SDG Advocacy and Outreach Officer (NUNV) at UNDP

Job ID: 11170
Location: Abuja
Time Left: 14d 20h 16m
Vacancy Type: National Regular UN Volunteer
Posting Type: External
Contract Duration: Initial duration of one year

Background

• Responding to requests from Member States for coordinated support from the UN development system in implementing the 2030 Agenda, the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) - under its Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) - has adopted a common approach for effective and coherent implementation support, under the acronym ‘MAPS’, which stands for Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support.
• Through this assignment, the UNV Programme aims to strengthen capacities within Member States and the UN system and to create an enabling environment for moving the SDGs into the localization and implementation phase. This can be achieved through building on the momentum and expectations for citizen participation created (especially through the consultation and dialogue processes) prior to the adoption of the SDGs, including through the MY World survey, which gathered the voices of more than 9 million people leading up to the adoption of the new agenda.
• One lesson learnt from the extensive consultations of 2012 - 2015-and from the global conversation leading up to the adoption of the 2030 Agenda is that people demand to remain engaged in the implementation and monitoring of the Agenda at national and local levels. It is therefore key to maintain the engagement of a broad coalition of partners, including the participation of the most marginalized groups and youth to shape the implementation, localization and participatory monitoring of the SDGs This includes setting up of locally appropriate implementation and accountability frameworks for the new agenda as well as empowering people to concretely address development challenges to give shape to their own future through voluntary action.
• Based on the successful experience in supporting the UN Resident Coordinator System through placement of dedicated UN Volunteers in the context of the post-2015 agenda, this proposal envisages (i) to strengthen RC Offices and UNCT capacity to coordinate support to Member States and national stakeholders in communicating/popularizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and tailoring it to national contexts (‘mainstreaming’) (ii) to strengthen the inclusion of the voices of all people through participatory elements both during the implementation and monitoring of SDG progress, including through MY World 2030, while providing opportunities for joint efforts linking civil society actors, including volunteer coordinating bodies and the government for concrete and scalable actions.
• The UN Volunteer will also act as national focal point for the UN SDG Action Campaign, which aims at popularizing and localizing the SDGs, while gathering citizen driven data through the MY World 2030 survey and strengthening national level partnerships and innovations for the SDGs.
• The Volunteer will liaise with other UN Volunteers and Action Campaign focal points, assigned to comparable roles in other countries.
• The overall objective of the proposal is to contribute to the localization and domestication of SDGs implementation strategies and foster capacities for monitoring and accountability at the local level. This will be pursued through two activity strands: capacity building and widening spaces for dialogue and action. 
• UN Volunteers will be based in different Resident Coordinator’s Offices or UNV Field Units in selected countries, working as Accountability and Capacity Building and with additional support from online volunteers.
• The Resident Coordinator (RC) system encompasses all organizations of the United Nations system dealing with operational activities for development, regardless of their formal presence in the country. The RC system aims to bring together the different UN agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operational activities at the country level.
• Resident Coordinators lead UN country teams in more than 130 countries and are the designated representatives of the Secretary-General for development operations. Working closely with national governments, Resident Coordinators and country teams advocate the interests and mandates of the UN system while drawing on the support and guidance of the entire UN family.
• Coordinating development operations promotes more strategic support for national plans and priorities, makes operations more efficient and reduces transaction costs for governments. This helps the UN to be a more relevant and reliable partner for governments.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision of the Resident Coordinators’ Office in Nigeria, and in coordination with the UN SDG Action Campaign, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Strengthen Capacity of Resident Coordinator Offices and UN Country teams in the area of coordination efforts to mainstream the 2030 Agenda.
• Act as a point of contact for the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office / Country Team for facilitating support to the government and national stakeholders in landing and tailoring the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to national contexts (‘mainstreaming’).
• Work within the Resident Coordinator’s Offices to build stakeholders’ capacities to strengthen participatory forms of monitoring and evaluation of SDG progress, including through crowdsourcing, crowdseeding and crowdfeeding as well as innovative forms of data visualization based on aggregation of offline and online data and the development of qualitative and disaggregated indicators to assess progress for the most marginalized populations, including women and youth.
• This can be achieved with the support of  the online Volunteering modality - https://www.onlinevolunteering.org/
• Enhance awareness raised and knowledge about the SDGs among relevant partners through outreach presentations and other activities.
• Support the RC Office in the development of awareness-raising and mainstreaming initiatives to popularize the 2030 Agenda/SDGs though communications, creative partnerships and innovative tools.
• Promote MY World 2030 through all channels with a particular focus on offline rollout and focal point function ensured.
• Act as focal point for UN-led outreach and monitoring initiatives such as MY World 2030, including identifying and managing local and national partners, acting as the interface among UNCT members and UNCT and partners/stakeholders, and generally curating and exhibiting peoples’ driven data for advocacy and policy change.
• Strengthen stakeholder capacity for engagement in SDG localisation, implementation and monitoring.
• Widen spaces for the inclusion and showcasing of people’s voices; including by identifying and convening interested stakeholders at national and local level, facilitating their engagement and developing initiatives to showcase and reward their efforts in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda/SDGs.
• Develop initiatives for outreach, awareness raising, community mobilization and contribution to SDG review and implementation, in conjunction with volunteer steering committees and volunteer involving organizations as well as other partners, including through facilitation of training of trainers activities to form a corps of local level volunteers, engaged in data collection and feedback loops between local authorities and local population, and providing support for the organization of one or more yearly day of action for the SDGs.
• Systematically include and mainstream gender and social inclusion parameters in all initiatives and activities (with related baseline, indicators and means of verification)
• Contribute with articles/write-ups on their work and field experience and submit them for UN/V publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day (IVD).
• 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
• Assist newly-arrived UN Volunteers through the Buddy Scheme for UN Volunteers;
• Promote and/or advise local groups in the use of UNV Online Volunteering, or encouraging relevant local individuals and organizations to use this service whenever technically possible.

