Population and Development Technical Specialist

Volunteering Finance & Economy

Overview

Provide technical and programmatic support on demographic shifts in Central Asia.

You have:

• A minimum of 7 years of progressive professional experience in related technical expertise areas.
• Demonstrable technical expertise in population and development with a strong profile of publications.
• Familiarity with methods to examine population dynamics using socio-economic lenses.
• Proficient understanding of translating evidence into actionable policies.
• Experience working with multiple actors including government and academia.
• Experience in coordination, facilitation and building partnerships.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; Russian proficiency desirable.

Contract

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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 (2026-2029), firstly, reaffirms the relevance of three transformative results - to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices - and secondly, introduces a fourth Outcome 4 on demographic change as a recognition of the key role of demographic shifts in determining sustainable development trajectories, fiscal sustainability, political stability, and the realization of individual rights.

The goal of the fourth outcome of the 2026-2029 Strategic Plan, is to ensure that by the end of 2029, “adaptation to demographic change has strengthened the resilience of societies for current and future generations, while upholding individual rights and choices”. UNFPA’s support to countries in addressing demographic concerns, harnessing associated opportunities, and building demographic resilience is firmly grounded in the ICPD Programme of Action. It is anchored in robust evidence, and is not only consistent with, but actively advances rights and choices, and women’s and youth empowerment.

Within the global frameworks of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development, the ICPD Programme of Action and the 2026-2029 Strategic Plan, this United Nations Volunteers (UNV) assignment is part of the UNFPA flagship Demographic Resilience programme. It focuses primarily on the localization of the Programme in Central Asia through 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, with the aim to ensure the political, social, economic and environmental contexts, as well as, the realities and aspirations of the respective countries and the subregion, are taken into consideration within tailored pathways to demographic resilience.

Within the delegated authority and under the overall guidance and leadership of the Country Representative, Kazakhstan and Country Director Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, with functional/matrix reporting to the East Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (EECARO ) Demographic Resilience Policy Adviser, the UN Volunteer will: • provide 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 the intersection with other evolving megatrends (climate change, migration, inequality, and digital transformation). • generate and use data and evidence enabled by cutting-edge tools, methodologies, and modeling 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. • ensure the Country Offices in the Central Asia region are empowered with the capacity to play a leadership role in advancing the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) Strategic Plan, International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD ) Programme of Action, the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, and the Demographic Resilience Programme. • support countries in the translation of evidence into the formulation of rights-based policies, multi-sectoral strategies, macroeconomic frameworks, and development plans that take into consideration demographic shifts. • foster collaborations with UN sister agencies and other development partners at the Central Asia regional and country levels, including joint analytical pieces such as the common country analysis (CCA), development of United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCFs), UNFPA country programmes (CPDs) , and UN joint programmes, to mention a few. • guide thought leadership within technical cooperation with key stakeholders, including academia, research institutions, civil society, governmental institutions, the UN system, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), multilateral development banks (MDBs ), and donors in the region. • ensure 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.

● Exemplifying integrity ● Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system ● Embracing cultural diversity ● Embracing change ● 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 ● 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 ● 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 ● 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.

• A minimum of 7 years of progressive professional experience in the substantive technical expertise areas, focusing on the 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 a strong 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 multivariate 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 the ability to deliver quality and timely results. • Experience in coordination, facilitation, reporting, and in building partnerships. • Familiarity with digital data tools and analytical software packages will be an asset. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, especially for transmitting technical knowledge to non-experts; Russian language proficiency is desirable.

The UN Volunteer will be based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, with a coastline along the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country, the largest and northernmost Muslim-majority country by land area, and the ninth-largest country in the world. It has a population of 20 million people, and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometre (15 people per square mile). Its capital is Astana, known as Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022. Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city and financial center, was the country's capital until 1997.

Almaty is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of 2,2 mln people, about 11% of the country's total population. Almaty is the major commercial and cultural center of Kazakhstan. The city is in the mountainous area of southern Kazakhstan in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau at an elevation of 700–900 m (2,300–3,000 feet), where the Large and Small Almatinka rivers run into the plain. Almaty is a safe city, but the usual precautions should still exercise.

Medical services: No special vaccination is required to travel to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medical services (including dental care) are provided at European standards. Clinics working 24 hours are available in the city. There are both private and state clinics and hospitals. Pharmacies (Kazakh: darikhana, Russian: apteka) all over Almaty sell many Western medicines. Emergency numbers: In case of emergency, please call "101" (Fire services), "102" (Police), "103" (Ambulance), "104" (Gas Service), "112" (Rescue service in emergency situations).

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Potential interview questions

Added 1 month ago - Updated 1 month ago - Source: unv.org