Background

With a total gross domestic product (GDP) of over USD 430 billion, Bangladesh is the second-largest economy in South Asia. Between 2000 and 2019, Bangladesh’s economy registered high GDP growth, averaging around 6% per annum. During this period, there were several notable improvements across different socioeconomic indicators, putting the country on track for a formal graduation from the group of least developed countries (LDCs) in 2026. Bangladesh’s score on the human development index (HDI) increased from 0.49 in 2000 to 0.68, placing it among countries categorized as medium human development. The national poverty rate fell from over 48% in 2000 to less than 19% in 2022.

Despite the progress, Bangladesh faces several development challenges, and with the current trend, the country is unlikely to meet several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Even before the political crisis in 2024, Bangladesh was grappling with double-digit inflation. According to the latest estimate, GDP is expected to grow by 3.7% in 2025, much slower than the GDP growth in the past. Without an uptick in private investment, the economy cannot diversify, a necessary condition for creating decent jobs. With low social spending and weak capacities, the government is constrained from providing quality services to the people. Bangladesh is also one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and is prone to natural hazards, including climate-induced disasters.    

As the UN’s development agency, UNDP has been in Bangladesh since 1972, promoting inclusive growth and democratic governance, and helping the country to achieve equitable and sustainable development. UNDP has been a close partner of Bangladesh in co-designing policy solutions, building national capacities, and promoting innovations to help meet its developmental aspirations.
    
Climate change, manifesting in the form of intensified cyclones, storm surges, and sea-level rise (SLR), is accelerating saltwater intrusion into the fresh water resources of the coastal belt of Bangladesh. Climate change-induced soil and water salinity is projected to adversely impact freshwater dependent agricultural livelihoods (leading to loss of productivity or livelihoods) as well as the availability and quality of drinking water in the vulnerable coastal communities. Furthermore, given the crucial role that women play in water security and household level resilience, and their socio-economic marginalization, the climate change-induced threat to agricultural livelihoods and drinking water security of the affected coastal communities disproportionately affects women and girls. 

Therefore, the key objective of the proposed project is to support the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) in strengthening the adaptive capacities of coastal communities, especially women, to cope with impacts of climate change-induced salinity on their livelihoods and water security. GCF resources will be combined with GoB co-financing to address information, technical, financial and institutional barriers to implementing and managing resilient livelihoods and drinking water solutions for the vulnerable communities in the Southwestern coastal districts of Khulna and Satkhira. An estimated 719,229 people (about 245,516 direct and 473,713 indirect) will benefit from the proposed project interventions.

The proposed project will empower target communities, especially women, as ‘change-agents’ to plan, implement, and manage resilient livelihoods and drinking water solutions. The project will enable those communities to address climate change risks on livelihood and drinking water security to promote synergistic co-benefits. It will enhance the adaptive capacities of these communities in the face of worsening impacts of climate-change induced salinity on their freshwater resources which in turn adversely affect livelihood and drinking water requirements. GCF resources will be invested in promoting a diversification from currently non-adaptive, freshwater-reliant livelihoods of small-scale farmers, fishers, and agro-labourers towards climate-resilient agricultural livelihoods. GoB co-financing is leveraged to support the adoption and scale of these alternative, climate-resilient agricultural livelihoods through strengthened value-chains and market linkages for their long-term viability in the face of increasing salinity and extreme weather. The project also utilizes GCF and GoB resources to support investments in and management of climate-resilient drinking water solutions to secure year-round, safe drinking water supplies for the targeted communities. Access to reliable, safe drinking water enables the communities, especially women and girls in targeted households, to invest the resulting time and cost savings and health co-benefits in enhanced livelihoods and income-generating and/or educational opportunities. In turn, the enhanced incomes and livelihoods will enable the communities to sustain the investments in the drinking water supply solutions in the long term. Finally, through investments in institutional capacities, knowledge dissemination and evidence-based learning, the project will enable pathways for replication and scale of project impact to secure livelihoods and drinking water across the vulnerable districts of the southwest coast of Bangladesh. The project yields significant environmental, social (including gender), and economic co-benefits, including enhanced integrity of coastal ecosystems and freshwater resources; improved gender norms and women empowerment; and increased income and health benefits, estimated at USD15 million and USD4 million respectively over the project lifetime.

The project contributes towards GoB’s achievement of priorities outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and its climate change strategies. The project objective speaks to the top five key near-term areas of intervention identified by the INDC to address adverse impacts of climate change including: 1) Food security, livelihood and health protection (incl. water security); 2) Comprehensive disaster management, 3) Coastal Zone Management, including Salinity Intrusion control, 4) Flood Control and Erosion protection, 5) Building Climate Resilient Infrastructure. Directly aligned to six of the fourteen broad adaptation actions prioritized by INDC, the project is implementing improved EWS, supporting climate resilient infrastructure, Tropical cyclones and storm surge protection, stress-tolerant variety improvement and cultivation, and Capacity Building at the Individual and institutional levels to plan and implement adaptation programmes and projects.

