UNDP Jobs - 5915- Decentralization Senior Advisor (National)

Decentralization Senior Advisor (National) - Re advertisement

Location :

Jakarta, INDONESIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

11-Aug-08 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months (renewable)

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 Indonesia's mission is to be an agent for change in the human and social development of Indonesia. We aim to be a bridge between Indonesia and all donors as well as a trusted partner to all stakeholders. We work in four key areas of development: Governance Reforms, Pro-Poor Policy Reforms, Conflict Prevention and Recovery, and Environment Management, with the overarching aim of reducing poverty in Indonesia. Besides the four priority areas, UNDP Indonesia is also engaged in a variety of crosscutting initiatives focused on HIV/AIDS, gender equality, and information and technology for development.

I. Organizational Context

The Provincial Governance Support Program (PGSP) supported by UNDP and implemented by the government of Indonesia, has been developed to assist the government of Indonesia to address some of the key challenges associated with decentralization.

In 1999, through path-breaking legislations, Indonesia commenced radical decentralization. This initiative has led to new powers for regions and to the special autonomy agreements for Papua and Aceh. The change has also created confusion over overlapping roles and responsibilities between provinces and districts as well as concerns over the scale of proliferation of new provinces and districts. Decentralization has not led to an effective transfer of power and resources from the central government to local governments in order to better serve the communities and citizens, improve welfare, and better generate the economy. Instead, some allege, power is captured by local elites.

It has been observed that under the current legal framework the role of provincial government as both representative of national government and as a government of an autonomous region has been unclear or even weakened. On the other hand, making development work in sub-national regions of a vast and diverse arch pelagic country like Indonesia will need strong coordinating functions at regional level. Managing decentralization cannot be done effectively only from and by the central government. The political and administrative ‘distance’ is simply too long and too difficult to manage. Capable provincial government is a logical, as well as, according to Law 32/2004, legal solution to these problems.

Through PGSP, UNDP aims to support the Government of Indonesia (GOI) in re-defining and strengthen the role of the province in the context of decentralization in Indonesia. This project will have two-pronged assistance: (a) the development of relevant decentralization policies, and (b) identifying and piloting concrete framework or tools of good governance to assist provincial governance system. The project will explore how to creatively apply provincial powers and responsibilities to facilitate equitable economic growth and good governance among the districts.

This project is designed to respond adequately to rapid policy and political changes that directly or indirectly affect the decentralization regulatory framework as well as the roles of provincial and district governments in Indonesia. Key policy issues that will be tackled in the next three years are, among others: the revision of Law no.32/2004; the enactment of key Government Regulations such as PP 38/2007 on Distribution of Roles and Functions of National, Provincial and Local Governments, PP 41/2007 on Organization of Provincial and Local Governments, PP on Minimum Public Service Standards, possible further revision of PP 78/2007 on Establishment, Proliferation and Merging of Regions, PP 6/2008 on the Evaluation of the Performance of Local Government; as well as the enactment of the package of laws on public service reform that are now being developed by the Ministry of PAN (Public Administration Reform).

The project responses will be framed into several key strategic approaches such as: policy research and advocacy on key national and local regulatory frameworks; promotion of best practices in local governance; technical assistance to key ministries as well as to DPOD, DPR and DPD to further develop an improved framework to regulate decentralization; as well as research for policy alternatives in regards to key decentralization issues such as proliferation of regions, and alternative development planning, budgeting and monitoring mechanisms.

The PGSP provides a framework that: 1) allows provincial governments’ access to technical assistance and practical tools to strengthen good governance in the province, and 2) allows for timely policy research and development based on real experiences at the local level. The framework is sufficiently flexible to tailor support to individual provinces by providing a menu of tools and supporting technical assistance.

At the provincial and district level the full-fledged PGSP will work with the provincial and district governments through key program components:

Technical expertise and facilitation support to prepare Province level Human Development Reports (PHDR);
Technical assistance to help provinces incorporate the findings of their HDR into planning documents. In select provinces this will be combined with on-going support for public expenditure analysis provided by the Support Office for Eastern Indonesia and the World Bank;
Technical assistance and facilitation support for locally elected representatives to strengthen their oversight capacities with “eye on performance” of local governments’ plans and budgets;
Technical assistance and facilitation support for provincial and district level development planning agencies to incorporate the multi-stakeholder planning approach as spearheaded in the GOI-UNDP BRIDGE project;
Support for development of province-specific civil service reform strategy incl. access to know-how and existing tools and methodologies for practical human resource change management.

Technical assistance and tools provided under PGSP seek to: 1) provide support within the existing government legislation and regular planning cycles as well as support for necessary legal and policy changes in order to establish solid decentralization regulatory framework; and/or 2) provide support to local reform-oriented governments committed to testing alternative mechanisms within the existing legal framework. PGSP seeks to build upon local government commitment and existing capacities.

The policy unit of the program allows for systematic monitoring of lessons and for strategic and timely action-oriented research in the working areas of the program. To ensure donor harmonization, the policy unit works closely with other donor-supported initiatives through the Decentralization Support Facility and likeminded initiatives.

