National and International Specialists on Governance and Innovation Specialist

Background

UNDP Cambodia Country Office works in partnership with the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), civil society organizations, multilateral aid agencies, bilateral donors and private sector to support the progress towards the Cambodia Sustainable Development Goals (C-SDGs).

In this context, UNDP Cambodia implements two projects promoting accountability and participation in line with a UNDP Country Programme outcome.

(i) The Building Capacities for Civic Engagement, Peacebuilding and Inclusive Dialogue: Towards Inclusive and Participatory Governance (Civic Engagement project)

The civic engagement project is organised around three pillars 1) Capacity development of CSOs and government institutions 2) Improving quality in engagement modalities 3) increase exposure and opportunities in which citizens, CSOs and government institutions work together. The target provinces of the Civic Engagement project are Kampong Cham, Kampot, Ratanakiri and Siem Reap. The overall objective of the Civic Engagement project is to promote democratic governance initiatives and a peaceful, inclusive, and equitable society through expanding opportunities for inclusive civic engagement using dialogue in Cambodia. Through partnerships with national and sub-national government and civil society organisations, the project promotes the cultivation of more collaborative mindsets and partnerships between civil society and civil servants.

(ii) Project for Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Local Governance through Civic Engagement (STA project).

The STA project is organised around two pillars 1) Improved people’s access to info and analytical and critical thinking 2) Sub-National Administrations accountability to people is strengthened. Target provinces include Kampong Cham (Kampong Cham), Ratanakiri (Banlung) and Siem Reap (Siem Reap). The STA project aims to contribute to the National Programme on Sub-National Democratic Development Phase 2. Through civil society, municipal and national government partners, the STA project, intends to make local governance information such as public services, local plans, budget allocations and sub-national administration performance more accessible to people along with supporting people’s monitoring capacities of sub-national administrations performance.

In order to provide support and ensure effective policy and quality technical services, UNDP Cambodia is seeking applicants who have corresponding qualifications for one or more profiles listed below.

Local governance

Civic Engagement

Human rights-based approach

Innovation (e.g. foresight, social innovation challenge, design thinking, collective intelligence, ethnographic research)

Programme/ Project development in above areas

Successful applicants will be joining UNDP Cambodia roster of experts and engaged based on the arising needs of UNDP Cambodia governance and innovation portfolio including, research, project design, implementation of policies and programmes, capacity development, reporting and communications.

This solicitation is for Long-Term Agreements (LTA) for initial one year and renewable up to two and half years linked to satisfactory performance of the individual consultants. LTA refers to a mutual arrangement whereby the Consultant (s) will provide services as required, over a specific period of time. It specifies the unit price (daily rate), allowing for a framework agreement to be used when the Consultant’s services are needed for output-based deliverable. The Consultant will be contracted under separate ToRs that will be developed for the specific services needed within the scope of the LTA.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main role of the Specialist(s) will be responsible for providing technical assistance for priority initiatives in the field of governance and innovation through the following set of activities.

Research and project designs

Technical advisory and capacity development

Implementation of policies and programmes with innovation approaches

Communications and reporting

Key work areas will include:

a. Research and project designs

Analyse context and development challenges related to the governance areas (e.g. local governance, civil society ecosystem, capacity development, civic engagement) using innovative approaches and frameworks of conflict and development analysis or political economy analysis.

Identify specific barriers and proposed solutions for programmatic interventions through innovation approaches (e.g. ethnographic research, positive deviance, collective intelligence, prototyping and experimentation).

Prepare conceptual frameworks/concept notes for governance projects based on developmental challenges and driven by innovative approaches.

Provide technical support to develop project documents (including work plans, budgets, results and resources framework and monitoring and evaluation plan) following UNDP rules and procedures.

Apply design thinking in project formulation (horizon scanning, testing assumption, building project prototypes, experiments)

Facilitate consultation with various stakeholders and engage them in designing projects.

b. Technical advisory and capacity development

Provide technical inputs and support to trainings conducted with National School of Local Administration (NASLA) and Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC) on innovation curriculum.

Provide technical inputs to capacity development of UNDP Country Office staff on technical issues such as human rights-based approach, design thinking, Cambodian legal frameworks depending on the needs.

(c) Implementation of policies and programmes with innovation approaches

Provide technical assistance to innovation bootcamp, social innovation challenges, collective intelligence applied in projects.

Provide technical support by identifying opportunities for scaling up from results of the grants to CSO sustainability.

Support experimentation of proposals and prototypes during the project implementation.

Provide technical advice to collect data and conduct surveys required for project implementation.

(d) Communications and reporting

Prepare reports and power point presentations for stakeholder engagement, development partners based on inputs from project counterparts and wider stakeholders

Develop communication products (e.g. newsletter, human-centered stories, infographics) by collecting inputs from project counterparts and wider stakeholders

Competencies

Functional competencies:

Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.

Strong analytical skills (e.g. application of conflict and development analysis, political economy analysis).

Flexibility and ability to operate in different cultural settings and with a variety of stakeholders; culturally and gender sensitive.
Strong writing and presentation skills (demonstrated by at least one written sample: e.g. project proposal).

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards.

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Treats all people fairly without favoritism.
Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree (postgraduate), or equivalent, in social science, political science, political studies, public policy, public administration, conflict resolution, or other related fields.

Experience:

At least five years of experience in analysis, project design, project/programme management, experimentation of innovation approaches such as design thinking, systems design, horizon scanning, collective intelligence, ethnography, etc.

Very good understanding of the governance situation in Cambodia. Prior working experience in Cambodia is an asset.

Strong experience in collaboration and engagement of diverse stakeholders in particular civil society organizations and governments.
Experience with international organizations such as NGOs, the UN, international financial institution is an asset

Language Requirement:

Fluency in English both in writing and speaking required.
Understanding Khmer is an advantage.