General
Description of assignment title
Associate Analyst on Women, Peace and Security
Assignment country
Malaysia
Duty stations
Kuala Lumpur
Work location
Remote
Expected start date
12/01/2026
Duration
6 months (with possibility of extension)
Sustainable Development Goal
- Gender equality
Host entity
UNWomen MYS
Modality
Onsite
Type
National
Volunteer category
Associate UCoS from Apr2026
Work schedule
Part-time
Number of Assignments
1
Details
Mission and objectives
UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
Context
The UN Volunteer will join the work of the Governance, Peace and Security team of the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. The volunteer will be based in Kuala Lumpur and support the UN Women’s consultant in Malaysia. This UNV assignment is part of UN Women’s regional project Securing Peace, Advancing Equality: Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in the Indo-Pacific (BRIDGES 4 PEACE), which works with defence institutions in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Viet Nam to strengthen WPS implementation through: institutional capacity-building, support to women’s leadership, gender adviser training, civil–military dialogue, and climate-responsive security planning in Malaysia. The volunteer will support coordination with national defence and security institutions and civil society, as well as activity logistics and reporting.
Task description
Under the supervision of the Project Manager and in close collaboration with the Malaysia-based consultant, the UN Volunteer will:
- Support engagement with the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).
- Arrange meetings, prepare briefing materials, follow up on agreed actions
- keep track of official correspondence and approvals.
- Support Women, Peace and Security (WPS) work.
- Research and summarize relevant policies, data and practice in Malaysia and the region.
- Draft short notes, presentations and background papers for the consultant.
- Plan and organize project events. This covers workshops, trainings and dialogues.
- Drafting agendas and invitations, managing participant lists, coordinating venues, travel and suppliers
- preparing materials
- writing meeting summaries
- Support the consultant.
- Help with day-to-day coordination, scheduling, note-taking, translation between Malay and English where needed, and preparation of project documents.
- Support monitoring and reporting.
- Collect attendance records, feedback and gender-disaggregated data.
- Contribute to progress reports and keep project files up to date.
- Support communications.
- Document activities and draft short stories or social media content in line with UN Women and donor visibility rules.
Eligibility criteria
Age
18 - 80
Required experience
1 month
Nationality
There are no nationality requirements for remote assignments. Successful candidates will need to provide proof of citizenship, residency and/or right to work in their remote work location. In the case of refugees, candidates need to provide proof of their protected status in the country. Proof of address will also be required.
Assignment requirements
Relevant experience
1 year
Languages
- English, Level: Fluent, Required
- Malay, Level: Native language, Required
Required education level
Bachelor's degree in Defence, Military, Political Science, Monitoring and Evaluation or Project Management, Social Sciences, International Relations, Gender Studies, or a related field.
Competencies and values
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Creativity
- Judgement and decision-making
- Planning and organising
- Professionalism
- Self-management
Skills and experience
Must haves
- At least 1 year of experience in project support, coordination or event organization.
- Interest in gender equality and peace and security issues.
- Good writing and organizational skills.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office and online meeting platforms.
Assets
- Experience working in/with government or defence institutions.
- Basic knowledge of the Women, Peace and Security agenda.
- Experience with reporting or communications.
Practical requirements
- Based in Kuala Lumpur and able to travel within Malaysia.
Area(s) of expertise
Education, Communication, advocacy, public information, Climate change, environment
Driving license
Other information
Volunteerism is understood as a wide range of activities undertaken of free will, for the general public good, for which monetary reward is not the principal motivating factor.
Living conditions and remarks
Malaysia is an upper-middle-income country, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country in Southeast Asia. Malaysia's population is a mix of three major ethnic groups (Malays, Chinese, and Indians), each with its own heritage, culture, and tradition. Spoken languages are Malay (official), English, Tamil, and Chinese (Cantonese).
English is taught as a second language in schools and is mandatory; hence, English is frequently used by the population.
Malaysia's official religion is Islam, with a majority of the population (Malays, mostly) practicing the religion, followed by other religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and others. The UN office is located in Putrajaya, which is approximately 40 kilometres away from the capital city, Kuala Lumpur.
Putrajaya is a planned city which functions as the administrative capital and the judicial capital of Malaysia. Both Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya are well-developed urban cities, making it easy to access accommodations, transportation, and facilities. The accommodation facilities are, in general, good with a range of choices, with easy access to the UN office.
It is possible to rent unfurnished and furnished accommodations from 800 to 3000 MYR, depending on the areas in KL and Putrajaya. Transportation in Kuala Lumpur is diverse and efficient, offering an extensive network of buses, light rail commuter trains, and metered taxis; however, transportation in Putrajaya is only limited to public buses and taxis. Another popular transportation mode in both cities is by using Grab, similar to metered taxis but using personal cars instead. You can install the Grab application on your phone and use the service anywhere in Malaysia. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials.
Inclusivity statement
United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
Note on Covid-19 vaccination requirements
Selected candidates for certain occupational groups may be subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) in line with the applicable host entity policy
Scam warning
The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.
