Background

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2009 established the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in September 2011. The UNSMIL has since commenced its support to the country's new transitional authorities in their post-conflict efforts. These range from assisting the Libyan authorities restore public security and the rule of law, promote inclusive political dialogue and national reconciliation, help the Libyans embark on the drafting of a new constitution and lay the foundation for elections. Specifically, the resolution encourages Libyans to implement plans “to ensure a consultative, inclusive political process with a view to agreement on the constitution and the holding of free and fair elections”.


In February 2012, the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) was put in place and a joint UN electoral team has supported the HNEC since in organizing three electoral processes: the elections of the General National Congress which took place on 7 July 2012 and were widely praised as credible. The team also supported the February 2014 Constitutional Drafting Assembly elections and the June 2014 House of Representatives elections. Under Libyan leadership, UNSMIL and UNDP are jointly supporting the electoral process based on their comparative expertise to ensure uniform decision-making and effective planning. The Promoting Elections for the People of Libya (PEPOL) project has been designed to provide a comprehensive range of electoral support through the integrated UN Electoral Support Team (UNEST).

While most Libyans express disappointment with the outcomes of previous elections, they still have a general sense of confidence in the HNEC. With the support of UN electoral team, and having carried out three electoral processes, the HNEC has acquired considerable knowledge and skills in electoral management. Nevertheless, the HNEC, like many other institutions in the country, is in a transitional phase and needs sustained capacity strengthening in order to maintain its independence and professionalism thus contributing to efforts to consolidate democracy and stability in Libya. In its request to the UN for electoral assistance, the HNEC emphasized the building of institutional capacity as a key objective in addition to requiring direct support for the upcoming electoral events, including constitutional referendum

On 29 November 2018, the HNEC received from the House of Representatives (HoR) a copy of Law No. 6, tasking the HNEC to conduct a referendum on the draft constitution that was put forward by the Constitutional Drafting Assembly (CDA) in July 2017. As a result, a referendum process is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2019.

PEPOL project seeks to achieve four key outputs, namely:

  • Support HNEC in the planning, preparation and conduct of national elections including out of country voting (OCV);
  • Develop HNEC institutional and staff capacities and raise awareness on the requirements of electoral processes that are transparent, credible and promote inclusive participation;
  • Promote public participation in electoral processes, targeting vulnerable groups with activities that enable them to exercise their right to vote;
  • Raising the electoral awareness of local partners, enabling them to perform their role effectively in the electoral process and contribute to a peaceful electoral environment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the Consultancy

Under the supervision and guidance of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) and the UNDP Resident Representative, the incumbent with be the lead person on the UN electoral support to Libya, both through the UN Electoral Support Team and the Promoting Elections for the People of Libya (PEPOL) Project.

 

He or she will assist the HNEC in the following key functions to achieve the desired results:

  • Provide technical advice to the relevant Libyan authorities and electoral stakeholders on the improvement of the legal framework for elections; covering aspects such as options for voter registration, voting operations including out-of-country voting, voter education and public outreach, and the conduct of referenda and elections.
  • Facilitate discussions on the above-mentioned issues, organise information sessions, discussion workshops and seminars for election stakeholders; prepare non-papers, discussion papers, background notes, etc.;
  • Provide electoral advisory support to UNSMIL and HNEC;
  • Support the UN efforts to coordinate the international community’s efforts on electoral assistance to Libya; liaise and foster strategic cooperation with other partners including civil society to reinforce the dialogue on improvement of the integrity and credibility of the electoral process in Libya.
  • Analyze and update the HNEC on any emerging risks and mitigation factors;
  • Provide guidance and direction to the work of the UN electoral team;
  • Elaborate and submit periodic reports on the progress of the activities under UNEST;
  • Promote cross-unit teamwork and skills development for the team members through coaching and mentoring;
  • Capture and disseminate lessons-learnt and best practices to contribute to learning on policing and development elsewhere.

