The Jordanian Independent Election Commission (IEC) was established by law in March 2012. The Commission is steered by a Board of Commissioners which consists of 5 members. The Board was appointed in May 2012 and the Commission was staffed by June 2012. The IEC is mandated to oversee and manage parliamentary elections and to oversee any other elections adopted by the Cabinet. It has managed the recent Parliamentary Elections to elect the 17th parliament which took place on 23 January 2013. (for further information on the IEC visit the following website: www.entikhabat.jo)
UNDP’s programme to support the Electoral Cycle in Jordan, primarily funded by the European Union, consists of technical and material electoral assistance. The programme is designed to build upon the initial work of the project on “Strengthening Electoral Processes” in Jordan and enhance and further consolidate the institutional and professional capacities of the newly-established Independent Elections Commission (IEC). The objective is to assist the IEC to deliver its mandated functions of conducting fair, credible and transparent elections –and further consolidate itself as a permanent, professional, credible and independent institution of governance, with the benefits of its work enjoyed equally by men and women.
One of the main activities for this project is supporting the preliminary steps of the IEC’s institution building, so that by the project’s conclusion, the IEC will be a strong and independent institution fully capable of implementing its mandate in line with Jordan’s international electoral commitments and the relevant national legislation (including the IEC Law and the elections law). In order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the IEC at the central and decentralized levels, the project will assist the IEC to develop and implement an Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment.
This assessment is intended to identify the current capacities, strengths and capacity gaps, and recommend strategies to strengthen the IEC as a whole, help IEC identify and priorities the required capacity development support and to make the internal processes and procedures of the IEC more efficient and more effective to be able to better comply with international standards of free fair and transparent elections. It is expected to be an internal self-assessment directed and supported by the advisor.
Accordingly, UNDP is seeking to recruit an Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment and Development Advisor for 6 months (May to October 2013) to support specific activities in the project as indicated below.
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Duties and Responsibilities
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The Advisor will work directly with a National Advisor and designated departments at the IEC. Contract and Project Management will be provided by UNDP. The Team of Advisors will therefor report directly to Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) with a copy to the IEC. While coordinating with the IEC on all inputs and outputs is required.
The assessment should include but not limited to:
- Sustainability of the IEC as an Electoral Management Body (EMB), it includes a review of all parts of the legal and policy framework, the laws dealing directly with electoral processes and other laws related to its institutional framework and administrative polices.
- The organizational and operational capacity of IEC including governance, structure, policy making and implementation, roles and responsibilities, positions and job description, staff performance, process and procedures, communications , and authority responsibility.
- Overall management capacity, financial accountability, human resources management reporting and information and communication technology skills of IEC staff.
- The capacity of IEC technical election planning and administration (electoral management system which include voter registration, registration of candidates, electoral logistics, counting of votes and announcement of results, oversight of campaign financing and voter education.
- The capacity of the IEC to mobilize resources and engage in partnerships.
- The capacity of the IEC to engage with political parties, women, civil society and youth in all its activities, ensuring their participation in the electoral process. This will include an assessment of the capacity to reach out and engage with marginalized segments of the population ensuring their participation.
Below are the activities to be undertaken by the Advisor:
- Review relevant documents covering the legal and organizational framework of the IEC including the IEC reports and observer groups’ reports.
- Develop a concept note to guide the institutional capacity needs assessment including a detailed action plan with a timeframe.
- Develop performance indicators and conduct the assessment accordingly including conducting separate focus group discussions with commissioners, directors and with staff and interviewing external stakeholders to validate or challenge perceptions about current capacities and capacity needs and analyze findings and recommend capacity development strategies.
Deliverables/Output Activity Location Estimated Target Date
- A concept note that identifies the guidelines of the assessment including the methodology, assessment framework, core issues and expected costs. 1. Prepare the concept note and present it to UNDP Country Office and IEC for comments.
- Reflect the IEC comments in the concept note. In-country & Home based 15 May 2013
- An action plan for the implementation of the assessment is developed identifying main activities and timeframe.
- Consulting with the National Advisor towards the drafting of the action plan.
- Submitting the action plan to the IEC Board and SG for endorsement.
- Providing a brief of the Assessment to the IEC staff. In-country & Home based 30 May 2013
- An initial report including an analysis of each of the above mentioned areas against the performance indicators and the results of the assessment.
- Review IEC legal framework including internal regulations; IEC structure and electoral knowledge of staff; observer group reports; available analytical articles and web sources related to the role of the IEC in previous elections.
- Focus group discussions with commissioners, directors and staff.
- Meeting with external stakeholders.
- Preparing the report and submitting it to the IEC.
- Any other activities suggested in the concept note. In-country & Home-based 30 June 2013
- A report that includes recommended capacity development action plan developed and submitted to the IEC. Consultations with the National Advisor and the CTA. In-country 15 July 2013
- A report that identifies of individual competencies and capacity development needs of IEC staff. Consultations with the National Advisor and the CTA. In-country 30 July 2013
- Draft final report including a follow-up strategy to evaluate implementation developed and presented to the IEC and the CTA for review. Group and individual discussions with IEC commissioners, directors and staff to present findings and recommendations and receiving feedback to be reflected in the final report. In-country & Home-based 30 August 2013
- Final report and follow-up strategy submitted and endorsed. In- Country 10 October 2013
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Competencies
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Corporate Competencies:
- Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
- Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
- Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
- Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment
Functional Competencies:
- A clearly demonstrated knowledge of UNDP’s capacity development/assessment approach;
- Familiarity with UNDP’s support to electoral cycle;
- Proven experience in elections reform and capacity need assessment;
- Strong communication skills, and presentation skills;
- Demonstrated research and analytical skills.
- Strong command of English both written and spoken.
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Required Skills and Experience
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Education:
- Advanced university degree in development studies, political sciences, law or related field is required.
Experience:
- At least 10 years of progressive professional experience in institutional reform and development, capacity development programmes, drafting national plans, strategies, action plans and analytical reports.
- Proven experience in working directly with Electoral Management Bodies and providing technical advice to counterparts.
- Good understanding of factors contributing to/limiting government institutional capacity.
- Professional experience in human resources management.
- Experience in organizational development processes and instruments.
- Familiarity with international assessment toolkits.
- Experience in the region, and particular related to Jordan, would be an asset.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in spoken and written English.
- Working knowledge of Arabic is an asset.
Fund code: 30079
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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.
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