Capacity Development Specialist (UNESP)

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP supports stabilization, state-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years, UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels. UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational context:

The UN Electoral Support Project (UNESP) is the international community’s programming vehicle to support the next elections in Afghanistan, including the parliamentary and district council elections announced by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) for 7 July 2018. The project has two overall objectives – 1) to build the capacity of the Afghan electoral institutions (the Independent Elections Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission) to implement elections in line with the national electoral legal framework and Afghanistan’s international commitments; 2) to allow a programming mechanism for the international community to partially finance the elections as per the request of the Government of Afghanistan. The project follows previous UN projects in support of the Afghan electoral process, most notably the Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT) projects, from 2006-2011 (ELECT I) and 2012-2015 (ELECT II), and the UNDP Project Initiation Plan that is in place since July 2015 – October 2017. The UNESP places the UN’s electoral support to Afghanistan directly under the political and supervisory oversight of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and reflects the growing sustainability of the Afghan electoral process, as evidenced by the Government of Afghanistan’s financial commitment to both electoral institutions, and the provision of significant in-kind support to the implementation of elections. The Project Board, under the overall political guidance of the UNAMA Deputy Special Representative for Political, will be co-chaired by UNAMA Deputy Special Representative for Political and the Chairpersons of the IEC and ECC or their delegates depending on the agenda item under discussion. It will be comprised of all key stakeholders to oversee and approve UNESP’s budget, annual working plans and policy in support of the Afghan electoral institutions. Project implementation support will be provided by UNDP Country Office, reporting, on fiduciary and operational matters, to the UNAMA Deputy Special Representative for Development/ UN Resident Coordinator/ UNDP Resident Representative through the UNDP Country Director.

Along with support to both electoral institutions, UNESP will also support Afghan civil society’s civic and voter education and observation efforts to enhance the quality and quantity of participation in the electoral process. Overall, the project will have three outputs: (i) administration of credible elections is facilitated by the meeting of key IEC structural and planning milestones; (ii) Credible electoral dispute resolution is provided by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) (iii) public outreach (along with support to civil society) to encourage citizen engagement in the electoral process. Mainstreaming of gender throughout the project is evident in key output indicators related to women’s participation in all three project outputs, reflecting the importance that UNESP places on increasing the position of women in Afghan electoral and political life. The project also aims at supporting the EMBs in strengthening integrity of the electoral process by enhancing accountability of responsible actors and supporting the implementation of electoral fraud mitigation mechanisms. Assisting the EMBs to implement measures to increase public confidence in election and democracy will be mainstreamed through the electoral assistance provided.

The UNESP will be implemented under Direct Implementation Modality (DIM). UNDP rules and regulations will govern the project implementation including, but not limited to; resource management, procurement, recruitment, audit and evaluation. IEC and ECC are the main partners of the project. The Project will be managed by a Deputy Chief Electoral Advisor/Project Manager (PM), reporting, on fiduciary and operational matters, to the UNDP Country Director, and substantively to the UN Chief Electoral Advisor. The Country Office will ensure that the project’s monitoring, reporting, procurement and recruitment functions are carried out fully in line with UNDP’s programming requirements, and, in this respect, the Project will develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to track project progress and results. The Deputy CEA/Project Manager through the project structure will ensure adherence to project implementation requirements, stakeholder coordination and timely project reporting, while the CEA will ensure effective donor coordination.

Organizational Context of the Post

Under the overall guidance of the Deputy Chief Electoral Advisor/Project Manager UNESP and supervision of the Senior Operations and Policy Advisor to IEC and Senior EDR Advisor to ECC and close coordination with the IEC and ECC, the Capacity Development Specialist will work closely with both EMB’s, and will be responsible for developing, coordinating and overseeing the overarching comprehensive capacity building program for both the Secretariat and the Commission of the IEC and ECC on all institutional capacity development matters. The Capacity Development Specialist will provide technical advice and support to the EMB’s Training and Capacity Development Department (TCBD) and has the responsibility in coordinating all training related activities at EMB’s HQ and provincial offices. The consultant will provide strategic direction for the development and consolidation of institutional capacity of both EMB’s

The Capacity Development Specialist will be responsible for the following:

Summary of key functions:

1.         Capacity Development for Institutional Reform of both EMB’s;

2.         Capacity Development for Institutional Sustainability;

3.         Support to Electoral Operations

1.Capacity Development for Institutional Reform of both EMB’s:

• Through thorough situation and risk analysis, support the EMB’s in developing/revamping a Strategic Plan, with clear baseline, target and meaningful indicators;

• Coordinate with all UNESP advisors to support developing relevant capacity building plans with respective IEC and ECC counterparts/departments to ensure that IEC and ECC can implement the strategic plan;
• Advise on strengthening and formalizing communication channels between the respective Commission and Secretariat with a view to enhancing the institutions overall strategic approach and coordination towards fulfilling its mandate (may include demarcating roles and responsibilities);
• With a view to enhancing electoral integrity and rebuilding public confidence, support in the development and rolling out of awareness and capacity building initiatives to instill ethical and institutional values, promote transparency and support gender mainstreaming;

2.Capacity Development for Institutional Sustainability:

• Support the EMB’s in conducting a comprehensive institutional capacity assessment;
• Consolidate study findings to identify specific areas in which the IEC and ECC will benefit from capacity development, including both: a) improvement of specific technical skills; and b) strengthening understanding of democratic values and professional ethics;
• Based on the capacity assessment and analysis develop an overarching capacity building plan for the EMB’s encompassing both the Commission and the Secretariat and fully in line with the respective EMB strategic plan and goals;
• Design curricula to guide institution-wide capacity development;
• Advise IEC and ECC management in devising ways to monitor capacity development, to recognize areas in which progress is most substantive; and to identify which areas require greater attention;
• In close collaboration with UNESP advisors and their respective counterparts develop and roll out department specific capacity strengthening plans - adopting innovative approaches to accommodate capacity development needs where necessary;
• In close collaboration of IEC and ECC department heads and UNESP advisors develop a monitoring framework for the capacity development plans;
• In collaboration with IEC and ECC HR units, incorporate learning and capacity as part of the respective commission staff TOR’s, induction and bi-annual / annual performance assessments.

