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Chief Technical Advisor, Project in Support of 2010-2012 Electoral Cycles in the PALOP and Timor Leste

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UNDP’s democratic governance practice focuses on fostering inclusive participation, strengthening responsive governing institutions, and promoting democratic principles.
In the area of electoral assistance, one of UNDP’s key democratic governance pillars, UNDP has established a partnership with the European Commission, which has mobilised more than 650 million EURO (since 2004) for financial and technical support to transitional democracies and post conflict countries, via UNDP, in order to promote and contribute to the organisation of genuine and sustainable electoral processes. For this an EC-UNDP Joint Task Force (JTF) on Electoral Assistance was established to further strengthen and facilitate the already existing EC-UNDP partnership in the field of electoral assistance, and improve the overall efficiency and adherence of the projects to the common EC-UNDP strategic approach.
The JTF monitors and supports the partnership at global level, from early formulation missions to the end of the contractual obligations; it influences policy development in electoral assistance, including advocating adherence to UN and multilateral norms and standards; it better positions UNDP with the EC in the domain of electoral assistance and related areas; it encourages the professional development of EC and UNDP staff and improves knowledge of the institutional aspects of electoral assistance projects. Particular focus is placed on the training and dissemination of knowledge activities throughout the African region.
Against this background, the EC-UNDP Joint Task Force was requested to submit a concept paper for a potential project under the 10th EDF in the field of electoral assistance and in the broader area of democratic governance for the PALOP(African Countries of Portuguese Offical Language)/TL (Timor Leste). This proposal was accepted by the PALOP and Timor Leste and EC services during the 6th Meeting between the National Authorizing Officers (NAOs) of the PALOP and Timor Leste and the EC services of 6 May 2008 in Luanda and decision was made to finance the project throughout the “Governance Initiative” to be financed by the National Indicative Programme of PALOP/TL within the 10th EDF. The EC-UNDP Joint Task Force carried out the necessary identification and formulation activities leading to the signature of a Contribution Agreement between the EU Delegation and UNDP Country Office in Bissau on 30 March, 2010.
Funded solely by the EU to the tune of 6.1 million Euros, the Project in Support of the 2010-2012 Electoral Cycles in the PALOP and Timor Leste is implemented by UNDP Guinea Bissau through the direct execution modality (DEX).
The project targets the promotion of deeper consolidation of the democratic culture and institutions by providing electoral assistance as an ongoing and cyclical activity rather than being event driven at designated points in time. The activities focus on:
  • Support in the development of strategic and operational plans of the national electoral management bodies Support for the national EMBs in developing accurate budgets;
  • Support in examining synergies between the civil and voter registries in the partner countries;
  • Support for the national EMBs in developing accurate procurement plans;
  • Support in the provision of civic and voter education;
  • Support for the improvement of transmission and verification of election results;
  • Support for electoral dispute resolution mechanisms;
  • Provision of specific training courses, including relevant BRIDGE modules, following the conduct of a thorough BRIDGE needs assessment.
The project’s outputs and outcomes should be pursuit through a coordinated and coherent approach, putting in place activities that will respond as much as possible to shared needs and shortcomings but, simultaneously, resulting from the six beneficiary countries’ specificities regarding legal context and institutional framework, human and technical resources.
Project assurances [1] should ensure all essential activities to project’s implementation in the six beneficiary countries(compliance with UNDP rules and procedures, project set-up and general implementation) and Project support [2]should contribute to the implementation of activities and facilitate as much as possible the country coordination committees in the six countries. Coordination among these actors should therefore be at all moments promoted and carefully designed annual work plans (to be developed within the start-up project’s phase) should reflect the project’s approach and respond to the above mentioned challenges. The role of the Joint EC UNDP Task Force is expected to be crucial in supporting project management to ensure liaison among these actors, harmonize annual work plans and activities to be implemented, provide guidance in terms of EC-UNDP procedures and guidelines, reporting and visibility matters.

[1] Provided mainly by UNDP Country Office in Guinea Bissau (leading country), supported by Country Offices in the other PALOP and Timor Leste.
[2] Provided by the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance and UNDP country offices Operations’ units/staff in the six beneficiary countries.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of the Resident Representative of UNDP in Guinea Bissau, the incumbent will support the UNDP Country Office (CO) in Guinea Bissau, in coordination with the Joint EC UNDP Task Force/UNDP Brussels Office, to implement the project’s activities and ensure that project objectives are reached. The Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) will coordinate with UNDP CO in Guinea Bissau and liaise with the Joint Task Force/UNDP Brussels Office as per the role of the JTF as set out in the project document.
The CTA will be responsible for project implementation and achievement of project results. The CTA will head the Project Management Unit (PMU) and provide leadership and guidance to the PMU team. The incumbent will have the following specific responsibilities:
  • Exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementation, management, monitoring and coordination aspects of the project operations and personnel;
  • Ensure the efficient functioning of the project office;
  • Manage the activities of the project team, local consultants and support staff, as well as short-term international experts;
  • Recruit further short-term consultants as appropriate;
  • Be responsible, in coordination with the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force/UNDP Brussels Office, for the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents;
  • Ensure timely production and submission of all partial and/or progress reports by all members of the project team, contractors and project partners;
  • Liaise with the UNDP Country Office in Guinea Bissau (host country for the project), and other UNDP Country Offices in the PALOP and Timor Leste (with the approval of CO Guinea-Bissau); the Joint EC UNDP Task Force/UNDP Brussels Office (more specifically with the Senior Electoral Assistance Advisor/Coordinator of the JTF and the Electoral Assistance Specialist); the project beneficiary (electoral management bodies and National Authorisation Officers representatives in the PALOP and Timor Leste); the project’s senior supplier/donor (EU Delegation in Guinea-Bissau) and all other partners on all matters concerning the implementation of the project;
  • Support coordination of all electoral support activities through regular contacts and briefings with the donor, project support and assurance structures (UNDP country offices and the Joint EC UNDP Task Force – “JTF”);
  • Act as adviser, in coordination with the JTF senior electoral advisor and electoral assistance specialist, on electoral issues related to the project components for the Project Steering Committee (PSC) and its members;
  • Organize the PSC, project review and/or evaluation meetings;
  • Prepare background document, briefs and issues’ papers, progress reports for the PSC meetings and for donor reporting;
  • Follow-up on the implementation of PSC decisions and recommendations;
  • In collaboration with project support, initiate procurement of goods and services including preparation of technical specifications and ToRs;
  • Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of the project;
  • Supervise outsourced electoral research and dissemination of research findings;
  • Prepare project work plans and progress reports in collaboration with the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force Coordinator and Electoral Assistance Specialist;
  • When requested by UNDP Brussels, the CTA will also support the Joint EC UNDP Task Force/UNDP Brussels Office in its training and knowledge dissemination activities
The position of CTA is to specifically provide support to UNDP in the daily management of the project, as well as to provide advice to the project’s Steering Committee on the strategies to implement the project with success.
The CTA’s tasks will entail support to formulation, implementation issues, evaluations and lessons learned exercises. The lessons learned in this project will feed into the implementation of electoral assistance projects in other countries or regions and also to the BDP-managed Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support, the joint EC-UNDP trainings on Effective Electoral Assistance and to the ACE Electoral Practitioners’ Network.

Competencies
Professional:
  • Background and experience in electoral processes, especially voter registration, training of electoral officials and voter education;
  • Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of approaches, tools and methodologies related to planning, executing and monitoring the implementation of technical assistance projects.
Planning & Organization:
  • Excellent analytical and organizational skills required; ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities, report on work progress and deliver outputs in a punctual manner.
Coordination:
  • Ability to effectively interact and coordinate with donors and senior government officials.
Technological awareness:
  • Fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications, e.g. word processing, PowerPoint or equivalent, internal databases, Internet, etc.
  • Knowledge of information technology systems and applications in electoral management would be an asset.
Communication:
  • Strong communication (spoken and written) skills and ability to articulate ideas in a clear, concise style.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:
  • Advanced University Degree (Masters or equivalent) in Political Sciences, Law, International Relations or related field;
  • Post graduations, Specific study and publications in governance and electoral matters are an asset.
Experience:
  • 10 years relevant work experience, at least 7 of which involve implementation, at senior level, of electoral assistance activities;
  • Experience in planning and formulating election observation missions and/or electoral assistance projects for international organizations is an asset;
  • Experience in donor coordination, donor government relations and managing a multi-donor basket fund is an asset;
  • Experience in working with transnational and emerging democracies and post-conflict environments, particularly in the PALOP-TL, are an asset;
  • Computer proficiency, including working knowledge of MS Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Front Page, Adobe In-Design; web-based management systems;
  • Knowledge of UNDP electoral assistance procedures and best practice.
Language Requirements:
  • Fluency in both Portuguese and English required;
  • French is an asset.
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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.

Chief Technical Advisor, Project in Support of 2010-2012 Electoral Cycles in the PALOP and Timor Leste

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