Regional Adviser on Connectivity

Org. Setting and Reporting

The mandate of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is to promote sustainable and inclusive development and regional connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region. The role of ESCAP as a regional development arm of the United Nations Secretariat is to support its membership with policy-oriented research and analysis and with normative, technical and capacity-building assistance to respond to the development priorities and changing needs of countries in Asia and the Pacific This position is located in the Subregional Office for North and Central Asia (SONCA), Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Office covers Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The incumbent reports to the Head of SONCA.

Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Head of SONCA and the overall guidance of the Executive Secretary of ESCAP, the incumbent will be expected to perform the following duties:

• Provides policy advice online and/or through short-term field missions to governments of the SPECA participating states and other relevant stakeholders in the subregion upon their request on aspects of connectivity, particularly in the areas of trade and transport, in support of the United Nations Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA), including its related priorities.
• Monitors, studies, and analyzes the trends and best practices on connectivity and regional economic cooperation, including emerging regional cooperation opportunities relevant to SPECA participating states, and prepares policy advisory notes to inform governments as well as feed into the intergovernmental process.
• Contributes to the design/redesign of national policies and strategies upon requests from the SPECA participating states for regional economic cooperation and for the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and/or other relevant international norms and standards.
• Participates in the design and development of capacity development programmes, projects and activities under the SPECA framework at national and regional levels, supporting monitoring, evaluation and reporting processes to ensure alignment with SPECA priorities and effective achievement of programme outcomes.
• Monitors implementation of gender mainstreaming guidelines by assessing the implications for men and women of any planned action, including legislation, policies, or programmes, in all areas and at all levels.
• Makes substantive contributions to SPECA-related workshops, seminars, and capacity-building events at national and regional levels, including development of training materials and knowledge products and agendas aligned with SPECA priorities; identification of key stakeholders and participants from participating states; and preparation of backgro...