Project Assistant

Office/Unit/Project Description

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) positions itself as a development partner that brings global knowledge and expertise, through a multi-sectoral approach and concentrates its work on areas to support the implementation of Türkiye’s development agenda through project implementation and policy advice. These areas are: 1) Inclusive and Sustainable Growth; 2) Inclusive and Democratic Governance; and 3) Climate Change and Environment. In addition, UNDP also plays a key role in supporting the Government of Türkiye with the refugee response through its Syria Crisis Response and Resilience Programme relying on its experience in three major areas (i.e. livelihoods and facilitation of job creation, municipal service delivery, youth empowerment and protection/social cohesion).

The overall objective of UNDP’s work in Inclusive and Democratic Governance (IDG) aims to contribute to strengthening governance processes and institutions that are responsive to citizens’ demands and universal norms. The IDG Portfolio focuses on the fields of rule of law and human rights, responsive and accountable institutions (public administration reform) and border management, as well as women’s empowerment and gender equality as a cross cutting area. It contributes to strengthening the independence of institutions, particularly judicial actors and national human rights mechanisms. It addresses structural issues pertaining to the rule of law, access to justice and human rights including with respect to gender, participation, and accountability. Support is provided to the relevant institutions to enhance the implementation of local administration reforms and border management. Women’s empowerment is at the core of UNDP’s initiatives. Incorporation of gender mainstreaming to all interventions is a priority for the inclusive and democratic governance technical assistance. In addition, the IDG Portfolio is also contributing to the Syria Crisis Response, in line with the resilience approach within the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan, complementing the efforts of the Government in the areas of inclusion and social cohesion.

Strengthened Civic Engagement for Enhanced Democratic Local Governance in Turkey Project is a key project funded by the EU Funds (IPA II funding) under IDG Portfolio of UNDP Türkiye. The main beneficiary of the Project is Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT) and co-beneficiary is Ministry of Interior, Directorate General for Relations with Civil Society (DGRCS). The project is planned to be implemented nationwide and specifically in 7 pilot provinces, which are Manisa, Trabzon, Eskişehir, Elazığ, Çanakkale, Mersin and Gaziantep. 

As the long-term overall objective, the Project aims that civil society and public institutions at local level work in partnership through dialogue and cooperation – on the basis of willingness, trust and mutual acknowledgment, on common interests and policy making. As the intermediate overall objective, it targets to create an enabling and sustainable environment for volunteerism in Türkiye.

Specific objectives of the Project are:

• Establishing sustainable partnerships between CSOs and local authorities to increase awareness of civil society’s engagement in policy making processes, through innovative enhanced community-based initiatives and the promotion of volunteerism in Türkiye.

• Promoting volunteerism in Türkiye at local and national level, including an improved legal framework.

The project aims to achieve the below listed 4 results: 

1. Civic Engagement Strategies and two-year Action Plans for CSO/local authorities’ partnership developed
2. Local Authorities’ and CSOs’ capacities developed through training programmes and small grants programme
3. Proposals on legislative regulations concerning volunteerism in Türkiye developed
4. Capacities and awareness of UMT, DGRCS, CSOs and local authorities increased

The project is composed of 4 main components: 

Component 1- Development of civic engagement strategies and two-year action plans for CSO/local authorities’ partnership

Component 2- Developing the capacities of Local Authorities and CSOs through training programmes and small grants programme 

Component 3- Developing proposals on legislative regulations concerning volunteerism in Türkiye and building capacity on volunteerism

Component 4- Capacity Building Activities

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor / Project Manager, Project Assistant will be responsible for the day to day Project support to the project team and administration. Project Assistant will be responsible for providing support to the required field and any administrative activities that Project management may require. S/he will be in close collaboration with project team.

S/he will work in a close collaboration with the staff of the Project Services Centre (PSC) as well as Operational Units on HR, Procurement and Finance, to expedite project implementation and seek guidance and solve implementation bottlenecks.

In line with the above-mentioned focus, Project Assistant will provide day-to- day project implementation services in Administrative, Financial and Procurement Actions to the relevant Project. Specifically, under each domain, s/he is expected to provide high-quality services, including but not limited to the following tasks:

Duties	Key Results Expected / MajorFunctional Activities	% of time
Administrative Duties	Assist the Project team in the administration and implementation of the daily project activities Support in conducting desk and/or field research activities within the scope of the Project and its Components Provide administrative and logistical support for the organization of events, workshops and meetings and attend in person as required by PM. Assist the Project team, including consultants, in making the necessary project related travel arrangements (i.e. travel tickets, hotel reservations, DSAs, etc) Perform any other administrative and logistical duties as requested by the Project Team Organize and keep updated the files of the project on the cloud storage Accountable for the maintenance of all office equipment and maintenance inventory / supply records and their use and will be responsible from transfer of title equipment at the closure stage of the project. Taking care of project communication activities especially on design of invitations, creation of social media posts and etc Draft correspondence and documents; assist in finalization of administrative correspondence. Contribute to the project activity, progress and final reports with their annexes and prepare the official letters for hardcopy submission of the reports; Provide administrative support to the Component 2-CESGP when required by PM.	30

