Pakistan: Parliamentary Internship Programme in Pakistan

Parliamentary Internship Programme

A unique opportunity for young graduates to gain valuable career experience in parliamentary services

Background

Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organisation registered in Berlin. DRI promotes political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies and the development of democratic institutions world-wide. Since 2010, DRI has supported Pakistan’s state institutions in electoral, parliamentary and human rights reforms.

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 is engaging 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.

About the Parliamentary Internship Programme

Pakistan’s provincial assemblies have an increased mandate after the 18th Constitutional Amendment. In this regard, the provinces are expected to show a high level of performance by enacting new laws and also conducting oversight of the executive. As a result of this amendment, the provincial assemblies need support in the areas of financial, technical and human resources to fulfil the increased expectations and mandate. Against this background, DRI is launching a Parliamentary Internship Programme to help provincial assemblies meet human resources related needs. The internship programme will provide assistance to the assemblies through engaging the energetic, well-educated and competent Pakistani youth for a maximum period of six months from October 2016 to March 2017 to address this gap. The interns will work with standing committees, caucuses and other forums in the assemblies to help run different affairs of the assemblies.

Youth in Pakistan seldom get a chance to engage with parliamentary processes directly. The internship programme is a unique opportunity for young graduates to gain experience with supporting the work of provincial assemblies. Interns, while supporting parliamentarians and parliamentary committees in their daily work and receiving on-the-job training, are expected to gain first-hand exposure to the reform process. The internship programme shall help them explore potential opportunities to work with provincial assemblies in different capacities including but not limited to legislative drafting and research.

Role of the Parliamentary Interns

The interns will be working in the standing committees, caucuses and other forums in the assemblies to facilitate their day to day work. Specifically, the parliamentary interns are expected to support them to:

· Conduct research on key reform issues;

· Review and draft bills;

· Prepare questions, motions, speeches and other parliamentary business items;

· Plan and implement work plans;

· Develop progress reports for committees, caucus and other forums;

· Conduct meetings and other activities such as public hearings and taking minutes of the meetings;

· Increase outreach to civil society, media, academia and other stakeholders;

· Prepare and write backgrounders and policy briefing papers.

These are only indicative tasks, the interns may be required to perform other tasks within the overall framework of their job and the role of the assemblies.

Stipend

Selected candidates will receive a monthly stipend of 30,000 PKR during the internship programme. In addition, a small allowance to cover travel and/or accommodation costs may also be applicable, especially for the interns relocating to the provincial capitals for their internship.

Eligibility Criteria

· Candidates must hold a Master level qualification (16 years of education) with a GPA score of either 3 out of 4, 3.75 out of 5 or a 75% average (For Balochistan, applicants holding a Bachelor’s degree/14 years of education are also encouraged to apply);

· Preference will be given to degree holders in the disciplines of Law, Political Science, International Relations, Development Studies, History and Economics. Candidates with degrees in other related disciplines will be considered;

· Candidates must have excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Urdu (knowledge of the other languages is considered an asset);

· Candidates should demonstrate excellent research skills, preferably through their academic studies or initial work experience;

· Candidates must possess good IT skills;

· Candidates must be under 30 years old;

· Candidates must have graduated in the academic year 2014 or later.

· Candidates must of domicile of the Province they are applying for.

Application & Hiring Process

1. 
   

   Apply to the Open Testing Service (OTS) – www.ots.og.pk – for the initial screening.

   
   


2. 
   

   OTS will invite the screened applicants to the written test. The written test will be interdisciplinary and will cover subjects such as English language, arithmetic, political science, Pakistani studies, research methods, Pakistan’s constitution and parliamentary system and general knowledge.

   
   


3. 
   

   Top 10-15 candidates from each province (based on OTS test scores, grades in the degrees and other considerations such as gender, persons with disabilities and religious minorities) will be invited for an interview with DRI and further assessment, which will entail:

   
   

a. Essay writing on the topics related to democracy, human rights and parliamentary processes;

b. Group discussions among the candidates;

c. Interview in front of a jury of representatives from Provincial Assemblies and DRI.

1. DRI will select and hire five interns from each province and will immediately appoint them to the relevant provincial assemblies. During the internship, DRI and responsible persons from the provincial assemblies will jointly supervise the interns. The diverse backgrounds of candidates will be taken into consideration in the recruitment process, as DRI seeks to make the selection of interns as representative as possible. DRI will make efforts to have representation of women, persons with disability, religious minorities and other disadvantaged groups in the selected candidates.

How to apply:

The closing date for the applications is Monday, 15 August 2016. Interested applicants meeting the above eligibility criteria should send their application by courier to:

Manager Operation, Project (DRI),

Open Testing Service, 93, Street # 03, Block-A, Media Town

(Adjacent to PWD), Islamabad

Phone: 051-2375081 Email: info@ots.org.pk

DRI is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. The diverse backgrounds of candidates will be taken into consideration in the recruitment process, as DRI seeks to make the selection of interns as representative as possible. DRI reserves the right to cancel the recruitment process.

For queries, write to DRI: internship@democracy-reporting.org.pk