The Union Development Group (UDG) provides support for the governance structures of the Union and to the IUCN Members and National/Regional Committees, working in close consultation with the Director General and Regional and Global Directors.

The UDG comprises support for Congress, membership and governance, and in collaboration with the IUCN Regional Offices, is responsible for global coordination and administration of IUCN’s more than 1300 Members.
The Membership Unit functions as the coordinating centre for the global Secretariat, interacting with the network of Regional Membership Focal Points (MFPs), on a daily basis, to provide guidance and assistance on membership administration/management issues. The Membership Unit works to ensure the optimum collaboration of the Members with National and Regional Committees, the Union´s network of expert volunteers (Commissions), IUCN Councillors and the Secretariat. The Membership Unit works closely with MFPs to recruit new Members, take a proactive role in engaging Members in IUCN’s work, keeping them interested and providing them with regular communications on IUCN matters. The Membership Unit provides support to the Governance and Constituency Committee of the IUCN Council (GCC), which is responsible for IUCN membership affairs. Finally, it supports the Congress Unit when Congresses take place in the Sponsored Members Programme and the Accreditation process for IUCN Members. IUCN holds its Congress every four year and the next one will take place from 11 to 19 June 2020 in Marseille.
The Members’ Accreditation & Congress Assistant works in close collaboration but also under the guidance of the Membership Coordinator and Membership Assistant, UDG. The Members’ Accreditation & Congress Assistant collaborates with the MFPs, the UDG Global Director, the UDG Communications Manager, the other Membership Assistant and the Information System team. The Members’ Accreditation & Congress Assistant provides support to the Membership Unit and to the Congress Unit for Congress/Membership related activities, mainly the Congress Accreditation process for IUCN Members. The Members’ Accreditation & Congress Assistant will be required to participate in the Congress for a period of 10 days.

• Support the full Accreditation process of Members prior to and at Congress. Each IUCN Member organisation/institution and each observer with speaking rights needs to go through the accreditation process in order to vote and/or speak during the Members’ Assembly at Congress. Responsibilities of the Membership Assistant in support to the Membership Coordinator and Assistant include:
- Participating in the World Conservation Congress for a 10 days period to provide support in the Members’ Lounge/Accreditation desks and to Members in general.
- Providing information to Members about Accreditation, voting and elections to enable them to exercise their rights at the Members’ Assembly
- Distributing voting and speaking cards to Members and observers
- Processing changes of Heads of Delegation, vote allocation and proxies
- Assisting in the preparation of reports for the Credentials Committee and system provider.
- Prior to Congress, assisting in the design of the Accreditation system and guidelines for Members and staff in English-Spanish and French.
- Answering Members, National/Regional Committees and MFPs queries on Accreditation on a daily basis
- Training and supporting staff working in the Membership Lounge/Accreditation desks at Congress
- Liaising with and solving issues that come up with the Accreditation system in collaboration with the Information System team and system provider.
- Entering/modifying data in the Accreditation system as necessary
- After Congress, preparing lessons learned document including Members’ feedback.

• Support the Membership Coordinator and MFPs in the coordination of the Sponsored Members Programme, liaise with the travel agent and Members as necessary before and at Congress.
• Monitor the accreditation inbox and support the Membership Assistant in the monitoring of the membership inbox and answering Members’ queries on a daily basis in IUCN official languages.
• Support the Membership Assistant in compiling membership application files and preparing documents and master file for Membership Coordinator’s review. Provide support to MFPs in the consolidation of membership applications and keeping CRM up-to-date, as necessary.
• Support the Membership Coordinator with the electronic vote process by IUCN Members, as necessary.
• Provide support for translating/reviewing documents and communication to Members (English-Spanish-French).
• Perform any other tasks that may be assigned by the Membership Coordinator or Assistant, Communications Manager, or by the Global Director, UDG.