Communication, Outreach and Gender Analyst

In Tajikistan, UNDP contributes to sustainable and inclusive economic development both by working on the central policy level and by supporting local level development. At the policy level, UNDP and its sister UN agencies have been active in supporting the Government of Tajikistan to align its development planning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and bring innovative solution to the national development plans and implementation schemes. At the local level UNDP supports implementation of national development priorities helping communities to become more resilient and to reduce disparities related to geographic location, social context, and gender.
UNDP’s Sustainable Economic Development Cluster (SED) is an integrated portfolio of projects that addresses issues affecting the lives of vulnerable groups of people on the ground in a holistic and cross-disciplinary manner, aiming at the sustainable economic growth and sustainable livelihoods of people of the country. UNDP SED Cluster supports localization and operationalization of the SDGs and the implementation of Tajikistan’s National Development Strategy 2030 and Mid-Term Development Programmes. The mission of UNDP SED Cluster is to support achievement of the CPD Outcome 2 in terms of promoting decent and productive employment, improved access to specialized knowledge and innovation and more favourable business environment especially for entrepreneurs and farmers.

One of Tajikistan’s main development challenges is the lack of a modern, effective Civil Registry System (CRS) and its integration with other E-systems that record the population’s vital life data. In fact, Tajikistan is the last country in the region to shift from paper-based registration to a digital one. To support the Government in implementing reforms, UNDP, with the support of Swiss Development Cooperation, launched the “Civil Registry System Reform Project” in Tajikistan in 2015. The project was designed to contribute to the goals and activities of the National Civil Registry Reform Programme 2014-2019 and seeks to address some of the gaps and challenges in the CRS. The project consisted of two phases: Phase I from 2016 to 2019 and Phase II from 2020 to 2023. Despite remaining challenges, constraints and issues Phase I of the project covering the period of 2016-2019 was completed with key achievements such as free birth registration (within the first 3 months), piloting a so-called One-Stop-Office service delivery model with front and back-office division in 2 CR offices, introducing electronic system of Civil Registration in 74 CROs in all cities and districts of the country including equipping with necessary ICT equipment and infrastructure, capacity building of more than 350 staff on basic computer skills and using information system, awareness raising campaigns covering several districts and cities. Phase II started in 2020 and covered the period of 2020-2025. For improving Civil Registration services and achieving ambitious goals of Civil Registration Reform, UNDP mobilized additional funds from the European Union for the project “Improved Access to Public Services (IAPS) through Civil Registry System Reform”. The overall objective of the project is to improve the accessibility of basic public services for rights-holders through strengthening the civil registration (CR) system and enhancing the quality, efficiency, and inclusiveness of service delivery. Despite ongoing reforms, access to CR services remains uneven, particularly in remote and rural areas, where a significant portion of the population continues to face barriers in obtaining timely and accurate civil registration services. The project Management structure is merged for both SDC-funded and EU-funded projects.

Under the overall guidance of the Team Leader Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights and under direct supervision of the Project Manager, the UNV will provide technical support and guidance to the Ministry of Justice, disseminate information and collect information on the CR reform process, and develop Gender-specific interventions and communication materials. He /She is also expected to provide advisory support to the project on gender interventions and outreach activities. The UNV is anticipated to enhance engagement with a wide range of the public, including civil society and academia, to maximize the impact of communication strategies and increase public awareness of the Civil Registration reform process.
External Communications and Visibility:
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Implement the Civil Registration System Reform (CRSR) project’s communications and outreach strategy in complementarity with UNDP Tajikistan Country Office's broader strategic priorities as well as its External Communications Action Plan.
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Undertake periodic review and updates of the CRSR project communications and outreach strategy in consultation with the programme team to ensure its relevance to emerging priorities and needs on the ground.
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Implementation of the CRSR project communication and outreach strategy.
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Undertake quarterly assessments and analysis to identify the programme’s external communications and visibility priorities in close consultation with the CRSR Project Manager.
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Lead the design and implementation of external communications and outreach interventions for the purpose of developing new project proposals and programme’s overall resource mobilization efforts.
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Develop advocacy, visibility and promotional material that are necessary for the CRR project in compliance with UNDP corporate guidelines and donor visibility policies and procedures where appropriate.
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Lead the design and development of necessary communications and awareness material/ documentation for wider dissemination and information sharing in coordination with programme beneficiaries and target communities as guided by the CRSR Project Manager.
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Build partnerships and collaborate & engage with the media to improve programme’s external communications and visibility, corresponding to its external communications and visibility strategy.
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Draft press releases, case studies/ human stories, policy briefs, video/ documentary scripts to highlight and improve the UNDP CRSR project’s visibility on its achievements/ activities while also ensuring wider dissemination of these materials amongst like-minded audiences within Tajikistan and beyond. Maintain and regularly update the programme repository/archive of all communications material, including photos, videos and audios.
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Draft and design content for UNDP’s social platforms for the CRSR project.
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Provide constructive feedback on the programme’s progress reporting and related activities on lessons learned and best practices resulting from external communications and visibility activities.
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Conduct orientation/ training sessions on external communications and visibility to programme partners where needed.
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Act as the CRSR project focal point for day-to-day coordination and collaboration with the UNDP Tajikistan Country Office Communications team and programme teams where appropriate.
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Any other relevant tasks assigned by the CRSR Project Manager.

Internal Communications:
Develop/ prepare content material for the UNDP Tajikistan Country Office website in close coordination with the CRSR team and the Country Office Communications Team.
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Develop/ prepare content for social media platforms relevant to the CRSR project's activities in close consultation with the project team and the Country Office Communications Team.
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Draft and prepare internal communications material, including blogs, newsletters, and related activities in close consultation with the project team and the Country Office Communications Team.
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Act as the CRSR focal point for all internal communications-related tasks.
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Any other relevant tasks assigned by the CRSR Project Manager.
Programme Support:
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Assist the CRSR project team in the drafting of programme updates, development of advocacy/ awareness raising material and related material.
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Assist the CRSR project team and the M&E Analyst of the project to design and implement baseline surveys, public perception surveys, impact assessments/ tracker surveys, including in the development of survey report templates, design and layout of reports and related tasks.
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Assist the CRSR Project Manager in coordinating comments/ feedback from the rest of the project team to prepare donor progress reports, donor review meeting presentations, meeting minutes and related documentation.
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Assist in the preparation of write-ups/ presentations and related documents, including meeting minutes for CRSR Project Board / Steering Committee meetings under the overall guidance of the Project Manager.
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Any other tasks related to project support assigned by the Project Manager.
Institutional Arrangement
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The UNV will report to the Project Manager and work in close coordination with the project team.
• Under the guidance of the Project Manager of the “Civil Registration System Reform in Tajikistan,” the UNV is responsible for all project activities and services related to communications and visibility. In addition, the UNV will identify critical project areas for gender-based interventions and contribute to planning, monitoring and reporting of the project and integrate gender in all the processes, explore the baseline data on the gender dynamics and the status of women and poor/marginalized communities in the context of the project and relating to civil registration, which will constitute the project’s base for a monitoring and evaluation plan for gender.