UNDP Jobs - 51601- Technical Specialist (Electoral)

Technical Specialist (Electoral)

Location :

Chisinau, MOLDOVA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

01-Jan-2015

Application Deadline :

27-Nov-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 (one) year

Languages Required :

Expected Duration of Assignment :

2 (two) years

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 has supported the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova since 2008. In 2010, UNDP began a programme of support for the Parliament of Moldova. In July 2012, these two interventions merged to become one integrated Programme for Improving the Quality of Moldovan Democracy (‘the Democracy Programme’) which is funded by Denmark, Sweden, Norway and UNDP.

The Democracy Programme focuses on strengthening the institutional capacity of the Parliament and Central Electoral Commission (CEC), improving their main functions and entrenching gender and human rights considerations in formal political process. In particular, the Programme seeks to improve the legislative, oversight and representational functions of the Parliament and provide a solid basis for the improvement of the electoral process. At the CEC, the Programme builds on the outcomes of the Electoral Support to Moldova project in enabling an environment to support the delivery of modern and inclusive electoral services.

The overarching goal of the Programme is to improve the quality of the Moldovan democratic processes and systems in line with European standards. The following objectives are set within the four-year Programme period:

Improved institutional capacity of the Parliament and CEC to meet European standards of gender and human rights and strengthened legislative and oversight functions of the Parliament;
Fostering the quality of the representative role of the Parliament and promoting more interaction between Members of parliament, citizens and civil society;
An improved institutional and legal environment for and strengthened capacities of electoral management bodies that can deliver inclusive and modern electoral processes; and
Improved public registration process for Moldovans and supporting the modernisation of Moldovan electoral processes.

From 2015 the Democracy Programme Electoral project will be significantly expanded aiming at addressing the needs identified by the CEC to further strengthen capacity of electoral administration and other stakeholders to deliver professional, transparent and efficient electoral process.

The overarching goal of the new Elections project is further improved democratic and governance process in the Republic of Moldova through democratic elections that represent the will of the people and which are realised in line with improved legal framework, international commitments and best practices.

The overall expected outcome is better electoral administration to deliver elections on all levels, clearer strategic framework in line with latest technological advances and IT systems that enable the CEC and other public administration stakeholders to deliver inclusive and transparent elections on a sustainable basis. Further outcome of the project is better awareness and engagement of public in democratic processes on territorial and local levels.

The project will support strategic development of the CEC, Center for Continuous Electoral Training (CCET) to deliver professional and inclusive elections and to enable increasing of capacities of the electoral administrators at the central and local level. The gender and human rights will be strengthened within electoral realm and procedures and quality of data for the State Register of Voters will be improved. The project will result in holistic approach on improving the quality of the source data required for the State Register of Voters (SRV), such as the population register, address register and other registers though streamlining strategic and legal framework, and will re-conceptualize the State Automated Information System “Elections” (SAISE). IT capacities of CEC and other stakeholders will be strengthened to maintain existing and develop new solutions to implement the strategic and legal framework on sustainable basis.

Programme documentation can found at undp.md and at cec.md under ‘Proiecte de asisten?a externa’.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Electoral Specialist will work under the supervision of the Deputy Resident Representative and in constant collaboration with the Democratic Governance Programme Specialist, Parliament Specialist, Joint UN Women/UNDP Women in Politics Programme, CEC, CCET, and other stakeholders,.

The Electoral Specialist is the lead international expert in the electoral domain within the Democracy Programme. S/he will be supported by theteam of national staff and international and national consultants; the team is situated in the Central Electoral Commission building.

The Electoral Specialist will ensure strategic advice and guidance aiming at delivery of project results with a special focus on consolidating institutional and technical capacity of the CEC, CCET, State Enterprise “Registru”, Cadaster and Land Relations Agency and other partners with a role in improving and modernizing electoral processes in the country.

Key functions:

Provision of high quality international expertise and strategic policy advice on electoral matters in line with international and European standards to the CEC and other national institutions with the role in the electoral system, to UNDP and other international partners:

Strategic guidance in the CEC’s long term strategic planning and sustainable institutional development and advice on elections related matters to other relevant institutions;
Policy recommendations on the election system development in the country;
Lead on the lessons learned analysis after the 2014 and 2015 elections which will lead to the preparation of CEC´ strategic development plan for 2016-2019;
Support to capacity building of the CEC to provide accurate, complete, timely and gender-disaggregated data on elections to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS);
Advice and guidance on the most effective methods of strengthening capacities of the electoral administration on the central and local levels and of the CCET to deliver the training of the elections administrators;
Technical advice to CEC on the political party finance legislation implementation.

