International Consultant – Technical Lead, Gender-Responsive STI Policy and Digital Transformation

## International Consultant – Technical Lead, Gender-Responsive STI Policy and Digital Transformation - Organization:UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Result of Service:A coherent methodological approach is applied across the three beneficiary countries, resulting in evidence-based national gender assessments, actionable policy recommendations, practical capacity-building tools and implementation-oriented policy instruments, together with cross-country lessons for regional and global knowledge-sharing. Work Location:Home-Based Expected duration:15.12.26 - 30.06.29 Duties and Responsibilities:Under the overall supervision of the project officer, the consultant will serve as Technical Lead for the substantive and methodological work of Development Account project 2629G. Overall project coordination, contractual supervision, stakeholder engagement, monitoring and administrative arrangements remain the responsibility of UNCTAD. In particular, the consultant will:Develop and apply a common methodological framework for the three country gender assessments, including research questions, indicators, evidence requirements and guidance for fact-finding, ensuring methodological coherence and adaptation to national circumstances and priority sectors.Provide substantive and methodological guidance to the other international consultants and the three national consultants, and ensure coherent integration of their contributions and comparability across country work.Lead and contribute to fact-finding and analysis, including desk research, review of relevant STI, digital and sectoral policies and institutional frameworks, analysis of sex-disaggregated data and data gaps, stakeholder consultations and institutional mapping; participate in project missions as required.Lead preparation of the three draft and final national gender assessments, integrating country and sectoral inputs and translating findings into actionable, country-specific policy recommendations and priority actions.Contribute to national validation workshops, support discussion of findings and recommendations, incorporate relevant stakeholder feedback and refine priority actions in the final assessments.Lead substantive development of the comprehensive training package on inclusive and gender-responsive STI policymaking and contribute to national training, advisory and mentoring activities.Provide technical guidance to translate assessment recommendations into policy options, implementation pathways and national action plans or equivalent instruments.Provide substantive leadership for the regional capacity-building workshop, cross-country knowledge-sharing, including peer learning, comparison of findings and identification of good practices; lead the substantive preparation of the synthesis report on lessons learned and present findings in relevant regional and international policy forums, including the CSTD and its Gender Advisory Board, as requested by UNCTAD. - Develop and apply a common methodological framework for the three country gender assessments, including research questions, indicators, evidence requirements and guidance for fact-finding, ensuring methodological coherence and adaptation to national circumstances and priority sectors. - Provide substantive and methodological guidance to the other international consultants and the three national consultants, and ensure coherent integration of their contributions and comparability across country work. - Lead and contribute to fact-finding and analysis, including desk research, review of relevant STI, digital and sectoral policies and institutional frameworks, analysis of sex-disaggregated data and data gaps, stakeholder consultations and institutional mapping; participate in project missions as required. - Lead preparation of the three draft and final national gender assessments, integrating country and sectoral inputs and translating findings into actionable, country-specific policy recommendations and priority actions. - Contribute to national validation workshops, support discussion of findings and recommendations, incorporate relevant stakeholder feedback and refine priority actions in the final assessments. - Lead substantive development of the comprehensive training package on inclusive and gender-responsive STI policymaking and contribute to national training, advisory and mentoring activities. - Provide technical guidance to translate assessment recommendations into policy options, implementation pathways and national action plans or equivalent instruments. - Provide substantive leadership for the regional capacity-building workshop, cross-country knowledge-sharing, including peer learning, comparison of findings and identification of good practices; lead the substantive preparation of the synthesis report on lessons learned and present findings in relevant regional and international policy forums, including the CSTD and its Gender Advisory Board, as requested by UNCTAD. Qualifications/special skills:Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in economics, public policy, development studies, STI policy, gender studies, digital transformation, international development, social sciences or a related field, is required. A PhD in a relevant field is desirable. At least ten years of progressively responsible professional experience in STI policy, digital transformation, development policy, gender-responsive policy analysis or a closely related field, are required. Demonstrated experience in gender-responsive analysis, development or application of policy assessment methodologies, translation of analytical findings into actionable policy recommendations and development or delivery of training or capacity-building for policymakers, is required. Work experience in providing technical guidance to multidisciplinary or multi-country teams and experience in developing countries is desirable. Work experience in Southeast Asia/ASEAN and with the United Nations is desirable. Previous work in an international environment or institution and familiarity with the complexity of UN technical assistance projects is an asset. Languages:Fluency in spoken and written English with excellent drafting skills is required. A proven record of publications in English is desirable. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable. Additional Information:Not available.