International Consultant for AI Readiness Assessment and Roadmap Development

The consultant will assess the feasibility, institutional and technical readiness, and operational applicability of AI solutions for border management in Tajikistan. They will develop a phased, costed implementation roadmap outlining priority AI use cases, governance requirements, capacity-building needs, and implementation milestones to support responsible AI integration into border management operations.

Responsibilities

• Review existing project materials, BFT capacity-building priorities, relevant national AI and data protection frameworks, and international good practices on responsible AI use in border management and security services.
• Design and apply a feasibility and readiness assessment methodology covering operational needs, data readiness, technology readiness, institutional capacity, legal and governance safeguards, and sustainability requirements.
• Conduct consultations with BFT HQ, relevant operational units, IT/data focal points and other agencies, as agreed with IOM and BFT.
• Map current intelligence analysis and risk profiling workflows and identify pain points where AI-enabled or technology-assisted approaches could responsibly support human analysis.
• Assess available and potential data sources, data quality, access constraints, security considerations, existing BFT information systems, interoperability requirements, integration considerations and personal data protection implications.
• Conduct a dedicated cybersecurity and information security assessment covering hosting options, access controls, audit logging, and security risks associated with AI solutions.
• Conduct a Data Protection and Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA) to evaluate the legal and operational implications of processing personal and sensitive data.
• Evaluate potential deployment and hosting options (on-premises, private cloud, government cloud, etc.), taking into account security, sustainability, infrastructure and data sovereignty requirements.
• Identify practical AI-enabled use cases suitable for a controlled sandbox environment, ensuring that human decision-making authority, proportionality, accountability and oversight are maintained.
• Facilitate two hands-on sandbox workshops and interagency/technical discussions to test practical AI use cases, human-in-the-loop procedures, explainability mechanisms, lessons learned, recommendations, and governance arrangements.
• Introduce a structured AI tools evaluation matrix covering security, explainability, interoperability, scalability, sustainability, vendor dependency, support requirements and total cost of ownership implications.
• Develop a practical roadmap for responsible adoption and potential scale-up of AI-enabled intelligence analysis and risk profiling, validated with BFT and relevant stakeholders.
• Develop a costed, sequenced and realistic implementation options, including operational, support, licensing, infrastructure, maintenance and capacity-building needs, governance steps, technical requirements, risk mitigation measures and sustainability considerations.
• Develop a practical AI Governance Framework covering accountability, human oversight, explainability, risk management and governance arrangements.
• Develop knowledge-transfer materials and scale up milestones.

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Information Technology, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Information Security, Digital Transformation, Public Administration, Security Studies, International Relations, Border Management, Engineering, or a related field from an accredited academic institution.
• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in border management, security-sector reform, intelligence analysis, risk profiling, AI-enabled decision support systems, digital transformation or government technology modernization.
• Demonstrated expertise in responsible AI, AI governance, algorithmic risk management, human-in-the-loop systems, explainable AI, ethical use of sensitive operational data and development of governance frameworks for AI adoption.
• Demonstrated experience conducting feasibility studies, readiness assessments, digital maturity assessments, institutional capacity reviews and costed implementation roadmaps.
• Proven experience in cybersecurity, information security governance, risk assessment, and secure digital solution design for government, law-enforcement, border management, or comparable environments.
• Proven experience in data governance, data protection, privacy assessments and management of sensitive operational or personal data.
• Experience assessing enterprise information systems, interoperability requirements, integration architectures and digital transformation initiatives.
• Experience evaluating AI tools and technologies, including commercial and open-source solutions, and assessing suitability, security, explainability, scalability, sustainability and cost implications.
• Experience designing and facilitating AI pilot project, proof-of-concepts, sandbox environments, stakeholder validation exercises, and technical workshops.
• Experience developing governance frameworks, implementation roadmaps and policy recommendations for government or public sector institutions.
• Experience in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, or comparable border management and security environments is an asset.
• Excellent analytical, facilitation, report-writing and communication skills in English. Knowledge of Russian and/or Tajik is an asset.

Skills

• AI Readiness Assessment
• Strategic Roadmap Development
• Border Management
• Security-Sector Reform
• Intelligence Analysis
• Risk Profiling
• AI-enabled Decision Support
• Digital Transformation
• Government Technology Modernization
• Responsible AI Principles
• AI Governance
• Algorithmic Risk Management
• Human-in-the-Loop Systems
• Explainable AI
• Ethical Data Practices
• Governance Framework Analysis
• Feasibility Studies
• Digital Maturity Assessment
• Institutional Capacity Review
• Costed Implementation Roadmaps
• Cybersecurity
• Information Security Governance
• Risk Assessment
• Secure Digital Solution Design
• Data Governance
• Data Protection
• Privacy Assessment
• Enterprise Information Systems Management
• Interoperability Requirements
• Integration architectures
• AI Tools Evaluation
• AI Pilot Project Design
• Proof-of-Concept Facilitation
• Sandbox Environment Management
• Stakeholder Validation
• Workshop Facilitation
• Policy Recommendations

Languages

English