Community Engagement Assistant

Mission and objectives

The UN Development Programme is the lead UN agency fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in more than 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. In the Pacific, UNDP provides regional and country support to ten countries (Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu) and regional support to five countries (Cook Islands, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, and Tokelau), together with a total population of 2.4 million. UNDP is guided by a Sub-regional Programme Document for the Pacific Island Countries and Territories 2018-2022, which in turn contributes to the achievement of an overarching UN system-wide Pacific Strategy. The Programme is shaped to assist countries to advance the global 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda tailored to each country's priorities, through focus on data, policy prioritization, participatory planning, and budgeting and monitoring - and with accelerated action to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP seeks to target the most vulnerable i.e. people experiencing hardship, the marginalized living in remote rural areas, those who are vulnerable to climate and disaster risks, as well as women and youth excluded from socio-political and economic participation. UNDP adheres to an inclusive, pro-poor and human rights-based approaches that leverage cross-practice, multi-disciplinary expertise of UNDP.

Context

The Vaka Pasifika project supports Pacific Island countries in strengthening public financial management (PFM), accountability, transparency and the effective use of public resources to contribute to more inclusive and sustainable development outcomes. As part of its engagement with Pacific stakeholders, the project seeks to strengthen awareness and understanding of PFM issues by documenting practical experiences, lessons and examples from across the region. Effective communication and storytelling can help translate complex PFM concepts into accessible and relatable narratives, demonstrating how public finance decisions, accountability mechanisms and the management of public resources can affect communities, public services and people’s everyday lives. Human-interest stories can also help bring Pacific perspectives and experiences into wider regional discussions on PFM and development. Against this background, the PFM Communications and Storytelling Associate will support the Vaka Pasifika project team in researching, identifying and developing a collection of PFM-related human-interest stories for publication. The assignment will involve desk research, stakeholder engagement, interviews, information gathering, fact-checking and drafting of accessible stories that connect technical PFM issues with practical experiences and development outcomes. Working under the guidance of the Vaka Pasifika project team, the UN Volunteer will contribute to the identification of relevant story themes and sources, support the coordination of interviews and research, and assist in developing and refining stories for the intended audience. The assignment will provide an opportunity to strengthen communication around PFM issues while highlighting Pacific experiences, perspectives and practical examples.

Task Description

The Vaka Pasifika project supports Pacific Island countries in strengthening public financial management (PFM), accountability, transparency and the effective use of public resources for inclusive and sustainable development. The Community Engagement Assistant – Public Finance Management will support the project in documenting community experiences of how public finance decisions, resource allocation and public services affect ordinary citizens and communities. The assignment will focus on capturing practical, human-interest stories that make PFM issues accessible and reflect Pacific community perspectives. The main responsibility is to identify communities, engage with community members, conduct interviews and document relevant stories and experiences. Volunteers will support information gathering, basic fact-checking and preparation of stories or story summaries for review. The assignment will help bring community voices and lived experiences into wider discussions on PFM, accountability and public resource management across the Pacific.

Competencies and values

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Self-management

Living conditions and remarks

As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. UN Volunteer entitlements and allowances: The purpose of allowances for UN Volunteers is to enable them to sustain a modest and secure standard of living at the duty station. The allowances are in no way to be understood as a compensation, reward or salary in exchange for the volunteer work.