Background:

It has been three decades since the world recognized women’s crucial role in water issues. At the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, it was agreed that “women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water” the Dublin principles.

That said, two decades later, in 2014, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) concluded that there is a gender gap in water management leadership at all levels of government- national, municipal, and local and it encompasses water utilities, water supply and irrigation community governance groups. Women are rarely involved in decisions relating to water policies and strategies, water resource management, or tariff setting and technology choices. They are not visible in key areas of water-related decision-making. Yet, according to UN Water, engaging women can boost the effectiveness of water projects six or seven-fold.

Bearing this in mind, the OSCE POiD partner HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation established Syrdarya Women Forum (Forum) in 2019 within its National Water Resources Management Project with the ultimate aim of involving women from grassroots to decision making processes in water resources management so that their voices are heard, considered and acknowledged.

The Forum is to serve as a platform to bring together not only women but also a wider range of stakeholders who strive to enhance the role of women in integrated water resources management (IWRM) in Tajikistan.

To this day, the Forum has an established Steering Committee (SM) whose specific tasks are inter alia raising awareness of men and women about the principles of IWRM , evaluating and coordinating gender aspects in projects, lobbying interests of women, providing opportunities for quality education at all levels and for all ages, creating favorable environment for women without gender stereotypes in the development of integrated water resources management in accordance with the 3rd Dublin principle.

Ultimately, the members of the Forum should have adequate knowledge and expertise in order to operate it further successfully. Presently, the members need to learn how to identify and develop Forum’s strategic and action plans as one well-coordinated team.

These Terms of Reference are prepared to recruit a national expert who will be responsible to conduct capacity building training “Working in Teams” and a workshop on developing Strategic Plan for 5 years and Action Plan for 2024. The target group of both capacity-building activities are permanent members of the SC of the Forum.

Objective of Assignment:

The overall objective of this assignment is to increase capacity of the permanent members of the SC of the Forum so that they would successfully lead the Syrdarya Women Forum in the years to come.

Specific objectives are to enhance know-how of the SC members in order to a) collaborate harmoniously and achieve goals as a team and b) acquire proficiency to develop short, mid- and long-term goals that are feasible (executed in a cost-efficient manner) and bear positive results.

Duration of Assignment:
1 month.

Tasks and Responsibilities:
Under the overall supervision of the Water and Energy Policy Advisor, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

Tasks pertaining to delivery of the training “Working in Teams”

• Develop the program and module for the training “Working in Teams”.
• Prepare a template and conduct a pre and posttest of the participants on “Working in Teams”.
• Conduct the training “Working in Teams”.
• Provide a report on the conducted training “Working in Teams”. The results of the pre and posttests should be included into the report.

Tasks pertaining to delivery of the workshops “Strategic Planning” and “Action Plan Development”

• Develop a workshop program on strategic and action planning based on the existing plan of the Forum developed for the period of 2021-2023.
• Develop handout materials on the workshops “Strategic Planning” and “Action Plan Development”
• Prepare a template and conduct a pre and posttest of the participants on “Strategic Planning” and “Action Plan Development”
• Conduct the workshops “Strategic Planning” and “Action Plan Development”
• Provide a report on the workshops including recommendations. The results of the pre and posttests should be included into the report.

Deliverables:

• Program of training “Working in Teams” by 9 August 2023.
• Training on “Working in Teams” on 10-11 August 2023.
• Report on the training “Working in Teams” by 17 August 2023.
• Programs of the workshops “Strategic Planning” and “Action Plan Development” by 22 August 2023.
• Workshops Strategic Planning” and “Action Plan Development” 23-25 August 2023.
• Presentations and documentation of group work (pictures of flowcharts/mapping exercises) from the training and workshops by 30 September 2023.
• Report on the workshops Strategic Planning” and “Basics of Action Plan Development” by 31 August 2023.

Necessary Qualifications:

• University degree in social sciences, economics or policy, engineering or water resources management.
• At least 3-5 years of experience of working for NGOs and/ or international organizations.
• At least 5 – 7 years of prior work experience in the field of conducting trainings and workshops.
• Good knowledge and experience of developing training modules, proposals, actions plans and strategic plans.
• Excellent writing and oral communication skills in Russian and Tajik
• Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, and an ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;
• Ability and willingness to work as a member of team, with people of different cultural, and religious backgrounds, different gender, and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;
• Computer literate with practical experience using Microsoft applications.

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant’s/expert’s qualifications, experience, the tasks and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE’s online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment or to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration.

Only those candidates who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization.

Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model.

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.