UNDP Jobs - 53357- Planning and Procedure Specialist

Planning and Procedure Specialist - UNDP/ELECT project

Location :

Kabul, AFGHANISTAN

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

09-Feb-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

One year with possibility of extension

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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 Afghanistan works to achieve transformation change that will lead to freedom from poverty and insecurity for every afghan, young or old, man or woman.

UNDP assists in the achievement of Afghanistan’s own priorities outlined in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy and National Priority Programmes, as well as international development frameworks such as the Millennium Development Goals, the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, and other global agreements in which Afghanistan participates.

In partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, UNDP contributes to institutional development efforts and strengthens the capacity of national partners through projects and interventions in the areas of democratic governance, rule of law and security, women empowerment and gender, sustainable management of natural resources and climate change adaptation, resilience to natural and man-made chocks and disasters.

UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

The UNDP Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT) project- phase I (2006 – 2011) provided technical and operational assistance to Afghan electoral bodies throughout the 2009 Presidential and provincial council elections and 2010 parliamentary elections.

ELECT II which commenced January 2012, was conceived as a targeted and focused project providing a support and advisory role, with a particular focus on institutional strengthening and capacity development during the inter-election period. In line with the process of transition or Afghanistan, as articulated in the Kabul Conference in July 2010, the number of international staff was significantly reduced from previous years.

As the result of a project Mid-term Review and a UN Needs Assessment Mission, the ELECT II project has been extended beyond its original end date of December 2013 until December 2015, and the project objectives have been revised to now include direct electoral assistance for the conduct of the 2014 Presidential and Provincial Council Elections and the 2015 Parliamentary elections.

The overall objective of ELECT II is to support the national electoral institutions to plan and conduct credible elections, most immediately the 2014 Presidential and Provincial Council elections and the 2015 Parliamentary elections, and to better ensure the integrity of the process. Continuing long-term assistance through support to capacity building of national electoral authorities beyond 2010 is in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2096 (2013).This assistance is closely coordinated with UNAMA, UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and UN Electoral Assistance Division (EAD).This is being accomplished through seven focused outputs:

Output 1: Output 1 - Sustainability of the IEC is enhanced via both its institutional and staff capacity development;
Output 2: A sustainable, long-term approach to voter registration in Afghanistan, which also promotes maximum participation of eligible citizens in the 2014 and 2015 elections, is developed and implemented;
Output 3: The IEC’s engagement and informational outreach with key stakeholders, including the electorate, is enhanced;
Output 4: The IEC’s operational management functions, and the project support services, are strengthened;
Output 5: The conduct of key electoral operations for the 2014 and 2015 elections by the IEC is improved;
Output 6: The electoral dispute resolution mechanism is enhanced;
Output 7: The media regulatory mechanism for the electoral process is enhanced.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Planning Specialist will be part of a team of Specialists supervised and guided by the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and will report on delivery to the Senior Electoral Advisor – Output 1. Her/his primary task will be to advise IEC on the revision of procedures and the strategic planning for the upcoming elections. S/He will be embedded with the IEC and will be responsible for continuously providing technical advice and help to develop the technical capacity of IEC in the relevant areas of the electoral activities. S/he will work closely with the IEC strategic planning unit in the preparation of the upcoming elections as well as the IEC Department for Procedures.

Key responsibilities of the Planning Specialist will include:

Provide support to IEC strategic and operational planning;
Provide advice to IEC concerning the review of election procedures.

Support to strategic planning:

Assist and advise the IEC in its strategic and operational planning for the upcoming election, including planning for staffing, training and budgeting;
Assist capacity building within IEC management regarding strategic and operational planning and budgeting.

Advise concerning the review of election procedures:

Support and advise IEC in an assessment what procedures have to be produced or amended in order to bring them in line with the Afghan electoral law and international best practice and to secure an effective election operation;
Advise and support the IEC in assessing and reviewing all the IEC procedures to improve their efficiency, strengthen the anti-fraud design, and to promote cost effectiveness and sustainability in accordance to the applicable legal framework. S/he will provide advice on how to bring procedures in line with the domestic Afghan legislation, international standards and best practice on democratic elections;
Advise on planning and develop a systematic approach in assessing the IEC procedural framework. S/He will support the IEC in carrying out the procedures review as approved by the IEC;
Plan, design and carry out her/his assignments based on the 2011 IEC Lesson Learnt Report and the IEC Capacity Building Plan to ensure consistency with shared experience and feedback, and identified recommendations;
Contribute to ELECT II regular reporting and will document ELECT II capacity building support for best practice knowledge sharing;
Perform any other assignment as requested by the CTA.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Encourages and strengthens team work;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office;
In-depth knowledge on development issues;
Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Development of Operational Effectiveness

Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programs and projects, mobilize resources;
Good knowledge of the Results Management Guide and Toolkit;
Strong IT skills;
Ability to lead implementation of new systems (business side), and affect staff behavioral/attitudinal change.

Management and Leadership

Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
Consistently approaches work with energy and positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in related field.

Experience:

Minimum 7 years of experience providing professional advice in the area of electoral procedures and capacity development in the area of electoral administration and process;
Experience in designing and reviewing procedures of electoral administration and process;
Demonstrated technical skills and knowledge, which are transferable to the Afghanistan environment.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in Written and Oral English is required;
Dari/Pasto desirable.

Application procedure:

Interested and qualified International candidates should apply on-line through the UNDP Jobs site at http://jobs.undp.org/ or http://www.undp.org.af/Jobs/index.htm .

Please ensure that you upload your UN Personal History Form-P11 (available at http://www.undp.org.af/Jobs/index.htm ) in the relevant field of the on-line applications. Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date will not be given consideration. Please note that only applications who are short-listed will be contacted.

For more detailed information about UNDP Afghanistan please visit our website at www.undp.org.af

Successful candidates must be prepared to start work within 6 weeks of the offer of appointment.

Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.