Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides support to Member States’ efforts and priorities in meeting their gender equality goals and for building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Türkiye, in line with its global Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and Country Strategic Note (2022-2025), and the overall UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Turkey (UNSDCF) (2021-2025), UN Women works towards the overarching goal of “Women and girls including those at greatest risk of being left behind fully exercise their human rights, enjoy a life free from violence and discrimination, and lead, influence and benefit from sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development towards the advancement of gender equality in Turkey”. UN Women works in four thematic areas: (i) governance and participation in public life; (ii) women’s economic empowerment; (iii) ending violence against women and girls; and (iv) women, peace and security, humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction. In that framework, UN Women in Türkiye contributes to three outcomes of the UNSDCF:

1) Women and girls have improved and equal access to resources, opportunities, and rights, and enjoy a life without violence and discrimination;

2) By 2025, Persons under the Law on Foreigners and International Protection are supported towards self-reliance.

3) By 2025, governance systems are more transparent, accountable, inclusive and rights-based with the participation of civil society, and quality of judicial services is improved

The conflict in Syria has caused the largest humanitarian displacement crisis in the world, which has resulted in Türkiye becoming the world’s largest host of refugees, with over 3.6 million registered Syrians of which 46% are women and girls. Furthermore, recent crisis in Afghanistan and Ukraine caused new migration flows to Türkiye, which increased the number of women and girls from refugee communities. Despite the efforts by the Government of Türkiye, civil society, and the international community in support of refugees, Syrian women and girls under temporary protection in Türkiye as well as refugee women and girls from other communities continue to face numerous barriers in meeting their basic needs and in effectively participating in social, economic and public life. Existing risks, vulnerabilities and inequalities faced by women and girls have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic

Under its Refugee Response Programme portfolio, UN Women in Türkiye has been collaborating with the central government, local authorities, civil society organizations and other UN agencies to empower Syrian women and girls under temporary protection as well as other refugee women and vulnerable women from the host communities, and to improve their access to opportunities, rights and services, as required by international treaties and national legislation. The Refugee Response Programme (RRP) consists of several projects that have been implemented over the past years with funding from the European Union, Government of Japan, Government of Iceland, and Government of Norway. It prioritizes the most-at-risk women, focusing on their immediate needs and long-term resilience in selected host municipalities. The programme interventions have focused on women’s agency and leadership, and the various dimensions of women’s needs, through an integrated approach that combines a broad range of services, social cohesion and empowerment activities. In addition to programmatic interventions, as part of its coordination mandate, UN Women Türkiye provides technical support to the inter-agency coordination mechanism of the Türkiye Refugee and Resilience Plan in Response to the Syria Crisis (3RP) to ensure a stronger gender perspective in the response, based on the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Gender Policy.

SADA Women’s Cooperative was founded by Afghan, Syrian and Turkish women in 2019 by support of UN Women Türkiye Office under the Refugee Response Program both as tool for income generation and social cohesion. The Cooperative is active on garment production. UN Women Türkiye ensured funding from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iceland under a unique partnership with UN Women Icelandic National Committee and a private sector factory (North 66) producing garments to support SADA Cooperative to reach out to international markets.  Project is called ‘A Safe Embrace: Economic Empowerment of Refugee and Host Community Women via Support to SADA Women’s Cooperative’ and the implementation started in June 2022 and. aims to increase production capacity of the Cooperative and vis-à-vis contribute to economic empowerment of refugee and Turkish women.

