Background

Myanmar is going through a phase of rapid and unprecedented change. Since the introduction of a new Constitution in 2008, the transition from military to civilian rule has accelerated. There have been an ongoing sequence of rapid and far-reaching reforms that have unleashed tremendous changes in the political and economic landscape. In the past few years, the President and legislatures have pushed forward a remarkable transformation process that was difficult to imagine not so long ago.

The first stage of the reform process comprised political reforms that are still on-going and have led to significant changes in the country, and to a rapid scaling up of development assistance. In May 2012, the President launched the second stage of reforms aimed at improving the social and economic wellbeing of the people. The economic reforms are centred on poverty reduction and inclusive growth and are guided by the President’s aim to reduce poverty from 26% to 16% by 2015. The opening of the country is leading to rapid foreign investment and infrastructure development. In December 2012, the President announced the need for attention to the third wave of reforms that are required to improve the performance of the public administration and its civil service, and clarify the division of powers between the Union and the State and Regional Governments.

The 2008 Constitution provides a new framework for governance in Myanmar. At the national level, the Myanmar legislative branch comprises of a Union Assembly (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) consisting of two chambers – the Pyithu Hluttaw (People’s Assembly) with 440 seats and the Amyotha Hluttaw Hluttaw (Nationalities Assembly) with 224 seats. The Pyithu Hluttaw and the Amoyotha Hluttaw are generally equal in status. The Constitution provides that the Pyithu Hluttaw shall be “elected on the basis of township as well as population” and the Amyotha Hluttaw “on an equal number of representatives elected from Regions and States.” The Constitution also allows for unicameral legislatures in each of the seven states and seven regions within Myanmar for a total of 14 Hluttaws. Elections to the union, state and regional Hluttaws took place on 7 November 2010 and bi-elections were held in 2012. Elections are due to take place every 5 years with the next round of elections due in 2015. 

In April 2013 the UNDP Myanmar Country Action Plan (CPAP) 2013-15, was signed between the Government of Myanmar and UNDP. This CPAP presented a change in the way that UNDP previously worked in Myanmar from a restricted mandate with focus on human development at the community level to a new programme with three pillars covering (i) Local Governance; (ii) Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Reduction and (iii) Democratic Governance.

The Democratic Governance programme contains four areas of complementary work:

• Output 1: Development Effectiveness;
• Output 2: Parliamentary Strengthening;
• Output 3: Rule of Law and Access to Justice;
• Output 4: Public Administration.

The Programme Specialist Parliamentary Support will lead and provide programmatic support to Output 2 of the Democratic Governance Pillar. He or she also provides ad hoc support to election issues as they arise. (UNDP does not have an Election Programming in Myanmar but maintains in contact with other institutions providing support to election processes).

Background on the Parliamentary Support Programme in Myanmar:

In Myanmar, UNDP is working and implementing activities together with the International Parliamentary Union (IPU). Together with IPU, UNDP has engaged with the Union Parliament of Myanmar to identify areas where the capacity can be strengthened to effectively discharge the parliament’s constitutional mandate. The programme was developed based on a series of assessment missions and discussions with senior political leaders and administration in both the Pyithu Hluttaw and the Amyotha Hluttaw. It covers capacity building for the Parliamentarians, the Parliamentary Administration as well as for the Regional/ State Parliaments. The Parliamentary Strengthening Output is “Parliament at Union levels and selected state/ region levels perform their function.

By 2015, the following sub-outputs should be achieved:

• Strategic development plan in place for supporting the strengthening of the parliamentary structure, services, processes and procedures;
• ICT, research and training services set up and services provided to MPs and communities;
• Improved understanding of the legislative process of parliamentary committees and their support staff;
• Selected state and regional parliaments perform their legislative oversight and outreach functions.

Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader, Democratic Governance and under the technical direction of the Chief Technical Adviser for Parliament (to be hired and to be based in Naw Pyi Taw), the Programme Specialist is responsible for implementation and overall coordination of activities under Output 2 of Pillar 3 of the Country Programme including strategic planning, formulation of work plans and monitoring and evaluation of activities. He/ She will work in close collaboration and coordination with project staff in both Yangon and Naw Pyi Taw and will also be responsible for identifying synergies with other outputs in Pillar 3 and across the country programme as well as the integration of cross-cutting themes, namely Gender, peace building, HIV/ AIDS etc. The Programme Specialist will also promote coordination and close collaboration with other parts of UNDP including the Asia Pacific Regional Centre based in Bangkok, the Parliament Team in UNDP’s Bureau for Development Policy in New York and the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery.

This assignment will suit someone who wants to work in an exciting and rapidly changing country environment, where national counterparts are eager and willing to receive support. The pace of the work is fast and at times intense and involves working in a dynamic team.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader, Democratic Governance, and acting in close coordination with and taking technical leadership from the Chief Technical Advisor for Parliament, the Programme Specialist provides strategic management, coordination and implementation in the programme area of Parliamentary Strengthening.

