International Consultant for Strategic Assessment of UNDP Regional Electoral Programming

UNDP provides support to countries to develop electoral laws, processes and institutions that strengthen inclusive participation and professional electoral administration. Elections are about much more than what happens on election day. Support includes the conceptual and programming guidance to the UN and national stakeholders alike in using an electoral cycle approach that grounds electoral administration and assistance in democratic governance. Global planning is led by BDP/DGG in close coordination with the Department of Political Affairs’ Electoral Assistance Division (EAD). In July 2009, UNDP launched the Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support (GPECS). The overall goal to which the GPECS contributes is that of deepening democracy and accelerating human development. In contributing to this larger and longer-term goal, the GPECS will focus on the intermediate UNDP Strategic Plan outcome of “electoral laws, processes and institutions strengthen inclusive participation and professional electoral administration.” The GPECS seeks to achieve the outcome by: Providing leadership, advocacy and capacity development in the field of electoral cycle support at the global level; Supporting South-South cooperation and promoting regional knowledge development, exchanges and capacity; Supporting electoral cycle development and lessons learned in key countries at the national level; Fostering inclusive participation and women’s empowerment. The GPECS Regional Component for Europe and CIS will focus on three key areas of policy and programmatic intervention: Capacity development of electoral management bodies (EMBs) and national and regional stakeholders to conduct credible, sustainable, free and fair elections; Promoting regional learning and exchange between EMBs and regional stakeholders on topics of regional interest; Strengthening participation of women and marginalized groups in electoral processes. Out of the above three interventions, in order to initiate the GPECS Regional Component 1, UNDP requires a service of an international consultant to conduct a Strategic Assessment of UNDP regional programming in the area of electoral assistance. This will include distilling feedbacks from a workshop with electoral stakeholders, mapping of UNDP’s interventions in the region, and identification of areas of collaboration between UNDP regional democratic governance programming and electoral support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Electoral Policy Specialist DGG/BDP and Democratic Governance Practice Leader in the UNDP Bratislava Regional Center (BRC), the incumbent will engage with the following tasks: Mapping of electoral assistance by the UNDP BRC and UNDP Country Offices in the region by using the electoral cycle approach as organizational tool; Assessment of UNDP Country Offices’ capacity gaps and capacity development needs to deliver effective electoral assistance to national counterparts; Identification of areas of collaboration between ongoing UNPD regional democratic governance programming and electoral support; Identify key regional electoral assistance providers, network and partners. This strategic assessment will fine tune future activities of the GPECS Regional Component 1, which includes: Overall coordination of GPECS regional componen. Provision of electoral advisory services to UNDP Country Offices. Regional BRIDGE workshops and advice for EMB and regional stakeholders. The consultant is expected to participate in the workshop of electoral stakeholders in the region which will take place in the second quarter of 2011. The workshop is expected to include representatives from UNDP Country Offices, Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) and other regional electoral stakeholders and partners. The objective of the meeting will be to identify key regional lessons, challenges and opportunities for future UNDP regional programming in the area of electoral assistance. Based on above mentioned responsibilities, the consultant is required to produce the following outputs: Regional workshop report with lessons, recommendations, and capacity development needs; Strategic Assessment Report, which should include: Mapping of UNDP electoral assistance in the region; Capacity gaps and capacity development needs of UNDP country offices in the region; Mapping of key regional stakeholders and partners in the area in the region- Recommendation I and identification of areas of collaborative electoral assistance in the region, specifying UNDP regional niche in the area of electoral support; synergy with other UNDP programming in the region; strategic partnerships and collaboration in the region.

Competencies

Good knowledge of and experience working in the electoral support and democratic governance Experience in conducting assessments in the area of electoral assistance and/or institutional reform. Ability to interpret results and provide practical recommendations. Knowledge of and / or experience in the region of Europe and CIS an asset. Excellent analytical skills. Communication and interpersonal skills required for collaboration with UNDP BRC and HQ as well as with various electoral stakeholders. Ability to prioritize works and produce the required outputs in given timeline.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master's Degree in Development Studies, Political Science or relevant field. Experience: Minimum 5 years experience in the area of electoral assistance, democratic governance, and/or related field. Ability to interact and relate with people at all levels. Demonstrated capacity and substantial experience in drafting policy and strategy documents. Language Requirements: Proficient in written and spoken English and Russian required. Application Submission Process: Please submit the following to demonstrate your interest and qualifications: Proposal Provide a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (2 pages or less) 2. Price proposal (All inclusive monthly fee) - Interested individuals are kindly requested to submit an all inclusive consultancy fee which may be made up as follows: Daily fees Applicable cost of travel from home to duty station – most direct economical route Living costs 3. Personal CV and/or P11 Interested individuals must submit their applications online through UNDP Online Recruitment System. Correspondence (either in hard or soft format) will not be considered until the advance stage of the selection process. Applicants are encouraged to fill and sign a P11 Form and submit it on the online application, although regular CVs are also acceptable. The P11 Form can be obtained at http://sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc 4. How to Submit Application - To submit your application online, please follow the steps below: Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11). Merge your P11 and/or Personal CV, Proposals and other relevant documents into a single file. Click on the Job Title. Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and click “Submit Application”. Upload your application. You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system. 5. Application Evaluation Process: Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the Cumulative Analysis methodology [weighted scoring method], where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Technical Criteria weight; [70%] Financial Criteria weight; [30%] The following criteria will be used in Technical Evaluation. Demonstrates proven achievements in the area of electoral assistance and/or democratic governance Proven ability and experience to provide strategic analysis and inputs related to electoral assistance Knowledge and understanding of electoral cycle approach and electoral capacity development tools Quality of approach and methodology submitted to highlight how the expected outputs are going to be delivered Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 70% of the obtainable points of 100 points in technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. UNDP adheres to a fair and transparent selection process that takes into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their price proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores. UNDP retains the right to contact references directly. Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

International Consultant for Strategic Assessment of UNDP Regional Electoral Programming