Research & Documentation Associate - SDG Acceleration and Finance

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, provide a shared framework for addressing interconnected development challenges, including poverty, inequality, environmental sustainability, inclusive institutions and sustainable economic development.
India has established institutional mechanisms at national and subnational levels to monitor and advance progress towards the SDGs. Accelerating SDG implementation requires continued efforts in areas such as evidence generation, SDG localisation, policy analysis, institutional strengthening, knowledge management, partnerships and innovative development financing.

The SDG Acceleration and Finance Unit contributes to these efforts through research, analysis, documentation, knowledge generation, stakeholder engagement and support to programme initiatives. The Unit develops and supports a range of knowledge products, research outputs, presentations, programme documentation and stakeholder engagements related to SDG acceleration and sustainable development financing.

The UN Associate Volunteer will support the Unit in research, documentation and knowledge management activities. The assignment will provide a young university student with practical exposure to development programming within the United Nations system, while contributing to the preparation and organisation of research, information and programme materials supporting the Unit’s work.

Under the direct supervision of the Policy Specialist, SDG Acceleration and Finance Unit, the UN Associate Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:

• Support desk-based research on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG lo-calisation, sustainable development policies, programmes and emerging develop-ment priorities in India.
• Assist in collecting, compiling and organising relevant data, reports, policies, studies, frameworks, publications and good practices from credible national and international sources.
• Contribute to the preparation of knowledge products, including research notes, background materials, briefs, factsheets, presentations and other programme-related outputs.
• Support the documentation of SDG-related initiatives and good practices, including documenting relevant innovations, institutional approaches, lessons learned and experiences at national and subnational levels.
• Assist with the collection, organisation and basic analysis of SDG-related data and indicators, including information from publicly available datasets and institutional sources.
• Support meetings, consultations, workshops and stakeholder engagements, including preparation of background materials, presentations, meeting notes, summaries and follow-up actions.
• Assist with knowledge management and programme documentation, including maintaining organised repositories and supporting inputs for reports, progress updates, concept notes and other Unit deliverables.
• Support communication, coordination and other programme activities of the SDG Acceleration and Finance Unit, including updating communication materials, following up with relevant colleagues and stakeholders, and undertaking other related tasks assigned by the supervisor.