Constitutional Development Advisor-South Sudan

Constitutional Development Advisor-South Sudan

Location: South Sudan, Juba Division: Program Management Status: International Full Time Position Number: 13:138

Project Description:

IFES is an international, nonprofit organization that supports the building of democratic societies. IFES provides targeted technical assistance to strengthen transitional democracies. Founded in 1987 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, IFES has developed and implemented comprehensive, collaborative democracy solutions in more than 120 countries. Since gaining independence in July 2011, South Sudan has struggled with the challenges of finalizing certain elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the self-imposed suspension of petroleum extraction, and establishing a number of sound democratic pillars, among others. IFES is currently responding to USAID’s Request for Application entitled “Inclusive Political Processes in South Sudan”. The purpose of this RFA is to support two key political processes: nationwide elections in 2015 (state / legislative / executive levels) and to build and empower an inclusive and participatory process for the development of South Sudan’s permanent constitution. In addition, support may be provided for a referendum in the Abyei Area. The Inclusive Political Processes in South Sudan program will have a dual track focus at both the central and sub-national levels (state, county / payam). The three expected results can be summarized as follow: (1) Increased capacity of South Sudanese institutions to implement credible and legitimate electoral and constitutional processes; (2) Political parties within and outside of power more credibly represent core constituents, and; (3) South Sudanese citizens become more aware of and involved in political processes.

Job Responsibilities:

The IFES Constitutional Development Advisor will work directly with the South Sudan National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC) and the future National Constitutional Conference (NCC), overseeing and managing IFES’ technical support to the constitutional development process carried out by these institutions. The Constitutional Development Advisor will provide oversight to constitutional research and legal consultation during the review of the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 by the NCRC and the drafting of the permanent constitution by the future NCC. The Constitutional Development Advisor will also support the NCRC and NCC in public consultation activities and assist in the process of incorporating citizen input into the constitution. The Constitutional Development Advisor may also support the National Legislature’s review of the constitution if the constitutional process progresses this far during the lifetime of the project. General duties include legal research and analysis of public and academic suggestions on constitutional and electoral issues, as well as mentoring and training members of the NCRC and NCC in order to build managerial, administrative and technical capacity within the institutions. The position is primarily based in Juba and will report directly to the Chief of Party. Specific Duties: The Constitutional Development Advisor works under the supervision of the Chief of Party in support of constitutional and electoral research and analysis. Specific duties include: •Reviewing, assessing, and reporting on relevant South Sudanese constitutional, legislative, regulatory, procedural, and electoral frameworks. •Advising on international comparative practices and principles for constitutional provisions covering issues such as concepts of democratic and representative government, robust mechanisms of checks and balances of power, electoral systems and legislation, human and civil rights, protections and rights of disadvantaged groups, and decentralizations and federalism. •Assist in the constitutional development of transparent mechanisms for dispute resolution in regards to voter registration, candidate selection, and electoral results. •Advising on the general implementation of constitutional review activities, such as research and analysis, comparative studies, and study tours. •Advising on the nation-wide collection, review, and incorporation of citizen input, particularly from marginalized groups such as women, youth, peoples with disabilities, and tribal groups. •Support the National Legislature to hold public forums and/or hearings about the constitution during legislative review. •Developing and maintaining constructive working relationships with national counterparts and national and international assistance providers, and other strategic partners. •Contributing to weekly activity reports and providing quarterly update to internal performance monitoring and evaluation reporting. •Performing other constitutional and electoral advisory duties as assigned by the Chief of Party.

Qualifications:

•Minimum eight (8) years of experience in constitutional development related activities, institutional development or related technical areas (preferably in a post-conflict environment or in Africa, previous experience working with U.S. government regulations is a plus), institutional capacity building. •Minimum six (6) years of experience working closely with legal framework, constitution development management bodies supporting governments in post-conflict situations •University degree in public administration, law, international development, international sustainability management or other relevant field. •Fluency in written and spoken English is required. To Apply: You must go to http:www.ifes.org/ to the Careers section and apply online. Applications are only accepted in this way. Make sure you upload all papers together (ie. cover letter and application, etc.).  Resumes are only reviewed and accepted if submitted through our careers page.