[TimorLesteStudies] Consultancy: Capacity Development Expert for the National Parliament of Timor-Leste

[bu.wilson at anu.edu.au]

  NB. Although the desirable starting date for this consultancy has already passed the position is still open.
  United Nations Development Programme                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Timor-LesteTerms of Reference     Post title:                                 Capacity Development Expert for the National Parliament of Timor-Leste  Number of Vacancies:              1 Post  Organization:                           UNDP  Duration of assignment:           10 weeks  Duty Station:                            Dili, Timor-Leste  Application Deadline:                 Desirable Starting Date:            May 19, 2008  _____________________________________________________________________________     Background     Timor-Leste became independent in 2002.  A democratic semi-presidential governance system based upon the separation of powers and mutual cooperation of the institutions of state was developed.     The National Parliament is the cornerstone of the democratic system and good governance. It is currently comprised of 65 members. It is headed by the President of the National Parliament. 9 political parties are constituted in party benches. Detailed parliamentary scrutiny of legislation and government actions is delegated to 9 standing committees of multi-party composition. The parliamentarians are supported in their work by a Secretariat of approximately 40 staff which is headed by a Director. The Secretariat is divided into several functional departments, which assume responsibility for work in the general areas of Finance and Administration, Plenary support, Committee support, and Communications functions. This organizational structure is under revision at the moment to respond to present challenges.     The National Parliament was established from scratch in a setting of inexperienced parliamentarians; an acute shortage of skilled personnel and significant language barriers. Systems and processes are in the early stages in some cases and non-existent in others. Achievements are not yet consolidated and many challenges can only be defeated with long-term assistance. UNDP has supported the growth of the legislature since 2003. The revised Parliament Project 2006-08 comprises comprehensive capacity-development interventions in five strategic areas: oversight capacity; legislative support; democratic representation; gender mainstreaming and; Secretariat capacity building. The overall objective of the project is to develop the institutional capacities that allow the parliament to fully and effectively perform its constitutional mandate.      In collaboration with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Project is developing a medium-term technical training programme for the Secretariat staff. There is a need to complement this exercise with an assessment of national counterparts’ current capacities and capabilities and harmonise them with the training programme following a prioritization exercise. It will be critical to revise training and capacity development methodologies as well.     UNDP’s capacity development priorities focus on scaling up national and local capacities for more sustainable and integrated development results, to address the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals.  Ensuring that capacity diagnostics and strategies permeate all stages of the development process, to address the demands on a country’s planning, resource management and policy making capacities, as well as its institutional and service delivery structures, is at the heart of the work underway.     UNDP has developed specific initiatives and tools to better support countries address national and local capacity challenges.  This will also contribute towards positioning the wider UN development system as a substantive partner in the national articulation of MDG-framed poverty reduction strategies, with a focus on the national capacity development strategies that must be embedded with them.  UNDP works to: a) codify and share knowledge on CD; b) review, develop and test CD tools and methodologies; and c) support cross practice CD programmes.  To this end, UNDP’s results-budgeting and core resource allocation has included capacity development for the MDGs as core criteria.     Capacity development is an essential part of UNDP’s support to a country’s MDG-based national development strategies and plans.  Capacity development (CD) support is delivered through a set of integrated services, comprising capacity assessments; capacity development response strategies; capacity development costing; and monitoring and evaluation of capacity development.            Job Summary     The Capacity Development Expert will work with relevant parliament counterparts and project advisers across all sectors to assess capacity development needs, challenges and opportunities and to produce a short-term and a medium-term strategy that incorporates capacity development best practices. Emphasis should be on capacity needs at the individual (skills, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, etc.) or organizational (systems and processes) or enabling environment (policies, cultures, legal frameworks, etc.) levels.        Specific duties include:     Under the supervision of the CTA, the Capacity Development (CD) Expert will undertake the following duties and responsibilities:     ·                Conduct a systematic capacity assessment of parliament secretariat staff and, to the extend necessary parliamentarians, and develop a suitable capacity development strategy that links individual and organizational capacities in harmony with UNDP-IPU training programme;  ·                Conduct awareness-raising and working sessions with the political and administrative leadership on all aspects related to a capacity development strategy for the National Parliament and its integration in the institutional strategic planning exercise;  ·                Identify capacity development priorities as part of the above mentioned exercises;  ·                Provide CD project support to new and ongoing initiatives as required  ·                Identify and synthesize CD best practices and lessons learnt and feed into ongoing policy and programme discussions and applications  ·                Specifically and in conjunction with the Human Resources Expert, develop a short-term and medium-term strategic training workplan that builds on the UNDP-IPU programme, with innovative means to learning introduced including a monitoring and evaluation plan;  ·                Assess enabling situation for an exit strategy for the advisors with service provision responsibilities and line functions being gradually minimized in the short-term and medium-term– special consideration may be required in the case of Legal Advisors who are likely to be required to deliver a line service for the next five years.      The consultant shall bring his or her laptop and mobile telephone.              Competencies (Essential knowledge and experience):     Outstanding ability to communicate skills and      experience to others as a trainer, advisor or consultant;Strong negotiating and managerial skills to be able to      work both independently and as a member of a team;Excellent interpersonal, intercultural, communication      and  networking with a demonstrated      ability to build and maintain professional relationships;  Demonstrated      ability to work effectively with senior political and administrative      leaderships;Previous experience of working with the UNDP would be      highly advantageous;   6.       Substantive knowledge of regional CD priorities, challenges and opportunities  7.       Technical knowledge of capacity assessment methodologies  8.       Demonstrated field experience in undertaking surveys, participatory assessment or related exercises  9.       Knowledge of functional capacities for planning, budgeting and monitoring  10.   Experience with engaging on knowledge/learning platforms  11.   Demonstrated ability to engage well in cross-sector teams  12.   Demonstrated communication skills, with experience in consultation processes and presentation of knowledge products     Qualifications:  ·         Master’s degree in development studies, economics or public policy/public administration or equivalent experience  ·         A minimum of 7 years of experience in international development and cooperation, with extensive recent field experience working in developing countries, and in capacity development initiatives in the public sector  ·         Solid experience with capacity assessment and capacity development methodologies and applications  ·         Excellent command of English, including drafting and presentation skills; knowledge of Portuguese, Indonesian or Tetum an asset.        Please submit your applications together with curriculum vitae or P11 form and relevant supporting documents to the following address and contacts:     Human Resources Unit   UNDP Dili,   UN House Caicoli Street,   Dili,  Timor Leste   personnel.tp at undp.org  Only short-listed candidates will be notified. Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.          
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