UNDP Jobs - 81812- Intern (Electoral Project

Intern (Electoral Project - Gender Assessment)

Location :

Lusaka, ZAMBIA

Type of Contract :

Internship

Starting Date :

12-Nov-2018

Application Deadline :

02-Nov-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Intern

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six weeks

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Six weeks

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 project “Consolidation of the Electoral Process in Zambia: Support to the Electoral Cycle 2015-2018” aims to consolidate the gains of previous electoral cycle projects and broader UNDP programmatic support in the area of democratic governance. It provides demand-driven support to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and other national entities (CSOs, media, political parties, government bodies) to enhance the quality and credibility of electoral processes. Activities target five key areas of enhanced effectiveness of the ECZ to conduct elections, improved integrity of election outcomes, political party planning capacities and women’s leadership, dispute resolution mechanisms and the credibility of media in the electoral process.

The 2016 Constitution of the Republic of Zambia has human dignity, equity, social justice, equality and non-discrimination at the core of its values and principles and contains preamble that confirms the “equal worth of women and men and their right to freely participate in, determine and build a sustainable political, legal, economic and social order.” In addition, the constitution sets a requirement that “the electoral systems in Zambia for the election of President, Member of Parliament or councilor shall ensure … gender equity in the National Assembly or council.” Relevant legislation, such as the Gender Equity Act of 2015, also includes important provisions for promoting women’s political participation and gender equality.

The 2016 general elections saw an increase in the number of women winning elected seats compared to the previous elections in 2011. However, women won only 26 of the 156 elected seats of the National Assembly and this is still extremely low, particularly given that women represent more than half the population and had more registered voters than men. The relative proportion of women who won seats at local level is even lower.

One major challenge is to enhance the role of women within political parties. One aim in this would be to increase the number of women nominated as candidates, and thereby enhance their opportunities to access elected bodies. In 2016, this was extremely low, with women comprising only 16% of parliamentary candidates, despite declarations by several parties to field a greater proportion. Increased representation in political party structures is also envisaged as a means to secure greater decision-making power.A further aim would be to ensure issues relevant to women are given adequate attention in political party manifestos, and that political parties consider these pledges as commitments and make continued efforts to honour them after the seats are won.

As Zambia moves towards the next general elections in 2021, UNDP aims to promote increased commitment amongst political parties to issues of women’s representation and gender equality. To this end, UNDP will undertake an initial assessment of pledges made by political parties for the 2016 elections, in light of Zambia’s constitutional and state party obligations to gender equality, which will provide baseline data against which to measure levels of achievement and motivate political party targets for 2021.

The UNDP electoral project seeks an intern to undertake a desk review of available documentation as the basis of this initial assessment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Supervision

The intern will be supervised by the Electoral Project Manager, with oversight from the Governance and Gender Advisor.

Duties and Responsibilities

The intern will work under the programmatic activities outlined above to conduct a desk review of pledges made by political parties for the 2016 elections on issues of gender equality, in order to establish baseline information that may be assessed for levels of implementation and improved upon for the next elections in 2021.

To achieve this, the intern will:

Review political party manifestos for the 2016 general elections and identify provisions relating to gender equality;
Review declarations on female-male candidate targets for 2016 elections and conduct an analysis of candidate data to assess the level of compliance;
Analyse the impact of the proportion of female-male candidates fielded by political parties and election outcomes;
Establish baseline data that can be used for monitoring of future political party commitments to gender equality;
Prepare a report that outlines political party pledges on gender equality issues for the 2016 elections within the context of Zambia’s constitutional and state party commitments, and comments on compliance (where known), including details on available data as relevant.

Competencies

Key competencies of the assignment include:

Commitment to UNDP core values of integrity, transparency, accountability, mutual respect and professionalism;
Effective communication skills and ability to prepare written reports;
Analytical skills, accuracy and attention to detail;
Responsibility for ensuring a high quality of own work;
Organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines;
Assessment of work with a critical eye, seeking feedback;
Awareness and sensitivity regarding gender issues;
Computer literate, including use of excel for data analysis purposes; and
Cross-cultural sensitivity and strong interpersonal skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Eligibility

Applicants to the UNDP internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:

Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher);
Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor’s level or equivalent); or,
Have graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation.

Qualifications and Experience

Eligible applicants (as described above) should be enrolled in a degree programme or recently graduated with a degree in international relations, political sciences, public policy, social sciences, public administration, gender studies, or related field.

Language:

Fluency in English, both verbal and written;

Remuneration

Interns are not financially remunerated by UNDP. Costs and arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and living expenses are the responsibility of:

The nominating institution, related institution or government, which may provide the required financial assistance to its students; or
The intern, who will have to obtain financing for subsistence through private sources.

The intern may be provided with a stipend for travel expenses, as applicable.

Learning Expectations

The internship will provide an opportunity for the intern to take responsibility for a task from inception to completion, to utilize data analysis skills, to generate baseline data for monitoring and evaluation, and to gain an understanding of how issues of gender equality intersect with politics in the electoral context.

Conditions

Interns are considered gratis personnel. Interns are not staff members and may not represent UNDP in any official capacity;
UNDP accepts no responsibility for costs arising from accidents and/or illness or death incurred during the internship;
Interns are not eligible to apply for, or be appointed to, any post in UNDP during the period of the internship or for six months immediately following the expiration date of internship;
The intern must provide proof of enrolment in a health insurance plan and provide a certificate of good health prior to starting the internship;

Shortlisted applicants must submit the following documents prior to the interview:

An official letter from the University confirming enrolment in a graduate-level degree programme and specifying the expected graduation date;
Letter of endorsement from a senior faculty member who has directly supervised the student in the recent past and who is fully acquainted with the student's performance;
Copy of current school transcript.