 

Financial Duties	Ensure financial operations of the project, such as payment processing, requisitions, purchase orders, project records, etc. through the corporate software (Quantum) of the UNDP Ensure the follow-up of payments made in due time by the UNDP Türkiye office Enters payments provided from Quantum to the EU funded projects-based reporting Certify expenditures for approval of payments and monitor/control budget expenditures Coordinates and acts as focal point for issues relating to finance.	30
Procurement Duties	Provide soft assistance to the Project team during procurement, processes as required and when necessary Contributing to the procurement actions with documentation, filing, reaching out potential vendors, etc. Follow up UNDP administrative procedures in terms of procurement and/or finance.	10
Coordination of communication and visibility activities	Translate documents from English to Turkish and vice versa Translate consecutively from English to Turkish or vice versa when needed Participate and develop initial drafts of technical and managerial meeting reports/minutes in Turkish and (if deemed necessary) in English Provide assistance to the Project team in filing related information, documentation and correspondences Facilitate continuous communication, cooperation and collaboration between all experts, project partners and UNDP Assist in telephone inquiries, mail and e-mail transmissions and co-ordination of appointments Support in preparation, review and editing of all written and visual materials, reports and presentations including publications within the scope of the Project and its Components Taking care of project communication activities especially on design of invitations, creation of social media posts and etc Support preparation of the content for the project’s web site and UNDP Türkiye CO’s social media accounts, ensuring consistency of project activities.	30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Institutional Arrangement

With a view to implement the project activities in an effective and efficient way and achieve the expected results of the Project, a team of consultants will be established within the scope of the Project. Project Assistant will primarily assist the Chief Technical Advisor / Project Manager in fulfilling her/his duties and tasks with regards to the Project. Project Assistant will be serving on a full-time basis during the project period. Project Assistant will provide the Project Team with sufficient administrative support. In addition to her/his daily routine, Project Assistant will also fulfil the ad-hoc tasks to be assigned by the Access to Justice and Human Rights Specialist and/or IDG Portfolio Manager. Project Assistant will be tasked to support/orientate the consultants throughout their performance within the scope of the Project. 

Project Assistant will report to the Chief Technical Advisor / Project Manager and will work under the overall guidance of the IDG Portfolio Manager of UNDP Türkiye CO. S/he will also be closely working with the Focal Points designated by the European Union Delegation to Turkey (EUD), Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT), while undertaking the tasks regarding implementation of the Project.

UNDP Türkiye CO will;

– provide the Project Assistants with relevant documents,

– provide the Project Assistants with full support in any further analysis of the data where necessary,

– facilitate communication with other stakeholders.

UNDP will provide the required physical facility for the work of the Project Assistant, depending on the availability of physical facilities (e.g. working space, computer, printer, telephone lines, internet connection, etc.). All reports should be submitted in English and/or Turkish (as requested by UNDP). 

Travel might be required during the position. UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home upon completion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and excludes working from home arrangements.

Core Competencies

Achieve Results:	LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
Think Innovatively:	LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements
Learn Continuously:	LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
Adapt with Agility:	LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible
Act with Determination:	LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
Engage and Partner:	LEVEL 1: Demonstrates  compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
Enable Diversity and Inclusion:	LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Thematic Area	Name	Definition
Business Management	Working with Evidence and Data	Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making
Business Management	Digital Awareness and Literacy	Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed
Business Management	Customer Satisfaction/Client Management	Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers’ needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients’ immediate requests. Ability to anticipate client’s upcoming needs and concerns.
Business Management	Communication	Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels.
Business Management	Monitoring	Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results.
Technical – Finance	Budget management	Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets
Administration & Operations	Event Management	Support projects with event management including venue identification, accommodation, logistics, catering, transportation, and cash disbursements, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Min. Education requirements	Completion of High School, or Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, language sciences, administrative sciences, political sciences, city and regional planning, environmental sciences or any other relevant disciplines is required
Min. years of relevant work experience	Minimum of 5 years (with high school diploma) or 2 years (with bachelor’s degree) working experience preferably in development and/or civil society projects with technical, administrative, financial or event management responsibilities conducted with public or private sector) or 2 years of progressively responsible administrative or project experience Working for at least 1 project in collaboration with international institutions/organizations
Required  skills	Excellent command of office software, such as word processors, spreadsheets, databases Strong report writing skills
Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section	Experience in UNDP/UN/International development agencies/ is highly preferable. Knowledge of the 2030 agenda and SDGs related projects or research Knowledge on basic financial management and development project management Experience working with the Government entities. Experience in organizing and coordinating events and activities.
Required Language(s)	Fluent written and spoken English and Turkish
Professional Certificates	N/A