Management of Parliamentary Strengthening Component:

• Implements the overall strategic vision of Parliamentary Strengthening with a view to building national capacities, to support the overarching objectives of the Country Programme, in close collaboration with Programme, Programme Management Support Team and Operations;
• Leads the Parliamentary Strengthening programme team;
• Manages and supervises national officers, international and local consultants;
• Manages all programmatic activities under the parliamentary strengthening output;
• Participates in internal control mechanisms for adherence to UNDP rules and regulations in contracts, assets, procurement, recruitment, etc. as required;
• Ensures the integration of cross-cutting issues, such as gender, HIV/AIDS, peace building, human rights and ICT, into the design, monitoring and evaluation of the Parliamentary Strengthening programme;
• Contributes to wider Pillar 3 (Democratic Governance) management processes and team cohesion.

Design and Implementation:

• Development of annual workplans for the Parliamentary Strengthening Component;
• Oversee day to day implementation of the Parliamentary Strengthening Component activities;
• Analyze and monitor progress and advise on timely corrective actions for proper delivery;
• Manage the delivery of the Parliamentary Reform workplan and its outputs through consultants, contractors and NGOs, including developing terms of reference, participating in procurement, selection and hiring, and overseeing their delivery to ensure high quality outputs;  
• Together with programme counterparts, identify new areas of support and facilitate implementation of new initiatives;
• Ensure the effective application of RBM tools, elaboration and implementation of coherent work plans, project and programme documents, preparation of compelling proposals and achievement of results;
• Ensure compliance of operation with UNDP rules and regulations.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Ensure that Monitoring and Evaluation data for Parliamentary Strengthening Output pillars are delivered in a timely manner and in an appropriate format;
• Conducts regular monitoring and evaluation visits and the participation of Programme Board and/or Steering Committee meetings.
• Contribute to quarterly, mid-year and annual reporting;
• Contribute to the identification of risks and issues and updating of risk logs in ATLAS.

Reporting:

• Oversee partner reporting and where necessary help them to improve in line with UNDP and project reporting standards;
• Provide timely inputs to donor reports on implementation, the achievement of outputs as well as contribute to reporting on progress towards outcomes and impact;
• Promote information sharing and coordination with UN agencies.

Budgeting and Financial management:

• Has approval authority in Atlas and ensures the integrity of financial and administrative operations as well as the consistent application of UNDP rules and procedures for programme and operations issues related to Parliamentary Strengthening, in coordination with Operations and Programme Management staff and other support staff;
• Allocate budgets to programmatic activities and carry out timely budget revisions when necessary;
• Oversee and provide quality control of financial reports submitted by counterparts and liaise with counterparts to ensure the transparent and accountable use of funds;
• Advise counterparts on workplan development, develop checklists for all counterparts to assist in implementation and ensure that capacity support to counterparts are carried out in a timely and appropriate manner.

Partnerships and Learning:

• Develops partnerships with other agencies providing support to the Myanmar Parliaments;
• Ensures that UNDP and wider international best practice and lesson learning is fed into programmatic and strategic development of the parliamentary strengthening component in UNDP Myanmar.

Impact of Results

Achievement of the above key results will contribute to the successful implementation of the country programme, particularly the Parliamentary Strengthening Output.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly and without favoritism; and
• Shows strong corporate commitment.

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise: In-depth knowledge of the subject-matter:

• Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization (Parliamentary Strengthening) as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines (Elections, Political Party Strengthening; Political Economy Analysis);
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments.

Management and Leadership:

• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and responds positively to constructive feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates excellent presentation skills;
• Excellent computer skills, and applications for report and project planning;
• Excellent organizational skills and proven ability to deliver projects within assigned deadlines;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and objectivity;
• Experience working collaboratively in a team structure in a multicultural environment.

Communications and Networking skills:

• Excellent oral communication skills and conflict resolution competency to manage inter-group dynamics and mediate conflicting interests of varied actors;
• Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize project outputs and relevant findings for the preparation of quality project reports;
• Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior and high ranking members of national and international institutions, parliament, government and non-government institutions;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work in a multicultural, multinational, multi-stakeholder setting and demonstrable ability to motivate people and work in a team setting;
• Substantial level of self-organization, being methodical, have ability to set priorities and pay attention to detail.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment through leadership and personal example;
• Experience in capacity development and facilitating positive transformational change.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Masters Degree in Political Science, International Relations, Development Studies or any other relevant field.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years experience in international development;
• A minimum of 3 years of relevant professional experience in political institutional support, particularly parliaments and elections;
• Proven management experience, preferably within UNDP or another UN agency, with sound knowledge and experience in all aspects of project cycle (design, implementation, monitoring & evaluation);
• Prior experience of governance work in Myanmar, South-East Asia and/or countries in transition would be an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Mode of Assessment

• Online written test and interview.