UNDP Jobs - 43809- Re-advertisement - Electoral Assistance Specialist

Re-advertisement - Electoral Assistance Specialist

Location :

Brussels, BELGIUM

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

26-Dec-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

Twelve months

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Twelve months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP’s democratic governance practice focuses on fostering inclusive participation, strengthening responsive governing institutions, and promoting democratic principles. Inclusive participation expands equal opportunities for engagement by the poor, women, youth, indigenous people, and other marginalized groups who are excluded from power. Efforts in this area aim to strengthen opportunities for civic engagement in the core channels linking people and the state, at the national, regional and local levels.

Work on governing institutions has traditionally emphasized the design and functions of the core pillars of the state, including the legislative, executive and judicial branches, at national, regional and local levels. Strengthening responsive governing institutions entails promoting the core channels of representation and accountability in the state at the national, regional and local levels. Responsive institutions mean that the state reflects and serves the needs, priorities, and interests of all people, including women, the poor, youth, and minorities.

Supporting national partners to strengthen democratic practices grounded in human rights, anti-corruption and gender equality require UNDP leadership in promoting integration, coordination and information-sharing of policies, practices, and strategies strengthening democratic governance within and outside of the UN family.

In order to provide timely and quality policy advisory services and knowledge products in democratic governance, the Democratic Governance Group (DGG) has organized its work and its staff along these three main key results areas.

A core group of policy advisers representing capacity along these three key results areas are based in New York with a specific mandate of providing policy advisory services, knowledge management as well as partnership building and advocacy. As part of the practice architecture, which allocates decentralized capacity to the Regional Service Centres, a number of democratic governance policy advisers are based in Addis Ababa (for Africa), Bangkok (for Asia and the Pacific), Panama (for Latin America and the Caribbean), Istanbul (for Europe and CIS) and Cairo (for Arab States).

Since 2009, the Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support (GPECS) has become UNDP’s most important vehicle contributing to the formulation and implementation of electoral policy. GPECS sought to respond to the growing demands and to ensure global coherence while balancing and responding to regional and country realities. The programme consists of country, regional, global and gender components that sustainably support policy development, knowledge management and programme support and that use a process-driven approach rather than an event-driven one. GPECS has also innovated in new areas of demand, including on developing electoral indicators, media and elections, and youth participation.

The overall goal to which GPECS contributes is towards deepening democracy and accelerating human development. In contributing to this larger and longer-term goal, GPECS focuses on the intermediate UNDP Strategic Plan outcome of “electoral laws, processes and institutions strengthen inclusive participation and professional electoral administration.” GPECS seeks to achieve the outcome by:

Providing leadership, advocacy and capacity development in the field of electoral cycle support at the global level;
Supporting South-South cooperation and promoting regional knowledge development, exchanges and capacity;
Supporting electoral cycle development and lessons learned in key countries at the national level; and
Fostering inclusive participation and women’s empowerment.

Since the full rollout of project delivery in 2010, GPECS staff have fostered a global and regional electoral cycle network of expertise and tools to deliver effective electoral assistance, and have provided greater coherence to the electoral assistance support given by UNDP, which has strengthened UNDP’s role as chief electoral assistance provider within the UN family.

In 2007, an EC-UNDP Joint Task Force (JTF) on Electoral Assistance, composed of EC and UNDP representatives based in Brussels, was established to further strengthen and facilitate the already existing EC-UNDP partnership in the field of electoral assistance, and to improve the overall efficiency and adherence of UNDP projects benefitting from EU financial contributions to the common EC-UNDP strategic approach. The JTF monitors and supports the partnership, from the early formulation missions to the end of the contractual obligations; seeks policy convergence in both organization’s electoral assistance, including advocating adherence to UN and multilateral norms and standards; better positions UNDP with the EC in the domain of electoral assistance and related areas; encourages the professional development of EC and UNDP staff, and improves knowledge of the institutional aspects of electoral assistance projects. Since 2009, UNDP support to the work of the EC-UNDP Joint Task Force has come from GPECS, and JTF staff based in Brussels have been part of the overall GPECS framework, linking in their country-support closely with the global and regional policy advisors.

