District Facilitator - Efficient and Accountable Local Governance (EALG) (8 Posts)

Dhaka

Organization: UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Location: Dhaka
Grade: Consultancy - SB-3 (SC6/SC7), Service Contract, Local Contractors Agreement
Occupational Groups:
- International Relations
- Democratic Governance
- Governance and Peacebuilding
Closing Date: Closed

Background

Strengthening local governance has been a key focus of not only the government of Bangladesh, but also different donor agencies. Considering the importance of the issue, UNDP has been working to strengthen the local governance system in Bangladesh for more than a decade. UNDP lead support projects to the LGIs have played an important role in reforming the Union Parishad (UP) and Upazila Parishad (UZP) tier of government. Since the Upazila Governance Project (UZGP) and Union Parishad Governance Projects (UPGP) are going to phased out, UNDP in collaboration with SDC and DANIDA is planning to support UZP and UP through one project entitled Efficient and Accountable Local Governance (EALG)that will have three components, including Inclusive and Accountable Upazila Parishad (IAUZP: Component-1) and Sustainable, Democratic Union Parishad (SDUP: Component-2) and Policy for Effective Local Governance (PELG: Component-3). All three components of the project will have policy output to provide space for support to the overall devolution process.

Duties and Responsibilities

The District Facilitator will be deployed at district level out of 8 working districts under 08 administrative divisions of Bangladesh and work with District administration keeping attached to the respective DDLG. S/he will work under the overall guidance and supervision of report to the Project Coordinator (PC). S/he will also work in close coordination with Capacity Development and Gender Officer and M&E-MIS Officer, maintain liaison with other project team members and other relevant stakeholders as a district level focal person for EALG Project. His/ her role will be very much to “facilitate’ the activities related to field level programme implementation, capacity development, advocacy, monitoring and ensure quality of project activities and awareness raising activities. S/he will maintain required coordination with government counterparts and Upazila Parishad and Union Parishad functionaries within her/ his assigned district.

Implement project activities following the Annual Work Plan (AWP) and introduce and explain the major innovations at local level.
Support to deepening local democracy and strengthen the democratic accountability of Upazila Parishad and Union Parishad.
Work with LGD, DDLG, coordinating with Deputy Commissioner, the UNOs, and other key District and Upazila personnel in planning and implementation of EALG activities;
Support to harmonize horizontal and vertical functions of services delivery by Upazila level officials and UZPs;
Support to LGD (MIE wing) and DDLG (District level) for backstopping and monitoring of local government (UZP and UP)
Regular travel to all Upazilas and UPs in the District and communication of EALG strategies and activities to LGIs;
Monitoring the activities and their effectiveness and impact and reporting back to the NPD / DNPD/ Focal Person through the Project Coordinator;
Organize periodic exchange meetings between Upazilas and government staff in the District.
Guide UP chairs, Upazila Chairs and Vice-Chairs in organizing the open budget meetings, participatory planning meetings and other meetings relevant to EALG;
Participate in EALG annual and periodic work-planning exercises;

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Treats all people fairly without favouritism
Have positive gender balance attitude

Functional Competencies:

Excellent inter-personal, training, and communications skills;
Networking skills
Have working IT skills ( Ms word, Power point, excel)
Have strong training & facilitation skills.
Have a proven track record of being able to work in a team;

Knowledge Management and Learning

Sound knowledge of rural local government in Bangladesh
Knowledge on planning and budgeting;
Excellent communication skills (written and oral): Sensitivity to and responsiveness to all partners, Respectful and helpful relations with Divisional, District & Upazila level officials and project staff.
Ability to provide backstopping support to Upazila and Union Parishads
Strong IT skills
Ability to lead implementation of new systems (business side), and affect staff behavioural/ attitudinal change

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline of Social Sciences.

Experience:

At least 5 years of extensive experience in development activities; of working with rural institutions, Local Government Institutions (LGIs), NGOs in Bangladesh
Practical experience working on thematic issues such as local government, women empowerment, advocacy and awareness raising, capacity development, community engagement and other relevant areas is mandatory;
Experience on project management and implementation, coordination with the local administration, local government representatives, partnership and communication skills with various stakeholders is essential;
Technical skills on MS office (e.g. both Bangla and English typing) and networking is essential;
Good communication skills and effectively maintain liaison and coordination with the relevant stakeholder is required;
Capable and agreed to drive motorcycle and must have valid driving license for motor cycle/ light vehicle.
Technical skills on project monitoring, reporting and analysis and documenting of the project output in field context is desirable;
Experience in working with UNDP or any UN agencies in programme implementation would be an advantage;
Experience in working with similar responsibilities in district/ division level would be an advantage;