Capacity Building Specialist (Civil Society)

The Asia Pacific Regional Office, based in Bangkok, Thailand, provides strategic leadership and oversight for UNOPS operations across 17 countries, ensuring high performance, operational excellence, and alignment with organizational goals. Operations currently span Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Pacific Islands. Across these countries, we work closely with key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and maximize impact through five main operating units: Afghanistan (AFCO), Myanmar (MMCO), South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO), East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), and the Asia Regional Health Cluster (ARHC). Through these entities, we provide agile, client-focused service delivery across diverse sectors - including infrastructure, health, procurement, and project management - supporting the implementation of sustainable development solutions across the region.

The South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) supports UNOPS operations across six countries: Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SAMCO delivers a broad range of services and technical expertise in climate change, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), infrastructure, procurement, human resource management, and fund management. Each country office is staffed with local technical experts and maintains strong partnerships with national governments, ensuring context-specific solutions and effective project implementation.

Sri Lanka continues to experience a rapidly evolving legal, regulatory, and political environment that directly affects the operational space of civil society organizations (CSOs). Legislative instruments such as the Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA), the NGO Act, and the Online Safety Act have significant implications for civil society actors, including community-based organizations, activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and grassroots organizations.

These legal frameworks influence organizational governance, registration and regulation, financial accountability, digital engagement, freedom of association, freedom of expression, advocacy, and national security-related obligations. CSOs therefore require strengthened legal literacy and practical capacity to understand these legislative frameworks, ensure compliance, identify legal and operational risks, strengthen internal governance, and continue rights-based civic engagement within an increasingly complex operating environment. The consultancy forms part of the VRIDDHI Programme's Protection Pillar to strengthen the resilience, protection capacity, and legal preparedness of civil society organizations across Sri Lanka.

The Capacity Building Specialist (Civil Society) will design and deliver six (06) online awareness sessions (three in Tamil and three in Sinhala) to strengthen the knowledge and institutional capacity of civil society organizations across Sri Lanka to understand, interpret, and practically apply key provisions of the Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA), NGO Act, and Online Safety Act.

The consultant will develop participatory learning materials, facilitate practical discussions and case studies, support CSOs to strengthen organizational governance and compliance, enhance awareness of legal and operational risks, promote rights-based advocacy and responsible digital engagement, and contribute to the protection of civic space through improved legal literacy and institutional resilience.

Required

• Minimum Seven (07) years of professional experience in legal practice, access to justice, human rights, governance, or protection programming.

• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering legal awareness programmes, training, or capacity-building initiatives for civil society organizations.

• Experience working with Sri Lanka's legal and regulatory environment affecting civic space, including national security legislation, civil society regulation, digital rights, and governance.

• Demonstrated experience facilitating participatory adult learning methodologies.

• Experience developing training curricula, learning materials, evaluation tools, and training reports.

• Proficiency in virtual facilitation platforms (Google Meet), and online learning tools.

Desired

• Previous experience working with UN agencies, international organizations, or donor-funded programmes.

• Experience working with grassroots CSOs and community-based organizations.

• Experience providing legal or policy advice relating to civic space, digital rights, organizational governance, or regulatory compliance.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
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• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.