Closing date: 09 Jan 2020
Position: Election Analysts for Roster (Sri Lanka)
Form of Employment: Short-term consultancies as part of a roster
Starting Date: As soon as possible / as assigned
Duration: Multiple short-term deployments of an average of up to 15 days
Location: Sri Lanka / home-based
Background
Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organisation registered in Berlin. DRI promotes the political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies and the development of democratic institutions worldwide.
DRI is operating in Sri Lanka since 2016 and has implemented various democratic strengthening projects with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office, the European Union, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). DRI has worked in Sri Lanka on the thematic areas of human rights, justice: constitutions and the rule of law, and democratic discourse with a focus on strengthening civil society in their work towards democratic reforms.
DRI is currently expanding its work in Sri Lanka to include electoral reforms. The 2019 presidential as well as the 2020 parliamentary and provincial council elections are defining moments regarding Sri Lanka’s democratic development. With funding from the German Federal Foreign Office DRI is implementing the project “Preventing electoral violence in Sri Lanka by advancing core electoral reform issues and strengthening the integrity of the public discourse”, which aims at supporting Sri Lanka’s institutions in delivering major election-related reform priorities to prevent violence erupting during the electoral periods and thus threaten Sri Lanka’s democratic development.
DRI will engage with different stakeholders such as policy makers, political parties, media and civil society on the need of electoral reforms in light of international electoral standards and good practices. Under this DRI will launch a series of analyses, including on social media monitoring, and advocacy activities which include briefing papers on key electoral reform issues, events, social media campaigns etc. DRI’s work may include the topics of campaign finance, out-of-country voting, voting for persons with disabilities, and the registration of first-time voters.
DRI intends to develop a pool of electoral experts who will be placed on a roster and approached by DRI for specific assignments as required to support the project team in carrying out project activities on electoral reform issues.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The Election Analyst works under the supervision of DRI’s Programme Director in Sri Lanka and takes on tasks and assignments on set project activities. In general, s/he will:
- Conduct research on key electoral issues in Sri Lanka, including comparative research and good practices in electoral management;
- Review existing electoral legislation related to specific electoral issues and outline reform proposals in line with international electoral standards;
- Design, develop and/or contribute to briefing papers and short policy briefs on key electoral reform areas;
- Develop and conduct trainings and briefing sessions on key electoral reform issues for policy makers, parliamentarians, ministers, and officials of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka as well as civil society groups;
- Collect and collate data for case studies on specific election issues in Sri Lanka and from around the world;
- Develop and refine key messages for inclusion in infographics and animated videos for a social media campaign on electoral reforms;
- Participate in and steer debates and discussions organized as part of the social media campaign;
- Perform any other task as required.
Qualifications & Experience:
- University degree in law, political science social sciences, humanities or a relevant discipline;
- At least 5 years of professional experience in elections, governance and democracy;
- Sound understanding of and ability to apply international electoral standards and best practices in elections and democratic governance;
- Excellent analytical skills and the ability to conceptualise policy formulation within the subject area;
- Demonstrated experience in legislative research support and familiarity with the elections framework and case law in Sri Lanka;
- Good familiarization with the Sri Lankan political context as well as legal framework. Previous position as legal analyst for national or international organizations is an advantage;
- Excellent Sinhala and/or Tamil language skill as well as English (spoken and written);
- Excellent report writing, communication and presentation skills;
- Ability to travel within Sri Lanka.
Deadline for applications: 9 January 2020
The project might need experts immediately; hence early applications are encouraged.
How to apply:
For interested applicants, please send your application (cover letter and CV) to recruiting_lk@democracy-reporting.org with “**Roster:** Election Analyst (Sri Lanka)” as the subject heading and supporting documents in the following format: SURNAME_FIRSTNAME_ELECTIONANALYST
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.
Organisation responsible for this vacancy:
Democracy Reporting International gGmbH
Prinzessinnenstraße 30
10969 Berlin, Germany
Tel +49 30 27877300
Fax +49 30 27877300-10
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