Pakistan: Elections Analyst - Pakistan

Position Location:** Islamabad/Pakistan, with frequent travel to the provinces

Contract Period: October 2016 to March 2017

Start Date: As soon as possible

Background

Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a nonpartisan, independent, not-for-profit international organization registered in Berlin, Germany, which promotes political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies and the development of democratic institutions world-wide.

With funding from DFID, DRI is implementing the short term project “Supporting Electoral and Parliamentary Reforms in Pakistan”, which aims at supporting Pakistan’s elected institutions at the national and provincial levels to become a source of democratic stability and effectively exert their oversight, legislative and representation functions with improved participation of women, youth, and minorities in electoral and democratic processes. DRI will engage with different stakeholders such as policy-makers, political parties, media and civil society on the need of electoral and parliamentary reforms in light of international electoral standards and good parliamentary practices.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Legal Expert/Elections Analyst works under the supervision of DRI’s Country Representative and Project Coordinator in Pakistan and leads the implementation of the project activities related to supporting electoral reforms. Specifically, s/he will

• Take the lead in the planning and implementation of project activities under the elections component of the project;
• Develop detailed work plans for and manage progress of specific deliverables related to the electoral component of the project;
• Act as a focal point for the delivery of legal analysis, comparative research and other policy briefings on national electoral legislation and international standards relating to elections and civil and political rights;
• Provide technical support and supervise the production of project publications on elections, including writing, supervising and contributing to project publications;
• Regularly reach out to and establish close working relationships with project beneficiaries and interlocutors including the ECP, parliamentarians, political party representatives and civil society;
• Support the Country Representative in hiring of short-term national and international consultants, including the coordination of work and tasks of short-term national and international consultants and other team members to ensure timely progress of project activities;
• Develop and run the project’s social media campaign on electoral issues in coordination with DRI’s Social Media Expert and other team members;
• Contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of framework design and management as well as provide inputs to weekly, monthly and other reports to the donor as well as internally for DRI’s Head Office;
• Provide technical support to the project’s parliamentary component, where needed.

The Legal Expert/Elections Analyst may be required to perform any other tasks within scope of the project and this role.

Qualifications & Experience

• University degree in law, international relations, political science, social science, or related field;
• 10+ years of relevant professional experience;
• 5+ years of experience in technical assistance or advocacy projects related to electoral reforms;
• Experience of designing and managing social media campaigns, use of infographics and animated videos on complex policy/legal reforms will be an asset;
• Proven knowledge on international election standards and human rights law;
• Detailed understanding of Pakistani politics, the legal and institutional setup for elections and the parliamentary set up;
• Experience of coordinating work of national and international experts/consultants is required;
• Familiarity with the legal framework and key reforms required for national, provincial and local elections;
• Demonstrated political judgment and analytical skills;
• Strong writing, presentation and group facilitation skills;
• English, business fluent oral and written;
• Urdu, fluency oral and written.

This is a renewed call for applications. Candidates who previously submitted their applications are asked to refrain from applying again. Early applications are encouraged. Recruitment may close if an applicant is found.

For interested applicants, please send your application (cover letter, CV and three references) to asia@democracy-reporting.org with “Legal Expert – Pakistan” as the subject heading and supporting documents in the following format: SURNAME_FIRSTNAME_LEGALEXPERT.

This is a locally recruited position. DRI offers a competitive salary according to donor regulations and incumbent experience.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview. We kindly ask applicants not to contact DRI individually after the end of the application period.

DRI reserves the decision to re-advertise the position, cancel the recruitment at any stage, offer appointment at a position lower than the one advertised or to offer the position with a modified job description or period of appointment.