Mission and objectives

UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, is the sexual and reproductive health agency of the UN. It works to uphold the rights and choices of women, girls and young people across more than 150 countries. UNFPA aims to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person can fulfil their potential. UNFPA’s mission is achieving three zeros: zero preventable maternal death, zero unmet need for family planning and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices by 2030. As the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, we aim to: (1) Enable people to choose, freely and responsibly, whether and when to have children; (2) Protect women from preventable maternal deaths; (3) Eradicate gender-based violence and harmful practices; and, (4) Enable governments to plan for changing population needs.

Context

The UNFPA strategic plan, 2026-2029, calls for accelerating the reduction in unmet need for family planning, accelerating the reduction of GBV and harmful practices, and adapting to demographic change strengthening the resilience of societies for future generations while upholding individual rights and choices. UNFPA in Malaysia will contribute towards these outcomes via two main outputs: (1) strengthened national and subnational policies, plans, commitments, and financing mechanisms for SRH and reproductive rights, gender equality, GBV prevention and response, and harmful practices; and (2) strengthened national and subnational capacity to formulate, implement and monitor evidence-based policies and programmes that account for demographic changes and other megatrends, based on the analysis of reliable and disaggregated data. These outputs contribute to the achievement of each outcome; they have a multidimensional, ‘many-to- many’ relationship with these results. UNFPA in Malaysia’s programme is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), the 13th Malaysia Plan, ICPD Plan of Action and will contribute to the achievement of SDG Goal 3 on health, Goal 4 on education and Goal 5 on gender equality. UNFPA in Malaysia works closely with the Government and with civil society, academia, experts, Parliamentarians, young people, religious leaders, media, private sector and sister agencies in the United Nations Country Team, as well as working with bilateral partners, geared in particular towards collaborating on engagement in policy dialogue and advocacy. With a presence in Malaysia since 1973, UNFPA in Malaysia has been a key partner for the advancement of gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and prevention of GBV; aligning to the SDG Agenda for 2030. Under our 2026 - 2030 Country Programme, UNFPA in Malaysia intends to close the outstanding gaps in relation to UNFPA’s mandate, ensuring no one is left behind from sexual and reproductive health, and is safe from gender-based violence. Currently, UNFPA serves as the Chair of the UN Gender Results Group and has been the United Nations Country Team’s focal point for Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. The work requires working closely with other members of the UN family, and other partners. The UNV Gender Programme Associate will support UNFPA in Malaysia in the areas of advocacy, partnership, programme support, innovation, enabling strategic advocacy and partnership particularly in the areas of gender equality and prevention of gender-based violence. For more information, please visit the UNFPA website: https://www.unfpa.org/ and the UNFPA in Malaysia website: https://malaysia.unfpa.org/

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the Gender Consultant, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: ● Provide programmatic support for UNFPA in Malaysia’s gender portfolio including: i. Support gender programme planning, workplans and budget development, coordination, implementation and reporting. ii. Conduct legal and policy research, data analysis, and synthesis to inform gender programme design and advocacy. iii. Assist in drafting presentations, briefs, and internal documents for UNFPA and inter-agency use. iv. Support programme monitoring including conducting field visits, drafting programme monitoring reports to inform programme improvements/evaluation and impact. v. Provide support for gender-related events including event planning, coordination, sending out invitations, organising materials, rapporteuring, logistics, post-event reports, advocacy follow-ups. vi. Support the UN Malaysia Gender Results Group (GRG) and its activities including supporting reporting on Gender Scorecard indicators, support preparation of relevant documents and liaising with GRG members. vii. Support PSEA initiatives including participating in PSEA Network meetings and supporting internal coordination. ● Support internal and external knowledge sharing of good practices including building UNFPA in Malaysia's understanding of GBV, harmful practices, and gender equality, collaborating with other UNFPA country offices in setting up South - South exchanges around successful approaches in the region and beyond. ● Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Competencies and values

● Commitment to Continuous Learning ● Communication ● Integrity ● Professionalism ● Working in Teams

Living conditions and remarks

Malaysia is an upper middle-income country; multi-ethnic and multi-religious country located in Southeast Asia. Malaysia's population is a mix of three major ethnic groups (Malays, Chinese and Indians), each with its own heritage, culture and tradition. Spoken languages are Malay (official), English, Tamil, and Chinese (Cantonese). English is taught as a second language in schools and is mandatory hence English is frequently used by the population. Malaysia's official religion is Islam, with a majority of the population (Malays, mostly) practicing the religion followed by other religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and others. The UN office is located in Putrajaya which is approximately 40 kilometers away from the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Putrajaya is a planned city which functions as the administrative capital and the judicial capital of Malaysia. Both Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya are well-developed urban cities, making it easy to access accommodations, transportation and facilities. The accommodation facilities are in general good with a range of choices, with easy access to the UN office. It is possible to rent unfurnished and furnished accommodations from MYR 800 to 3,000 depending on the areas in KL and Putrajaya. Transportation in Kuala Lumpur is diverse and efficient, offering an extensive network of buses, light rail commuter trains, and metered taxis, however transportation in Putrajaya is only limited to public buses and taxis. Another popular transportation mode in both cities is by using Grab, similar to metered taxis but uses personal cars instead. The Grab application can be installed on phones, making the service accessible anywhere in Malaysia.