The Position:

The Demographic Resilience Technical Specialist for Central Asia serves as the principal technical expert in the area of demographic shifts and their social, economic and environmental implications for sustainable development in Central Asia. In this thematic area, the Technical Specialist position focuses on generating, analyzing and facilitating the incorporation of demographic intelligence within sub-regional and national frameworks and policies, informing capacity strengthening initiatives and advancing thought leadership on Demographic Resilience. 

Within the global frameworks of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development and the ICPD Programme of Action, the Technical Specialist will be responsible for the evidence-based localization of the EECARO Demographic Resilience programme in Central Asia. This will ensure the political, social, economic and environmental contexts, as well as, realities and aspirations of the respective countries and the subregion, are taken into consideration within tailored pathways to demographic resilience, by leveraging the intersectionality of demographic shifts with other megatrends (including climate change, migration, inequality and digital transformation).

Enabled by thought leadership, quality analytical data, knowledge management, capacity development and evidence-based policy advisory skills, the position will ensure UNFPA, member states and partners anticipate and address the challenges of the evolving demographic shifts and harness the opportunities of demographic dividend for the well-being of current and future generations, including the youth, women and girls, and the most vulnerable groups of the populations.

The Technical Specialist will collaborate closely, in an integrated manner with the Population and Development country officers and Demographic Resilience focal points in Central Asia in the design, planning and delivery of the portfolio. The Technical Specialist will work under the overall guidance and leadership of the Country Representative, Kazakhstan and Country Director Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan with functional/matrix reporting to the EECARO Demographic Resilience Policy Adviser. 

 

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The Technical Specialist -

• provides cutting-edge technical and programmatic support to the countries in Central Asia on demographic shifts, their social, economic and environmental implications for sustainable development, including their intersection with other evolving megatrends (climate change, migration, inequality and digital transformation);
• generates and uses data and evidence enabled from cutting-edge tools, methodologies and modelling approaches to inform the country offices on demographic shifts and their implications on social transformation, macroeconomic development, multidimensional inequalities, social protection system reforms; as well as evidence- and rights-based policy actions that enable demographic resilience. This will include a focus on social policies, human capital development, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, to mention a few;
• ensures the Country Offices in the Central Asia region are empowered with the capacity to play a leadership role in advancing UNFPA’s Strategic Plan, ICPD Programme of Action, the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the Demographic Resilience Programme. 
• supports countries in the translation of evidence into formulation of rights-based policies, multi-sectoral strategies, macroeconomic frameworks and development plans that take into consideration demographic shifts;
• fosters collaborations with sister agencies and other development partners at the Central Asia regional and country levels, including joint analytical pieces including the common country analysis (CCAs), development of United Nations Sustainable Development Frameworks (UNSDCFs), UNFPA country programmes (CPDs) and UN joint programmes, to mention a few; 
• guides thought leadership within technical cooperation with key stakeholders, including academia, research institutions, civil society, governmental institutions, UN system, IFIs; MDBs and donors in the region;
• ensures technical knowledge and products tailored to the Central Asia context and benchmarked with other countries across the world are updated, disseminated and utilized for effective technical collaborations, capacity development, policy dialogue and advocacy. These will foster South-South and Triangular Cooperation across countries, and contribute to corporate thought leadership at regional and Headquarters levels. 

The primary roles of the Demographic Resilience Technical Specialist are:

A. Evidence Generation and Analyses for decision making

• Identify and analyze demographic data - population size, structure and density, spatial distribution, as well as fertility, mortality, migration and urbanization, with their social, economic and environmental implications that may affect the achievement of UNFPA’s transformative results, ICPD PoA and SDGs within the Central Asia region; 
• Undertake advanced analysis on multivariate data sets to guide understanding and leveraging of the interactions between demographic changes and the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, as well as other megatrends for countries in Central Asia. Apply cutting edge and innovative methodological tools where required (e.g. small area estimation, economic modelling with return on investments, geospatial and georeferenced data analysis that guide targeted investments to Leave No One Behind).
• Use innovative solutions and approaches to demonstrate the value of demographic analysis for sustainable development to national actors - government and partners - with the importance of integrating demographic dynamics and changes within rights-based policy actions across Central Asia and its constituent countries;  
• Participate in relevant technical networks, platforms and reference groups on demographic change, demographic resilience and related areas of focus. 

