Background

On October 23rd, 2011 Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) declared the country fully liberated, bringing to an end the eight month armed conflict to overthrow the authoritarian regime of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi. The new Libya is founded on a commitment to conduct an election by June 2012 to establish a National People’s Council which will form an interim government and draw up a new constitution. This will be Libya’s first election in 45 years: the vast majority of the public has never participated in any similar events and has little knowledge and understanding of such processes. There is as yet no parliament, electoral management body or constitution-making entity, no established political parties, civil society organizations or independent media with any familiarity with these processes, and no previous experience of freedom of expression or access to information based on developed professional and ethical standards.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is tasked with assisting the Libyan authorities in restoring public security and the rule of law, promoting inclusive political dialogue and national reconciliation, and in helping the NTC embark on the drafting of a new constitution and on laying the foundation for elections. UNSMIL and UNDP consultations with Libya’s transitional authorities and civil society have emphasized the enormous challenge of staging Libya’s first election for over forty-five years and in particular the urgent need to conduct a major civic education campaign across Libya, particularly targeting women, youth and other traditionally marginalized sections of society to build this consensus and promote meaningful participation in the political transition process.

UNDP, in consultation with a range of national and international actors, has developed a civic engagement strategy to build people’s knowledge and understanding of the broad concepts underpinning a democratic society such as the respective roles and responsibilities of citizens, government, political and special interests, the mass media, and the business and non-profit sectors, as well as the significance of periodic and competitive elections. The strategy aims to assist the Libyan authorities’ efforts, with UNSMIL support, to hold peaceful, free and fair elections in which an informed electorate is empowered through knowledge and understanding to exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities fully, and to use the electoral process to choose representatives who will work on their behalf to peacefully resolve differences of opinion over the resources, systems and structures of the future state.

The Chief Technical Advisor – Civic Engagement will be responsible for the further development and implementation of the Support to Civic Engagement in Libya’s Transition project, with a strong emphasis on targeting traditionally marginalized groups. Working under the direct supervision of the UNDP Deputy Country Director (P), s/he will also provide advisory support to other recovery projects, and will work in close collaboration with the other Programme Division Units, the Operations Division, other programme staff in UNDP, UNSMIL and other UN agencies, government officials, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society to ensure successful UNDP programme implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Manage a large, complex multi-media information, education and communications project on civic engagement in Libya’s transition to democracy.

Manage UNDP’s ‘Support to Civic Engagement in Libya’s Transition’ project, leading the design, implementation and monitoring of programme activities, and taking responsibility for the delivery of the main project outputs:

• Strengthened civil society capacities to undertake civic education;
• Youth civic engagement promoted;
• Increased women's participation in the political transition;
• National capacity established to undertake public consultations  and dialogue;
• Undertake – and periodically update – a strategic assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices in civic participation, as a basis for a comprehensive civic education strategy to empower Libyans through knowledge and understanding to exercise their democratic rights and responsibilities fully;
• Provide technical advice and guidance to refocus and revise the civic engagement strategy and implementation plans as the transition progresses and the operating context evolves on the ground;
• Develop strategic partnerships with organizations representing women, youth and marginalized groups, and devise relevant and user-friendly programming approaches and outreach products to ensure that SCELT addresses the needs of these core groups for access to and engagement in civic education and engagement activities.

Oversee all public information and outreach aspects of the project including the preparation of a diverse range of information, education, and communications products:

• Coordinate the development all public information and outreach aspects of the project, including publications, reference material, audio-visual content, social media and internet channels and products;
• Develop a dissemination strategy for publications and other communication and public information products produced by the project;
• Oversee the development of a sub-strategy on the use of internet and social media for civic education and participation activities, including developing, publicizing, maintaining, and upgrading the website on civic engagement;
• Commission outreach initiatives using popular media - e.g. street drama performance – to disseminate information on the constitution making process throughout the country. Supervise any subcontracted national or international firms or NGOs undertaking content production, dissemination or other civic engagement activities.

Capacity Development of national project staff:

• Develop and implement, in coordination with CO management, a successor plan for the post of project manager by mentoring and developing the capacity of project staff in key project roles with a view to executing the successful handover of project management responsibilities to national project staff;
• Provide regular reporting on progress on implementation of successor plan and identify urgent actions needed;
• Provide on the job training for national staff of the project.

