UNDP Jobs - 57371- International Consultant to Support Development of

International Consultant to Support Development of Concept on E-voting for CEC Moldova

Location :

Chisinau, MOLDOVA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

05-Oct-2015

Application Deadline :

03-Jul-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

22 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

October-November 2015

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 Moldova Democracy Programme/Elections (further referred as Programme) is a multi-year institutional development programme that supports the strategic development of the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova (CEC) with the aim to strengthen the capacity of electoral administration to deliver professional, transparent and efficient electoral processes. Overarching goal of the Programme is to improve the democracy in Moldova through modernization of the electoral processes. This objective is to be reached through support in development of the national electoral strategic and legal framework conducive to organisation of the elections using official data and modern IT tools.

In May 2008 the Parliament of Moldova approved the Law No. 101 on the State Automated Informational System “Elections” (SAISE). Long term objective of the SAISE is to achieve full automatization of elections in Moldova. This includes development of the possibility for citizens to vote in any polling station, possibility to vote through electronic voting machines (e.g. using an electronic pen, scanner or other electronic reading device) and/or possibility to vote via Internet (using identification devices that can read electronic documents).

The Programme has agreed to support CEC with elaboration of a concept on electronic voting in Moldova. According to the Law No. 101, the electronic voting (E-voting) system is to be developed, tested and piloted by Moldovan authorities by 2018 Parliamentary elections. In this regard, CEC is currently planning to initiate consultations with relevant stakeholders aiming at development of a concept and roadmap for E-voting system implementation in Moldova, including costs analysis.

Duties and Responsibilities

The expected output for the international consultant’s assignment is to support CEC and other Moldovan authorities to:

Develop the E-voting concept for Moldova;
Develop a roadmap for implementation of the proposed E-voting concept.

The international consultant is expected to undertake the following steps to ensure preparation of relevant, concise and clear deliverables, meeting the stated objectives:

Analyze relevant Moldovan legal, strategic and policy framework related to development of information systems;
Analyze existing infrastructure, including but not limited E-Gov platforms with M-Sign, M-Pass, M-cloud etc. services and interoperability platform;
Analyze and prepare overview of experience from other countries which as conceived, piloted or implemented e-voting;
Meet required stakeholders;
Prepare high quality draft of required deliverables for distribution and consultation with key stakeholders;
Present both deliverables to CEC and other key stakeholders at special roundtable-discussions and workshops;
Review and integrate relevant comments into the final deliverables;
Submit final deliverables for approval to the Programme and CEC;
Undertake two Missions to Moldova: 13 – 16 October 2015, and 18 – 21 November 2015.

The timeframe for the work of the consultant is planned through October – November 2015. The consultancy should involve about 8 working days of work in Moldova. The remaining 14 working days are home-based.

All deliverables must be submitted in English language to the Electoral Specialist and the designated CEC official in electronic form in accordance with the indicated schedule.

Institutional arrangements

The consultant will work under the overall guidance of the UNDP Electoral Specialist and in close collaboration with the Senior Project Officer. Payments will be done in two instalments: 30% after approval of Deliverable #1 and 70% after approval of Deliverables #2, #3 and #4 by the UNDP Electoral Specialist.

Competencies

Demonstrated interpersonal and diplomatic skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with all stakeholders and to present ideas clearly and effectively;
Demonstrated strong understanding of international electoral and principles;
Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of advanced elections related technologies;
Excellent analytical and writing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Political Sciences, Law, ICT or other relevant field;

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant experience in elections management or advisory functions at senior level;
At least 3 years of experience in analysis, advising and/or implementation of E-voting systems;
Prior experience in conducting feasibility studies on introduction of E-voting in election management would be an asset;

Language:

Proficiency in English;
Knowledge of Romanian and Russian will be considered an asset.

For complete information about this vacancy, including detailed tasks and responsibilities, full and detailed description of the evaluation procedure which will be applied, as well as the UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract, please refer to the Terms of Reference, the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice published at the UNDP Moldova website, Jobs Section:http://www.undp.md/jobs/current_jobs/.