UNDP Jobs - 70574- Technical Support to Constitutional and Electoral

Technical Support to Constitutional and Electoral Reform Processes

Location :

Monrovia, LIBERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

23-Feb-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

9 Months

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

The Constitutional Review Process which began in August 2012 has made significant progress. To date, the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) has 1) held a national Constitutional Conference (NCC) in Gbarnga City, Bong County where it presented its findings to the Legislature and the Liberian public after consultations in all 15 Counties of the country and 2) presented its report to the President of Liberia. The President forwarded the CRC report to the Legislature and House of Representatives has deliberate and made it recommendations on the proposals. The HOR Joint Committee Report has been forwarded to the Senate and is pending that body decision prior to translation into propositions and a possible referendum in 2018.

The UNDP through its support to the Constitutional Reform and Electoral Cycle Support Projects, is committed to supporting the Legislature and the Nation Elections Commission (NEC) to ensure that all necessary requirements are met prior to a referendum. Given the significant relationships developed over the years between the UNDP, the NEC and the Legislature through the election Basket Project and the Constitutional Reform Project, the UNDP CRP and Electoral Reform support has for the past six months facilitated the relationships and networks with the legislature, NEC and civil society organizations.

In consideration of the above, and in order to ensure effective support to the ongoing Electoral Reform and Constitutional Review Processes, UNDP Liberia requires the services of an individual contractor to work with the secretariat, members of the Legislature, the NEC, the Governance Commission, the Law Reform Commission and CSOs to support a number of priority activities: i) step up CSO engagement and dialogue with citizens on constitutional review with a focus on proposals for possible amendment; ii) organize and implement hearings and information sessions on proposed amendments; iii)organize and implement meetings with stakeholders in advancing dialogue onplanned referendum; iv) assist the legislature, to the extent possible, in organizing and publishing the proposed amendments accompanied by statements in an official gazette; v) liaise between the NEC, the GC, LRC and the Legislature and work with the NEC on ongoing electoral reform.

Duties and Responsibilities

Functions / Key Results Expected

The UNDP seeks to recruit a consultant to work with the Legislature, GC, LRC & NEC of Liberia to support the constitutional review and electoral reform processes and development in relation to:

Legal analysis, in particular regarding supporting the constitutional review and electoral reform processes;
CSOs continued engagement and dialogue with citizens on constitutional review process with a specific focus on enhanced sensitization and awareness raising on proposed amendments;
Legislative public hearings, stakeholder consultations, political parties and CSOs engagement and finalization of proposed amendments, in particular through support for the NEC and the joint Legislative Committee on constitutional review and relevant member of secretariat and staff of committee;
Building broad consensus among political actors and promoting confidence in the NEC to conduct peaceful elections in 2017 and the future; and;
Encouraging conflict prevention/community dialogues and support to creating a peaceful environment for the 2017 elections, including NEC/stakeholder outreach and partnership building.

Deliverables/Outputs

Assist CSOs and CBOs to strategize, organize and deliver information sessions and increase dialogue on proposed constitutional amendments. 1 Month;
Work with the NEC to conduct 2 IPCC conflict prevention & mitigation workshops with political parties, government agencies & CSO. 1 Month;
Work with the GC & Legislature in seeking and providing expertise advice on formulating proposed amendments. 1.5 Months;
Work with NEC, CSOs & youth groups to organized and implement 5 regional youth debates, radio talk shows & peace forums. 1.5 Month;
Work with the NEC & CSOs to organize and implement workshops for political parties youths on conflict prevention & mitigation. 1 Month;
Work with NEC, Liberia National Police (LNP), bureau of immigration (BIN), Ministry of Justice & CSOs to develop materials & conduct training for political party youths, pen-pen boys & the general youth population in Liberia on conflict prevention & mitigation, taking into consideration early warning system. 1.5 Month;
Work with the LRC & Legislature in seeking and providing expertise opinion and completing the proposed constitutional amendments with explanatory statements;
Submit final report to UNDP covering the CRP & Elections Project1.5 Month;

The consultant will work with the NEC Board of Commissioners, the Executive Director, the legal department and other staffs, the Legislature, political parties, the Governance Commission, the Law Reform Commission, CSOs and other stakeholders in ensuring that the review process is on track and relevant information and proposed constitutional amendments are disseminated to stakeholders. The consultant will be tasked with designing and implementing information sessions, organizing conferences/workshops, developing policies, regulations and organizational structures for the Inter-Party Consultative Committee (IPCC), supporting dialogues with active involvement of community leaders and youth organizations, the Liberia National Police, the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization and supporting the connection between political parties, CSOs, media, community leaders and youth groups.

The consultant will work closely to support the CSOs to more effectively engage the Legislature. The consultant will support CSO to develop an outreach strategy (mapping of key actors to engage, calendar and methodology to conduct constituency hearings in collaboration with legislators on the proposed amendments, to enable a more inclusive process of debate and review of the constitutional review being undertaken.

In delivering the consultancy, the consultant will:

Work in very close partnership with the Chair and members of the Board of Commissioners on the NEC, the Executive Director, the legal department and other relevant staff;
Work closely with the Governance and Law Reform Commissions and their staff;
Work closely with the Liberia National Police & Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization;
Work closely with political parties, CSOs, youth groups media and other stakeholders; and
Work closely with the UNDP Liberia Country Office.

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;

Functional Competencies:

Communication and interpersonal skills required for collaboration with election administration as well as various electoral stakeholders;
Ability to prioritize work and produce the required outputs in the given timeline;
Ability to advise effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
Substantive knowledge and experience working in the electoral support and democratic governance;
Strong oral and written communication skills;
Excellent training and presentation skills;
Excellent drafting and analytical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A minimum Master’s degree in law, political science, international relations or a relevant social science.

Experience:

At least 7 years of relevant professional work experience, in particular in the area of electoral support or law reform;
Extensive knowledge and work experience of electoral administration and management with specific experience in legal assistance;
Experience in assisting the Constitutional Review and Election Law Reform processes;
Experience in Drafting regulations and guidelines for election process in African region;
Experience in advisory role, especially knowledge of Liberian Legislative and electoral legal framework is advantage;
Understanding of political economy, conflict analysis and relevant strategies for implementing crisis sensitive responses to political governance issues;
Demonstrable experience undertaking similar consultancies for international development organizations, preferably UNDP.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken of English.

Evaluation criteria:

Shortlisting: Education = 4 points : Experience = 6 points; 7 points required for pass to the desk review process

Only shortlisted candidates will be forwarded the UNDP Procurement Notice

Technical proposal (desk review)

Technical skills, given by qualifications and training record (20 points);
Overall experience in the provision with the services given above (50 points);
Adequacy of competencies & skills responding to the Terms of Reference (30 points).

To be qualified candidate should obtain minimum 70% of the total 70 points.

Contract Award

Contract will be awarded to highest scored candidate (technical score + financial scores)/100
Rating will be as follow:

Rating the Technical Proposal (TP):
TP Rating = (Total Score Obtained by the Offer / Max. Obtainable Score for TP) x 100

Rating the Financial Proposal (FP):
FP Rating = (Lowest Priced Offer / Price of the Offer Being Reviewed) x 100

Total Combined Score:
(TP rating) x (Weight of TP, e.g. 70%) + (FP Rating) x (Weight of FP, e.g., 30%)
Total Combined and Final Rating of the Proposal: The higher combined score will be recommended.

Interested candidates are requested to submit in separate files a technical and financial proposal to the email bids.lr@undp.org.

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. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.