Jobs

INTERNATIONAL EXPERT: REGIONAL COORDINATOR CENTRAL ASIA TO SUPPORT EU FUNDED RUTSIS PROJECT

BASED IN DUSHANBE, 11 MONTHS CONTRACT

THE ORGANIZATION: TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CENTER
PROJECT: “REVIVING UZBEKISTAN AND TAJIKISTAN’S SUSTAINABLE IKAT AND SILK (RUTSIS)”
SWITCH ASIA PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
THE CHALLENGE:
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are linked by a long and common history, culture and religion. Since ancient times, the silk production and processing traditions of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have been shaping the Central Asian region making the two countries an integral part of the “Great Silk Road”. Silk has remained trademark of many contemporary home-grown designers and fashion brands in Uzbekistan, who use Central Asian Ikat, a unique textile, which is patterned by dyeing the threads before weaving. Having been separated from Western markets for over 200 years, high-end fashion houses start showing increasing interest in the unique indigenous, yet undiscovered high-quality designs and colour combinations, of the Ikat from Central Asia. While Uzbekistan inherited few silk production sites, the Tajik sericulture, which supplied the weavers in the neighbouring country, has almost completely vanished, in view of the turmoil following dissolution of the USSR and the long-lasting civil war. Due to the continuous emigration and destruction of traditional textile production, much of the knowledge about traditional sericulture and ikat textiles, in particular about the Tajik unique customs and traditions, was largely lost. In addition, industrial textile production processes, especially dyeing methods, have replaced traditional textile production in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan contributing to pollution of the environment and water sources of communities.

THE OBJECTIVES:
• Promotes sustainable growth along the Great Silk Road in Central Asia
• Contributes to the revival and upgrade of local silk and Ikat value chains
• Integrates sustainable production approaches in an ethically and environmentally friendly way
• Strengthens cross-cultural dialogue between Uzbek and Tajik societies
• Creates new education and employment opportunities, safeguarding ancient silk and Ikat production techniques, and developing innovative sustainable design
• Enhances recognition of Central Asian sustainable silk and ikat products in the international market

THE WAY FORWARD:
• Sustainable production issues and improvement potentials along the Ikat value chain are identified, a regional strategy is developed;
• Local and cross-regional relationships for building new supply chains are established;
• Supportive training and advisory capacities of local educational/vocational institutions are enhanced: Tailored training modules launched
• Ikat products aligned with sustainable performance criteria
• Policy dialogue is initiated; product labelling is introduced
• Awareness among local and international buyers of Ikat on sustainable consumption and production of Uzbek/Tajik silk/Ikat products is increased

PARTNERS:
• adelphi Research gGmbH
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan
• Center of Handicrafts Development Margilan, Republic of Uzbekistan
• NGO Tourism Development Center, Republic of Tajikistan
• Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design, Germany

Website: www.centralasianikat.eu
Facebook: Central Asian Ikat /Атласы Средней Азии

MISSION AND TASKS

Under the hierarchical supervision of the project manager for Tajikistan, the international expert/ regional coordinator Central Asia will be in charge of the entire project activities, implemented by the NGO “Tourism Development Center” in Tajikistan, ensuring the timely implementation of all project activities and good coordination with implementing partners and beneficiaries.

SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT:

The IE will be based in Dushanbe with frequent travel to regions in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and abroad. She/he be supported technically by the NGO Tourism Development Centre (TDC). The IE will further be supported by TDC Project Manager and country admin/finance team.

REQUIREMENTS

Education and experience
• Master’s degree in social studies, development studies or another relevant field (to be duly motivated) is required
• At least 15 years of progressive (I)NGO and project management experience in the area of providing technical expertise on capacitating and exchange of knowledge in development of learning materials, facilitation and mentoring experience is highly required.
• Demonstrated experience in Project Management in the development sector and for a main international donor is required (preferably European Union)
• Demonstrated experience working with creative industries and SMEs in development countries
• Demonstrated experience in collaboration with international donors and local partners and beneficiaries in Central Asia
• Demonstrated experience in project work in a consortium of partners
• Working experience in Tajikistan and Central Asia not less than 10 years.

Skills
• Leadership and mentoring skills required
• Strong interpersonal skills and a strong autonomy aptitude is required
• Ability to travel regularly to the field is required
• Good facilitation and dialogue skills with CSOs and Tajik local government is required
• Precision in work, follow-up and report writing in English is required
• Ability work as part of a team, to adapt, travel and be proactive required
• Strong organizational skills (planning, problem solving, autonomy, priority management) required
• Enthusiasm, taste for fieldwork is an asset
• Fluent in English (speaking, writing, and reading) is required, mandatory Tajik and Russian languages
• Fluency in MS Office Suite (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) is required

The qualified candidate with show strong commitment, dynamism, flexibility, and willingness to be the change

CONDITIONS
• Starting date: ASAP, April 2022
• Duration: 11 months with probation period (till end of project)
• Position based in Dushanbe, with frequent travels to regions, to Uzbekistan and abroad
• Status/type of contract: Service contract

TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION

If you are interested in carrying out the assignment, please submit an indicative offer on the basis of the Terms of Reference and the instructions to tenderers stated below.
1. Questions regarding the tender must be submitted by email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. until April 28th 2022.
2. The questions will be anonymized and answers will be distributed to all bidders.
3. Your written, indicative offer must consist of the following documents, to be submitted as separate PDF files:
a. CV including List of references, demonstrating the experience in delivering similar services. The list of references will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
i. Experience in working in one or several of: Working with international projects, Workshop and event organization, Project management support, Experience in working in European donor programmes or comparable projects, Translation services, Development of reports, Conduction of Market research tasks, and relevant work experience in Central Asia
ii. Knowledge of the local conditions in Central Asia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
b. Technical offer with description of services. The technical offer will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
c. Experience in working with international projects
d. Experience in Workshop and event organization, Project management support, Experience in working in European donor programmes or comparable projects, Translation services, Development of reports, Conduction of Market research tasks, and relevant work experience in Central Asia
e. Knowledge of the local conditions in Central Asia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
f. Economic offer with price quotation, including an indication of net costs in Euro currency (i.e. EUR, excluding VAT).
4. Together, the list of references and the technical offer will account for 50% of the overall rating. The economic will account for the remaining 50 % of the overall rating.
5. The indicative offer must be signed and submitted in electronic form (e-mail) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To apply, submit by email our CV, Cover letter, diploma to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with in Subject «International Expert» + your name.

Deadline: 28 April 2022 Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted