National consultant on institutional coordination Tajikistan

UN Women, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women has been created to accelerate up the process of meeting the needs of women and girls across the world. As a part of the UN reform agenda, it brings together resources and mandates, which will subsequently have a lasting impact on the whole community.  

The United Nations of Tajikistan in cooperation with the Government of Tajikistan is implementing the “Financing SDGs in Tajikistan” programme.  The programme is financed by the Joint SDG Fund and implemented by 3 UN Agencies in Tajikistan: UNDP, UNICEF and UN Women.   The overall strategy of the programme is to employ a two-pronged approach: strengthening policy space and addressing technical constraints to securing SDG financing.  The two-pronged interventions will enable the government to achieve its national development priorities. The programme is particularly important and timely in the context of the challenging economic situation and rising fiscal pressures, resulting in widening of the financing gap to support the implementation of national SDG targets until 2030. Since the government’s approved expenditure budget for FY’2020 equals $2.7 billion while the estimated financing gap (2020-2030) stands at $118 billion, the programme will help the government to approve and implement a realistic financing plan to achieve its national development priorities and SDG targets.  UN Women in Tajikistan will specifically deliver the following result: integrated tool for tracking and reporting of on-budget gender-disaggregated SDG financing vis-à-vis national SDG targets is operationalized by the government, linked to the National SDG Financing Roadmap, and it guides the legislature.

The joint programme is nationally owned initiative anchored in the National Development Strategy for 2016-2030 and with a clear commitment to leave no one behind.  The programme will promote evidence-based policies and actions backed by disaggregated data by gender and other vulnerability metrics.  In the process of achieving programmatic results, the focus will be to build technical and managerial capacities and strengthening partnerships with key government institutions.  Implementation of an integrated resource mobilization strategy also means that the programme will improve accountability and transparency of the government’s budgeting practices to achieve the national SDG targets.

The programme is implemented in close partnership and coordination with Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT), Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), the State Committee for Investment and State Property Management (SCISPM) and the Parliament.

Within the framework of “Financing SDGs in Tajikistan” programme, the overall objective of the proposed consultancy is to provide assistance and support the implementation, coordination and promotion of programme activities on the government side   and ensure timely implementation of “Financing SDGs in Tajikistan” programme in Tajikistan until 31st of May 2022. The Consultant will work under the Academy of Public Administration of Republic of Tajikistan (APA) as the SDG and Gender Equality Program Coordinator.  The Consultant on Institutional Coordination will engage with government entities at national and sub-national level, Recipient UN organizations (RUNOs) via Programme UN Women, as well as other stakeholders.

Expected results: 

The overall purpose of the assignment is to provide support for the timely implementation of Programme activities and promoting it at different government national and sub-national levels on the government side. The Consultant on Institutional Coordination will ensure proper cooperation with UN Women team in ensuring strong Programme planning, technical coordination, reporting and visibility in the country. The Consultant on Institutional Coordination will ultimately report to the National Programme Coordinator. On a daily basis, the Consultant will work with APA, in close collaboration with UN Women team, to ensure technical contributions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under an overall guidance of the UN Women Country Programme Manager and supervision of National Program Coordinator, the Consultant will perform, but will not necessarily be limited to, to the following tasks: 

• To ensure timely implementation and coordination of a programme activities on i) strengthening capacities of relevant government stakeholders on GRB and ii) cooperation with government entities in GRB piloting at different levels 
• To ensure all correspondences and requests are processed on timely bases and sent to relevant government entities for response and action
• Perform any other requests of the APA under SDG programme
• Cooperate in the review and finalization of the development of Module on GRB with SDG programme experts
• Support in organizing a ToT for teachers/lecturers of the APA on teaching the Module on GRB

• Participate and support in organizing regular meetings with members of the working groups
• Participate in meetings with relevant stakeholders and PUNOs, as per meeting necessities and requests
• Development and submission of final consultancy report with reflection of the overall description of implemented assignment, including major achievements, main challenges and constraints, and recommendations.

UN Women will support the following: 

1. Logistical support in facilitation of consultations with interagency WG members. 
2. Support in providing reference materials, handouts, etc.

Deliverables (online) 

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism 

Core Competencies: 

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues 

• Accountability 
• Creative Problem Solving 
• Effective Communication 
• Inclusive Collaboration 

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf  

Functional Competencies:  

• Possesses the ability to work independently, under pressure and meet deadlines; 
• Good knowledge of technical area; 

• Good organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail; 
• Experience in report writing. 
• Proven excellent communication and facilitation skills; 

Education:  

• University degree social sciences or other related field.

Experience: 

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience with the government in education sector or related field, previous working experience with APA is highly desirable;
• Demonstrated ability and track record in working international organizations and development partners on SDGs, previous working experience on gender equality is considered an asset; 
• Previous experience in organizing workshops, trainings, being part of working groups;  
• Previous work and direct working relationships with UN agencies considered an asset.  

Knowledge of languages: 

• Fluency in Russian, English and Tajik languages. 

Application Process  

The application should include: 

• Personal History Form (P-11 form) – including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted;
• Letter of Interest  

• Financial Proposal:  Specify a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount per deliverable.  No extra payments will be made. 

Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.