UNDP Jobs - 56823- Global Civic Engagement Consultant

Global Civic Engagement Consultant

Location :

Office-based or Home-based, with at least one travel to New York required

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

10-Jun-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

4 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

4 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 new Strategic Plan (2014 -2017) maintains a strong focus on democratic governance. One of the key pillars within the new Strategic Plan is to continue to build and strengthen inclusive and democratic governance systems that can deliver sustainable solutions to poverty, inequality, and exclusion. The Strategic Plan puts an emphasis on supporting inclusive political processes to deliver sustainable development gains for the nation and respond to citizen’s expectations for voice, development and accountability. Outcome 2 particularly focuses on the performance and accountability of democratic systems to citizens. i.e.: “Citizen expectations’ for voice, development, the rule of law and accountability are met by stronger systems of democratic governance”.

In support of the new Strategic Plan vision, UNDP is currently developing a holistic and integrated global approach to provide policy and programmatic support to country offices around Inclusive Political Processes. UNDP’s approach to achieving this outcome reflects a social contract approach, as it addresses both sides of the state-society relationship, with an output on inclusive political processes bringing together constitutional support, electoral cycle assistance, parliamentary development, civic engagement and women’s empowerment for the first time in both crisis and non-crisis settings.

The new Inclusive Political Processes (IPP) cluster works to promote resilient state society relations, focusing on:

Institutional development – UNDP works to build the capacities of legislatures, electoral management bodies and constitution-making bodies;
Civil society development – UNDP works with a range of civil society actors, including CSOs, women, young people and minorities, to develop their capacities both to act as intermediaries in political advocacy and representation and to directly engage in political processes; and
Individual capacity development and accompaniment – UNDP works with political and civil society actors to develop their process skills (e.g. UNDP works with civil society partners on advocacy and politicians and MPs on dialogue), substantive knowledge (e.g. on gender equality, women, peace and security, poverty reduction) and procedural skills (e.g. assisting MPs to work more effectively under particular rules of procedure).

To support the consolidation of the global civic engagement portfolio, UNDP is looking for an experienced consultant with experience in development, governance, policy research, programme support and knowledge management.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Global Civic Engagement Specialist, the Consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

Conduct a mapping of UNDP’s work on civic engagement conducted (46 days);
Preparations for the annual meeting of the UNDP Civil Society Advisory Committee (CSAC) meeting carried out (22 days);
Support provided to the Global Civic Engagement Specialist in relation to civic engagement-related policy and programme support work – including knowledge management work – as required (20 days).

Indicative activities

An indicative (but not exhaustive) list of activities to be undertaken by the consultant is provided below:

Deliverable 1. Mapping of UNDP’s work on civic engagement

Collect information related to the mapping key questions through existing corporate tools (e.g. ROAR);
Compile information that is expected to be obtained through a survey to be administered to Country Offices;
Conduct interviews with a selected number of UNDP COs and other staff to obtain more in-depth information regarding their work on civic engagement;
Analyze the collected information based on template to be agreed with the IPP Team and provide a narrative report describing relevant findings of the mapping

Deliverable 2. Preparations for CSAC meeting

Support induction of new CSAC members;
Support pre-meeting logistics – including budget, bookings for venues and equipment, organization of related events such as the meeting reception, etc.
Support communication with CSAC members on both practical and substantive aspects of the meeting;
Support internal UNDP communication with relevant units involved in the preparation of the CSAC meeting as well as the production of briefings and talking points for UNDP senior management

Deliverable 3. Support in relation to civic engagement-related policy and programme support work

Review relevant documents from a civic engagement perspective and provide comments as required;
Support preparation of briefings and talking points with inputs related to civic engagement as necessary;
Support the IPP Team response to emerging corporate request from a civic engagement point of view;

Timelines

The timeline for the deliverables will be as following:

Deliverable 1 – End of assignment;
Deliverable 2 – End of assignment;
Deliverable 3 – Throughout assignment.

A work plan with a detailed breakdown of activities, detailed timelines and milestones for payment will be developed and agreed by the

hiring unit with the consultant.

Competencies

Core Values and 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/Functional

Knowledge and understanding of governance and development issues, with an emphasis on the provision of coordinated support and management of civic engagement initiatives;
Ability to carry out research, to contribute to the formulation of policies, procedures and guidelines.

Knowledge Management and Learning

Promotes knowledge management in UNDP and a learning environment through leadership and personal example;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Political Science, Law, International Relations, International Development studies, or other relevant areas;
A Bachelor’s Degree with an additional two years of relevant experience will also be acceptable.

Experience:

Minimum of three years of relevant experience (five with Bachelor’s degree) in international cooperation for development, governance and inclusive political processes;
Experience in conducting research, gathering and synthesizing information from a variety of sources to provide evidence and capture learning, and supporting the implementation of governance, human rights and civic engagement-related activities at global and regional levels;
Working experience in a developing country, in the area of democratic governance would be an asset;
Previous work experience with the UN System required. Experience working with UNDP highly desirable;
Proven experience of working independently, including the ability to build constructive relationships with a wide variety of colleagues and partners.

Languages:

Excellent written and spoken English and French;
Excellent command of another UNDP working language highly desirable.