UNDP Jobs - 54694- Parliamentary Development Officer

Parliamentary Development Officer

Location :

Brussels, BELGIUM

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Apr-2015

Application Deadline :

20-Mar-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

31st December 2015

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

100 days

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 Inclusive Political Processes team provides technical assistance to more than 70 parliaments around the world. Its portfolio comprises activities rooted at the global, regional and national levels. The aim of these activities is to build the capacity of legislators and technical staff; promote institutional reform, political dialogue and conflict prevention; strengthen parliaments' relationships with the executive and judiciary branches of government and with civil society; improve access to parliamentary information for the population and the media; and enhance the effectiveness of women’s political participation.

An instrumental part of UNDP’s technical assistance is the development of cutting-edge knowledge products on parliamentary development. These knowledge products inform UNDP’s programming and support its project activities, in particular in the area of capacity-building. They include policy briefs, (online) learning materials and the AGORA virtual platform for parliamentary development (www.agora-parl.org). In developing these resources, including the AGORA Portal, UNDP regularly works closely with other development actors.

To ensure the continued development of high quality knowledge products, the Inclusive Political Processes team is looking to engage a Parliamentary Development Officer with specific knowledge of natural resources (sustainable energy, climate change and extractive industries) and parliamentary budget processes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the AGORA Knowledge Manager, the Parliamentary Development Officer will be responsible for developing learning materials for parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and civil society; drafting policy briefs; and supporting knowledge management activities on the AGORA Portal. He/she will also be supporting the Inclusive Political Processes team on issues pertaining to natural resources and parliamentary budget processes.

Summary of Key Functions:

Draft policy briefs and Areas of Expertise on parliamentary engagement with natural resources;
Developing learning materials for parliamentarians, parliamentary staff, civil society and development actors with a view to strengthening parliamentary action. This includes the development of (video) tutorials and online learning modules;
Content creation and knowledge management on sustainable energy, in particular renewable energy development;
Manage the build of a ‘Portuguese corner’ on the AGORA platform, making available key resources and learning materials for lusophone MPs and parliamentary staff;
Support the development of a comprehensive e-learning course for MPs and parliamentary staff on budgeting and financial oversight. This includes drafting the storyboard, working with the developer and designer, and incorporating feedback from senior experts and country offices for delivery of the final product.

Manage the AGORA ‘Pacific Portal’:

Meet the knowledge management needs of the three selected parliaments: Tuvalua, Kiribati and Marshall Islands;
Responsible for content creation pertaining to parliamentary affairs and issues in the wider Pacific region;
Support the UNDP MCO in Fiji in outreach and communication.

Develop 3 issue briefs on emerging trends and key issues in parliamentary development;
Maintain close relationships with the AGORA partners and Implementing Board and draft quarterly project updates;
Support the Knowledge Manager in providing technical backstopping and substantive support to UNDP to country offices and AGORA partners;
Oversee the daily maintenance and running of the AGORA Portal;
Present AGORA at relevant events when required.

Expected outputs/deliverables

Development of 3 Areas of Expertise and further knowledge materials as required on natural resources, including climate change, sustainable energy and extractive industries;
Development of an E-learning course for MPs and parliamentary staff on financial oversight;
Development of a 'Portuguese corner';
Publication of 3 briefs on emerging issues in parliamentary development;
Content creation and knowledge management support for the AGORA Portal for Parliamentary Development.

Competencies

Core values/Guiding Principles:

Integrity

Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UNDP in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity

Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff.
Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Corporate competencies:

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

Functional competencies:

Technical

Substantive knowledge and understanding of parliamentary development, in particular budget processes and financial oversight, as well as democratic governance more broadly
Sound understanding of natural resources, including climate change, sustainable energy and extractive industries. Knowledge of the value chain and sovereign wealth funds is considered an asset.
Experience developing learning materials and capacity-building tools for parliamentarians and parliamentary staff.
Ability to carry out research independently, to contribute to the formulation of policies, procedures and guidelines
Excellent research and writing skills
Solid IT skills: proficient use of MS Office required; experience using user-management platforms (Drupal, Joomla) is considered an asset

Management and Leadership

Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Leads teams effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.

Knowledge Management and Learning

Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Ability to conduct advocacy, and to support the development of programme communications strategies for sharing good practices and successful strategies;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

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

Experience:

At least 5 years of experience in an international context, and on parliamentary development issues;
Experience within UNDP or with a partner organization of AGORA is desirable;
Proven experience working on natural resources, including climate change, sustainable energy and extractive industries;
Computer proficiency, including strong knowledge of MS Office products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), and web-based management systems (Drupal, Joomla).

Language requirements:

Fluency in English;
Proficiency in French desirable;
Other UN languages are considered an asset.

Evaluation of Applicants:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.
The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (desk reviews based on cv) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation points.

Application procedures:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
CV;
Financial Proposal- Costs related to missions will be paid separately as per UNDP rules and regulations;
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.
Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into one single file.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...).

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.