The Project Assistant (IT & Logistics) will report to the National Project Manager and will work under the direct supervision of NPM , GCA.  S/he will be responsible to provide support for planning, implementing and managing IT and logistics support related activities and services for the project.
 

Duties and Responsibilities

S/he will have the following specific duties and responsibilities:

A. ICT Systems Management and Technical Support:

• Ensure compliance with corporate information management and technology standards, guidelines, and procedures for the Project Office at Khulna.
• Perform specific technical functions, including changing hardware components (disks, memories, network wiring, power sources, etc.), routine repairs, and assistance in installing commercial and in-house software and upgrades on a timely basis.
• Monitor file server traffic, usage, and performance on a regular basis.
• Support users with file backup and restoration, virus detection and removal, and troubleshooting of network-related issues.
• Conduct regular functionality checks of ICT equipment used in the project and ensure proper servicing, maintenance, and repair for smooth operations.
• Liaise with the project/country office ICT and Operations teams to ensure alignment with organizational ICT policies and standards.
• Ensure timely verification of licenses and monitor software/system expiration dates.

B. Data Management and Web-Portal / MIS Support:

• Support Project Associate–ICT in regular updates of the project web-portal/MIS.
• Communicate with partner NGO staff to facilitate information flow and data sharing.
• Train and orient partner NGO staff on the use of the project web-portal/MIS.
• Follow up with partner NGOs for regular and accurate data entry into the project web-portal/MIS.
• Verify and validate data entered into the project web-portal/MIS.
• Ensure that all relevant modules of the project web-portal/MIS are fully functional and up to date.

C. IT Asset and Inventory Management:

• Maintain an up-to-date inventory of hardware, software, and confidential materials.
• Maintain proper records of all IT and non-IT equipment, ensuring tagging, tracking, and safekeeping of project assets.
• Assist with backup and restoration procedures, maintaining backup logs and organizing off-site storage of backups.
• Coordinate with vendors for maintenance, repair, and servicing of IT and office equipment.

D. Event and Operational Support:

• Provide IT and AV support during project events (trainings, workshops, conferences) to ensure smooth digital connectivity and presentation readiness.
• Support logistical operations of the project, including procurement of IT and office supplies and ensuring timely delivery.
• Assist in organizing official events—venue selection, food arrangements, logistics, transport, accommodation, and office facilities.
• Ensure proper documentation and filing systems for logistics-related transactions, contracts, and asset records.
• Provide overall operational support to the project team as assigned by the Project Management.

E. Other Responsibilities

• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement:

• Under the direct supervision of the National Project Manager, “Enhancing adaptive capacities of coastal communities, especially women, to cope with climate change induced salinity,” and under the overall guidance of the Project Associate (ICT), the Project Assistant (IT & Logistics) supports the GCA project.
   

Competencies

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: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
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:

Business Direction & Strategy    System Thinking    Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
Business Development    Human-centered Design    Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process. 
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
Partnership management    Relationship management    Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding
General (across the functions)    Event planning and execution    Ability to plan, manage and execute of public and private events to ensure that they support and amplify individual communications and advocacy initiatives, as well as UNDP's overall brand and mandate.
Digital     Co-creation    Ability to design and facilitate a process that enables a diverse group of stakeholders to solve a common problem, develop a practice, or create knowledge together.
Ability to embrace diversity, work with a diverse group of stakeholders understand their interests, 
perspectives and views and tap into to them as a source for creativity. 
Ability to facilitate processes and create conditions 
that are open for diverse inputs, stimulate collaboration and sharing.
2030 Agenda: Peace     Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights    Human Rights for Sustainable Development
 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary education is required.
• University degree (bachelor’s degree) in Computer Science and Commutation, Computer Science, Electric and Communication Engineering, ICT or relevant subjects will be given due consideration but is not a requirement.

Experience:

• Minimum 4 years (with secondary education) or 1 year (with bachelor´s degree) of relevant experience in trouble shooting for MS Office software packages, running operating system, and installation of application software is required.

Required  skills:

• Knowledge of Windows-based packages/applications, Web designing & programming, knowledge of webcams.
• Experience in logistics support and asset management.

Desired skills:

• Experience in analyzing requisition from clients and coordination with vendors for maintenance, repair, and servicing of IT equipment and office assets.
• Experience in monitoring file server traffic, usage and performance on a regular basis. 
• Experience in preparing office inventory, physical verification according to the inventory list & generating report.
• Proven experience in printing official logistics and supply to organize & manage events.
• Experience in vendor management and ensure smooth supply chain.
• Experience in network administration, support to management of hardware and software platforms, telecommunications facilities.

Required Language:

• Fluency in English and Bangla is required.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Scam alert

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