National consultant on admin & field support for ISF project

   UNFPA is dedicated to achieving a world where every pregnancy is desired, every birth is safe, and every young person fulfills their potential. In Turkmenistan, UNFPA collaborates with the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry (MOHMI) to safeguard reproductive health, rights, and choices for women, girls, and young people. In line with the UNFPA mandate and the goal of achieving zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero gender-based violence, the country office is undertaking two critical activities:

1. Strengthening capacities for Sexual and Reproductive Health services, prevention of and clinical management of sexual violence cases in emergency situations through a Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) Readiness Assessment and the update of the national action plan.
2. Advocacy meeting on abolishing discriminatory gender practices for national partners.

  The last update of the MISP plan in Turkmenistan was in 2014, following significant capacity-building efforts from 2011-2013, which included training national specialists and health providers in disaster-prone zones on MISP. An assessment of MISP preparedness was also conducted in 2014.

 The Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health is a crucial and coordinated set of life-saving interventions. It is specifically designed for immediate implementation at the onset of any humanitarian crisis, ensuring that essential reproductive health services are not disrupted during emergencies. These interventions are vital for preventing excess maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, reducing sexual violence and its consequences, and preventing HIV transmission.

 Currently, the existing national plan for the MISP requires comprehensive revision and significant enhancement. This update is necessary to ensure its full alignment with the most current global standards and best practices in humanitarian response. Furthermore, it must be adapted to effectively address the unique local contexts, cultural sensitivities, and specific needs of the country. This revision will involve a detailed assessment of current service delivery gaps, capacity building needs aiming to create a robust and sustainable framework for reproductive health in emergencies.

 The UNFPA works globally to advance gender equality and uphold the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all individuals. Discriminatory gender practices undermine these fundamental rights, hinder women's empowerment, and prevent nations from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 and SDG 5. 

Harmful practices such as virginity testing persist, despite their lack of scientific validity and their detrimental impact on survivors, however the practice of virginity testing has been unequivocally denounced by global human rights and health organizations, including the WHO, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and UN Women. These bodies assert that virginity testing is:

• Scientifically Flawed: The appearance of the hymen is not a reliable indicator of prior sexual activity.
• A Human Rights Violation: It is a form of gender-based discrimination and, in many cases, constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
• Traumatic and Coercive: It is often performed without genuine, informed consent, leading to profound psychological distress, fear, and re-victimization, particularly when performed on survivors of sexual violence or coercion.
• A Barrier to SRH Access: The fear of this examination can prevent women and adolescents from seeking essential sexual and reproductive health services.

This advocacy meeting will bring together national partners—including high-level representatives from the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice and civil society organizations to address this specific harmful practice. The goal is to facilitate an open, evidence-based dialogue leading to concrete, actionable steps to abolish the practice of virginity testing in all medical facilities.

  To ensure the successful operational and logistical execution of these activities, UNFPA seeks to hire a highly qualified National Consultant to provide essential administrative, coordination, and practical field support. 

The primary purpose of this consultancy is to provide in-country technical expertise, coordination, logistical, and operational support to the UNFPA Programme Analyst for Reproductive Health to successfully implement the MISP Readiness Assessment, update the national MISP action plan, and facilitate a high-impact advocacy meeting on gender equality and harmful practices.

 Activity 1: MISP Readiness Assessment and National Action Plan Update (30 working days)

Logistics and Administration - 20 working days

• Serve as the primary administrative and logistical focal point for the MISP Readiness Assessment team.
• Organize and manage meeting schedules, travel arrangements (e.g., booking flights, accommodation, local transport), and necessary clearances for the assessment team and participants.
• Assist in the procurement of workshop and meeting materials, ensuring timely delivery and quality control.

Coordination and Documentation - 10 working days

• Coordinate the dissemination and collection of assessment tools (e.g., surveys, questionnaires) to/from identified national partners.
• Provide note-taking and documentation support during data collection sessions and review meetings for the action plan update.
• Assist in the formatting and final compilation of the draft and final National MISP Action Plan document.

Activity 2: Advocacy Meeting on Abolishing Discriminatory Gender Practices (15 working days)

Event Management and Protocol - 10 working days

• Take the lead on all logistical and event management aspects of the national advocacy meeting, including venue booking, setting up audio-visual equipment, and catering arrangements.
• Manage the process of sending invitations and preparing participant folders/badges in line with UNFPA branding and protocol.

Administrative and Reporting Support - 5 working days

• Support the Programme Analyst in compiling background documents, presentations, and handouts for the meeting.
• Provide on-site support during the meeting to ensure its smooth running.
• Transcribe or compile minutes of the advocacy meeting and assist the Programme Analyst in drafting the post-event activity report and filing all necessary administrative records.
• Prepare a final consultancy report. 

Deliverable 1. Inception Report detailing the administrative work plan and logistic schedule for both activities by December 29, 2025.

Deliverable 2. Updated MISP workshop Facilitation Report (including translation/interpretation notes and documentation of key feedback provided by national partners on the updated MISP) by January 29, 2026.

Deliverable 3. Advocacy Meeting fully supported (logistics, event management, and meeting minutes compiled), and administrative closure completed by February 20, 2026.

Deliverable 4. Final consultancy report by March 5, 2026.

The UNFPA Programme Analyst on Reproductive Health will monitor the National Consultant’s work through reviewing submitted materials. The consultant will weekly provide an update on progress by email or ad-hoc, on challenges encountered and support needed.  

Ethical Considerations

UNFPA requires its consultants to adhere to ethical principles and standards when doing research. The selected consultant should clearly identify any potential ethical issues and approaches, as well as the processes for ethical review in the inception report.

National Ownership

The involvement of appropriate national partners will be a critical condition for the development of all the mission outcome materials in ensuring stakeholder ownership and its subsequent utilisation.

• Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration, Management, Social Sciences, Health, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in project administration, operational support, or logistics management, preferably within a UN agency, international NGO, or government body.
• Experience in event management and organizing workshops, meetings, or field activities with multiple stakeholders is an asset.
• Demonstrated skills in administrative documentation and report writing.
• Familiarity with the health sector, SRH, or gender programming is an asset.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and excellent filing/record-keeping skills.
• Fluency in Turkmen and/or Russian language is mandatory. Good working knowledge of English is required.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.

The consultancy fee will be calculated based on the GS-6 level of the UN 

Salary Scale for National Officer categories effective 1 November 2020 and will 

be paid in a lump sum upon successful completion of deliverables.

UNFPA provides a work environment that r the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. Persons with disabilities, and individuals of other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity.