Senior Advisor in Public Policy, Baghdad, Iraq

Project/Proposal Summary:
MSI is implementing the Iraq Administrative Reform Project - Tarabot. The Tarabot project works to improve the functions of the Government of Iraq’s public institutions in order to improve services delivery processes through better governance and resource management approaches. It is scheduled to run through 2015. The National Policy Management (NPM) component is responsible for building policy design, implementation and analysis capacity in the highest national executive offices and in key ministries and provinces. A critical element is the establishment of an inclusive national policy development process that systematically consults with stakeholder entities representing business, academia, and social issues.

Position Summary: The Senior Advisor in public policy will be responsible for strengthening and developing the administration and management of the new Office of Policy Development (OPD) of the Prime Minister; will build the capacity of the staff of OPD in policy making process; will provide hands-on technical assistance on policy issues to advisors of OPD who are working on social, political and economic problems; will provide technical training in policy development to the advisors of the President, and ministries; will inform and provide technical assistance in policy making to provincial councils; and will educate the private sector, NGOs, universities, think tanks and media outlets about their role in the process of policy development. The Senior Advisor will report to the Deputy Chief of Party of National Policy Management, her/his supervisor.

This is a full time position based in Baghdad, Iraq.

Responsibilities: • Deliver workshops in Arabic on public policy development process to advisors of the President, Prime Minister, ministries, Parliament, and provincial councils; • Provide technical assistance on drafting policy papers on policy issues developed by the offices of the President, Prime Minister, ministries, and provincial councils; • Provide technical training in Arabic in the various areas of applied policy; • Assist in setting up new policy offices in provinces, and Parliament; • Provide capacity building in policy development to the staff of the new policy offices in Parliament, provincial councils, and selected ministries; • Develop Strategic Plan for new policy offices in provinces, Parliament and in new central ministries; • Develop SOPs for the new policy offices in provinces, Parliament and selected ministries; • Review and update the SOPs and Strategic Plan of the offices of the President and Prime Minister; • Liaise with the advisor of policy communication and outreach; • Liaise with the advisor of policy implementation, monitoring and evaluation; • Liaise with the advisors working on regulatory reform; • Liaise with the other components of the Tarabot project; • Strengthen the management and administration of all policy units; • Provide guidance and assistance on the websites of the Prime Minister’s Office of Policy Development, the President’s Bureau of Public Policy, and the policy units in ministries; • Deliver workshops in Arabic on the styles and format of writing policy papers, policy memoranda, policy opinion paper, and policy letters; • Prepares reports (weekly and monthly) describing her/his activities; • Any other tasks requested by the Deputy Chief of Party of National Policy Management.

Qualifications: • Must hold a doctoral degree in public policy, public administration, political science, social sciences, government affairs, economics or similar, or a law degree; • Must have published in the area of public policy, or worked as a policy advisor at national or subnational levels of government; • Must have expertise in at least one area of public policy – economic, social, legislative, environmental, health, energy, agricultural, or other; • Advanced knowledge of Arabic language is required, as is the ability to deliver workshops and training in Arabic; • Familiarity with Iraq is advantageous, as is prior work experience with USAID; • Minimum of 7 years work experience.

Only candidates who have been selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please.

How to apply:

To apply, please visit our website: www.msiworldwide.com.