Project Assistant, Demographic Resilience Project

The UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, promotes gender equality, reproductive health, youth empowerment. The organization was created in 1969, the same year the UN General Assembly declared “parents have the exclusive right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children”. Together with partners, UNFPA works in 150 countries, and in Ukraine since 1997. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

UNFPA in Ukraine works for:
• creating conditions in which every young person can fulfil the potential, lead a healthy lifestyle, know their reproductive rights and take an active social life;
• conducting sexual and reproductive health campaigns to improve access to health and care services and improve its quality, especially for young people;
• combating gender stereotypes in society (through the media, compulsory education for civil servants on gender mainstreaming, the improvement of national gender policy and anti-discrimination expertise of school textbooks);
• providing information and services to gender-based violence survivors through the creation of crisis centres, supporting the work of mobile teams of psycho-social and support, providing expert support and raising general awareness in society.

The demographic challenges exacerbated and resulting from the ongoing war in Ukraine threaten the country’s collective capacity to effectively recover if not adequately addressed. With UNFPA’s technical support, societies in Ukraine will be resilient to, and can thrive amidst, experienced demographic change, and Ukraine’s recovery process will be strengthened. This project aims to strengthen the Government of Ukraine’s (GoU) capacity to produce and utilise reliable population data and estimates for the development, implementation, and monitoring of public policies and programmes focused on recovery and demographic resilience.

As of 2024, over 14.6 million people – about 40 per cent of the estimated Ukrainian population – need humanitarian assistance. Around 5.9 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe. About 40 per cent of young people have been displaced from their homes. Two million have left the country. Families face increased challenges stemming from military conscription. Female-headed and single-earner households are expected to grow, along with a rise in households with individuals with disabilities. In 2020, before the full-scale invasion and the COVID-19 pandemic, the average life expectancy was 71.4 years, the lowest rate in Europe. These demographic changes require a focus on strengthening demographic resilience. Safeguarding and investing in human capital are needed through empowering women, promoting gender equality, and creating a more inclusive economy and society, to facilitate the recovery and promote sustainable development. By applying a demographic resilience approach, UNFPA will support GoU to effectively address a complex set of demographic challenges exacerbated by the war that may impede early recovery efforts, pose threats to the
demographic future, and jeopardize the achievement of its national development priorities.

The project is tailored to meet these challenges by leveraging UNFPA’s established expertise in demographic resilience. The Government of Ukraine (GoU) recognizes the critical need for comprehensive, accurate, and timely population data to inform social policy making, national budgeting,
and recovery/development planning. In that regard, GoU requires continued technical assistance and support in its efforts to strengthen the use of population data and estimates in Ukraine.

Through the project, central and local authorities will be trained to anticipate and plan for new demographic futures and better target scarce public resources for critical interventions and investments.

The project will empower Ukraine to address its demographic challenges proactively and effectively by:

– Strengthening national capacity for data collection, analysis, and utilisation.
– Improving the accuracy and granularity of population estimates and projections.
– Informing evidence and rights-based policies and programmes for recovery and demographic resilience.
– Operationalizing a comprehensive National Demographic Strategy to address the long-term demographic needs of Ukraine.

Under the direct supervision of the Data Technical Specialist and in close collaboration with the Programme Analyst (Population Data Analysis and Estimation), the National UN Volunteer will support programme initiatives that strengthen the Government of Ukraine’s capacity to produce and utilize
reliable population data and estimates for the development, implementation, and monitoring of public policies and programmes focused on recovery and demographic resilience.

– Assist in arranging programme activities, including budget preparation, venue coordination, material preparation, and presentation development.
– Liaise and coordinate with GBV and SRH programme colleagues, implementing partners (IPs), and relevant stakeholders to ensure effective planning, implementation, and monitoring of activities and interventions for timely achievement of results.
– Monitor IP activity delivery as per agreed work plans and support work plan revisions and review of IP reports.
– Conduct monitoring visits, and participate in review, steering, and evaluation meetings, analyzing evidence to assess programme results systematically.
– Create and regularly update the project portfolio implementation plan, highlighting variances in programmatic targets and resource use.
– Manage budget allocations for UNFPA direct delivery and IP implementation in the ERP system.
– Assist with programme-related procurement, ensuring compliance with UNFPA Procurement Procedures, including collecting supporting documents, obtaining price quotations, preparing comparative tables, and coordinating receipt and inspection reports.
– Compile background materials and prepare briefs and summaries as requested.
– Support communication and awareness-raising activities for the project portfolio, document best practices and success stories, and assist in producing media and presentation materials.
– Ensure proper reporting and communication on conducted events, including participant analysis, feedback on communication products, and mass media analysis.
– Develop innovative outreach solutions, including communication technologies, social media platforms, and applications.
– Arrange working meetings and events, prepare draft minutes, and coordinate feedback from participants.
– Prepare presentations, summary reports, and brief notes that visually communicate the results and impact of the project portfolio.
– Ensure quality and completeness of programme document filing, including e-archiving and maintaining up-to-date electronic mailing lists on programme and technical matters.
– Manage logistical, administrative, and financial arrangements for portfolio activities, including technical workshops, inter-agency meetings, panel discussions, roundtables, missions, and other events.

– Perform assigned tasks within the Global Programming System and TRIP system for UNFPA program management.
– Translate and draft letters and programme documents, and provide oral translation as needed.
– Perform other related tasks as assigned by the supervisor.

Results/Expected Outputs:

– The Project Associate contributes to the strengthening the resilience and economic stability of GBV survivors, and improving equitable access of GBV survivors and people at risk to survivorcentred services, utilizing strategic communication to amplify the impact and reach of economic
empowerment programs.
– S/he works in a client, quality and results-oriented manner in close collaboration with GBV Programme Team members, all units of the UNFPA Country Office (CO), UNFPA implementing partners (IPs), as well as personnel of other UN agencies to exchange information and ensure smooth implementation of GBV Programme streams and interventions in line with the approved work plans, indicators and milestones (Programme Results Framework).
– Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment
– A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed