UNDP Jobs - 75189- Individual Consultancy to Support the Development

Individual Consultancy to Support the Development of a Strategic Plan for the Malawi Electoral Commission

Location :

Blantyre, MALAWI

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

30-Oct-2017

Application Deadline :

25-Oct-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

50 Working Days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Three Months

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

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) is a body created under Section 75 of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi to supervise and direct the conduct of all elections in Malawi i.e. Parliamentary, Presidential, By-elections, Local Government and Referenda. The Commission conducts these elections in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, Parliamentary and Presidential elections Act No.31 of 1993 (PPEA), Local Government Elections Act No.24 of 1996 and Electoral Commission Act No.11 of 1998 (ECA).

The Commission has adopted an electoral cycle approach to implementing election activities thereby prompting it to develop a plan that seeks to provide strategic direction in the implementation of electoral activities focusing on the Pre, During and Post elections. The current strategic plan runs from January 2013 to December 2017.? In view of the electoral cycle philosophy, the Commission is planning to develop a new strategic plan that will run from January 2018 to December 2022 to ensure seamless strategic direction to its activities especially in preparation for the 2019 Tripartite Elections.

The new strategic plan will also provide strategic direction in resource mobilization, strengthening stakeholder relations, compiling a comprehensive and accurate voters’ register, building vibrant civil society organizations that are able to provide adequate and cost effective civic education, strengthening the financial systems, technical staff capacity building as well as acquisition of modern equipment.

The Commission, therefore, seeks to engage two consultants (one international and one local) who will work with the Commissioners and staff to develop a strategic plan that will guide in the implementation of activities with a focus on the above-mentioned areas. This activity will be implemented under the Malawi Electoral Cycle Support (MECS) Project 2017-2019 which is a basket fund pooling resources from various development partners and is managed by UNDP.

The MECS project contributes directly to the SDG 16 goal of ensuring responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. The Project is structured around four outputs:

The MEC is trusted by the public and political parties as an impartial entity possessing the capacity to administer and manage elections in accordance with regional and international obligations;
Women’s political empowerment throughout the electoral cycle is strengthened;
Enhanced ability of key stakeholders, including political parties, to contribute to orderly and inclusive elections;
Effective and efficient management, partnership formation and monitoring and evaluation of the Project.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Short Term Experts will work hand in hand with the Commission, staff and selected key stakeholders to review the current SP and develop a new one through consultation and participatory process. They will in the process specifically implement the following major activities:

Produce an Inception Report which will include:

Approach and methodology for the MEC 2013-17 Strategic Plan evaluation and suggested structure of that report
Approach and methodology for the new MEC 2018-22 Strategic Plan and suggested structure of the document
Suggested overall timeline for the remainder of the assignment
Review the implementation of the 2013-2017 strategic plan and produce a report.

The evaluation will focus on the following:

Assess the overall implementation status and achievement of the 2013-2017 Strategic Plan in comparison with what was anticipated.
Identify difficulties encountered during implementation of 2013-2017 MEC Strategic Plan.
Engage MEC Commissioners, Staff, and other Stakeholders participation to the extent possible in the evaluation process.
Formulate recommendations that can form a basis for the 2018-2022 MEC Strategic Plan.
Make a presentation to the Malawi Electoral Commission and key partners on results of evaluation.
Document challenges faced, lessons learnt and recommendations for the next Strategic Plan
Produce a new MEC Strategic Plan 2018-22 by undertaking the following tasks:
Review MEC documents such as the legal framework, strategies, electoral reports, ICT Reports etc that will be provided by MEC or its stakeholders
Consult Commissioners and key staff in the MEC to get their input
Consult key stakeholders such as NGOs, Government, Political Parties and Development Partners to get their input through face to face interviews, focus group discussions and meetings.
Facilitate a workshop to consolidate and validate Commissioners, staff and stakeholders’ views
Produce draft strategic plan for 2018 to 2022
Circulate draft plan to Commissioners and staff for further input
Finalise strategic plan and hand over to the Commission
Produce Final Report
Brief Commissioners and staff on resource mobilization and the implementation of the Strategic Plan

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Be able to provide guidance and leadership in the strategic plan development process, implementation and resource mobilization;
Be conversant with electoral operations Ability to work with people of different religious and cultural backgrounds;
Have proven strategic planning expertise for public and/or private institutions;
Ability to work with minimum supervision and in a team

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A university Master’s degree in Business Administration, Political Science or Social Science or other relevant fields.

Experience:

Have at least 10 years work experience in elections, democratic governance, or public administration;
Be able to provide proof of work done for similar organizations in the past 5 years;
Awareness and sensitivity of gender and social inclusion, and an ability to integrate a gender and social inclusion perspective into tasks and activities.

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English is essential.

How to apply:

Please submit the following documents:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP.
Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and three (3) professional references.
Brief description (max. ½ page) of why you consider yourself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology (max. 1 page) for how you will approach and complete the assignment.
Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided below.?

Period of assignment/services:

Maximum of 50 working days spread over a period of 3 months from the time of appointment;
Possible extension subject to needs and availability of funding.

A detailed Procurement Notices can be accessed through the following link: http://procurement-notices.undp.org/

Proposal should be submitted at the following address: On this website or by email to procurement.mw@undp.org no later than 25th October 2017.