In this regard, UN Women Türkiye Office is looking for a Project Assistant based in Gaziantep who will provide general administrative and logistical support to the implement activities under Refugee Response Programme of UN Women Türkiye Office including the implementation of  ‘A Safe Embrace: Economic Empowerment of Refugee and Host Community Women via Support to SADA Women’s Cooperative’ Project,

Reporting to Project Coordinator (SB-5), the Project Assistant works with and provides support to the members of the Programme Team in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules, regulations, policies, and strategies.  The Project Assistant provides programme, administrative, and logistical assistance to the team and the local partners for the smooth implementation of the activities. The Project Assistant promotes a client, quality, and results-oriented approach. The Project Assistant works in close collaboration with the project staff, implementing partner, other local stalkeholders and the Operations team to ensure consistent service delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.Provide support to the monitoring and reporting of the programmes/ projects at the field level in Gaziantep

  • Follow up with local partners on implementing activities, including the monitoring of work plans and activities
  • Report on daily basis activity progress
  • Closely work with the project team to facilitate the preparations and implementation of field activities, events, assessments, and support if needed admin/finance exercises including petty procurement, purchasing, invoicing and reporting
  • Provide administrative support to the executing agencies / responsible parties on routine delivery and reporting of programme supported activities at the field level
  • Perform any other duties in line with the above responsibilities, needs of the UN Women Türkiye Country Office as may be assigned by Supervisor.

 

2. Provide administrative and logistical support to the implementation and management of Refugee Response Programme

  • Provide administrative support in the preparation of programme work plans, budgets, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements, including tracking the delivery of funds
  • Provide administrative support for the audit of programmes/ projects and support implementation of audit recommendations
  • Liaise with local partners and SADA cooperative on day-to-day basis to enable smooth administrative and logistical implementation of the project
  • Undertake all logistical, administrative, and financial arrangements for organization for meetings, workshops, events, and missions
  • Make travel arrangements for the Programme Team, including travel requisitions and claims
  • Draft minutes in meetings as delegated
  • Assemble briefing materials and prepare power-point and other presentations, in collaboration with the Programme team
  • Organize and coordinate filing of documents; maintain mailing lists

 

3.Provide administrative support to the financial management of the Refugee Response Programme

  • Provide administrative support in monitoring and preparation of budget and the finances of programmes/projects, and in the preparation of FACE forms
  • Prepare non-PO vouchers for development projects
  • Process payment for consultants as delegated
  • Create requisitions in Atlas for development projects; register good receipts in Atlas

 

4. Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing

  • Provide administrative support to the programme staff and partners on programme and operations related issues.
  • Identify sources and gather and compile data and information for the preparation of documents, guidelines, speeches and position papers, in collaboration with the Programme team.

 

Key Performance Indicators

  • Timely and accurate administrative and logistical support to events, workshops, and missions
  • Full compliance of administrative activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
  • Timely and accurate tracking of data for Turkiye Office management and donor purposes
  • Quality maintenance of internal systems and files
  • Quality and timely support to programme team.

Competencies

Core Values: 

  • Respect for Diversity 
  • Integrity 
  • Professionalism 

 

Core Competencies: 

  • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues 
  • Accountability 
  • Creative Problem Solving 
  • Effective Communication 
  • Inclusive Collaboration 
  • Stakeholder Engagement 
  • Leading by Example 

 

Functional Competencies

  • Knowledge of Results Based Management
  • Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats
  • Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow
  • Good financial and budgeting skills
  • Ability to extract, interpret, analyze and resolve operational issues
  • Good knowledge of refugee/humanitarian response
  • Good IT and web-based management skills

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf (unwomen.org).

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.  All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Completion of secondary education required.
  • Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, human rights, gender/ women’s studies, international development, or a related field is  an asset
  • A project/programme management certification would be an asset

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in programme assistance and/or administrative support in the humanitarian/development field
  • Substantive knowledge of and experience on gender equality and women's empowerment will be considered a strong asset
  • Experience in the UN agencies and/or international organizations is an asset
  • Experience in organizing events and trainings is an asset
  • Experience in working with different partners (Governmental organizations, CSOs, businesses, grassroots women’s organizations) at the field level in the development and/or humanitarian context is an asset
  • Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment is an asset

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English and Turkish is required

 

The application package for the position should consist of:

How to Submit the Application:

  • Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)-  UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc (live.com)
  • Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and Motivation Letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.
  • Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement).
  • Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
  • Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above).
  • You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

  • UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
  • Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and may not be considered for further assessment.  

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.