Results/Expected Output:

• Capacity of Resident Coordinator Offices and UN Country teams strengthened in the area of coordination efforts to mainstream the 2030 Agenda.
• Awareness raised and knowledge about the SDGs enhanced among relevant partners through outreach presentations and other activities.
• MY World 2030 promoted through all channels with a particular focus on offline rollout and focal point function ensured.
• Stakeholder capacity for engagement in SDG localisation, implementation and monitoring strengthened.
• Contributed with articles/write-ups on their work and field experience and submit them for UN/V publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed.

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree preferred in social sciences, international affairs or development-related fields or a first degree with a combination of work experience
• At least 5 years of professional experience in development, coordination, or community liaison
• Specialization in subjects relevant to the area of sustainable development is an added advantage
• Experience in participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation and reporting.
• Experience / Background in data collection analysis and statistics is an asset
• Familiarity with networking / alliance building and advocacy
• Prior experience and knowledge of gender mainstreaming highly desirable
• Experience in working with volunteer programmes, NGOs, CSOs, and VIOs
• Experience with volunteerism an asset
• Fluency in spoken and written English
• Strong interpersonal and social skills
• Competence in using standard office software
• Facilitation and organization of events and meetings desired
• Research and report writing experience desired.

Competences and Values
Professionalism:

• Broad and in-depth knowledge, understanding and experience in in  accounting, finance and basic audit processes; demonstrate ability to apply good judgment and be accurate; ability to take initiative, ownership, and work independently under established procedures; willingness to accept wide responsibilities;

Integrity:

• Demonstrate the values of the UN in daily activities and behaviors while acting without consideration of personal gains; resist undue political pressure in decision-making; stand by decisions that are in the organization’s interest even if they are unpopular; take prompt action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behavior; does not abuse power or authority;

Communication:

• Good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to draft clear and concise reports; good interpersonal skills.

Corporate Responsibility and Teamwork:

• Demonstrating commitment to UNV’s vision and values, supporting information-sharing environment, developing self-awareness, understanding and valuing diversity, developing team skills and coaching, assessing performance, promoting excellence in performance, facilitating learning from others, preventing and resolving conflicts;

People Skills:

• Listening, giving, and receiving feedback, demonstrating interpersonal effectiveness, sharing knowledge and experience, handling criticism, showing empathy and becoming assertive;

Service Client Orientation:

• Considering others in decisions and actions, designing/implementing processes and procedures that effectively meet partners’ and/or colleagues’ needs, providing effective and appropriate service to serving volunteers/other clients.

Accountability:

• Taking responsibility and accountability for one’s own actions; considering the consequences before acting and making a decision; interpreting and following UNV’s policies and procedures accurately.