Background

Following Samoa’s national elections in March 2011, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) won by a substantial majority, but for the first time an official Opposition was also formed within Parliament, the Tautua Party. Both the Government and the Opposition have indicated a strong commitment to utilising Parliament as a place for debate, discussion and oversight. In this context, the parliamentary support project will be implemented which will work with all MPs to strengthen their capacity to use parliamentary processes to more effectively engage with national development issues. Accordingly, the Samoa Parliamentary Support Project aims to work with (i) MPs directly to strengthen their national leadership and accountability roles, and strengthen law-making and committee oversight functions; as well as  (ii) the Parliamentary Secretariat to strengthen the capacity of Samoa’s MPs to more effectively and accountably promote and progress Samoa’s national development priorities and the achievement of the MDGs.

Duties and Responsibilities

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the Speaker of the Samoa National Parliament and in consultation with the Clerk to Parliament, and with oversight and technical support from the UNDP Samoa Multi-Country Office and AusAID’s Pacific Parliamentarians Partnership Programme, and the UNDP Pacific Centre in Fiji, the National Project Manager (NPM) will:

 Project Management

• Manage implementation of the Project based on the Project Document and agreed Annual Work Plans, in line with UNDP procedures, rules and regulations, and revision of such plans on an annual basis to reflect actual deliverables
• Monitor and support the delivery of inputs to achieve outputs according to UNDP procedures and produce quarterly-costed work plans for approval by UNDP, liaising closely with the UNDP staff
• Coordinate financial disbursements to be made by UNDP and reporting to UNDP
• Produce project progress reports as identified in the Project Documents in relation to Monitoring & Evaluation, including quarterly financial reporting and maintaining the project budget in liaison with the OCLA and UNDP
• Manage standard audit procedures in collaboration with UNDP as per requirements outlined in the project document and action all recommendations and actions 
• Continually monitor and update the risk log in the project document in order to reduce negative impacts on project implementation and proactively work towards reducing risk in collaboration with the UNDP and OCLA
• Coordinate and plan the delivery of project inputs; including international experts, national experts, training and equipment, and sub-contracts
• Draft TORs for project activities and assist with recruitment of any project staff through close liaison with the OCLA and UNDP (national and international)
• Provide oversight for all SPSP project staff including identifying training needs and facilitating such training or where necessary helping to identify courses or providers of training
• Support the Project Board including drafting the Agenda and Minutes and ensuring all other documentation is in order
• Actively advocate for and promote the project via available media and build awareness of its major achievements in Samoa and diaspora

Capacity development in support of legislative drafting and advice:

• Coordinate skills development training for Members of Parliament and the Secretariat staff especially Committee staff in bill drafting/amendment, legal analysis and committee record–keeping, filing and archiving, in accordance with the training programme which is to be undertaken by trainers from AusAID’s Pacific Parliamentary Partnership Programme; and 
• Prepare reports on the training undertaken for accountability and record-keeping purposes

Capacity development in support of the Secretariat:

• Continually work to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Parliament by focusing on fostering a culture of transparency and on the transfer of technical knowledge and skills to the Secretariat staff through mentoring and coaching from international technical specialists seconded on a rotational basis from the Australian and New Zealand parliaments to work for the project through the PPP
• Assist and advise the Clerk in the design and development of a comprehensive parliamentary post-election orientation program and ongoing training for MPs and parliamentary staff as outlined in the project document; and 
• Observe and transmit parliamentary best practices adaptable to the Samoan context

Competencies

• Demonstrated exposure to legislation or policies in any of these areas is an advantage – gender, education, health, environment, social development, transparency/integrity, poverty reduction, anti–corruption 
• Demonstrated knowledge of constitutional and/or public law is an asset 
• Proficiency in writing clear and easy–to–understand reports on activities achieved by the project for the Project Board and UNDP reporting purposes 
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills and ability to motivate people 
• Successful experience in staff development preferably in Samoa 
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and in a highly political environment 
• Results–oriented and team player 
• Good organizational skills 
• Experience working in developing country environment highly desirable
• Sound interpersonal and cross-cultural skills and maturity
• Ability to work with a broad range of clientele and resource persons of diverse backgrounds, religious and political persuasions

Required Skills and Experience