B. Knowledge management

• Guided by robust evidence, prepare analytical reports, position papers, policy briefs and related materials to promote Demographic Resilience in collaboration with country offices in Central Asia, EECA regional office and HQ business units as may be applicable. The analytical briefs will leverage on the data and evidence generation on demographic change and the interlinkages with socio-economic transformation and environmental resilience across Central Asia;
• Ensure the development, adaptation and sharing of knowledge-based tools and approaches that will strengthen knowledge management practices and facilitate exchange across countries in Central Asia with the intention of advancing Demographic resilience. This will take into consideration countries Central Asia benchmarks its transformation pathways within the North and Global South.
• Identify experts and institutional sources of technical knowledge on population dynamics, demographic intelligence and demographic resilience, including on relevant policies that will facilitate brainpower partnerships for Central Asia;
• Ensure incorporation of new policy and programme relevant knowledge into strategies, policies, and programmes to advance demographic resilience in national development plans, macroeconomic frameworks and long-term visions of countries in Central Asia.

C. Quality technical support and capacity development

• Support capacity strengthening on tools and approaches, related to data and evidence (e.g. population projections, Population Situation Assessment, National Transfer Accounts, Small Area Estimation, Georeferenced data analysis), and other related tools, modeling or analytical frameworks, while ensuring technical consistency and coherence;
• Contribute to the development and implementation of the EECA regional integrated strategy to strengthen capacities in the area of demographic resilience in the region, including regional and sub-regional institutional capacities for supporting and sustaining high-quality technical work by governments;
• Undertake capacity building tailored to country contexts to strengthen technical and institutional capacity on Demographic Resilience related policies, plans and strategies with relevant dimensions. These will include Central Asia joint collaborations geared towards raising demographic literacy and promoting investments in human capital throughout the life course, with focus on the inclusion of women, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, people on the move to mention a few– and the return on investments that accrue.

D. Technical Representation, Strategic Partnerships and positioning

• Foster partnerships and collaborations on demographic shifts, demographic resilience, and related megatrends with other UN agencies, national, regional and global partners; 
• Foster technical collaborations with academia, research and training institutions, think tanks, centers of excellence, professional societies in the region to advance thought leadership related to the areas covered by the job functions;
• Represent UNFPA on relevant platforms that promote reach of results, prospects and opportunities in the region, and elaborate UNFPA’s substantive regional and global perspectives in relevant international, inter-governmental, and other policy and technical meetings;
• Support brokering and sustained partnerships aimed at mobilizing a greater proportion of domestic resources and sustainable financing for the ICPD Programme of Action within and across countries in Central Asia. Target stakeholders will include national governments, regional institutions, bilateral and multilateral donors, IFIs, MDBs, Foundations, Philanthropy and other aspects of private giving mechanisms;
• Initiate, develop, strengthen and monitor substantive partnerships with opportunities for South-South cooperation across the demographic resilience ecosystem in the region and global levels;      
• Undertake any other duties as may be required by the Regional and Country office leadership with oversight of the position including support for regional non-core funded projects implemented in Central Asia.

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

Advanced degree in demography and/or economics, with equivalent socio-economic development related fields of study such as population statistics and economics.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• A minimum of 7 years progressive professional experience in the substantive technical expertise areas, focusing on generation and use of demographic data and evidence to advance evidence-based policy formulation, and related programmes, with emphasis on the linkages between demographic shifts and the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, both at micro and macro levels.
• Demonstrable technical expertise in the area of population and development, demographic resilience, including a track record of leading high-quality evidence-based analyses, and good profile of publications in the substantive technical expertise areas.      
• Familiarity with methods and tools to examine population dynamics with a socio-economic lens across the life course, including National Transfer Accounts, Population Situation Analysis; Economic Analysis, Small Area estimations and other georeferenced multi-variate data analysis approaches.
• Proficient understanding and ability to translate evidence and research findings into actionable policies and programmes at national, multi-country and international levels.
• Experience working with multiple actors and institutions, including government, academia, think-tanks and other relevant partners, with ability to deliver quality and timely results.
• Experience in coordination, facilitation and reporting, and in building partnerships 
• Familiarity with digital data tools and analytical software packages will be an asset.
  
   

Languages: 

• Excellent verbal and written communication in English, especially for the transmission of technical knowledge to non-experts; Russian language proficiency is desirable. 

Required Competencies: 

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity, 
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system, 
• Embracing cultural diversity, 
• Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
• Communicating for impact.

Functional Competencies:

• Identify opportunities for enhancing effectiveness and efficiency
• Actively contribute to the setting or organizational priorities in a consultative process
• Revise goals and plans to reflect changing priorities or conditions

Managerial Competencies (if applicable):

• Providing strategic focus; 
• Engaging in internal/external partners and stakeholders;
• Leading, developing and empowering people, creating a culture of performance; 
• Making decisions and exercising judgment.
  
   

Other Desirable Skills: 

Initiative, strong conceptual abilities, sound judgment, liaison skills, management skills, strong interest in development work, especially the mission of the United Nations Population Fund and dedication to the principles of the United Nations and the values of UNFPA. 

 

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects 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. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.