Background
The Government of Malawi (GoM) recognizes the key role of democratic governance in achieving the country’s social and economic development . The draft Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDSII) places emphasis on the importance of democratic governance as being fundamental in providing a favorable environment for productive economic activities and effective functioning of public services. It further recognizes that improving democratic governance is a foundation for poverty reduction and sustainable development . The GoM recognizes the need to have a forum for negotiating, policy dialogue, and agreement of plans and undertakings among Government and its Development Partners at sectoral level using a coordinated and harmonized approach, but also as a commitment to the Paris Declaration (2005) and the Accra Agenda for Action (2008). In 2008, the GoM launched the national guidelines for institutionalizing sector working groups so as to strengthen implementation of the MGDS.
Democratic Governance (DG) is one of the sixteen (16) sectors identified by the GoM. The DG sector is diverse and complex in nature. It is the only multi-ministry sector and it is also the only sector that cuts across the three arms of government namely the executive, legislature and judiciary. The sector comprises of nineteen (19) institutions plus selected networks of non state actors. Because of its complexity in size, and after making consultations with the DG stakeholders, there was an agreement to split the sector into two subsectors of: i) Justice; and ii) the Democratic Accountability subsector.
With support from development partners, the DG sector developed a concept note (2009) that formed the framework for creation of a single cohesive and coordinated DG sector. This initiative was later followed by the drafting of the sector Policy Framework Paper (PFP, 2010) that elaborated the eight
(8) key pillars of the sector namely;
i) rule of law;
ii) human rights;
iii) access to justice;
iv) public safety and security;
v) integrity, accountability and transparency;
vi) public participation,
vii) free and fair elections; and
viii) sector wide inter-agency coordination.
The sector is in the process of completing capacity assessments and baseline surveys for the two subsectors, respectively. These initiatives will inform the sector strategy.
The proposed strategy, which will align with the draft MGDS II, the MTEF, and further build on the existing work of the sector, will enable individual institutions to review and align their respective strategic plans with the DG sector strategy. The sector strategy will not only enable development partners to align their interventions and assistance with the sector priorities, but also offer a clear set of sector priorities to attract and consolidate increased funding from Treasury. It is further envisaged that the sector strategy will enable development partners to pool resources together to achieve a common goal, and enable the later to participate in monitoring of sector performance against mutually agreed objectives.
Duties and Responsibilities
The purpose is to recruit an international Team Leader to facilitate the process of developing a five (5) year Democratic Governance Sector Strategy that will:
• Be fundamental in determining the overall direction of the sector through identification of the vision, mission, strategic priorities/ goals as well as the impact indicators, timelines, responsibilities and required resources. It will inform all sector institutions of the initiatives to be implemented and will guide them on the broader outcomes being pursued.
• Facilitate dialogue between the GoM, its development partners and other non-state actors to ensure that all parties clearly understand the priorities of the Government and ensure that there is efficient coordination, use and review of resources allocated to the priority reforms. Building on the policy direction from the PFP, the role of non-sate actors will be elaborated further in the DG sector strategy. Recognizing the fact that the DG sector has a diversity of institutions that have different but complementary mandates but aiming at achieving a similar goal, the strategy will enable the sector to have a single and coherent document that will facilitate the process of operationalization in an organized, harmonized and coordinated manner, with resources pooled together.
• Provide a clear direction and quick translation for effective action/annual planning and budgeting for the sector as well as for the individual institutions/ ministries.
Competencies
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN values and ethical standards.
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Ability to provide high quality technical advice and design/deliver results
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Strong analytical and advocacy skills
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication/presentation skills
• Demonstrates openness to change, ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
• Preferably a Phd in development studies, law, public administration , political science, or relevant social sciences.
Experience:
• Minimum of 15 years of relevant professional experience.
• Proven expertise and experience in strategic planning and budgeting, democratic governance reforms, and public sector reforms, and considerable experience in developing countries, preferably in Sub Saharan Africa.
• Proven experience in capacity building of the public sector in reforms and leadership
• Proven experience in facilitating Multi Stakeholder consultative Processes
• Demonstrated effectiveness and concrete results in providing technical guidance and support in the areas of public sector reforms
• Modern approach to delivery of policy/technical advice, and experience of working with government ministries and departments, senior officials, development partners, non state actors (civil society) in a process of public sector reform
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, demonstrated ability to facilitate/conduct workshops
• Excellent IT skills, including word processing, excel, and power point presentations
Language:
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications to UNDP Office in Malawi by email to procurement.mw@undp.org by 08/10/2011
Detailed Terms of References for the assignment need to be requested from UNDP Malawi in advance from:
UNDP Malawi,
Procurement Unit
P.O Box 30135, Capital City, Lilongwe Email: procurement.mw@undp.org or marius.walter@undp.org
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.