National Consultant to support the development and promotion of the University course on electoral education and democratic processes

Background

Electoral support and capacity development are part of UNDP’s democratic governance assistance worldwide. Through this support, UNDP helps nations build democratic frameworks which lead to improved representation, accountability and transparency for the benefit of citizens.

UNDP has a long-standing partnership with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), Ministry of Education and Research and the Center for Continuous Electoral Training (CICDE) aiming at advancing the electoral education and democratic electoral processes in Moldova. This partnership, which spans over 10 years, resulted in the establishment of strong professional institutions, development of a modern State Automated Information System “Elections” (SAISE), the enhancement of the State Register of Voters’ accuracy and the design and implementation of effective long-term civic and voter and citizens education instruments.

Throughout the last electoral cycles, CEC and CICDE demonstrated a high level of capacity in organizing the Presidential, Parliamentary Elections and General Local Elections. Despite the challenges and persistent financial limitations faced by the institutions, due to the continuous UNDP’s support, the CEC and the CICDE delivered “well-administered elections” as attested by OSCE/ODIHR Observation Missions.

The Project "Enhancing democracy in Moldova through inclusive and transparent elections” supports the CEC to enhance the transparency and inclusiveness of the electoral process in Moldova by ensuring a more independent and credible electoral administration and better informed and pro-active citizens. Successively, on 1st of August 2020, the second phase of the Project “Enhancing Democracy in Moldova through Inclusive and Transparent Elections – EDMITE” has started. The overall goal of the Project is to achieve an enhanced integrity, transparency, and inclusiveness of the electoral process in Moldova by ensuring a more independent and credible electoral administration and better informed and pro-active citizens. Hence, the project has an outward-oriented approach, focusing on the electoral process and all relevant actors (CEC, CICDE, ministries and government agencies, educational institutions, civil society).

One of the Project’s objectives is to enhance the civic education on electoral subjects and participation of citizens in the electoral process. Youth forms an important part of the electorate in the country and the ones that are socially active are especially the University students, having the potential to bring the change and contribute to the broadening of the knowledge and awareness raising within the society.

In this sense, the UNDP Project aims to support Universities across the country to conceptualize, design, and implement an electoral curriculum and course, aimed at promoting the electoral education and democratic processes among students. Based on the already established partnerships, the project intends to cooperate with the following universities: Alecu Russo University from Balti, Comrat State University, Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu State University from Cahul and Moldova State University from Chisinau. Benefiting from the support of the CICDE, the curriculum and course on electoral education and democratic processes is envisaged to be later administered by the universities in which it will be rolled out with guidance from the CICDE.

Scope of work

OBJECTIVE AND EXPECTED OUTPUTS

The general objective of the assignment is to develop a university course aimed at promoting electoral education and democratic processes. For the purposes of this assignment, the national consultant (hereinafter “the Consultant”) will collaborate together with the UNDP principal national consultant (hereinafter “the Team Leader”) to develop the below indicated scope of work. The consultants will act as a team associate, broadly collaborating with the Team Leader. Specifically, the Consultant will have the following responsibilities:

• Develop the content of three lecture modules of the university course textbook on electoral education and democratic processes (hereinafter “the Course Textbook”), including the vocabulary and the bibliography, and provide / present them to the Team Leader for review and approval;
• Review in cooperation with the Team Leader the developed Course Textbook material considering the participant students’ feedback on the necessity and value of the developed Course Textbook implementation in the partner universities;
• Promote and distribute, in close cooperation with the team of National Consultants / course implementors, CICDE and other engaged stakeholders, the developed course in the partner universities as well as other Moldovan higher education institutions with courses on journalism, pedagogy, public administration, and other interrelated majors;
• Prepare and present a final comprehensive report documenting all conducted activities including progress, issues and challenges of the Course development process, results, and recommendations and present them to the Team Leader and the project team.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications and Achievements:

• Master’s degree in education or other relevant fields (i.e., Social Science, Law, Journalism, Pedagogy Political Science, Public Administration, or other relevant).

Experience and knowledge:

• At least 7 years of demonstrated teaching, academic and/or coordination experience within the high education cycle (university level: bachelor, master, or PhD);
• At least one (1) analytical document elaborated for the education curriculum models and course in universities and faculties (examples should be explicitly detailed in his/her CV). 

Required Competencies:

• Demonstrated experience in developing academia books, articles, research, and assessments (reference/links to be included in the application package);
• Previous demonstrated experience in course design and delivery of lectures, trainings, workshops, or education seminars;
• Previous assignments related to the electoral/democratic processes education;
• Previous work experience in similar positions in a development organization implementing international development assistance;
• Knowledge and understanding of the electoral context in the country and region, as well as of the roles and responsibilities of the CEC and CICDE;
• Excellent oral, written communication and drafting skills, with proven ability to meet tight deadlines, to handle multiple priorities simultaneously and to adapt to changing circumstances;
• Fluency in Romanian and Russian language (verbal and written) is a must. Knowledge of English will be considered as an advantage for the purpose of the assignment.

Desired additional skills and competencies

Personal qualities:

• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status;
• Excellent research, analytical and writing skills;
• Responsibility, creativity, flexibility and punctuality, ability to meet deadlines and prioritize multiple tasks;
• Demonstrated interpersonal and diplomatic skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with all stakeholders and to present ideas clearly and effectively.

The UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply. Please specify in CV, in case you belong to the group(s) under-represented in the UN Moldova and/or the area of assignment.

Documents to be included

Interested consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Personal updated CV, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least two (2) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers;
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position;
• Financial proposal (in USD, specifying a total requested amount per working day and per deliverable);
• Other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, or other materials.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Important notice: The applicants who have the statute of Government Official / Public Servant prior to appointment will be asked to submit the following documentation:

• a no-objection letter in respect of the applicant received from the Government, and;
• the applicant is certified in writing by the Government to be on official leave without pay for the entire duration of the Individual Contract

Financial proposal

Lump sum contracts

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. Payment will be made upon the successful completion of the tasks assigned and submission of the assessment report. Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. To assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee, taxes, communication costs, travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days). 

Apply online: https://sc.undp.md/jobdetails/2630/