Develop and maintain a collaborative relationship with the leadership and staff of the Central Electoral Commission, CCET, elections administration at the local level, State Enterprise “Registru”, Cadaster and Land Relations Agency and relevant Line Ministries, as well as CSOs working in the elections area:

Work with wider set of partners to contribute to quality of electoral process and data to support full implementation and maintenance of the State Register of Voters and to analyse Voters source data, such as population and address register, as well as other registers to ensure holistic and integrated approach to data quality required for organisation of elections;
Support to Moldovan authorities in the process of amending the legal framework on elections and electoral reform;
Specific technical expertise and advice on re-conceptualizing of the State Automated Information System “Elections” (SAISE), including support to development of concepts on how voter lists data could be based on population registrations system and how can data in the population register be improved;
Liaison with key stakeholders of the project maintaining effective and lucrative communications and interaction with CEC Members and staff, CCET and other institutions, CSOs, other partners and stakeholders as necessary.

Together with the project team, develop and implement project activities in accordance with the Programme Document, beneficiaries needs and UNDP policy and procedures and support the CEC’s partners’ commitment to mainstreaming gender and human rights considerations into all area of activity, including through facilitating a close collaboration with the Joint UN Women/UDP Women in Politics Programme:

Guidance to the project team on design, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the project components;
Coordination with counterparts and provision of advice on the amendments of the plans to better respond to the changing needs;
Engagement and coordination of international assistance, communication with the key stakeholders, relevant officials, partner organizations, international and national advisors and experts in the areas of the Project intervention;
Close cooperation with and coordination of stakeholders that are/will be active in the area of project intervention, aiming at enhancing the joint results and avoiding of overlapping of assistance through regular meetings with donors;
Oversight of the recruitment of expertise required for project needs, advice on drafting of Terms of Reference, approve working targets, oversee performance and report on results accordingly;
Coordination with and advice to the Parliament project and the Women in Politics Programme.

Leverage UN electoral expertise, resources and networks for the benefit of the CEC and other stakeholders and ensure knowledge management across the organization regionally and globally, as well as synergies with other UN interventions in related areas of the UNDP Country Programme:

Ensure that all UNDP’s Knowledge Management regulations and procedures are fulfilled;
Coordination of evaluation efforts, storage and dissemination of thematic reports and other actions as prescribed by UNDP procedures;
Investigation of all possibilities and active promotion of synergies between the Elections project and other UN and UNDP programmes and projects, in accordance with the “Delivering as ONE” policy of the UN;
Maintain close contacts with the UN bodies engaged in the assistance to the elections systems and processes and facilitate tapping in the expertise and best practice.

Provide advice to the UNDP Senior Management that leads to strategic positioning of UNDP in the country in supporting modernization of the electoral systems and processes:

Advice to the UN RC/UNDP RR and Country Office on electoral matters;
Coordination with other UN Agencies providing support to the CEC and the electoral process;
Advise the Country Office on possible key interventions with a longer term perspective that will complement the process of democratisation and facilitate the development of new projects that UNDP may decide to undertake in elections or adjacent areas;
Recommend on the envisaged role of the UNDP in the implementation of the project, and provide a detailed analysis of the capacity needed within the UNDP to fulfil the obligations that would arise from it.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Considers and fully adheres to UNDP rules, procedures and best practices;
Advocates and promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of the UN system;
Displays cultural, gender, religious, ethnic and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats people fairly and without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

Proven analytical capacity and strategic thinking;
Ability for planning and establishing priorities, coordinating and monitoring the work of others, and delegating responsibility where appropriate;
Excellent interpersonal and supervisory skills;
Resourcefulness, initiative, and maturity of judgment;
Excellent communications, organizational and management skills in a complex multi-stakeholder environment;
Ability to handle effectively multiple tasks without compromising quality, team spirit and positive working relationships;
Excellent computer/information systems skills.

Management and Leadership:

Strong results orientation;
Effective problem-solver;
Demonstrated capacity-building and facilitation skills;
Consistently approaches work with energy and positive-constructive attitude;
Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment;
Effectively manages teams and creates an enabling work environment;
Flexible and responsive with a client-oriented approach.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
Serves as internal consultant in the area of expertise and shares knowledge with staff;
Continues to seeks new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the unit;
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.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master or equivalent Degree in Social Sciences, Law or related field required.

Experience:

Minimum seven years of international experience in the field of technical expertise and assistance in elections field;
Previous experience in institutional reform and development with an established electoral management body;
Previous experience working in an advisory capacity in relation to voter registration and/or electoral management information systems;
Experience of working on electoral matters in Central and Eastern Europe;
Demonstrated expertise in inclusive electoral arrangements or gender equality in service delivery is an advantage;
Accreditation as a BRIDGE facilitator is an advantage.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English (written and spoken);
Working knowledge of Russian and/or Romanian is an advantage.

Application procedure:

Applications should be submitted on line and include fully completed Personal History Form (P11) as attachment instead of CV/resume.

Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.