Mission and objectives
UN Women exists to advance women’s rights, gender equality, and the empowerment of all women and girls. As the lead UN entity on gender equality and secretariat of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women shift laws, institutions, social behaviours, and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world. UN Women’s partnerships with governments, women’s movements, and the private sector coupled with its coordination of the broader United Nations translate progress into lasting changes.Context
In Türkiye, in line with its Global Strategic Plan 2026-2029 and the overall UN-Turkiye Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2026-2030, 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 Turkiye”. Towards these goals, UN Women implements programmes and projects that aim to advance gender equality, improve women's access to opportunities, rights and services in political, social and economic life and combat gender stereotypes, discrimination, and violence, as required by international and national legal and policy commitments. UN Women collaborates with numerous partners – central and local level government authorities, civil society organizations, including women's organizations and platforms, academia, private sector companies, other UN agencies. It commits itself to the Leaving No One Behind principle by supporting targeted actions to remove the obstacles that marginalized and vulnerable groups of women face in accessing their rights and to promote them as agents of change. Globally and in Türkiye, UN Women engages with and supports civil society organizations (CSOs), in particular women's organizations, as key advocacy and knowledge partners, as well as implementing partners in operational activities in advancing women's economic, political and social rights. UN Women's work with civil society encompasses facilitating and expanding spaces for CSOs to come together for coordinated actions and to engage in dialogue with duty-bearers and decision-makers at local, national, regional and international levels, and in the context of inter-governmental processes. UN Women is focused on convening multi-stakeholder partnerships and engaging a wide variety of stakeholders, including men and boys and young people, to bring forth transformative change towards gender equality, in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Sustainable Development Goals and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Under this framework, UN Women embarked on the second phase of “Strong Civic Space for Equality and Women’s Empowerment“with the financial support of the European Union. The overall objective of the project to be implemented until October 2027 is to reduce gender inequalities by enhancing the ability of CSOs in Türkiye to be agents of transformative change towards gender equality and women's rights. The specific objective is "Women's rights groups, women-led CSOs and other relevant rights-based CSOs more effectively influence the gender equality and women's empowerment agenda at the national and local levels." Reporting to Programme Specialist (NOC), the Programme Assistant based in Ankara, will provide administrative support in day-to-day implementation of activities of the projects under the CSO Portfolio. The Programme Assistant will work in close collaboration with team members of the CSO Portfolio as well as with the Operations, Communications and other project teams for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex programme/project-related issues and information delivery.Task Description
Competencies and values
Living conditions and remarks
This is a volunteer assignment, not employment. By sharing your time, energy, and talents, you can support communities in need and become part of something greater than yourself — a global movement for peace, development, and humanitarian aid. Volunteering strengthens trust, solidarity, and reciprocity among citizens, and it can promote a sense of belonging and purpose. The assignment will be based in Ankara, Turkiye and requires full-time engagement with 3 to 5 days presence in the office or field. The UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging her/his own housing and other living essentials. The Summary of UNV Entitlement (National UN Volunteer Specialist): All paid in TRY currency based on monthly UNORE rates. • Current Monthly Living Allowance (MLA): USD 1291.78 • Private insurance: Health, dental, life, and dismemberment coverage by CIGNA Note to citizens of Türkiye: As per UN’s diplomatic mission status, it is not included in National Security Institution’s (SGK) system but can be only initiated on private basis. • Entry allowance (one-time payment): USD 400 • Exit allowance: USD 134.56 per month and upon the satisfactory completion of assignment • Annual leave: 2.5 days accrued per calendar month • Free access to different learning platforms and the UN & UNV network Notes: 1) The allowances are in no way to be understood as a compensation, reward or salary in exchange for the volunteer work. 2) It's important to note that UNV assignments are volunteer assignments, not employment. The purpose of the allowances and entitlements paid to UN Volunteers is to enable UN Volunteers to sustain a secure standard of living at the duty stations in line with United Nations standards without incurring personal costs. 3) You can check full entitlements at the duty station: https://app.unv.org/calculator 4) Please read the complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos