UNDP Jobs - 66194- Political Research Specialist

Political Research Specialist

Location :

Kuwait, KUWAIT

Type of Contract :

Other

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

16-Jun-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Other

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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 and the State of Kuwait, represented by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Planning and Development (GSSCPD), strive to enhance institutional capacities at various government agencies by providing them with necessary technical support to strengthen their capacities and skills to perform their expected duties.

Under the framework of the Institutional Capacity Development for Implementation of the Kuwait National Development Plan (ICDI/KNDP) project, UNDP and GSSCPD attempt to support public entities to increase technical expertise and institutional capacities for strategic planning and implementation of Kuwait National Development Plan.

UNDP and GSSCPD strive to enhance the capacity of the the State Ministry for The National Assembly Affairs and specifically their Research and Studies Department (RSD), to be able to provide better support and advice to the high level decision makers on various political, social and economic public issues.

The RSD is responsible of conducting research on topics enlisted on the National Assembly of Kuwait agenda. Its activities include data preparation, report drafting, and conducting studies on political and economic issues as well as on public polls that are in the center of public attention and interest. Its major role is to keep the Government aware and respondent to public interest and interactive with public opinion.

Within this context, the Ministry seeks to recruit a Specialist in Political Research, to improve its research unit’s capacity to support the evidence-based decision-making on political and Parliamentary issues through planning, collecting and analyising data and conducting medium and small research projects relevant to political and parliamentary topics and affairs, as well as supervising large size research.

Duties and Responsibilities

Responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision of the RSD Director and with close coordination with the Project Manager of the GSSCPD, the Political Research Specialist will assume the following duties:

Develop a research strategy for the RSD, in line with the State Ministry for The National Assembly Affairs strategy;
Review the available literature and scientific research on the local politics and parliamentary affairs produced by the RSD and other significant institutions, to recommend the research priorities;
Develop a research policy for the RSD with clearly defined objectives;
Support the RSD by providing clear briefing, evidence-based analysis, sound guidance and support on political research priorities, needs, methodologies and production;
Conduct small and medium size research and develop reports, position papers, white papers, and any type of reports or research relevant to the consultancy, as needed;
Build the department’s staff capacity in research methodologies, data gathering, data analyses, and reporting on political and parliamentary issues;
Develop assessment report on the technical and human capacity development needs of RSD, with recommendations to address them;
Submit a number of quality research papers and reports;
Develop the RSD capacity building plan for staff and initiate action plan for implementation;
Present monthly reports to the GSSCPD and Project Manager highlighting key deliverables and achievements with recommendations for the way forward.

Competencies

The Political Research Specialist should demonstrate diverse skills in the relevant areas including, but not necessarily limited to the following:

Core Competencies:

Uses understanding of the organizational culture and key players to gain support for initiatives and to determine optimum timing to launch initiatives and address issues
Adopts a corporate approach to complex situations, focusing on process of change and interrelationships
Holds himself/herself and others accountable for respecting organizational standards of civility in all circumstances
Acts as a role model for positive handling of potentially situations of conflict to others inside and outside the organization
Captures personal and team learning in ways that makes it accessible to others and integrates lessons learned in the future work of teams.
Makes himself/herself accessible to share his/her personal knowledge and experience with others in the organization, and encourages staff to do the same.

Functional Competencies:

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Actively seeks and promotes innovative methodologies and leads the development of supporting policies/tools to encourage learning and knowledge sharing
Develops and/or participates in the development of policies and new approaches and participates in training of staff in their application throughout the organization
Promotes knowledge sharing

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Possesses expert knowledge of advanced concepts in primary discipline, a broad knowledge of related disciplines.
Applies knowledge to support the unit/branch’s objectives and to further the mandate of the organization(s).
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.

Creating a climate for conceptual innovation:

Promotes conceptual innovation in the provision of technical expertise;
Leverages different experiences and expertise of team members to achieve better and more innovative outcomes;
Advocates for resources required for conceptual innovation;
Promotes strategic direction for capacity building in the provision of technical expertise.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum Masters Degree in Political Science or any related field.

Experience:

Minimum of 10 years of experience in the following areas:

Public opinion trends and studies;
Political and parliamentary Studies;
Traceable record of published research in both Arabic and English;
Experience in training is highly desirable;
A strong analytical and research background;
Excellent computer skills with MS Office.

Language:

Fluency in oral and written English and Arabic is a must.

Note:

This position will be on governmental contract administered by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development;
As part of the application, the applicant must attach a CV.