PROGRAMME MANAGER EAST AFRICAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY - EALA ARUSHA

PROGRAMME MANAGER

EAST AFRICAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY - EALA

ARUSHA, TANZANIA

FIXED TERM ROLE, CONTRACT FOR JANUARY – SEPTEMBER 2012

COMPETITIVE SALARY

The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is the UK’s democracy-building foundation. WFD was set up in 1992 as an independent public body sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, specialising in parliamentary strengthening and political party development. The Foundation is uniquely placed to draw directly on the expertise and involvement of the Westminster political parties and as such, works on a party-to-party and cross-party basis to develop the capacity of political parties and politicians to operate effectively in pluralistic and non-violent democracies. The Foundation’s parliamentary strengthening work focuses on improving governance through developing sustainable capacity among parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and parliamentary structures to ensure transparency and accountability. For more information, please visit www.wfd.org


The East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) is the independent, legislative arm of the East Africa Community (EAC) and had its first sitting in 2001. It is based in Arusha, Tanzania, and is composed of nine elected Members from each of the partner states of the EAC: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The EAC was established in 2000 and has its objective to strengthen cooperation and integration amongst partner countries. EALA has oversight functions of all EAC organs as well as approving the budget of the Community (please refer to www.eala.org for further information). As a move to strengthen its internal capacity, EALA set up the East African Parliamentary Institute (EAPI) to provide targeted training to staff, Members and interested stakeholders, amongst others.

The Foundation has been cooperating with EALA since 2009 and is now seeking to further develop the partnership by hiring a dedicated Programme Manager in Arusha. The post is initially for 9 months, but there is possibility (dependent on funding) for an extension. This exciting new post will liaise closely with existing WFD programmes in the region (Kenya and Uganda). The post holder will be expected to work closely with EALA as it manages the transition to the Third Assembly in mid-2012. This is a new post but is anticipated that travel within the region, commensurate with the international remit of EALA, will be required.

The Foundation is looking for a Programme Manager EALA to be appointed on a consultancy basis (fixed term contract for services for 9 months). The main purpose of this role is:

 The planning, starting-up and managing of WFD’s parliamentary strengthening programme in EALA and the East African Parliamentary Institute (EAPI)

• The Programme Manager will have responsibility for organising visits for parliamentary staff and Members, and for arranging tailored staff courses and parliamentary fora in collaboration with EALA

• Lead on policy on policy advice relating to EALA and on new policy issues and priorities for the programme

• Responsible for forecasting and financial management responsible for keeping track of finances, expenditure and cash flows

• Maintain and develop relationships with programme stakeholders inside and outside EALA, and the East African Community (EAC)

The successful candidate will have/be:

• Educated to Masters Degree level in a relevant discipline such as political science or international relations

• Thorough knowledge of the political environment and institutions in the EAC combined with an understanding of the challenges of democracy building in the region
• A sound understanding of the Westminster parliamentary and political systems

• At least five years first-hand experience of designing and implementing programmes, including field management experience in parliamentary strengthening or related democracy development work. Relevant specialised knowledge and experience in parliamentary strengthening and political party development

• Excellent English written and oral communications skills necessary to produce proposals and reports and to present them to WFD’s Board and funders, to donors, and to local partners and other stakeholders as required; ability to communicate effectively in at least one other EAC language and French is highly desirable

The Foundation is a small but growing organisation in a fast changing environment. The successful candidate will be flexible and prepared to contribute to the wider development of our work. The appointment will be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

A job description, application form and application guidance can be obtained on our website www.wfd.org/recruitment .

The deadline for receiving applications is January 18, 2011. Please note that due to limited resources it will not be able to respond to all applicants – if you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been short-listed for interview.

Please send the application form to recruitment@wfd.org

Please note this statement is for information only and does not form part of a contract.