Provide technical and capacity development advice to the Ministry of Culture and Civil Society, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Religious Affairs, and other national institutions engaged in civic awareness raising activities:

• Advise on a wide range of civic engagement issues, including strengthening of civil society, designing civic awareness strategies, youth outreach, ensuring a greater role for women in the transition process, and promoting inclusive dialogue and consultation;
• Support the government to establish and maintain a national coordination platform on civic education in order to develop and implement a National Civic Education Strategy;
• Support the capacity self assessment of the Ministry in the area of civic engagement and assist in the development of a capacity development strategy that respond to identified needs;
• Regularly advise, monitor and report on civic education policies and programs adopted by national authorities and civil society and on their implementation.

Create and maintain networks, develop coordination mechanisms and provide advisory and technical support, as needed, to key stakeholders:

• Provide advisory and technical support, as needed, to key stakeholders in the development of mutually supportive work plans and strategies for civic awareness, advocacy, social mobilization, networking, training, etc. in support of the SCELT strategy and to increase overall understanding of the transition process;
• Work closely with the UNSMIL-UNDP electoral team at the Independent Elections Commission to maintain coherence between IEC plans for outreach  and voter education and SCELT’s support to civic awareness-raising in Libya;
• Consult on a regular basis with the HC/RC, Heads of UN agencies and Programmes, the Government of Libya, the donor community, media and other civil society organizations (non-governmental organizations, businesses, community organizations, women's groups, etc.)on all appropriate aspects of the development and implementation of the civic engagement strategy and ensure, where needed, coordination structures are developed at local, regional and national levels.

Provide technical and policy advice to UNDP Libya on civic awareness and participation and related advocacy information and communications issues:

• Monitor progress and important developments in the transition process and ensure civic engagement strategy and products are adjusted accordingly;
• Work closely with the Electoral Support component of the UNDP programme, identifying issues for collaboration and provide support accordingly;
• Work with the Governance Unit to identify synergies and overlapping issues on related projects in governance and judicial support, and ensure coherent support from UNDP;
• Advise UNDP on linking the civic engagement project to other planned transitional governance initiatives in Libya;
• Provide strategic advice to UNDP’s senior management on engagement with Libyan and international media;
• Provide strategic advice to UNDP’s resource mobilization efforts in the area of civic engagement.

Reporting and Knowledge Management:

• Ensure that project reporting – both internal and external – is done in a timely manner by following standard reporting requirements and established procedures for inter alia project board meetings, annual reports, and donor agreements;
• Prepare timely, quality, narrative and financial regular and ad hoc reports, thematic briefing papers, and presentations as and when required;
• Draft thematic briefing papers, updates, and contributions for CO and UNDP practice newsletters related to democratic governance and civic engagement to keep stakeholders informed of developments in the project;
• Identify and codify best practices in supporting civic engagement activities in democratic transition processes.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 equally.

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge and expertise in democratic governance, electoral assistance and democratization;
• Strong technical knowledge of the field of civic education, and a general knowledge of cross-cutting democratic governance issues;
• 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 sound knowledge of UN rules, regulations, policies, procedures and best practices in the electoral assistance field;
• Excellent negotiation and representational skills, at senior level (with international organizations and/or diplomatic missions);
• Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Demonstrates strong intellectual and operational capacity in providing and coordinating advisory services to stakeholders in electoral processes, specifically to EMBs and civil society organizations;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities. Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions;
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others;
• Self-management, including conflict management/negotiating skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Masters degree in Political Science, Communications, Development Studies, or a related field.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years specialized experience in international development, with at least five years experience; managing complex governance, communication, civic awareness, or electoral education projects;
• Experience in leading large programme teams and working in multi-lateral environments;
• Experience in providing technical assistance to senior officials in politically-sensitive environments;
• A good understanding of the regional dynamics and the political, social and cultural history of Libya; 
• Experience in working with transitional, conflict-affected contexts or emerging democracies.
• The candidate should have significant experience in providing practical advice to policy makers; be able to work well with counterparts in government, electoral management bodies, civil society, political parties, and the donor community; and know how to contribute to building national capacity for development;

Languages:

• Fluent in English, fluency in Arabic is highly desirable.