Competencies

 

Functional Competencies:

Advocacy/Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda

  • Advocates for the inclusion of UNDP’s focus areas in the public policy agenda;
  • Brings visibility and sensitizes decision makers to relevant emerging issues;
  • Builds consensus concerning UNDP’s strategic agenda with partners on joint initiatives;
  • Leverages UNDP’s multidisciplinary expertise to influence the shape of policies and programmes;
  • Demonstrates political/cultural acumen in proposing technically sound, fact-based approaches/solutions;
  • Develops internal organizational policies promoting strategic approaches to UNDP’s focus areas (HQ);
  • Dialogues with national counterparts and other stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts, incorporating country, regional and global perspectives;
  • Demonstrates cultural sensitivity.

 

Results-Based Programme Development and Management:

  • Identifies country needs and strategies using a fact-based approach;
  • Sets performance standards, monitors progress and intervenes at an early stage to ensure results are in accordance with agreed-upon quality and timeframes and reports on it;
  • Makes use of a variety of resources within UNDP to achieve results, such as cross-functional teams, secondments and developmental assignments, and collaborative funding approaches;
  • Oversees and documents the process of strategy formulation for programmes at country level;
  • Ensures the integration of UNDP’s strategic concern in interagency, other multilateral initiatives and multi-sectoral development frameworks;

 

Building Strategic Partnerships:

  • Identifies and prioritizes opportunities and obstacles in the political scene (government, civil society, parliamentarians, pressure groups) to advance UN agenda; identifies common interests and goals and carries out joint initiatives with partners;
  • Makes effective use of UN/UNDP’s resources and comparative advantage to strengthen partnerships;
  • Builds partnerships with non-traditional sectors by translating UN/UNDP’s agenda into messages that reflect the pertinence of their values and interests;
  • Creates networks and promotes initiatives with partner organizations;
  • Leverages the resources of governments and other development partners.

 

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches:

  • Influences and coaches others inside and outside UN/UNDP in developing and implementing innovative approaches;
  • Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
  • Conceptualizes more effective approaches to programme development and implementation and to mobilizing and using resources;
  • Leverages resources in support of new approaches;
  • Facilitates change and influences senior decision makers to implement change strategies.

 

Resource Mobilization:

  • Contributes to the development of resource mobilization strategies;
  • Actively develops partnerships with potential donors and government counterparts in all sectors at country level;
  • Shares information with country offices concerning opportunities to tap potential donors;
  • Strengthens the capacity of the country office to mobilize resources.

 

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

  • Possesses expert knowledge of advanced concepts in primary discipline, a broad knowledge of related disciplines, as well as an in-depth knowledge of relevant organizational policies and procedures;
  • Applies knowledge to support the unit/branch’s objectives and to further the mandate of UN/UNDP;
  • Applies a broad knowledge of best management practices; defines objectives and work flows, positions reporting relationships in such a way as to obtain optimum effectiveness for the unit/branch;
  • Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself personally;
  • Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
  • Demonstrates expert knowledge of the current programme guidelines and project management tools and manages the use of these regularly in work assignments.

 

Client Orientation:

  • Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions or alternatives;
  • Proactively identifies, develops and discusses solutions for internal and external clients, and persuades management to undertake new projects or services;
  • Consults with clients and ensures their needs are represented in decision-making processes;
  • Advises and develops strategic and operational solutions with clients that add value to UNDP programmes and operations.

 

Core Competencies:

  • Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents;
  • Building support and political acumen;
  • Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
  • Building and promoting effective teams;
  • Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
  • Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;
  • Leveraging conflict in the interests of UNDP & setting standards;
  • Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
  • Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.
  1. Reporting

The UN Electoral Team Leader will report to the SRSG on political issues relating to function of team leader and to the UNDP RR regarding programmatic and contractual matters.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in international relations, law, anthropology, community development, or any other related field combined with equivalent experience.
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Experience:                

  • 15 years of experience in providing electoral assistance under the UN or similar organization in post-conflict and/or peace-keeping contexts;
  • Experience in OCV.
  • Work experience in programme/project formulation, management and policy advice in the areas of governance and elections;