VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
SENIOR COUNTERPART GOVERNANCE ADVISOR, Abyei Area
Mercy Corps is an international development organization. We are working with the government of Sudan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to enhance the capacity of governments to plan, manage and provide services to the people. This program falls within the Democracy and Governance objective of the USAID BRIDGE program.
Mercy Corps and ARD seek improvements in transparency and accountability, particularly of management, planning and budgeting systems of government institutions to improve service delivery capacity in Abyei Area. The program will promote increased interaction and collaboration between communities and governments in identifying, prioritizing, and addressing needs to improve service delivery and to increase economic opportunity.
BRIDGE program activities will focus on (1) building government capacity to implement newly decentralized functions and responsibilities, (2) building government capacity to render services to local communities, (3) promoting constructive and effective vertical and horizontal linkages among different government institutions (e.g., inter- and intra-ministerial), and (4) facilitating community participation in government service planning, decision-making processes and sustainability of government services.
We are currently recruiting for qualified internal and external Sudanese nationals to fill the position of SENIOR COUNTERPART GOVERNANCE ADVISOR, Abyei.
JOB SUMMARY: The Senior Counterpart Governance Advisor will work with the Governance Advisor to increase the capacity of government agencies, officials and staff to deliver services to the people of Abyei area. Under the supervision of the Governance Advisor, the Senior Counterpart Governance Advisor will provide administrative and programmatic support in the implementation and monitoring of BRIDGE government capacity building program by assisting in the design, implementation and monitoring of planned activities such as workshops, training packages and mentoring systems to government institutions.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
- Work collaboratively with the Governance Advisor, the BRIDGE Chief of Party, other Mercy Corps staff, partner organizations and government agencies.
- Assess the capacity building needs in the governments, working closely with government officials to identify technical assistance and training needs.
- Assist in developing and maintaining a range of working contacts in governmental institutions at local level, democracy and governance agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to support the identification of program complementarities and synergies.
- Assist in meetings and briefings with government institutions, key democracy and governance implementing agencies and NGOs, and provide records of these meetings. Follow up on decisions and recommendations made in such meetings to ensure that actions are taken.
- Assist in the design and implementation of workshops and training of government agencies responsible for finance, agriculture, rural water and sanitation, education and other relevant government institutions. This includes organizing, compiling and distributing training and workshops materials as well as supporting documents as needed. Identify training partners and supervises their work on-site.
- Support decentralization policy issues with government representatives.
- Assist and/or conduct follow up meetings with government institutions to implement mentoring systems or mechanisms to strengthen government planning and budgeting processes and systems as well as project implementation.
- Establish and maintain tracking systems of government institutions. This includes tracking records, basic information on the institutions (mandates and structures), their sector activities and performance, type and number of projects under implementation and projects carried out successfully, unsuccessfully, etc.
- Perform, arrange, and coordinate field trips and site visits to assist and/or interact with officials, monitor activity implementation and collect Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) data.
- Support the Mercy Corps and other BRIDGE partners’ efforts focused on improving good governance and institutional capacity of governments to more effectively deliver services in a participatory manner.
- Prepare correspondence (letters, invitations, memoranda, etc.) as needed.
- Arrange meetings with government institutions and officials, key democracy and governance implementing agencies and NGOs;
- Work with the Governance Advisor to prepare work plans, budgets, and program reports as needed for the timely implementation of the program.
- Assist the drafting of weekly, quarterly and annual reports to BRIDGE Management and USAID/Sudan.
- Work with preparation of work plans, budgets, and program reports as needed for the timely implementation of the program.
- In coordination with the Governance Advisor, support the design and update of BRIDGE monitoring and evaluation; define government indicators; monitor activity implementation; and evaluate progress.
- Complete any other tasks as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS & ATTRIBUTES:
- University Degree required (advanced degree preferred) preferably in public administration, finance, accounting, political science, international relations, law, economics, sociology, or equivalent.
- Minimum 8 years experience required in implementing and managing development projects, with at least 5 years in capacity building projects. Experience must demonstrate the ability to work within and understand intricate local, State, GoSS and GoNU government structures and to successfully implement programs under complex situations.
- Computer skills in word-processing, email and spreadsheets are required.
- Fluent written and spoken Arabic and English.
- Prior capacity building, teaching or training experience preferred.
SUCCESS FACTORS:
- Excellent communication skills, including listening, speaking, writing, negotiating and training.
- Highly organized.
- Mature personality; able to control emotions under stress.
- High moral character; reputation for honesty and integrity in the community.
- Ability to work collaboratively in teams, build consensus, and effectively coordinate with internal and external actors is highly desired.
- Positive interpersonal skills
- Able to work under pressure
- Motivated to build the capacity of government to deliver services to the citizens of Abyei
Interested candidates who meet the above required qualification & experiences should submit by September 10th, 2010 their application letters, detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV), copies of academic & professional certificates and national identification card to apply@sd.mercycorps.org
or hand deliver to the Mercy Corps Office in Juba or Agok.
“Women are encouraged to apply”
(Only short-listed candidates will be contacted)
