Context

 The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to promoting sustainable democracy worldwide. Its mission is to strengthen democratic institutions and processes. The Institute serves as a catalyst for democracy building by offering global comparative knowledge, resources, tools and policy proposals, and by supporting democratic reforms in response to specific national requests. Its areas of work encompass democracy assessment and strategic foresight, electoral processes, constitutional governance and rule of law, political participation and representation, including parliamentary strengthening and money in politics, as well as democratic resilience and the intersection of democracy with gender and inclusion, climate change, technology, including AI, and security.

Global Programmes implements International IDEA’s institutional areas of work and develops global comparative knowledge, approaches and tools to support democratic institutions and processes. It works closely with Regional and Country Programmes to support the application of global knowledge and expertise in different contexts. Parliamentary strengthening is a core component of International IDEA’s work on political participation and representation. Through partnerships with parliaments, parliamentary networks, practitioners and other stakeholders, the Institute seeks to strengthen parliamentary capacity and independence while promoting more effective, representative and accountable parliamentary institutions. Its flagship parliamentary strengthening portfolio, Inter Pares, funded by the European Union, supports these efforts by working with parliaments around the world to strengthen their capacity and independence.

The Principal Adviser, Parliamentary Strengthening serves as International IDEA’s most senior expert in this field, providing intellectual leadership, setting the strategic direction and safeguarding the quality of the organisation’s parliamentary strengthening work. The role serves as the principal point of contact for Regional Programmes, partners and donors, and identifies strategic opportunities for engagement, including at the intersection of parliamentary strengthening and International IDEA’s broader thematic areas.

Duties and Responsibilities

  1. Intellectual leadership for Inter Pares. Provides expert substantive guidance for the Inter Pares portfolio as its senior adviser, keeping the work substantively strong and coherent;

  2. New opportunities and partnerships. Identifies and develops new opportunities for International IDEA to engage meaningfully on parliamentary strengthening, including where it connects with the organization's other areas of work, such as elections, political finance, gender equality, constitution building, climate change and democratic resilience; cultivates strategic partnerships and positions International IDEA to secure new funding and programme opportunities;

  3. Resource mobilization and donor engagement. Leads and supports resource mobilization efforts by identifying funding opportunities, engaging with existing and prospective donors, and contributing to fundraising strategies that advance parliamentary strengthening priorities;

  4. Portfolio development. Sets and safeguards the quality standard for parliamentary strengthening work across GP. Provides substantive guidance in the design and development of new project proposals;

  5. Support to regions. Supports International IDEA's regional and country teams with expertise on parliamentary strengthening, so their work is well-grounded and consistent;

  6. Partner network. Maintains and strengthens International IDEA's network of parliamentary partners, practitioners, and expert institutions;

  7. Contribution to collective leadership. Contributes to shared decisions and direction across International IDEA’s Global Programmes as a member of the Global Programmes Leadership Team;

General Profile

  •  A recognised expert in parliamentary strengthening, with a strong professional reputation, publications, and standing in relevant expert networks;

  • Able to set the direction and safeguard the quality of complex, multi-country work, and to guide the teams that deliver it without directly managing them;

  • A credible, trusted representative of the organization with donors and partners, and in public and policy settings, with a strong understanding of the priorities, structures and ways of working of the European Union as the programme's principal donor;

  • Excellent communicator - in writing and in person - able to engage effectively with a wide range of institutional audiences and to build and sustain collaborative relationships across organizational boundaries;

  • Strong strategic judgement, with the ability to spot and develop new opportunities and partnerships, and to act on them proactively;

  • Acts in accordance with International IDEA’ s core values; Respect, Integrity and Professionalism;

  • Integrates gender equality, diversity, and social inclusion (GEDSI) considerations into all tasks and activities, in alignment with the Institute’s Core Values and commitment to the GEDSI policy.

  • Willing to travel, approximately 25% of the time

Reporting line

  • Director, Global Programmes 

Education and Experience

  • Advanced university degree in political science, international relations, law, development studies, or a related field;

  • A minimum 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in democracy support, governance, political participation and representation, parliamentary strengthening, or a closely related field, including substantial experience working on parliamentary development and democratic institutions;

  • Demonstrated experience providing senior-level substantive advice and technical expertise on parliamentary strengthening, democratic governance, political representation, or related areas, preferably in an international or multi-country context;

  • Proven experience cultivating and managing relationships with bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, development partners, parliamentary institutions and other key stakeholders;

  • Demonstrated experience in the design, development and implementation of complex programmes or projects, including experience working across countries, regions and institutional contexts;

  • Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across organizational units and thematic areas, including providing advice and expertise to Regional and Country Programmes and identifying connections between parliamentary strengthening and other areas of democratic governance;

  • Excellent command of English; knowledge of another International IDEA working language (French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese or Russian) is an asset.

Terms of Contract:

  • International Post

  • Fixed term appointment for two (2) years.

  • Remuneration - EUR 7 258 NET per month + benefits

Applying for this position:

  • Applications should be submitted no later than 23:59 (CET) 18 October 2026.

  • Please note that all applications must be made in English.

Selection Process:

  • Evaluation of qualified candidates will include an assessment and up to two (2) interviews.

  • Candidates selected to proceed to the next stage of the process will be contacted once all applications have been carefully reviewed.

  • All candidates will be notified of the status of their application via email once the process has been finalized

Use of AI in Recruitment
International IDEA places strong emphasis on human input in recruitment. Candidates must disclose any use of AI tools. All application materials, written assessments, and interview responses (as applicable) must be entirely human-generated and reflect the candidate’s own knowledge, skills, and experience. The use of AI to generate content or misrepresent qualifications is not permitted. AI‑powered assistive technologies (such as screen readers or speech‑to‑text tools) may be used for accessibility purposes to ensure equal access to the recruitment process

International IDEA is an equal opportunity employer which seeks to further diversify its staff in terms of gender, culture and nationality

At Impactpool we do our best to provide you the most accurate info, but closing dates may be wrong on our site. Please check on the recruiting organization's page for the exact info. Candidates are responsible for complying with deadlines and are encouraged to submit applications well ahead.
Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.