Historique

Elections in Liberia are scheduled for 10 October 20 17. Voters will elect a new president and members of the lower house of parliament. These elections are expected to be highly contested with a range of political parties indicating they will participate and put forward candidates . The issuing of the Writ for the upcoming elections is scheduled to take place on 9 May 2017, candidate nominations 2 July 2017 and the campaign period commences in August 2017. An active and engaged civil society is an important part of the electoral process and national and local civil society organisations can increase transparency ?and public accountability in elections: The role of national domestic election observers and civil society organisations in raising public awareness and providing increased transparency will be crucial to the success of the forthcoming elections. Longer term engagement of civil society and wider electoral reform issues and increasing public accountability will also be an important part of the strengthening of civic and political culture.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The election campaign observation/electoral reform consultant will be responsible for the design of a civil society based programme to heighten public accountability. This programme can be designed to produce results, depending on local priorities and gaps in existing support, either in the pre-electoral and campaign period, the immediate post election period or for 18 months following the elections. The consultant will initially consult with a broad range of civil society groups working in the area of public accountability and elections to draft a request for proposals for the area to ensure an inclusive proposal is drafted that includes local priorities. In a second stage the consultant will advise the UNDP country office and election programme on assessing and selecting proposals that respond to the request based on value for money principles and will provide expertise and inputs into planning, training, report writing or strategic communicat ions in the lead up to the roll out of the output. The consultant will be under the direct supervision of the UNDP election project chief technical advisor and work closely with civil society.

The consultant will:

In consultation with civil society organisations working in the area of public accountability and elections draft a request for proposals in line with UNDP standards to establish a clear set of criteria for civil society to submit proposals to increase public accountability in the electoral environment.

Ensure civil society organisations are clearly briefed on the scope and scale of the expected activities, outputs and results outlined in the call for proposals. The request for proposals, depending on feedback from local groups, could outline actions that strengthen public accountability in one or more of the following areas:

• Violations to the campaign code of conduct and law by candidates and parties.
• Recording incidents of electoral violence (mapping)
• Observing and recording of the use of any state resources for campaign purposes.
• Campaign finance transparency .
• Attempts to influence voter choice outside of legal campaign provisions.
• Assessing gender dimensions of elections (administration, candidates and voters).
• Providing public policy debate, convening and brokering actions in the post election period to consolidate, promote and further key recommendations of election observer groups.
• Extent that political parties' manifesto commitments are met by the party that wins public office following the elections.

Advise and assist the selection team at UNDP on the screening and assessment of bids from civil society organisations. Draft recommendations and assessments of each bid and provide a micro assessment of each shortlisted organisation as required.

Provide mentoring, expertise and advice to the selected .civil society organisation( s) including:

• Advance planning.
• Budgeting and logistics planning.
• Developing appropriate project and engagement strategies to maximise results.
• Support the development of standard corporate products (reports, briefings etc).
• Design and provide training for key staff (field and central staff).
• Produce a clear gender strategy in cooperation with civil society to ensure the output mainstreams gender issues.
• Design formats for reports and ensure timely publication and media coverage of key findings.
• Ensure sharing of knowhow and operational, logistical and intellectual leadership to support the progamme.

More specifically, the following are the deliverables that are linked to the payments as per below table

Deliverables - Timeframe - % of Payment

Produce a request for proposals' document outlining criteria for a civil society initiative to increase public: 6 days -  20%

accountability m the electoral environment in consultation with national civil society organisations.

Advise and assist the selection team at UNDP on the screening and assessment of bids: 3 days   - 10 %

from civil society organisations.

Provide mentoring, expertise and advice to the selected civil society organisation(s) including:

• Advance planning, budgeting and logistics planning.
• Developing appropriate project and engagement strategies to maximize results.
• Support the development of standard corporate products (reports, briefing, etc).
• Design and provide training for key staff (field and central staff): 21days - .70%
• Produce a clear gender strategy in cooperation with civil society to ensure the output mainstreams gender issues.
• Design formats for reports and ensure timely publication and media coverage and key findings.
• Ensure sharing of knowhow and operational, logistical and intellectual leadership to support the programme.

Compétences

Corporate Competencies:

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

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge and expertise in civil society observation of campaigns and elections,electoral assistance and democratisation;
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good working knowledge of information and computer technology. While representing UNDP views,. the candidate should also be able to provide coordination among the UN family of agencies;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Excellent training and presentation skills.
• Excellent drafting and analytical skills.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Master's degree (or equivalent work experience in civil society and/or elections).

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of experience working in the areas of elections and specifically civil society or public accountability schemes;
• Experience of working m·the region or similar environment;
• Extensive knowledge and work experience of elections and civil society.

Language:

• Excellent command of English.