Chief Technical Advisor

The medium-term programme framework (MTPF) 2026 - 2029 is UNIDO’s core strategic document and it is in line with UNIDO’s Vision 2050. It sets a renewed vision to support Member States and shape their industries for development. The priorities include fair and sustainable global and regional supply chains, ending hunger through innovation and local value addition, renewable and clean energy, sustainable energy access and climate action. Cross-cutting priorities focus on industrial and economic policy advice, skills development, fostering digitalization and artificial intelligence, gender equality and the empowerment of women, supporting youth, promoting cleaner production and circular economy, and leveraging private sector investment and development finance.

Each of these programmatic fields of activity contains a number of individual programmes, which are implemented in a holistic manner to achieve effective outcomes and impacts through UNIDO’s four enabling functions: (i) technical cooperation; (ii) analytical and research functions and policy advisory services; (iii) normative functions and standards-related activities; and (iv) convening and fostering partnerships for knowledge and technology transfer, investment mobilization, networking and industrial cooperation. Such core functions are carried out in Divisions/Offices in its Headquarters, Sub-regional Offices and Country Offices.

The Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development (TCS), headed by a Managing Director, ensures the Organization's application of strategies and interventions for sustainable industrial development related to environment, energy, Micro, Small and Medium-Enterprises (MSMEs), and digitalization. The Directorate also oversees the Organization's normative contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through industrial policy advice and capacity development. Through coordination in-house and with Member States and industry stakeholders, it ensures that the services provided in these areas contribute to effective and appropriate technical, business and policy solutions and are focused on results, scaling up and positioning UNIDO as a leading platform for industrial development in developing countries and global fora.

The Directorate is responsible for the Division of Industrial Policy Advice and Capacity Development (TCS/IPC), and technical Divisions of Circular Economy and Green Industry (TCS/CEG), Energy and Climate Action (TCS/ECA), Climate Innovation and Montreal Protocol (TCS/CMP); MSME Competitiveness, Quality and Job Creation (TCS/SME); and Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence (TCS/DAI). Leveraging the diverse skill sets of UNIDO personnel and the services provided by the two TC directorates, TCS collaborates closely with IET to develop and implement programmes and projects, aiming at enhancing synergy and complementarity and maximizing UNIDO corporate performance and impacts on the ground. The Directorate also ensures close coordination and collaboration among the Divisions as well as with relevant entities in all Directorates across the Organization.

The position is located under the Division of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence (TCS/DAI), which promotes digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence as well as associated technologies as part of innovation ecosystems consisting of productive capacities in manufacturing, services and digital firms, with the purpose of advancing the competitiveness of industries and manufacturing firms in Member States. It helps industries to benefit from the rapid progress in digital and convergent technologies associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), ensuring a smooth transition towards safe and secure cyber-physical industrial systems and a smart society and mitigating any adverse effects on employment and quality of work. Through the Division's services, productive transformation is the key, by integrating industrial businesses, dynamic entrepreneurship, and acceleration services, and by applying technological innovation to smart manufacturing, smart energy, smart agribusiness and others, in developing countries, transition and emerging economies, with emphasis on developing countries to provide the opportunity to technologically catch up instead of falling behind industries in more advanced countries.

PROJECT CONTEXT

ID 230121 – Establishing a single window system for the facilitation of economic activity in free economic zones in Tajikistan:The project aims to establish a Single Window Platform integrating Tajikistan's government ministries and other relevant public bodies to better streamline free economic zones (FEZs) investment processes, enhancing transparency and efficiency to attract and support FEZ residents in alignment with the Mid-Term Program for the Development of the Digital Economy and the 2030 National Development Strategy. The implementation of the Single Window Free Economic Zones is expected to significantly improve administrative efficiency and transparency by reducing processing times and bureaucratic procedures for businesses. This streamlined approach is further expected to attract additional investments in the FEZs, fostering increased economic activity through foreign and domestic capital, and generating new jobs. By facilitating import and export processes, trade competitiveness would be boosted, thus contributing to revenue growth, driving infrastructure development, encouraging innovation, and strengthening public-private partnerships, which would position the FEZs as a strong instrument of economic growth and regional economic integration in Tajikistan.

FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision of the UNIDO Project Manager (TCS/DAI), and working alongside the International Expert and National Expert, the Chief Technical Advisor will provide independent technical assurance, strategic technical guidance, and quality oversight across all phases of the Single Window Platform delivery. The CTA is the project's senior-most technical authority on platform architecture, integration, cybersecurity, and delivery quality.

