National Expert on Strategic Planning (Special Service Agreement)

Background:

In 2025, the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek (POiB) will undertake a comprehensive strategic planning process to ensure the continued relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency of its programmatic operations in the host country. This initiative aims to reaffirm the added value of the POiB’s work in comparison to other international and local actors and to align its efforts with evolving priorities of key stakeholders, including the host State, OSCE Chairpersonship and Troika. 

As part of this process, the POiB plans to involve the Mission members in a strategic planning workshop to share insights and agree on the Mission’s longer-term vision and how to translate it into programmatic work in the period of 2026-2028. Participants will be encouraged to consider the following key factors:
•    the evolving national context relevant to the Mission’s mandate;
•    anticipated developments in the country and broader region over the period of 2026-2028;
•    insights gained from past experiences, informed by ongoing monitoring and evaluation;
•    a results-oriented approach, stressing the medium-term impact;
•    availability of resources, ensuring a realistic and feasible strategy;
•  relevant efforts of others (both OSCE-wide and external partners) to ensure synergy and avoid duplication of efforts, including meetings of the Consultative Mechanism and Development Partners Co-ordination Council.

The following are foundational principles that will be guiding the planning exercise:

1.     Priority needs of the POiB, falling within the Mission mandate, as well as a vision, mission and values statement will guide the Mission engagement.
2.     The Mission engagement should focus on areas, where it has the greatest potential impact (on its own or together with certain partners) and the impact of programmatic activities be measurable. A discussion is needed on how impact is defined, and how it is evaluated. 
3.     Resource re-alignment or reshaping organizational design is not the aim or focus of the exercise but may be necessary or desirable to achieve objectives. 
4.     Although it does not look at the resource planning, it will discuss the most efficient means (Unified Budget, Extra budgetary projects, pooling of resources) to get to certain results and stability of different fund flows.
5.     The final strategy will be gender- and youth-sensitive. 
6.     Cross-dimensional synergies, and opportunities for regional co-operation among OSCE field operations and institutions are to be pursued.
7.     The final Mission strategy is to be adopted by the Head of Mission.

The process of strategic planning will be organized by the Mission’s Programme Co-ordination Unit with full involvement of senior management and Programme and Project Managers. The ownership of results is to be shared by relevant Mission members. 

Objective of Assignment: 
The objective of this assignment is to support the POiB in facilitating its strategic planning process by providing the necessary expertise in aligning its longer-term vision with programmatic priorities for the 2026-2028 period, ensuring relevance, effectiveness, and synergy with other relevant stakeholders.

Tasks and Responsibilities:
Under the overall supervision of the National Programme Officer, the successful candidate will be tasked with the following duties:

1. Preparation and research:
   a.   Conduct a desk review of relevant OSCE documents and programmatic work pertaining to each dimension;
   b.   Engage with relevant mission members from all departments through meetings to gather insights on strategic priorities, operational challenges, and lessons learnt;
   c.   Analyse the country context, identifying key trends and potential developments that could impact the POiB’s work in 2026-2028.
2. Design and facilitation of the strategic planning workshop:
   a.   Develop an agenda with key discussion points for the strategic planning workshop;
   b.   Facilitate the strategic planning workshop, ensuring active engagement of participants in defining long-term objectives, programmatic priorities, and measurable outcomes.
3. Drafting the Strategic Plan (2026-2028);
   a.   Consolidate workshop findings into a draft strategic framework outlining the POiB’s priorities (for each dimension as well as cross-dimensional as applicable), expected results, and implementation approach;
   b.   Ensure integration of gender and youth perspectives, cross-dimensional synergies, and alignment with OSCE-wide efforts;
   c.   Develop a framework to track progress and outcomes.

4. Finalization of the strategic plan:
   a.   Incorporate feedback from the POiB into the final strategy document;
   b.   Provide recommendations for implementation, including co-ordination mechanisms, resource considerations, and risk mitigation.

5. Presentation of the final strategy:
   a.   Present the final strategy to senior management and mission members, explaining key objectives, expected outcomes, and implementation steps;
   b.   Facilitate a Q&A session to clarify any aspects of the strategy.

Necessary Qualifications:

•    Advanced university degree in social sciences or a relevant field;
•  Minimum of six (6) years of relevant professional experience in strategic planning, policy development, organizational development, or programme management within international organizations, government institutions, non-governmental organizations, or private entities;
•    Excellent knowledge of the political, economic and social situation and key developments in the host country;
•    Strong facilitation and communication skills, with experience in leading participatory workshops and engaging with diverse stakeholders;
•    Demonstrated ability to develop structured strategic plans, including defining objectives, outcomes, and monitoring frameworks;
•    In-depth understanding of the integration of gender and youth perspectives and cross-dimensional programming;
•    Excellent data collection, analytical, writing and presentation skills;
•    Flexibility, ability to work under minimum supervision and deliver against tight deadlines;
•    Professional fluency in English and Russian (both oral and written); a good command of Kyrgyz would be an asset;
•    Digital literacy and proficient use of Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint).

Remuneration Package:

Remuneration will be based on the selected consultant's/expert's qualifications, experience, the tasks and deliverables for this position and in accordance with the OSCE established rates.

If you wish to apply for this position, please use the OSCE's online application link found under https://vacancies.osce.org/.

The OSCE retains the discretion to re-advertise/re-post the vacancy, to cancel the recruitment or to offer an appointment with a modified job description or for a different duration.

Only those candidates who are selected to participate in the subsequent stages of recruitment will be contacted.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all religious, ethnic and social backgrounds to apply to become a part of the Organization. 

Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see https://jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model.

Please be aware that the OSCE does not request payment at any stage of the application and review process.