Mission and objectives

UNDP works with the Government and people of Pakistan to develop local solutions to development challenges. In an evolving development context, we support Pakistan’s efforts to build a more equitable, prosperous, peaceful and resilient society, and to achieve its SDGs and COP25 targets. UNDP promotes transformational change by fostering strategic partnerships with national counterparts in the federal, provincial and regional governments, civil society, the private sector and the local and international community. UNDP supports transformational change by providing technical assistance focusing on developing capacity within national and local authorities, providing solutions with strong monitoring and evaluation tools, and delivering programmes with maximum efficiency, transparency and accountability. UNDP’s ultimate goal is to improve the lives of the people of Pakistan through keeping people out of poverty; governance for peaceful, just and inclusive societies; crisis prevention and increased resilience; nature-based solutions for development; clean affordable energy; and women's empowerment and gender equality.

Context

UNDP works to improve the lives of vulnerable communities, with the overarching objective of preventing loss of development gains, promoting human rights, and finding sustainable pathways to development. UNDP projects under the democratic governance portfolio aims to strengthen state institutions, support democratic development and the rule of law, ensure crisis prevention, support policy development, and integrate gender equality into all areas of work. UNDP works to support the human rights ecosystem by strengthening human rights institutions to promote and protect human rights for all. This UNV assignment is part of UNDP Pakistan’s Decentralization, Human Rights and Local Governance (DHL) project. The DHL Project works to strengthen rights-based governance in Pakistan at national and sub-national levels. For this objective, the DHL project engages government entities, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), private sector, civil society, academia, and other key stakeholders to protect, respect, and promote human rights. Furthermore, UNDP-DHL aims to empower local communities, human rights defenders, and vulnerable & marginalized populations to ensure an inclusive and participatory approach to the implementation of human rights laws, policies, and frameworks. UNDP-DHL has commenced a multi-year project supported by the European Union (EU) which will engage a diverse set of public and private institutions, along with civil society stakeholders, to advance human rights across Pakistan. The project will focus on four pillars, including governmental human rights structures, national human rights institutions, human rights education and business and human rights. Under the programme, UNDP-DHL continues its support to the Ministry of Human Rights and relevant government departments to strengthen their capacities, develop human rights policies, and national action plans and facilitated effective human rights data collection and reporting. UNDP-DHL’s approach towards strengthening governmental human rights structures for human rights implementation, reporting and follow up is integrated into activities and consultative processes across the programme, ensuring a holistic approach. The overall goal is to enhance the fulfilment of human rights in Pakistan. The main objectives of the programme with regards to strengthening human rights structures are: • To improve the effectiveness of institutions and systems promoting, protecting, and fulfilling human rights. • To strengthen reporting and digitization capacities of national and sub-national governments to provide people centered, and inclusive services. The incumbent UNV will be stationed at the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) in Islamabad and will be responsible for supporting the Ministry with its coordination efforts related to implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the Huqooq–e–Pakistan II project.

Task Description

Under the day-to-day direct supervision of Director (IC Wing) at MoHR, the Program Implementation Specialist will support the MoHR with HeP II implementation activities. The key responsibilities include: • Project Planning: • Support the planning and execution of project activities across federal and provincial levels under the guidance of the Program Implementation Expert. • Assist in preparing detailed work plans, activity calendars, and implementation schedules to guide field-level delivery. • Contribute to stakeholder mapping and contextual research to inform implementation planning and local engagement strategies. • Follow up with relevant focal persons from federal ministries, provincial human rights departments, and line departments to obtain necessary inputs and logistical details for activity roll-out. • Provide operational and logistical support for trainings, consultations, public events, and outreach sessions conducted under the project. • Assist in organizing and documenting internal implementation planning sessions and field-level team meetings. • Project Implementation: • Track activity-level progress against the work plan and flag any delays or gaps in delivery for internal review. • Help prepare tools, guidelines, and activity-specific materials for use by stakeholders or field teams during implementation. • Assist in collecting and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative data from project activities, stakeholder engagements, and field observations to inform policy discussions and evidence-based programming. • Draft activity reports, event summaries, and initial inputs for donor and internal reporting. • Maintain regular updates with the Program Implementation Expert to ensure tasks are aligned with overall project implementation goals and timelines. • Monitor implementation activities on the ground to identify emerging operational, political, or logistical risks, and promptly escalate concerns to the Program Implementation Expert for mitigation planning. • Maintain a basic risk tracking log to document field-level risks, mitigation actions taken, and follow-up status, ensuring issues are flagged early and learning is captured for future planning. • Institutional Research and Policy Support: • Conduct background research and desk reviews on thematic human rights issues, relevant legal frameworks, and subnational policy environments to support activity design and stakeholder engagement. • Support the drafting of briefing notes, policy summaries, and analytical inputs for internal use and external dissemination, including contributions to government and donor reports. • Help compile documentation on provincial and federal human rights commitments, practices, and implementation gaps to inform project strategy and policy dialogue. • Track policy developments and public discourse related to human rights across federal and provincial levels and flag key updates for the project team. • Contribute to the organization and documentation of policy dialogues, technical roundtables, and consultations with government and civil society stakeholders. • Work with the Program Implementation Expert to translate research findings into actionable recommendations for local implementation and policy advocacy.

Competencies and values

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

Living conditions and remarks

As this is a national UNV assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. UNV Field Unit will help you open a Pak rupee bank account with Standard Chartered Bank or any other local bank at your duty station.