Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, empower women, and achieve equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security. 

UN Women Country Office in Tajikistan supports the Government of Tajikistan and national stakeholders in fulfilling international and national commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Guided by UN Women’s Strategic Plan, the Country Strategic Note, and operating within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023–2026, the National Development Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan until 2030, the National Strategy on Gender Equality, and the National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325, UN Women Tajikistan delivers results through its triple mandate of normative support, UN system coordination, and operational activities to deliver coherent and impactful results.

UN Women Tajikistan’s programme focuses on: Eliminating violence against women and girls (EVAW); Advancing women’s economic empowerment (WEE); Strengthening women’s meaningful participation and leadership in peace, security, governance, and decision-making; and Promoting gender-responsive humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction, and climate resilience. UN Women Tajikistan promotes an open, collaborative spirit with partners, ensuring synergies across programme interventions, fostering strong and inclusive partnerships, and maintaining a client-focused, results-oriented approach fully consistent with UN Women policies, rules and procedures.

To provide high-quality programme coordination and technical support for UN Women Tajikistan’s portfolios on Ending Violence against Women (EVAW), Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE), and Women, Peace and Security (WPS), ensuring effective implementation, monitoring, and reporting aligned with national priorities, the UNSDCF, and UN Women’s Strategic Plan, UN Women seeks to recruit a Programme Support Consultant (SSA).

Reporting to the Country Programme Manager/Head of Office, the Programme Support Consultant will provide substantive technical and coordination support to the design, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of UN Women programmes in Tajikistan. The incumbent will ensure effective programme delivery across the EVAW, WEE, and WPS portfolios, in close collaboration with programme and operations teams, government counterparts, UN partners, donors, and civil society. 

Under the overall guidance and the direct supervision of the Head of UN Women Office in Tajikistan, the Programme Support Consultant will provide professional support and facilitate the effective delivery of UN Women programmes by monitoring results achieved during implementation, ensuring the appropriate application of corporate systems and procedures, and proposing improvements where necessary. 

The Programme Support Consultant will work in close collaboration with CO programme and operations teams, relevant colleagues at UN Women ECA Regional Office, government counterparts, bilateral and multilateral donors, and civil society organizations to ensure the successful implementation of UN Women’s programme portfolio.

Under the overall guidance and the direct supervision of the Head of UN Women Office in Tajikistan, the Programme Support Consultant will provide professional support and facilitate the effective delivery of UN Women programmes by monitoring results achieved during implementation, ensuring the appropriate application of corporate systems and procedures, and proposing improvements where necessary. 

The Programme Support Consultant will work in close collaboration with CO programme and operations teams, relevant colleagues at UN Women ECA Regional Office, government counterparts, bilateral and multilateral donors, and civil society organizations to ensure the successful implementation of UN Women’s programme portfolio.  

Description of Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Head of Office, the Programme Support Consultant will:

1. Provide high-quality programme development support, including: 

• Support development, implementation and monitoring of the programs related to EVAWG, WEE, and WPS in Tajikistan;
• Provide substantive inputs to UN Women Tajikistan’s programme planning and strategic positioning, ensuring alignment with national development strategies, UNSDCF priorities, and UN Women’s Strategic Plan;
• Lead the design, formulation, review, and revision of programme and project concepts, proposals, and initiatives across the EVAWG, WEE, and WPS portfolios; 
• Identify strategic entry points, priority interventions, and opportunities for scaling up impact and innovation in the areas of EVAWG, WEE, and WPS;

• Provide technical inputs to national counterparts and partners, as required.

  2. Substantive technical support to programme implementation and management:

• Provide technical oversight of programme implementation, ensuring coherence, synergies, and coordination across portfolios and with other UN Women programmes;
• Lead, develop and coordinate calls for proposals and selection processes, including organizing technical review committees and conducting capacity assessments of implementing partners;

• Review, coordinate, and monitor the submission of narrative and financial reports from implementing partners, ensuring quality, timeliness, and compliance with UN Women requirements;

  3. Monitoring, reporting, and results management

• Monitor programme progress, outputs, outcomes, and financial delivery using Results-Based Management tools and corporate systems;
• Ensure the quality, accuracy, and timely entry of programme data in UN Women corporate systems;
• Draft and oversee reports from monitoring missions and contribute to programme performance assessments and reviews; 
• Prepare high-quality quarterly, annual, and donor reports with a strong focus on results, outputs, outcomes, and lessons learned; 

• Contribute to corporate, donor, and UN system reporting, including UNSDCF, inter-agency, and joint programme reporting processes.

  4. Partnerships, resource mobilization, knowledge management and communication

• Contribute to the development and implementation of partnership and resource mobilization strategies for EVAWG, WEE, and WPS programmes;
• Support the development of high-quality annual and donor reports, funding proposals, concept notes, and maintain documentation on current and prospective donors, funding opportunities, and partnership engagements;
• Support the development and maintenance of a prospective donor database, including donor priorities, funding modalities, and eligibility criteria.
• Develop, review, and disseminate advocacy and knowledge products (e.g. briefs, talking points, presentations, best practices, lessons learned, and success stories) to support EVAWG, WEE, and WPS programme priorities, strategic planning, and donor reporting;

• Support strategic advocacy, policy dialogue, and visibility initiatives in coordination with partners, UN agencies, and UN Women communications staff to strengthen inter-agency engagement and donor communication.

  5. Inter-agency coordination and UN system engagement

• Participate in country level Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/UNSDCF), Gender Score Card, GEAP implementation processes and similar exercises related to the RC system, as necessary;
• Provide substantive technical support to the Head of Office on inter-agency coordination related to EVAWG, WEE, and WPS as well as the UNCT working groups, in particular the UN Gender Theme Group; 
• Prepare background notes, briefs, talking points, and programme updates for inter-agency forums, including the UNCT, RCO, and thematic working groups;
• Contribute to UNSDCF planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting processes to ensure coherence, complementarity, and alignment of UN Women programmes within the UN system.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Deliverables

The consultancy will be for a duration of one (1) year, from 18 May 2026 to 31 May 2027.
Payments will be made in TJS on a monthly basis, subject to the submission and approval of deliverables:

The Consultant shall promote a client-oriented approach consistent with the UN rules and regulations and commit to high standards of quality, productivity and timeliness in the delivery of tasks. The Consultant will meet and apply the highest standards of integrity and impartiality.

The Consultant must be fully dedicated to the mandate and the values of UN Women, particularly to promoting Gender Equality as a strategy to reduce conflict, improve livelihoods and ensure fairness and justice; to Women Empowerment underpinning Gender Equality promotion efforts; to inter-ethnic tolerance and concord; and to respect for diversity.

Reporting requirements:

The Programme Support Consultant is expected to work remotely using her/his own computer.

Consultancy reports should be provided in electronic version in English with detailed description of the fulfilled tasks, according to the present Term of Reference.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel:

This is a home/office -based consultancy. 

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:   https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values 

   
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: 

• Strong commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. 
• Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints. 
• Builds strong relationships with colleagues and audience, focuses on impact and result and responds positively to feedback. 
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude. 
• Identifies opportunities and builds strong relationships with partners and targeted groups. 
• Demonstrate exceptional ability to remain calm, in control and good humored even under pressure and right deadlines. 
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills, and ability to work in multicultural and multidisciplinary environments. 
• Excellent communication skills.
  
  Required Qualifications