3.Support to Electoral Operations:

• Advise and support the EMB’s on the technical designing and implementing of a long term strategic capacity development and training plan for the period 2018-2020 that identifies the relevant areas of capacity development support (functions/staff) to increase one’s knowledge and professionalism;
• Advise and support the IEC/ECC to enhance capacity in the areas of electoral operations including planning, training, procedures, design of operational forms, regulations, specifications and review of other relevant operational documents
• Support the IEC/ECC in developing, maintaining, updating and mainstreaming capacity strengthening initiatives necessary for all types of elections within their respective mandate: presidential, provincial, parliamentary, district council etc.;
• Advise, guide and support the EMB’s in the design, budgeting, managing and implementation / streamlining cascade trainings for the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections. The cascade training to encompass training of up to 100,000 poll workers that will serve approx. 7,000 polling centers’ in Afghanistan;
• Guide and assist on training needs of female IEC staff and female poll workers taking into consideration domestic tradition and culture;
• Advise on preparing a Training Needs Assessment; Instructional Materials Design & Curriculum Development; Training Implementation & Management (e.g., Training of Trainers / TOT, cascade training, mass orientation and / 
• or advocacy training); Training Monitoring and Evaluation and maintaining a Training Management Information System for future elections;
• Support the IEC and ECC in the establishment of a knowledge resource database, including: learning modules, identifying relevant internal and external experts, positioned to conduct training workshops or other learning events; academic articles, reports and studies related to electoral issues (including related issues, such as corruption/fraud mitigation, participation/inclusivity, societal and behavioral change);
• Support the IEC and ECC in enhancing institutional knowledge management through helping consolidate information in the database pertaining to each electoral period;
• Advise the EMB’s to undertake a proactive role in designing and supporting the lessons learnt process following each electoral period or after key milestones within an electoral process (such as after VR, candidate nomination etc.);
• In collaboration with the EMB’s and UNESP advisors suggest corrective actions or measures against identified lessons learnt processes;
• Consolidate and disseminate lessons learnt reports;
• Initiate in-depth studies and analysis of critical election and election-related issues, with a view to inform stakeholders, better articulate challenges and achievements.
• Coordinate with UN agencies and other international agencies/bodies in the development, organization and implementation of training courses for electoral staff that can be introduced to IEC and ECC in their roles;
• Provide reports to IEC / ECC and UNESP Management on training and capacity development activities and similar operational, budgetary and / or administrative issues and concerns.

The Capacity Development Specialist will also provide support and advice to the other UNEST technical advisors and consultants to ensure the input of advisors, including planning and assessment, respects and integrates equal opportunity and gender equity policy and practice.

Impact of Results

The key results have an impact on the overall UNESP efficiency in providing advisory services and success in supporting gender-equitable strategy development; developing IEC and ECC staff capacity development and institutional consolidation; providing accurate, thoroughly researched and documented electoral advice; and ensuring client satisfaction and to enhance UNESP credibility in contributing to gender and public outreach equitable conditions for the conducting of elections.

Primary Competencies:

Gender Issues and Analysis

Knowledge of gender issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, including analysis of projects from a gender perspective

Gender and Institutional Development

Knowledge of systems for gender mainstreaming and capacity development and interagency collaboration and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations

Civic Engagement

Knowledge of frameworks and dialogue processes for effective and transparent engagement of civil society, women’s and youth groups, indigenous peoples and other excluded groups   in national development and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations

Inclusive Political Processes

Knowledge of inclusive political processes standards and principles and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations

Secondary Competencies:

Knowledge Management

Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge

Team building

Ability to work effectively with diverse groups of professionals towards common goals

Communication

Ability to effectively communicate intensions and requirements to internal and external stakeholders

Education:

• Advanced University Degree (Masters or equivalent) in Social Sciences, Development, Political Sciences, Management, Public Administration, Human Resource Development, Organizational Development, Law or other related fields, or Bachelor’s Degree in relevant fields combined with demonstrated professional work experience and understanding of relevant functions may be considered in lieu of advanced university degree, preferably combined with credited courses or certifications from relevant professional bodies.

Experience: 

• Master’s degree minimum 7 years of relevant work experience, and with bachelor’s degree minimum 10 years of progressive work experience at professional level in training / development project development and management in the institutional capacity building of government institutions including EMBs.
• Knowledge of electoral assistance;
• Capacity to work under pressure, manage stress and adapt to rapidly evolving situations;
• Experience working in challenging, post-conflict and multi-ethnic environments;
• Sound time management and organizational skills with the ability to handle multiple tasks;
• Proven team building and leadership skills;
• Team player, self-motivated and initiative taking, dedicated, creative, resourceful, flexible, energetic with sound judgment;
• Previous work experience in Afghanistan is an asset; including knowledge of Afghanistan’s culture, tradition and Islamic context certainly an advantage;
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment with sound understanding and capability to empower and develop the capacity of national counterparts;
• Knowledge of cultural and traditional values and norms within an Islamic country context is advantageous;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and excellent command of oral and written English;
• Advanced computer skills and strong knowledge of various software including Excel, Power-Point and Word.

Important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders)

Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment. 

UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Workforce diversity

UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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