The Program Management Unit (PMU) based in Jakarta is designed to lead the overall implementation of the program (including the technical assistance and tools component and the policy development component) and provide timely quality support for area teams based at the province level.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Project Manager of PGSP, the Decentralization Senior Advisor will provide advice to the Head of Governance Unit and Decentralization Programme Manager, UNDP Indonesia; the Project Manager of PGSP; the National Project Director; as well as relevant partners in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), BAPPENAS, DPOD, DPD, and Badan Legislasi DPR.

Duties and Responsibilities

II. Functions / Key Results Expected

In particular, the Decentralization Senior Advisor is responsible for providing policy advice, recommendations and strategy on the discourses, changes and debates over decentralization policies in Indonesia to the National Project Director of PGSP, relevant Directors and Director Generals in MOHA, BAPPENAS and DPOD. The similar services will also be provided to the legislative bodies, namely Badan Legislasi DPR and DPD. The Decentralization Senior Advisor will work with the Policy Manager to help the Project Manager to ensure that PGSP policy activities are strategic and relevant to the decentralization context in Indonesia.

The Decentralization Senior Advisor will also work with the PGSP Policy Manager to establish a PGSP in-house advisory unit in a strategic Directorate(s) and/or Directorate General of GOI that deals with decentralization policies. This work will involve developing work plan and budget as well as recruiting necessary staffs, consultants and researchers to undertake consultation and research in order to strengthen the capacity of the respective Directorate(s) and/or Directorate General to respond to strategic policy issues on decentralization.

More specifically, the Senior Advisor will provide high quality and strategic advice to the relevant GOI partners, both in the executive and legislative branches of power:

on the debates over policy framework of proliferation of regions in Indonesia
on the revision of Law no.32/2004
on the enactment of PP 38/2007 on Distribution of Roles and Functions of National, Provincial and Local Governments
on the enactment of PP 41/2007 on Organization of Provincial and Local Governments, PP on Minimum Public Service Standards
on the possible revision of PP 78/2007 on Establishment, Proliferation and Merging of Regions
on the enactment of PP 6/2008 on the Evaluation of the Performance of Local Government
on the planned enactment of PP on Minimum Public Service Standards
on the roles and responsibilities of DPOD.
on civil service reform at provincial level.
on the roles and responsibilities of Provincial and District-level DPRD
on the planned enactment of the package of laws on public service reform that are now being developed by the Ministry of PAN (Public Administration Reform) and its implications to the provincial and local governments.

It is expected that the Senior Decentralization Advisor will produce substantive writing materials in form of policy papers, thematic discussion/working papers, policy briefs, as well as research-based and opinion articles on various issues of decentralization mentioned above. The Senior Decentralization Advisor will be required to acknowledge and ensure the visibility of UNDP in the publications h/she produces that are related to the scope of work.

III. Impact of Results

The key results have an impact on the quality of Provincial Governance Support Programme, thus contributing to effective UNDP assistance to respond to strategic policy issues on decentralization in Indonesia. Project implementation has to be in line with the objectives of the project and UNDP rules, regulations and procedures. It is critical to ensure achievement of UNDP Country Programme outcomes through a client-oriented approach.

Competencies

IV. 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.
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Operational Aspect of Project Management

Has demonstrated knowledge and experience in working on bureaucratic reform and/or decentralization and existing networks of experts and policy makers.
Displays maturity and excellent communication and networking skills.
Ability to work independently and in an organized manner.
Ability to provide policy advice, recommendations and strategy.

Communications and Networking

Maturity and confidence in dealing with senior and high ranking members of national and international institutions, government and non-government.
Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills and ability to build strong relationships with government and other external actors.
Has excellent oral communication skills and conflict resolution competency to manage inter-group dynamics and mediate conflicting interests of varied actors.
Has excellent written communication skill, with analytic capacity and ability to provide policy advice, recommendations and strategy.

Knowledge Management and Learning

Shares knowledge and experience.

Management and Leadership

Demonstrates strong analytical and management skills.
Highly creative attitude and self-starter mindset.
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
Ability to lead formulation, monitoring and evaluation of development of the work and mobilize support for the work.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Post-graduate degree, preferably PhD degree in relevant field, e.g. economics, international relations, political science, public administration.

Experience:

For Master degree: at least 10 (ten) years experience of undertaking policy research on governance sector in Indonesia, including on decentralization issues and on program management in national and/or international organization setting;
For PhD degree: at least 5 (five) years experience of undertaking policy research on governance sector in Indonesia, including on decentralization issues and on program management in national and/or international organization setting;
Outstanding track record in publishing materials on governance and development sector;
Proven experience in participatory planning approaches;
Proven leadership and facilitation skills;
Excellent communication skills including: proven writing skills, inter-personal skills, and public speaking in formal settings; and
Experience using computers and office software packages and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.

Language Requirements:

Excellent command of English and Bahasa Indonesia, both spoken and written.

“Female candidates are encouraged to apply”