MAIN DUTIES

• Concept, requirements and finalization of the Platform ToR. Prepare the inception note and workplan. Develop the Platform concept with MEDT and agencies: vision, functional ambition, scope logic, MVP/Standard/Advanced structure. Confirm and reconcile requirements through workshops, structured elicitation and sign-off. Review the existing ToR, TRD, SRD and scope model for gaps, inconsistencies and feasibility risks. Finalize the ToR to be exhaustive, consistent and priceable, with a numbered testable requirements annex and compliance-matrix template. Finalize the MVP-as-base structure: MVP base integrating four organizations; integrations five and six as priced options on counterpart readiness; hardware carved out; priced-option schedule complete.
• Budget validation, acceptance architecture and evaluation framework. Validate the budget against scope using function point analysis (FPA) or equivalent; recommend scope or budget adjustments. Define the acceptance and staged-payment architecture: tranches tied to accepted deliverables, acceptance criteria and test evidence, warranty, defect SLAs, intellectual property and source-code handover, performance security. Develop the evaluation framework with Procurement: technical and financial weighting, minimum qualifying score, qualification and exclusion criteria, treatment of priced options, key-personnel thresholds, scoring grid.
• Tender conduct and technical evaluation of bids. Support tender launch and conduct with Procurement: package and timeline. Respond to bidder clarifications. Advise on a level playing field. Provide an independent, non-scoring technical opinion on bids covering architecture feasibility, technology-stack appropriateness, team-composition adequacy and cost realism; scoring and the award decision rest with the panel of UNIDO.
• Contractor mobilization, architecture and security endorsement. Support award finalization. Review the Contractor's inception report; conduct design and architecture gate reviews with accept/reject recommendations. Endorse the solution architecture and integration approach: e.g. ASYCUDA World (customs), tax and legacy agency systems; readiness for a future SMEV or national data-exchange gateway; alignment with UN/CEFACT Recommendations 33/34/35, the WCO Data Model and Tajikistan's e-government interoperability framework; resolve architectural disputes. Validate the cybersecurity architecture, role-based access control (RBAC) model, audit trail and secure communication layers; advise on public key infrastructure (PKI) and digital-signature integration; ensure data-sovereignty and data-protection compliance. (Validate the payment workflow architecture for FEZ-related services: fee calculation for the FEZ certificate, API-ready integration with the National Payment Gateway, and routing and confirmation patterns with Customs, Tax, Migration and banking counterpart systems, distinguishing Platform responsibilities from external payment infrastructure).
• Supervision of business process analysis. Set technical direction for the National Associate Expert (NAE) and quality-control the as-is and to-be business process analysis across the five FEZs and agencies to professional BPMN standards. Validate process maps, the Business Requirements Specification (BRS), business rules, SLA targets and the integration and data catalogues, ensuring they feed the technical specifications.
• Governance, deployment assurance, risk and reporting. Chair the monthly Technical Working Group (TWG) technical sessions between UNIDO, MEDT, Customs, Tax, FEZ administrations, AIDT and the Contractor; present technical trade-offs to the Project Steering Committee. Conduct gate-based spot audits of code quality, test coverage and non-functional compliance at acceptance gates. Oversee System Integration Testing (SIT) with counterpart systems and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) with MEDT, FEZ administration staff and business users before go-live sign-off. Validate hardware specifications, network architecture and on-premises hosting design (confirming if ARM terminals and hosting infrastructure are procured through a separate supply procedure). Ensure technical knowledge transfer to the designated platform operator is substantive; advise MEDT on the post-project sustainability roadmap. Assess delivery risks, maintain a technical risk register and advise on change orders and technical disputes. Provide technical inputs to progress reports aligned with the M&E plan and to communication materials; report technical assurance to the Project Manager.

MINIMUM ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Education: Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a closely related technical field, is required.

Alternatively, a first level university degree or an advanced technical college diploma may be acceptable provided it is combined with an additional 10 years of professional hands-on experience that is directly relevant to the expertise required by the specific assignment.

Technical and Functional Experience:

• At least ten (10) years of progressive professional experience in ICT for development, digital government, or trade facilitation systems at international level, including a minimum of 5 years at a senior level is required, specifically:
  • Minimum one (1) national-level Single Window or customs modernization projects delivered to operational go-live, with at least one in a developing or transition economy is required.
  • Proven experience as a Technical Lead, Solution Architect, or Chief Technical Advisor on complex, multi-stakeholder government ICT programmes is required.
  • Demonstrated ability to review and validate system architecture, integration specifications, security design, and technical deliverables produced by third-party contractors is required.
  • Experience drafting technical evaluation criteria for complex ICT procurements and participating in bid evaluation panels is desirable.
  • Working knowledge of UN/CEFACT Recommendations (33, 34, 35), the WCO Data Model, and international trade data exchange standards is required.
  • Familiarity with the ASYCUDA ecosystem and post-Soviet government ICT environments is a strong asset.
• Strong analytical and diplomatic communication skills is desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to chair technical working groups and mediate between government officials, vendor architects, and international development partners is desirable.
• Prior experience in Central Asia, the Caucasus, or Eastern Europe is desirable.
• Preference will be given to candidates meeting the Russian language requirement and possessing regional ICT deployment experience.

Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Proficiency in the working language of the counterparts and the contractor's on-site team (Russian) is a strong asset. Working knowledge of Tajik or other United Nations language(s) is desirable.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

CORE VALUES:

• Excellence – Deliver high-quality results; continuously improve performance
• Integrity – Uphold ethical standards; act transparently and responsibly
• Inclusion – Promote respect, diversity, and fairness
• Humility – Show self-awareness; value others’ contributions
• Humanity – Act with compassion; align work with sustainable development

CORE BEHAVIOURS:

• Connect & Collaborate - Build trust through communication and teamwork; Share knowledge and embrace diversity
• Analyse & Plan - Use data and evidence for decision-making; Plan proactively and prioritize effectively
• Deliver Results with Positive Impact - Take ownership and deliver quality outputs; Align work with UNIDO mission and objectives
• Learn and Develop - Continuously develop skills; Seek feedback and share knowledge
• Adapt and Innovate - Respond flexibly to change; Embrace innovation and new approaches

This appointment is limited to the specified project(s) only and does not carry any expectation of renewal.

Employees of UNIDO are expected at all times to uphold the highest standards of integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity, both at work and outside. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for jobs at UNIDO.

All applications must be submitted online through the Online Recruitment System. Correspondence will be undertaken only with candidates who are being considered at an advanced phase of the selection process. Selected candidate(s) may be required to disclose to the Director General the nature and scope of financial and other personal interests and assets in respect of themselves, their spouses and dependents, under the procedures established by the Director General.

Visit the UNIDO website for details on how to apply: www.unido.org

NOTE: The Director General retains the discretion to make an appointment to this post at a lower level.

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