Organization: United Nations Development Programme on behalf of United Nations Volunteers (UNV) India
Position: NUNV Project Officer – Skill Development
Type of Job: Contractual (One year with possibility of extension)
Location: Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
Minimum Eligibility Requirements:
Educational Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, Rural Development, Public Policy, Social Work, Economics, Sociology, Management or related fields
* Master’s degree is desirable in the field of Social Sciences, Rural Development, Public Policy, Social Work, Economics, Sociology, Management or related fields (desired)
Experience: Minimum 3 years of experience
Desired:
* Atleast 3 years of relevant experience in skill development programmes for rural communities
* Experience in research, communication and documentation in the field of skill development
* Experience of use of ICT in vocational education will be preferred
Skills required: Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English and Hindi
Competencies and Values:
- Integrity and professionalism: demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures in a politically sensitive environment, while exercising discretion, impartiality and neutrality; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented.
- Accountability: mature and responsible; ability to operate in compliance with organizational rules and regulations.
- Commitment to continuous learning: initiative and willingness to learn new skills and stay abreast of new developments in area of expertise; ability to adapt to changes in work environment.
- Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities.
- Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender;
- Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups;
- Flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently in austere, remote and potentially hazardous environments for protracted periods, involving physical hardship and little comfort, and including possible extensive travel within the area of operations; willingness to transfer to other duty stations within area of operations as may be necessary;
- Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.
Organizational Context and Project Description: It has been very well recognized globally that skill development and entrepreneurship act as key drivers in accelerating economic growth of a nation by promoting livelihood opportunities. The Government of India has laid a huge impetus on skill building and entreprenerhip efforts in the country, especially amongst the youth through various skill development and entreprise generation schemes. The issue of skill-building and entreprenruship for livelihood holds more significance in view of tribal communities, constituting 8.6% of India’s population with low human development indices, plagued with low handholding, unfertilized land, low productivity and limited reach of the government programmes. Skilling or emplyability, therefore becomes critical, for the tribal youth facing diverse and distinct socio-economic needs. Given the criticality to bridge the skill gaps and the geographical dispersion of the tribal, it is important to use innovative technological solutions.
United Nations Development Programme and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar have partnered to expand skilling and entrepreneurship opportunities for Tribal Youth in Odisha. The partnership intend to align the aspirations of tribal youth and competencies by increasing access to quality, market relevant and area specific training programmes for the tribal youth. A technology-enabled blended skilling model is being developed and will be implemented through establishment of Centre for Excellence on Skills and Entrepreneurship (COE) within the KISS campus and district level Incubation Laboratories.
The partnership will work towards:
- Scalable and replicable models of skilling and career counselling for tribal youth, by maximizing the potential of technological penetration in remote tribal areas
- Customized, context specific and market linked skilling modules that fulfills the aspiration of the current generation of tribal youth along with meeting the industry demand
- Engaging local industries and enterprises to provide on-the-job practical training to local youth
- Creating support for placement and entrepreneurship through systematic career assessment and counselling, mentoring and handholding
Roles and Responsibilities: Under the direct supervision of Director (Academics), Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences and with the overall guidance of the UNDP Assistant Country Director (Poverty) and the concerned UNDP Programme Officer (Poverty), the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
- Technical support to plan and roll out the implementation of ‘Blended Skill Model’ through Centre for Excellence at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences and district level ‘Incubation Labs’
- Undertake compilation of national and international models of use of technology for imparting skills to the vulnerable and marginalized community
- Technical support in identifying most relevant technology led skilling model for adaption/promotion by Centre for Excellence
- Undertake mapping of the existing programmes of vocational education (trades, target age-groups, curriculum etc.), life and soft skills in Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences and align it with the focus areas of skilling and entrepreneurship under Centre for Excellence
- Technical support to develop tools/instruments to undertake Skill Gap Analysis to define market demands, local opportunities etc.
- Technical support to create and curate contents for new vocational courses and sourcing existing e-contents/e-learning modules
- Contextualize the available Career Guidance and Career Counselling tools for rollout by the Centre for Excellence and district level Incubation Labs in the context of tribal youth
- Technical support to create a cadre of counsellors from within the campus, both teachers as well as peer learners
- Extending technical support to develop knowledge-portal to host e-content, career assessment and counselling tools and other knowledge products
- Capture and document results, case studies, and prepare policy briefs on skilling tribal youths
- Any other task assigned by the supervisor
Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:
- Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
- Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
- Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
- Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
- Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
- Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.
Results/Expected Outputs:
- Development of an implementation plan for “Blended Skilling Model” in Centre for Excellence in Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) and district ‘Incubation Labs’
- Development of tools and instruments (surveys, questionnaires, strategy) for Skill Gap Analysis
- Compilation of research on best technology-led skilling models for marginalized communities and existing vocational programmes conducted in KISS
- Identification of 4 new vocational trades for training
- Creation of new e- contents/sourcing available contents aligned with NSQF and NSDC standards
- Prototyping career counselling tool for Centre for Excellence in the current academic and geographical context
- Documention of knowledge products-best practices, solution-exchange, feedback sharing, research findings, policy briefs etc. for hosting on the knowledge portal
Remuneration: INR 39,584 per month
Application Process: Interested candidates should submit their applications at Job_Project Officer_UNDP_UNV
Living Conditions: Bhubanswar is the capital of the Indian state of Odisha. Being one of the largest cities in Odisha, it gains significance as a centre of economic and religious activity. With a population of around 837,737, it is categorised as a Tier-2 city and now a smart city. It is one of the fastest growing and planned cities in India with a large network of industry and commerce, services such as tourism, information technology and educational institutions in the form of schools and colleges. The city usually experiences a hot and humid temeperature during the summer and monsoon months and mildy cold temperature during the winter months of December and January.
Conditions of Service: A 12-month contract; with subsequent contract extensions subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.
Travel to duty station (if applicable) and a Settling-In-Grant will be provided in the event duty station is not within commuting distance from the place of recruitment. A Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) (as mentioned) will be provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included (health insurance for up to 3 dependents), as well as final repatriation (if applicable) and resettlement allowance for satisfactory service.
Last date to apply: 07 July 2017 (USA standard)
Note:
— United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.
— United Nations Volunteers reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this opening for other openings with United Nations Volunteers with similar assignment description, experience and educational requirements.
About UNV:
The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers.
In most cultures volunteerism is deeply embedded in long-established, ancient traditions of sharing and support within the communities. In this context, UN Volunteers take part in various forms of volunteerism and play a role in development and peace together with co-workers, host agencies and local communities.
In all assignments, UN Volunteers promote volunteerism through their action and conduct. Engaging in volunteer activity can effectively and positively enrich their understanding of local and social realities, as well as create a bridge between themselves and the people in their host community. This will make the time they spend as UN Volunteers even more rewarding and productive.