UN University Volunteer in Knowledge Management

Details

Mission and objectives

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the agency for human settlements mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-HABITAT helps governments and the urban poor by transforming cities into safer, healthier, greener places with better opportunities where everyone can live in with dignity. It works with organizations at every level, including all spheres of government, civil society and the private sector to help build, manage, plan and finance sustainable urban development.
In Lao PDR, the UN-Habitat country office was opened in 2005, and now operates as a regional hub for water and sanitation programmes in the Mekong sub-region in South-East Asia. The office works in close collaboration with several different Ministries on various urban topics and community-based initiatives in urban and peri-urban areas throughout Lao PDR.

Context

The UNV is going to play an important role particularly considering the fact that UN-Habitat has a rich climate change portfolio, with an ambition to grow it further. Thus providing the volunteer ample opportunity to learn, innovate and contribute.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the UN-Habitat Regional Advisor for South-East Asia and Lao PDR country manager, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
• Assist in organizing, creating, using and sharing the knowledge to achieve the projects’ objectives as well as to support data-driven decision making of the team.
• Assist in fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and collaborative workflow among the team members.
• Assist in introducing the new technology and/or methodology for the team to improve its knowledge management system and to increase productivity.
• Assist with communication and information management, establishing connections between county-level and regional partners and internal colleagues, etc.
• Assist with the management of outreach activities by maintaining and updating the communication materials such as the contents of the websites, SNS, and presentations.
• Undertake other assignments as required for the development and implementation of the work programme.
These and other daily responsibilities, which might include tasks under other thematic and operational areas, will depend on the individual’s background and the needs of the office.
Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required 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 International Volunteer Day);
• 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.