International Consultants to provide Operational Planning Training Services (Roster Call) (SSAs)

Background:

The Border Security: Threat Detection, Response and Capability (TDRC) project is implemented as a joint initiative of the OSCE and IOM and will increase the effectiveness of the Border Troops of the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan (hereafter TBT) in identification and response to transnational security threats.

OSCE will focus on strengthening specific TBT operational capacities via the provision of training, equipment and specialist expertise. A core component of the project will be to increase the TBT’s co-operation and integration with other border security stakeholders such as Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency (DCA) and Customs Department, and also its regional peers such as the Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan Border Troops. Under this project, OSCE-delivered training activities will encompass Tactical and Medical skills, Operational Planning and Training of Trainers. Equipment procurement will be limited in scale and scope to high-impact border monitoring tools, equipment to directly support training or in response to a specific TBT need. Specialist expertise will be provided by external consultants to ensure training reflects international best practice and by a study visit to illustrate modern approaches. The project will also strengthen gender-sensitive border control, protection-sensitive screening and referrals, and improve gender-responsive infrastructure and institutional conditions that enable the deployment and retention of female border personnel at selected border crossing points. These activities will mutually reinforce one other to maximise project impact and sustainability

Operational Planning courses will be delivered through the duration of the TDRC project to enable the TBT to conduct operational planning in a modern manner incorporating international best-practice. Each course will be delivered by at least 2 international experts, and is expected to have 30 participants, including 5 TBT trainees/instructors who have previously trained via POiD’s Training of Trainers’ course(s)to ensure that content is absorbed by staff who can quickly disseminate skills to other TBT personnel beyond the project, thus maximising sustainability. Up to 10 attendees may be drawn from partner organisations such as the DCA and Customs Agency and, if the necessary permissions are received, up to 5 members of Border Troops from regional partners. The course will include a mandatory minimum of 20% female nominees. Courses will last for 3 weeks and be conducted in Dushanbe.

OSCE is seeking highly qualified and experienced international consultants to design and deliver the first Operational Planning Training course under this project.

Objective of Assignment: 

The objective of the Operational Planning Training course is to build the capacity of the Tajik Border Troops to conduct operational planning in a modern, effective manner incorporating international best-practice. Content will include problem-solving, command and control, briefing techniques, information and risk management, gender awareness, mission and exercise planning, control and execution, and understanding decision-making processes.
 

Duration of Assignment:
 

25 days in the period from January to March

Tasks and Responsibilities:
 

Under the overall supervision of the Project Manager of the Threat Detection, Response & Capability Project, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Course design and preparation: Assess training needs and develop an adapted three-week curriculum, including training materials, practical exercises, and assessment tools. The curriculum should incorporate international best practices and cover problem-solving, decision-making processes, command and control, briefing techniques, information and risk management, gender awareness, mission and exercise planning, and the control and execution of operational plans;
2. Training delivery: Deliver interactive, practice-oriented training on modern operational-planning principles, incorporating relevant international best practices;
3. Problem-solving and decision-making: Strengthen participants’ ability to identify and analyse operational problems, understand structured decision-making processes, assess operational environments, identify constraints, develop and evaluate possible courses of action, and make informed decisions based on available information and operational objectives;
4. Command and control and briefing techniques: Develop participants’ skills in coordination, defining roles and responsibilities, reporting, and communicating plans and decisions;
5. Mission and exercise planning: Train participants to develop structured, feasible operational plans with clear objectives, responsibilities, resources, timelines, and contingency arrangements;
6. Gender-responsive and risk-informed planning: Integrate gender awareness, inclusion, risk assessment, and relevant legal and accountability considerations into planning processes;
7. Planning control and execution: Develop participants’ capacity to monitor implementation, assess progress, adapt plans to changing circumstances, and conduct after-action reviews;
8. Assessment, reporting, and handover: Evaluate learning outcomes, collect participant feedback, and identify recommendations for further capacity development. 

Deliverables:

1. Three-week curriculum developed, including training materials, practical exercises, and assessment tools;
2. Three-week course delivered in accordance with the approved curriculum.
3. Participants complete assessed problem-solving and decision-making exercises.
4. Participants prepare and deliver assessed operational briefings.
5. Each working group produces and presents an assessed operational plan.
6. Gender and risk considerations are incorporated into practical planning exercises and supporting tools.
7. Participants complete a practical exercise and produce a monitoring framework and lessons-learned review.
8. Final short report submitted that summarises course delivery, assessment results, lessons learned, recommendations, and all training materials.

For more detailed information on the structure and ork of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, please see: https://dushanbe.osce.org/   

Necessary Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in military studies, security studies, defence and security management, public administration, international relations, or a related field. Equivalent professional military education and relevant operational-planning qualifications may be considered;
• At least 15 years of relevant professional experience  in operational planning, command and control, military and/or border security operations, defence capacity-building, or related security-sector functions;
• Demonstrated expertise in and familiarity with best practise operational-planning methodologies, preferably including experience with operational planning doctrine (e.g. Operational Planning Process) or comparable frameworks aligned to international standards, and their adaptation to border security and other operational contexts;
• Proven experience designing and delivering advanced, practice-oriented training for military, border security, or other uniformed security personnel, including the development of curricula, training materials, practical exercises, and assessment tools. Experience in command and staff appointments and/or military training establishments is an advantage;
• Strong knowledge of structured military decision-making, problem-solving, mission and exercise planning, command and control, information and risk management, operational briefings, implementation monitoring, and after-action reviews;
• Demonstrated experience working with international security-sector assistance programmes, military and/or border security institutions, and counterparts in international or multicultural environments is desirable. Experience in Central Asia or comparable regional contexts is an advantage;
• Excellent facilitation, presentation, coaching, analytical, and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex operational concepts into accessible, practical learning for participants with different levels of experience. Previous experience of delivering training through interpreters/translators is an advantage.
• Professional fluency in written and spoken English; 
• Demonstrated ability to integrate gender awareness, inclusion, accountability considerations into operational planning. 

• 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.