Programme Assistant Job Vacancy at United Nations Volunteers

Brief Project Description  
The objective of the project is to support Nigeria’s border control efforts aimed at preventing illicit trafficking in the North-East geopolitical zone of the country, which is the most affected by the ongoing terrorist insurgency. The project aims to achieve this through the training of border control officers from the five key Law Enforcement Agencies involved in land border management and control in the country. The officers to be trained would be selected from five land border-areas from the North-East geo-political zone of the country namely, Belel and Sarti Gurin borders in Adamawa State; Gamboru and Banki borders in Borno State; Tulutulo border in Yobe State and Gembu border in Taraba State. The capacity building would ensure adherence to the rule of law and continuous support for improvements in cross border control efforts through a mentorship approach.

Host Agency/Host Institute: 

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Organizational Context:  
The selected candidate shall work under the overall supervision of UNODC Representative, and the direct supervision and guidance of the UNODC National Project Officer, Multidimensional Security, at the UNODC Country office for Nigeria which is based in Abuja. The National UNV Programme Assistant would cover activities under the project: “Strengthening National Response to Security Threats through Enhanced Border Control in Nigeria”.

This position mainly involves providing programmatic assistance, administrative support and working with government agencies– investigators, legal advisers, prosecutors and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system.

Type of Assignment Place:

Assignment without family.

• Support the NPO in the preparation of project outputs that relate to implementation of programme activities, such as progress reports, briefings, presentations etc.
• Provide administrative and substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, workshops, identifying participants, follow-up and coordination with participants and invitees, support logistic arrangements.
• Assist with the formulation of work plans and other organizational management tools necessary for programme planning and monitoring;
• Assist with the preparation of programme/project development and assessment missions conducted for relevant programming;
• Carry out other relevant duties as may be required.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to:

• 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 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;
• 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.

Results/Expected Outputs:

• Project work plan implementation effectively supported.
• Project activities effectively supported and documented.
• 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.

• Strong interpersonal skills, incl. excellent spoken and written communication and presentation skills, team and networking skills are essential.
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point programmes is essential.
• Evidence of ability to think strategically; to express ideas clearly; to work independently and in teams; candidate should be able to demonstrate a sense of cultural and gender sensitivity.
• A strong commitment to development; commitment to work for criminal justice sector, an interest in adapting to varied physical and professional environments; and the ability to work in a multi-cultural environment is essential.

• The post holder must possess a University First degree in a development-related discipline; law, criminology, social sciences, arts, international relations or related fields.
• Candidate should be at least 25 years old.
• In addition, a minimum of two years of professional work experience in policy, legal advocacy and/or criminal justice related discipline is required.

Living Conditions:

Nigeria operates a democratic federal system of government with a federal level, 36 states, a Federal Capital Territory in Abuja and 774 local government areas, all of which are designed to be autonomous entities with respect to governance and resource mobilization. With 183.5 million population (UN-ECOSOC Est. 2015), Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the world’s 7th. The country is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. The general elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country’s history and the elections of 2011 and 2015 were generally regarded as credible. In January 2014, Nigeria assumed a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014-15 term.

In 2014, Nigeria’s economy (GDP) became the largest in Africa, worth more than $500 billion in terms of nominal GDP and $1 trillion in terms of Purchasing Power parity (PPP).  It overtook South Africa to become the world’s 21st (nominal) and 20th (PPP) largest economy in 2015. Nigeria’s oil reserves have played a significant role in its growing political and economic influence. The country is considered to be an emerging market by the World Bank and has been identified as a regional power on the African continent. Inflation rate is 8.3% (2014 est.) while population living below poverty line is estimated to be up to 70%.
Natural hazards in Nigeria are periodic droughts and flooding. 64% of the population have improved drinking water sources. 78.8% of those with improve drinking water sources are located in the urban areas. As regards HIV/AIDS, adult prevailence stands at 3.17 (2013 estimate). The major vector-borne diseases are malaria and yellow fever.
Life expectancy at birth is 52.62 years while infant mortality rate is 74.09 deaths/1,000 live births.

Conditions of Service (National UNV COS_ENG )
A 10-month contract; with subsequent contract extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.

Travel to duty station (if applicable) and a Settling-In-Grant will be provided in the event duty station is not within commuting distance from the place of recruitment. A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) of 94,914 NGN is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents), as well as final repatriation (if applicable) and resettlement allowance for satisfactory service.

United Nations Considerations:

The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations – Chapter 3, article 8). Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

No fee:

The United Nations does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing, or training). The United Nations does not concern itself with information on applicant’s bank accounts.

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.

.All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.