Social Norms Programme Associate, Port of Spain

## Social Norms Programme Associate, Port of Spain - Organization:UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund - Country:Trinidad and Tobago - Office:UNFPA in Port of Spain Description of assignment title:Social Norms Programme Associate Assignment country:Trinidad and Tobago Duty stations:Port of Spain Work location:On UN premises Expected start date:11/01/2026 Duration:12 monthsLong-term benefits and allowances Sustainable Development Goal:17. Partnerships for the goals Volunteer category:Associate UCoS from Apr2026 Work schedule:Full-time Number of Assignments:1 Mission and objectives: - UNFPA is the sexual and reproductive health and rights agency of the United Nations. Our mission is to deliver a world in which every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA is working with governments, civil society, regional partners, and other UN agencies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, with specific focus on Goal 3 (health and well-being), Goal 5 (gender equality), Goal 10 (reduced inequalities) and Goal 17 (partnerships). - The English-and Dutch-speaking Caribbean is part of the United Nations' “Delivering as One” initiative, and as such, the UNFPA Sub-Regional Programme for the Caribbean (2022-2026), is aligned to the United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNMSDCF) 2022-2026. UNFPA’s programmes apply gender, human rights and culturally sensitive approaches, supported by evidence-based advocacy and policy dialogue to address issues of sexual and reproductive health, gender equality and women’s empowerment, youth and population. Helping to create an enabling environment for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR); increasing national capacities to advocate for and deliver gender informed policies and programmes for access to sexual and reproductive health information and services; strengthening systems for the implementation of laws, policies and programmes to combat gender-based violence (GBV), and supporting national population and data systems are at the heart of UNFPA’s support in the Caribbean - This United Nations Volunteer (UNV) assignment is part of UNFPA's programmes in the English and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. - UNFPA's Caribbean Sub-Regional Programme (2027–2031) recognizes that discriminatory social and gender norms and harmful practices remain among the principal structural barriers to achieving gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), preventing adolescent pregnancy and gender-based violence (GBV), advancing citizen security, and ensuring inclusive and sustainable development across Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Transforming these norms requires coordinated action across governments, civil society, communities, educational institutions, media, faith-based organizations and the private sector to promote equitable gender relations, violence-free lives and meaningful participation, particularly for populations furthest behind. Transforming harmful social norms is therefore a strategic priority underpinning UNFPA's efforts to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action. - UNFPA is supporting governments and partners to strengthen gender-transformative approaches that address the underlying social, cultural and behavioural drivers of inequality through advocacy, community engagement, institutional strengthening, strategic partnerships and evidence-informed programming. This includes supporting initiatives that promote healthy relationships, shared responsibility, respectful behaviours, meaningful youth participation, community leadership, and positive engagement of women, girls, boys and men, while strengthening regional collaboration to advance gender equality, reproductive rights and violence prevention. - This assignment will contribute to laying the foundation for implementation of the new Sub-Regional Programme by supporting evidence generation, stakeholder mapping, partnership engagement, knowledge management and coordination of strategic initiatives that advance social norms transformation across the Caribbean. The assignment will also contribute to ongoing youth innovation initiatives, including the continued implementation and documentation of the Next Wave Climate Data Challenge, supporting UNFPA's commitment to meaningful youth participation and innovation as catalysts for sustainable social change. - Under the direct supervision of the Liaison Specialist for the Trinidad and Tobago Liaison Office, who also serves as the Sub-Regional Technical Specialist for Gender and Human Rights, and in close collaboration with technical and programme colleagues across the Caribbean Sub-Regional Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: - 1. Programme Implementation and Social Norms Transformation - · Support the planning, coordination, implementation and follow-up of programme activities aimed at transforming discriminatory social and gender norms and harmful practices through gender-transformative and human rights-based approaches. - · Contribute to the preparation of technical inputs, background notes, presentations, concept notes, workplans and other programme documentation supporting initiatives on gender equality, SRHR, GBV prevention, adolescent pregnancy prevention and violence-free communities. - · Conduct literature reviews, environmental scans and evidence synthesis to inform programme design, advocacy, policy dialogue and resource mobilization. - · Identify and document promising practices, innovations, lessons learned and emerging approaches from national, regional and global social norms programmes. - · Support the integration of evidence and behavioural and social change approaches into programme planning and implementation. - 2. Strategic Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement - · Support the identification and mapping of strategic partners, including women’s rights organizations, youth-led organizations, organizations of persons with disabilities, faith-based organizations, educational institutions, community-based organizations, private sector entities, media actors and initiatives engaging men and boys as partners for gender equality and violence prevention. - · Maintain and periodically update stakeholder maps, partnership databases and related programme tools. - · Support engagement with government counterparts, civil society organizations, United Nations entities and other partners involved in gender equality, SRHR, GBV prevention and social norms transformation. - · Assist in the organization and documentation of consultations, technical meetings, policy dialogues, partnership forums and regional events. - · Support follow-up on agreed actions and opportunities for collaboration emerging from stakeholder engagements. - 3. Youth Leadership, Innovation and Meaningful Participation - Support initiatives that strengthen the meaningful participation and leadership of adolescents and young people in advancing gender equality, SRHR, GBV prevention, social cohesion and social norms transformation. - · Contribute to the implementation, monitoring and documentation of the Next Wave Climate Data Challenge and other youth-led innovation initiatives. - · Capture lessons learned, behavioural insights, good practices and opportunities for adaptation or scale-up emerging from youth-led initiatives. - · Support collaboration with Youth Advisory Groups, youth-led organizations, academic institutions and innovation partners. - · Contribute to approaches that promote safe, inclusive and meaningful participation of young people, including those from marginalized and underserved populations. - 4. Knowledge Management, Advocacy and Communications - · Support the development of knowledge products, policy briefs, case studies, presentations, advocacy mate