Policy Research and Qualitative Analysis

Organizational Context

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), established in 1965, is the UN's global development network operating in nearly 170 countries. Its mission is to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities, and build resilience. The Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) serves as the primary knowledge and advisory center for the Europe and Central Asia region, focusing on disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, and risk-informed development.

Job Purpose

This Online Volunteer assignment supports UNDP's Climate and Disaster Resilience Team at the Istanbul Regional Hub. The role involves conducting research and analysis on disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, and risk-informed development across Europe and Central Asia. The volunteer will identify and assess relevant indicators, data sources, and policy approaches, emphasizing cross-country comparability and data availability. The findings are crucial for ongoing analytical work on country risk profiles, contributing to evidence-based assessments of regional resilience capacities.

Responsibilities

The Online Volunteer will support policy research on disaster resilience and risk reduction in Europe and Central Asia, contributing to UNDP's evidence-based assessments. Key duties include conducting desk research on international, regional, and national frameworks (e.g., Sendai Framework, NAPs, NDCs); identifying comparable indicators for disaster resilience capacities, considering data availability and consistency across the region; reviewing and analyzing approaches used by governments and organizations to assess disaster preparedness, response, resilience, and risk governance for cross-country comparability; applying selected approaches to a sample of countries to document observations on data practicality; and preparing concise research outputs such as summaries, briefing notes, and background materials.

Work Experience

While specific years of experience are not detailed, the role requires experience in conducting desk research, literature reviews, policy analysis, or institutional analysis. Familiarity with disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, or sustainable development policy areas is desirable. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel, is essential.

Skills

Required skills include strong research and analytical abilities for reviewing and synthesizing policy documents and identifying trends. Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel) is necessary. Fluency in English is mandatory, with knowledge of Russian or another language from the Europe and Central Asia region being an advantage. The role values an ability to work independently and contribute to evidence-based assessments.

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