International Consultant for the further development of Gender responsive budgeting and capacity building of the key national stakeholders in Kazakhstan, IC, UN Women

Background:

UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, is an active advocate for the interests of women and girls at the global level. UN Women assists UN Member States in setting international norms and standards for achieving gender equality and collaborates with governments and civil society in developing laws, policies, programs and services necessary to implement these standards.

UN Women actively promotes the equal participation of women in all spheres of life, focusing on five priority areas of action: strengthening women's leadership and participation in society; elimination of violence against women; involvement of women in solving the whole range of issues of ensuring peace and security; empowering women in the economy; ensuring the central role of gender equality in national development planning and budgeting processes. UN Women also coordinates work to promote gender equality throughout the UN system.

In 2025, UN Women in Kazakhstan in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Information and with support of the National Commission on Women's Affairs and Family and Demographic Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, launched a new project for the period of 2025-2027: "Promoting increased legal protection for women, strengthening gender equality, and ensuring women's full participation in the socio-political life of the country".

The new project builds on existing achievements and aims to achieve long-term change in the empowerment of women and girls in Kazakhstan. It includes coordinated capacity building for national partners, deeper integration of gender aspects into budgeting and policymaking, and consistent application of gender expertise of legal acts in Lawmaking processes. The project includes measures to support the National Commission, through provision of the informational support and logistical support to organize its experts and members to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Concept of Family and Gender Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030, enhance media coverage of gender equality issues, and support women's political participation and professional development.

As part of the project, in 2025 within the project UN Women with support of national partners established a Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Knowledge Center (GEWE Knowledge Center) in Almaty. The GEWE Knowledge Center will become a national platform for capacity building, policy dialogue, and evidence-based implementation. It will serve as a hub for capacity development, research, dissemination of best practices, and knowledge sharing.

The GEWE Knowledge Center's activities will ensure the long-term sustainability of project initiatives by providing stakeholders with the necessary tools and resources to maintain momentum in advancing gender equality. Institutionalizing gender-responsive budgeting and integrating gender equality policies into national and regional strategies will promote equitable governance, improved resource allocation, and systemic, long-term policy change.

UN Women has implemented Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) interventions in more than 80 countries and is globally recognized for its strong technical expertise in this area. In Kazakhstan, a pilot project was implemented in 2021-2022 in the Akmola region to test approaches for introducing gender budgeting in the social protection, healthcare, and education sectors. In addition, introductory video materials were developed for the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

As part of the continued integration of GRB into budget planning procedures, a Road Map was developed in 2025 and presented to national partners from the relevant key ministries, with its draft proposed for approval by the National Commission. In addition, two training courses on GRB were conducted for approximately 60 representatives from 22 ministries, including staff from finance, economy, and strategic planning departments.

In 2026, UN Women plans to continue promoting the implementation of GRB in strategic planning, regulatory frameworks, and budget processes, as well as delivering trainings on the fundamentals of Gender Responsive Budgeting for representatives of central and local executive bodies and institutions responsible for methodological support, planning, implementation, and oversight of budget procedures, followed by the organization of a round table involving members of Parliament and national partners.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

Under the direct supervision of the UN Women Programme Specialist and Project Manager, the International Consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

1. Review the materials on the development of GRB in Kazakhstan, provided by UN Women, including previously developed recommendations on mainstreaming gender perspectives into national priorities, policy, and the budget processes and providing technical support to the UN Women CO in Kazakhstan in preparing presentation materials for the potential development partners aimed at further development of GRB.
2. Update the draft Roadmap for the integrating of GRB in public sector planning and budget processes in Kazakhstan drawing on international good practices, including the UN Women GRB index, OECD Gender Budgeting Framework and PEFA Gender Responsive Public Financial Management (GRPFM) principles.
3. Prepare recommendations for promoting GRB within the framework of updating the National Development Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan and other strategic documents.
4. Develop methodological guidelines for formulating indicator systems for public sector planning and budgeting from a gender perspective aligned with international good practices, including the SDG 5C1 and UN Women GRB index, OECD Gender Budgeting Framework and PEFA Gender Responsive Public Financial Management (GRPFM) principles.
5. Analyze opportunities for integrating GRB tools into the regulatory legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan pertaining to public sector planning and the budget processes and prepare proposals for improving of regulatory framework.
6. Develop proposals for establishing a specialized organization within Kazakhstan Institute for Public Development (KIPD) that would provide advisory and training services on GRB to central government bodies and local executive authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
7. Organize a roundtable discussion in Parliament with participation of the key interested Ministries on the updated Roadmap for implementing GRB and presenting the latest developments to the national partners, including preparation of a summary report with recommendations and agreed next steps.
8. Conduct a one-day training on GRB for government agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan including preparation of training materials and a brief training report.
9. Conduct a one-day inception training for the KIPD aimed at creating conditions for establishing, within KIPD, a specialized organization providing advisory and training services on GRB including recommendations for its operationalization and sustainability.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

International Consultant is expected to work remotely and travel to Astana to conduct the training in Astana as well as Roundtable with Parliament members. All expenses related to travel will be included in the contract sum.

UN Women support to the International Consultant:

UN Women Kazakhstan, within its capabilities, will provide support to an International Consultant to facilitate communication within the project. International Consultant will work under the direct supervision of UN Women Kazakhstan Programme Specialist and Project manager. Final report should be submitted in Russian.

Education and Certification:
• University Degree in economics/finance/PFM/social policy, gender studies, public administration
Experience:
• At least 7 years of experience in Gender Responsive Budgeting.
• Proven experience in reviewing legislation and developing recommendations for improving the regulatory framework in the field of GRB.
• Extensive experience in public finance management, strategic planning and GEWE mainstreaming.
• Proven experience in conducting training sessions on GRB for the government agencies
• Proven experience working with governments, UN agencies or other international organizations.
• Experience in GRB in Central Asia and especially in Kazakhstan will be a significant advantage.

Languages:
• Excellent written and spoken Russian is mandatory.
• Working knowledge of English will be an asset.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

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If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

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Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.