Position: International Consultant to conduct final assessment of the Human Security Trust Fund Joint Programme (JP) on “Empowering and Engaging the Youth to Mitigate the Multi-Dimensional Threats of the Health Pandemic” of the Government of Turkmenistan and the UN

Hiring Office: UNFPA Turkmenistan CO (as a lead agency)

The deadline - February 3, 2023 (08:00 EST).

Duration and working schedule: Duration of this consultancy is from February 13, 2023 to April 10, 2023 including operational closure of the contract.

Supervisory arrangements: The international consultant will directly report and work under the supervision of the UNFPA Programme Analyst on Gender and Youth.

The Government of Turkmenistan with the support of the four UN agencies – UNFPA (Administrative Agent), UNICEF, UNODC, and IOM, under the overall coordination of the UNRC Office have been implementing a Joint Programme (JP) on “Empowering and Engaging the Youth to Mitigate the Multi-Dimensional Threats of the Health Pandemic” while applying the concept of Human Security in the effective implementation of the Socio-Economic Response Plan since September 2021. The JP is funded by the Human Security Trust Fund (HSTF) for the duration of 18 months.

As such, the overall goal of the JP is to empower and engage youth in facilitating the implementation of the Immediate Socio-Economic Response Plan to acute infectious disease pandemic (SERP) to mitigate the negative impact of the global pandemic on the socio-economic situation in Turkmenistan, with particular focus on the most vulnerable groups in line with the principle of “leaving no one behind”.

The Joint Programme seeks to build the capacity of government officials and CSOs at the local level to implement SERP in their localities inspired by the human security approach in ways that are people-centred and comprehensive. In addition, the programme targets young people in selected regions to build their resilience and support them as agents of change in their communities.

The main objectives of the assessment are:

• Assess the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, coherence and, to the extent possible the potential impact of the Joint Programme
• Assess the role of the Joint Programme in increasing the awareness about the human security approach among key stakeholders - decisions makers, local authorities and beneficiaries - youth in the selected communities and building the capacity of the young people through their empowerment in contributing to the resilience of their communities.
• Provide recommendations to guide policy level decision-making by PUNOs and the key relevant stakeholders on engaging youth.
• Identify and document successes, challenges and lessons learnt of the joint programme.
• Assess programme contribution towards sustainability and scale up of engaging youth in the development of their communities by applying human security approach, including through the development of youth participation mechanisms such as Youth Reference Groups.

Key implementors and stakeholders:

• UN Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the National Coordination body and co-signer of the JP;
• UNFPA Turkmenistan as the Lead UN organization and the Ministry of Sport and Youth Policy as the Lead National Partner on implementation of the JP;
• IOM, UNICEF, UNODC, UNFPA as the Participating UN organizations;
• Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, Youth Organization, Women’s Union, National Red Crescent Society, Institute of State, Law, and Democracy, Office of Ombudsperson, State Migration Service, local government authorities (municipalities), local organizations working with PwDs/CwDs as non- UN implementing partners

Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements:

• Advanced University degree (Master’s) in a relevant area;
• At least seven years’ experience in assessment and evaluation, including experience of designing and implementing theory-based evaluations; assessments using experimental and non-experimental approaches;
• Good understanding of youth-sensitive, gender-sensitive, elderly sensitive issues;
• Familiarity with UNFPA and the UN system mandates and programmatic areas;
• Strong analytical skills and statistical data analysis experience;
• Ability to produce content for high standard deliverables in Russian, preferably;
• Experience conducting remote data collection is an asset;
• Sensitivity towards ethics with regards to human and gender issues, different cultures, local customs, religious beliefs and practices, personal interaction and gender roles, disability, age and ethnicity.
• Prior experience in Turkmenistan or in Central Asia and knowledge of gender equality context and practices in the region.
• Fluent in written and spoken English. Knowledge of Russian language will be an advantage.

Interested individuals with relevant professional experience and qualifications can apply online through the links below:

For internal candidates here

For external candedates here

To get additional information, please follow the link.