Client Engagement Assistant (Open to Tier 1 and 2 applicants only)

Better Than Cash
Better Than Cash

Full-time

Lusaka, Zambia

Posted on Oct 28, 2026
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Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

  • Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
  • Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
  • Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
  • Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Office/Unit/Project Description

At country level, the UNV Field Unit (FU) and/or designated UNV personnel are responsible for the mobilization and placement of UN Volunteers in UN Agencies, Funds, and Programmes in the areas of peace, development and humanitarian assistance. UNV Field Units/designated UNV personnel represent and position UNV in the respective countries with a focus on the UN Country Team, bringing UNV’s services and solutions closer to its partners within a client service approach and collaborating with other stakeholders from government, civil society and private sector. As UNDP represents UNV at country level, UNV personnel are usually hosted within a UNDP Office and are accountable to the Supervisor and UNV Executive Coordinator for compliance with UNV and UNDP policies, rules and regulations

Scope of Work

  1. Assist in mobilizing volunteers and developing and maintaining partnerships
  • Support in the management of key accounts of assigned partnerships.
  • Support and maintain relationships with assigned UN partner/s in the country/countries to ensure an understanding of UNV’s mandate, key offers and the added value that UN Volunteer assignments bring in support to the achievement of their respective mandates.
  • Support in the identification of volunteer placement opportunities based on UN agency strategies and plans and present UNV value proposition and volunteer modalities with the objective of maximizing the relevance of volunteerism for impact.
  • Support in the preparation of descriptions of assignment, with a focus on the assigned partners.
  • Support in the development of offers and initiatives that respond to the evolving needs of partners for volunteer solutions.
  • Contribute to the organization of advocacy campaigns, key events and other external communication efforts that raise awareness and foster engagement.
  • Ensure knowledge is documented, systematized and fed back into volunteer mobilization, using UNV's Client Relationship Management (CRM) to track interactions and updates.
  • In consultation with the Online Volunteering (OV) Programme Associate in the respective Regional Office, act as a focal point for online volunteers and accreditation of OV service organizations, focusing on supporting host entities with developing OV opportunities through advocacy engagements and promoting the concept of OV.

2. Contribute to business intelligence in support of strategic and sustained mobilization

  • Support partnerships development by collecting and analyzing data of UN Cooperation Frameworks and agency programming frameworks to identify volunteer engagement areas.Record volunteer mobilization opportunities and business intelligence in CRM.

  • Support in the engagement with potential partners by preparing presentations, mapping etc. on opportunities for volunteerism for internal use by UNV.

  • Support the identification of opportunities for communicating on positive volunteer stories and strengthening visibility of the Agency partnership and the impact of volunteerism.

  • Contribute to the development of key messages, talking points, and reports as needed.

3. Contribute to positive volunteer experience

  • Provide support during the onboarding process, ensuring volunteers receive timely information, access to necessary resources, and a smooth start to their assignments.

  • Provide support to UN Volunteers throughout the volunteer management cycle, ensuring timely assistance and guidance during key life events to foster a smooth, inclusive, and positive volunteer experience.

  • Support volunteer engagement by responding to inquiries, sharing updates, and escalating concerns to relevant colleagues to ensure volunteers are supported throughout their service.

  • Assist in gathering feedback from volunteers through surveys or informal check-ins and help compile and share insights to inform improvements in volunteer management practices.

  • Support the organization of appreciation initiatives and local events to acknowledge volunteer contributions and foster a sense of belonging.

  • Support the Country Coordinator in ensuring volunteers’ satisfaction with their assignment.

  • Backstop other functions in the Field Unit/at country level during peak periods or personnel absences, ensuring continuity of service and contributing to a seamless and positive volunteer experience.

4. Support duty of care of UN Volunteers serving in the assigned area

  • Liaise with the respective entities’ security focal points or heads of office, as applicable, and provide support to ensure a detailed and precise understanding among UN Volunteers on all security-related issues, including e.g. assistance with headcounts in emergency situations.

  • Provide timely and accurate support to UN Volunteers undergoing medical evacuation, ensuring coordination with medical providers, host entities, and relevant offices at UNV, while maintaining compliance with established procedures.

  • Provide tailored support to UN Volunteers who do not speak the UN official language, to facilitate their understanding and providing key information, and navigate their assignment environment effectively throughout the volunteer management cycle.

  • Provide host entities with comprehensive information on the enabling instruments available through UNV that support the health and wellbeing of UN Volunteers, such as insurance and related benefits.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the general guidance of the Regional Manager, with day-to-day reporting to the Country Coordinator, the Client Engagement Assistant supports the identification, development, and cultivation of select partnerships with UN Agencies / Host Entities at country level. This includes managing the relationship with priority partners, gathering and sharing data and information that influence mobilization opportunities, ensuring client satisfaction with volunteer services, and bridging the delivery of services from centralized functions of the volunteer management cycle. The critical purpose of this role is the sustained mobilization of volunteers to the designated partners (clients) and support to the duty of care for serving volunteers.

The role involves regular contact and liaison with counterpart UN personnel at all levels, including senior level staff. Within UNV, all personnel are expected to work across multiple units, functions, and teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Competencies

Core

Achieve Results

  • Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline

Think Innovatively:

  • Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements

Learn Continuously:

  • Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback

Adapt with Agility:

  • Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible

Act with Determination:

  • Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident

Engage and Partner:

  • Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

  • Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

System Thinking

  • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgment to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact other parts of the system

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

Communication

  • Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels

Customer Satisfaction/Client Management

  • Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfil and understand the real customers' needs. Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests

  • Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns

Integration within the UN System

  • Ability to identify and integrate the capacity and assets of the UN system, and engage in joint work. Knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply this knowledge to strategic and/or practical situations

Knowledge Generation

  • Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need
  • Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations

Event planning and execution

  • Ability to plan, manage and execute public and private events to ensure that they support and amplify individual communications and advocacy initiatives, as well as UNV's overall brand and mandate

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Secondary education is required.
  • A university degree in Social Sciences or related area will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement.

Experience:

  • Minimum of 5 years (with high school diploma) or 2 years (with bachelor’s degree) of practical and relevant experience at national or international level in partnership engagement, advocacy, management, client service or related areas.

Required skills:

  • Experience in preparing presentation materials, including PowerPoint slides and talking points, as well as minute-taking and report drafting.
  • Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.), database packages, and web-based management systems such as ERP.

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

  • Previous experience with international or development organizations is considered an asset.
  • Knowledge and experience of ticket-based service management systems (e.g. Salesforce/UNALL, or equivalent) is considered an asset.

Required Language(s):

  • Fluency in English and in the local language of the duty station.

Disclaimer:

  • Only short-listed applicants will be contacted
  • The successful candidate will hold a UNDP NPSA contract
  • This vacancy announcement is open to tier 1 & 2 applicants
  • This post is for local recruitment only. It is open to citizens of Zambia.
  • All travel, interview and relocation costs, if any, incurred to take up an appointment at the duty station in Lusaka, Zambia are at the expense of the applicant.

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.

Use of AI by candidates

Applicants are invited to read UNDP’s guidance for candidates on using AI responsibly in UNDP recruitment and selection

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.

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This vacancy is open to tier 1 & 2 applicants
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