Pakistan: Election Analyst (Expert Roster)

Title of Position: Election Analyst (Expert Roster)

Duty Station: Home-based / Islamabad/Pakistan

Contract Period: Short-term assignments from July 2016

Starting Date: As assigned

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 going to launch 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. Under this DRI will launch a series of advocacy and lobbying activities which include events, social media campaigns and briefing papers on key electoral reform issues.

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 and parliamentary reform issues.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Election Analyst works under the supervision of DRI’s Country Representative in Pakistan and takes on tasks and assignments on set project activities. In general, s/he will:

· Conduct research on key electoral issues in Pakistan, including comparative research on 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 and develop briefing papers and short policy briefs on key electoral reform areas such as transparency in results management systems, election offences/dispute resolution, voter registration system, observer’ access to electoral processes;

· Develop and conduct trainings and briefing sessions on key electoral reform issues for policy makers, including the Chair and members of the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, parliamentarians, ministers, and officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan as well as civil society groups;

· Collect and collate data for case studies on specific election issues 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;

· Present before the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, or any of its sub-committees or members on key election issues or advising on key electoral standards and international best practices on elections;

· Perform any other task as required.

Travel to Pakistan

The experts will be required to travel to Pakistan for conducting research as part of writing briefing papers or giving presentations at briefing meetings or project events

Qualifications & Experience:

· University degree in law, political science social sciences, humanities or a relevant discipline

· At least 10 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 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 Pakistan and willingness to familiarise himself/herself with the Pakistan’s political context as well as legal framework for elections. Previous position as legal analyst for ODIHR or EU EOM is an advantage

· Excellent English language skills (spoken and written)

· Excellent report writing, communication and presentation skills

· Ability to travel to Pakistan

Deadline for applications: 12 July 2016