Administrative & Liaison Assistant - (Open to External Applicants)

Please note the appropriate Tier indicated in the vacancy title and ensure that you are holding the applicable contract as defined below:

• Tier 1: UNDP/ UNCDF/ UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed term (FTA) appointments (defined as "internal" candidates)  
• Tier 2: UNDP/ UNCDF/ UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA) and personnel on regular PSA contracts 
• Tier 3: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Office/Unit/Project Description    

The UNDP Country Office administers and manages common premises and shared services on behalf of the co-located UN agencies, funds, and programs. The Common Premises Unit is established to ensure the efficient, secure, and cost-effective management of all common premises, assets, and services. The unit's objective is to provide high-quality support services to all Participating Agencies, enabling them to focus on their core mandates  

Under the guidance and durect supervision of the Operations Specialist - CP, the Administrative & Liaison Assistant contributes to the mandate implementation of the mission including protection of civilians, facilitating the interaction, and confidence building between the mission military and local communities and to measure the impact of the mission protection activities. 

Scope of Work  

Community engagement and information management. 

• Coordinate the gathering of information on local perceptions of communities on needs, concerns and aspirations with regards to the creation of conditions for sustainable peace; 

• Coordinate information sharing on local conflict dynamics between the military component, local authorities and communities; 

• Coordinate the setting up of communication networks and forums to increase the mission communication and interactions with local people, including through the support to outreach activities; 

• Facilitate communication between mission staff and the local communities and translate official documents from one language to another with clarity and precision; 

• Assist Civilian and Military Personnel in their field activities, including patrols, capacity-building efforts and interaction settings with local authorities and communities. 

Protection of civilians and early warning. 

• Follow up on the implementation of early warning mechanisms and ensuring the smooth functioning of these with a view to facilitating the mission response to protection alerts; 

• Provide advice and early warning on protection threats and trends; including, with regard to sexual violence and child recruitment; 

• Liaise with military, humanitarian local authorities and communities in order to update and implement contingency protection plans. 

• Document accurately local political, socio-economic conflict-related developments as well as more specifically protection threats, trends and activities to update the protection database of the mission; 

Peacebuilding and social cohesion. 

• Contribute towards the promotion of social cohesion in communities through sensitization sessions, and the empowerment of local community initiatives that result in cohesion and peace within communities 

• Report emerging humanitarian needs to the coordinators as appropriate; 

The incumbent shall perform other duties within their functional profile, as deemed necessary, for the efficient functioning of the Office, Organization. 

Institutional Arrangement 

The Administrative & Liaison Assistant will work under the direct supervision of the Operations Specialist - CP. 

Competencies 

Core 

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: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible ​ 

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  

Thematic Area 

Name 

Definition 

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. 

Negotiation and Influence 

Negotiation and Influence 

Reach a common understanding/agreement, persuade others, resolve points of difference through a dialogue, negotiate mutually acceptable solutions and create 'win-win' situations. 

Ethics 

UN policy knowledge -ethics 

Knowledge and understanding of the UN Staff Regulations and Rules and other policies relating to ethics and integrity. 

Business Management 

Monitoring and evaluation 

Ability to systematically monitor results of strategies, programmes, and activities with a view to make sure that they are being implemented effectively; Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback and reporting on the consistency or discrepancy between planned activities and programme management and results.  

Ability to make independent judgment of the management and results of strategies, programmes and activities based on set criteria and benchmark, keeping in mind the needs and concerns of client, current and upcoming.  

Knowledge and understanding of monitoring and evaluation frameworks, concepts, methodologies, systems, processes, and tools. Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks. Ability to anticipate client's upcoming  needs and concerns.  

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA 

Min. Education requirements 

Secondary education is required. 

University Degree (bachelor´s degree) in Social Sciences, Public Administration, International Relations , or equivalent field will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement. 

Min. years of relevant work experience  

Minimum of 5 years (with secondary education) or 2 years (with bachelor's degree) of relevant experience in community engagement, including leading initiatives and mobilizing local residents for community participation.  

Required  skills  

Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.), data packages, and web-based management systems such as ERP.  

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section 

Relevant experience with UN/UNDP or an international organization. 

Experience in conflict management and support to state institutions. 

Knowledge of fundamental human rights, local legal principles and institutional framework. 

Demonstrated ability to thrive within a complex multicultural and multinational environment. 

Experience in analyzing local context based on local and national documents. 

Required Language(s)  

Fluency in English and Arabic languages is required. 

Knowledge of Kurdish language is desired. 

Professional Certificates 

Certificate in communication, community work, project monitoring, logistical, administrative issues is an asset. 

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

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see

---