Under the overall guidance of BDP’s Lead Electoral Advisor and the day-to-day supervision of the Deputy Director of the UNDP Brussels Office, the Electoral Assistance Specialist will strengthen and facilitate cooperation between UNDP and the EC and EU member states in the field of electoral assistance. The incumbent will promote knowledge sharing and expert advice to UNDP country offices, EU delegations and electoral management bodies (EMBs) in post-conflict countries and transitional democracies. S/He will advise senior management on managerial, political and operational issues relating to EC-UNDP electoral assistance projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall leadership of the Deputy Director of UNDP Brussels and BDP’s Lead Electoral Advisor

Advice and provide operational guidance and implementation strategies related to UNDP electoral assistance projects with financial contributions from the European Union;
Advise relevant UNDP and EC services in the drafting process of EC Project Identification Fiches, financial proposals, Standard Contribution Agreements and UNDP project documents (including the definition of operational procedures, selection of personnel/contractors and resource mobilization for projects);
Mobilise resources from both the European Commission (geographical funds), the European External Action Service (Instrument for Stability and SPRING funds) and EU Member States for UNDP electoral assistance projects at country level;
Establish links and initiate the drafting of MoUs relating to electoral assistance activities between UNDP Country Offices, EU Delegations, governments, other donors and EMBs, whilst taking into consideration the lessons-learned in Country Offices and EU Delegations;
Troubleshoot and ensure contractual compliance with EC Standard Contribution Agreements in the field of electoral assistance;
Participate, where requested by the BDP Lead Electoral Adviser in HQ and in agreement with the UNDP Brussels Director, in DPA-led electoral Needs Assessment Missions at country level;
Conduct project formulation missions, following the DPA-led NAM process, to design and produce project documents for UNDP Country Offices, in consultation with the UNDP Regional Electoral Advisers and the BDP Lead Electoral Adviser in HQ;
Serve as backup for Regional Electoral Advisors and HQ Advisors in the provision of advisory services to Country Offices in the area of electoral assistance;
Collaborate with the UNDP Procurement Support Office on procurement, the drafting process of the technical specifications of the electoral items and equipment and in market studies for surveying new technologies to be integrated in future electoral assistance projects;
Liaise with UNDP Country Offices and EU Delegations to promote the use of the Joint EC and UNDP Reporting and Visibility Guidelines for electoral assistance projects.

Liaison and Coordination of the EC-UNDP Joint Task Force on Electoral Assistance

Organize and coordinate, with the EC, the activities of the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance, including country support, joint trainings and knowledge development;
Liaise with UNDP BDP, Regional Centres, UNDP Country Offices and relevant EU delegations and services for monitoring and assessing EC-UNDP electoral assistance projects in view of providing support and cross-fertilization of best practices; and in the evaluation of previous UNDP/EC electoral assistance projects;
Coordinate with UNDP BDP and DPA/EAD on referrals of electoral expertise for country support, including the use of the DGG/BDP roster and the UN Single Electoral Roster;
Reinforce synergies and complementarity between election observation and electoral assistance activities, including liaising with EU Election Observation Missions.

Knowledge Development and Dissemination and Training

Disseminate and advocate for the implementation of the EC-UNDP Operational Guidelines on the Implementation of Electoral Assistance Projects and Programmes;
Lead, and coordinate, joint training initiatives and events in the context of the partnership in electoral assistance with the EC;
Organize and manage the annual event in the EC-UNDP Thematic Workshop series (approx., 200 participants from partner EMB, EU Delegations and UNDP staff);
Manage the production of the Summary Report and the e-learning course arising from the annual event in the EC-UNDP Thematic Workshop series;
Manage the development of e-learning curriculums on effective electoral assistance and different topics on electoral administration;
Ensure that the dedicated website on the EC-UNDP Partnership on Electoral Assistance is updated and user-friendly;
Liaise with the EODS project dealing with EU and domestic election observation and delivery of effective electoral assistance training sessions for EU Electoral Observation Core Team and Long/Short-term observers missions;
Develop paper and digital libraries for EC-UNDP electoral assistance projects documentation, including operational tools to support staff;
Liaise with UNDP-BDP, Regional Centres and relevant EC services in the development of information and the dissemination of products on electoral assistance.

Impact of Results:

Ultimately the work in the areas mentioned in section III will have the long-term impact of supporting UNDP country offices in delivering better policy advice and programming to their partners in the area of government performance, specifically by improving public service delivery and strengthening democratic governance. Failure to provide the cutting-edge knowledge and well-grounded policy advice to COs in inclusive participation and responsive institutions seriously diminishes UNDP’s credibility among national partners and donors. Electoral assistance, in particular, is a high-profile area of support for the United Nations and one in which high performance and impartiality are critically important for the UN´s credibility and for the peaceful conduct of elections in Member States.

