One Behind principle by supporting targeted actions to remove the obstacles that marginalized and vulnerable groups of women face in accessing their rights and to promote them as agents of change.

Globally and in Türkiye, UN Women engages with and supports civil society organizations (CSOs), in particular women's organizations, as key advocacy and knowledge partners, as well as implementing partners in operational activities in advancing women's economic, political and social rights. UN Women's work with civil society encompasses facilitating and expanding spaces for CSOs to come together for coordinated actions and to engage in dialogue with duty-bearers and decision-makers at local, national, regional and international levels, and in the context of inter-governmental processes. UN Women is focused on convening multi-stakeholder partnerships and engaging a wide variety of stakeholders, including men and boys and young people, to bring forth transformative change towards gender equality, in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Sustainable Development Goals and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Under this framework, UN Women embarked on the second phase of “Strong Civic Space for Equality and Women’s Empowerment“with the financial support of the European Union. The overall objective of the project to be implemented until October 2027 is to reduce gender inequalities by enhancing the ability of CSOs in Türkiye to be agents of transformative change towards gender equality and women's rights. The specific objective is "Women's rights groups, women-led CSOs and other relevant rights-based CSOs more effectively influence the gender equality and women's empowerment agenda at the national and local levels."

Reporting to Programme Specialist (NOC), the Programme Assistant based in Ankara, will provide administrative support in day-to-day implementation of activities of the projects under the CSO Portfolio. The Programme Assistant will work in close collaboration with team members of the CSO Portfolio as well as with the Operations, Communications and other project teams for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex programme/project-related issues and information delivery.

Under the direct supervision of Programme Specialist, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

1. Provide administrative and logistical support under the CSO portfolio.
• Provide administrative support in day-to-day implementation of activities under the projects including in the preparation of work plans, budgets, and proposals on implementation arrangements, including tracking the delivery of funds,
• Support the team in the organization of events, workshops, trainings under the projects. In particular: prepare invitation letters, contact participants, ensure collection of all relevant documentation related to travel of participants, prepare background materials for meetings and events, etc.,
• Participate in meetings, training sessions, conferences and other programmatic events and prepare reports/minutes as required,
• Provide support related to the logistics and organisation of travel under the CSO portfolio, including drafting travel mission plans and preparing travel authorizations and logistical information. Ensures Travel Claims are properly filled, and original documents kept on file,
• Maintain mailing lists,
• Support with filing system in the office and ensure documentation as per UN Women rules and guidelines,
• Provide administrative support to the management of Partnership Agreements and Small Grant Agreements, including entries to Partner and Grant Agreement Management System (PGAMs),
• Draft routine correspondence and provide assistance with English – Turkish translation, as needed,
• Support full compliance of administrative activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and strategies.

2. Provision of procurement and financial support under projects and interventions under the CSO portfolio
• Provide support with the collection of offers for selection of venues, services etc., in line with UN Women procurement rules,
• Create requisitions in Quantum for financial processes under the project,
• Receive invoices for procurement of goods and services and submit them to the buyer and finance unit for creation of purchase orders and payments in a timely manner. Ensure that correct information on vendors is provided,
• Draft and create payment requests for pre-approval. Ensure all original financial records are kept on file, including both vendor and partner contracts and documentation,
• Support the operational procedures and completing documentation on the preparation, selection, and payment processes for the national/ international/ local consultants.

3. Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing
• Provide support to the synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices,
• Draft inputs to reports and briefing notes as requested,
• Participate in and contribute to staff trainings to strengthen programmatic and operational skills, and
• Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.