The overarching purpose of this post is to provide a specific expertise in support of the Joint EC UNDP Task Force to further strengthen and facilitate the already established cooperation between the EC and UNDP in the electoral assistance field and to lend coherence between that partnership and the work of the GPECS. The post will contribute to the UN/UNDP Brussels office to promote knowledge sharing and expert advice to UNDP Country Offices, EU Delegations and Electoral Management Bodies in post-conflict countries and transitional democracies. The post is created also to contribute to the further minimization of the time needed to plan, negotiate, formalize and implement any future eventual specific cooperation agreements in the field by interacting with the relevant EC and UNDP services at HQ and delegations levels in all the phases of a project cycle.

As the success or failure of operations in any electoral assistance project and EC-UNDP the partnership could affect the relationship between the EC, the EU member states and UNDP, it is crucial to ensure that mutual expectations are met and a good understanding for the future of this partnership well set out.

Competencies

Core competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the UN system;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional competencies:

Broad knowledge and expertise in democratic governance, electoral assistance and democratization and in particular in strengthening inclusive participation;
Be able to work well with counterparts in government, electoral management bodies, civil society, political parties, the private sector, academia, and the donor community; and
Know how to contribute to building national capacity for development;
Good communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good working knowledge of information and computer technology. While representing UNDP views, the candidate should also be able to provide coordination among the UN family of agencies;
Demonstrates knowledge of i) UN rules, regulations, policies, procedures and best practices in the electoral assistance field; ii) the EC electoral assistance process, including EC rules and regulations on project cycle management, aid delivery methods, operations cycle and financing modalities; iii) electoral management issues, including the different steps of the electoral cycle;
Deep knowledge and proven experience in implementing or advising in voter registration exercises;
Builds solid client relationships with strong networking and advocacy skills; focuses on impact and results;
Demonstrates strong intellectual and operational capacity in providing and coordinating advisory services to stakeholders in electoral processes, specifically to EMBs and civil society organizations.

Managing partnerships

Outstanding analytical capability, ability to position UNDP politically and strategically, and knowledge and competency to shape corporate policy;
Excellent negotiation and representational skills, with international organizations and/or diplomatic missions;
Strong resource mobilization and partnering skills;
Strong communication skills, both written and verbal;
Very strong initiative-taker. Capacity to move complex processes forward to achieve articulated results;
Ability to work at varying levels and on different projects simultaneously (personal organization, and ability for multi-tasking) and to work under pressure;

Knowledge management and learning

Ability to strongly promote knowledge sharing and knowledge products and services;
Ability to integrate knowledge with broader policy and operational objectives;
Demonstrated ability to understand clients' needs and concerns; respond promptly and effectively to client needs; and customize services and products as appropriate.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate with others in own unit and across boundaries; promote collaboration and facilitate teamwork across organizational boundaries;
Open to new ideas; shares own knowledge; applies knowledge in daily work; builds partnerships for learning and knowledge sharing;
Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside of UNDP;

Judgement and decision making

Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Proven ability to provide strategic direction in service area;
Independent judgment and discretion in advising on handling policy issues, challenges and sensitive issues at HQ level, regional and country level.

Performance management:

Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions;
Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others;
Self-management, including conflict management/negotiating skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University Degree (Masters) in Political Sciences, Law, International Relations or related field; Publications.

Experience:

Minimum 7 years specialized experience in international context, in election observation, electoral assistance and democratization, majority of which must be in electoral assistance and at least 3 of which involve programming, formulation, management and advice on electoral assistance activities at a senior level;
Good technical knowledge of the field of electoral assistance and election observation, as well as a general knowledge of cross-cutting democratic governance issues that are often addressed through electoral cycle or deepening democracy programmes;
The candidate should have significant experience in providing practical advice to policy makers;
Practical experience in designing, managing, and monitoring electoral assistance programmes in developing countries, preferably also with UNDP and EC procedures;
Field-based experience in implementing UNDP electoral assistance projects;
Knowledge of donor coordination, donor-government relations and formulating and managing a multi-donor basket fund an asset;
Experience in working with transnational and emerging democracies and post-conflict environments an asset, especially for the areas of Eastern Europe, Africa and Arab States which are the main target of EC contributions to UNDP managed basket fund in support of electoral processes;
Computer proficiency, including working knowledge of MS Office products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint);
Experience in website design and maintenance or other visibility material for electoral assistance/observation an asset.

Language:

Fluency, both written and oral, in English and French.