Job Description – Technical Advisory Team (TAT)
KP Provincial Liaison Coordinator (PLC)
SUBAI project
The Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan aims to support democratic processes and accountability in Pakistan. The overall objective of the SUBAI Project (Strengthening Provincial Legislative Assemblies in Pakistan) is to advance the functioning of Pakistan Parliamentary institution, in particular Pakistan provincial assemblies, through effective legislation, strengthened policy and budget oversight and enhanced representation. To support these aims, SUBAI works with Pakistan’s four Provincial Assemblies in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seeking to design and deliver a range of capacity development and technical assistance services to the Assemblies.
SUBAI is delivered by a consortium led by Palladium International B.V. together with its partners TDEA-FAFEN, the Aurat Foundation and the British Council.
The project has the following three result areas to be achieved:
Result 1 – Strengthened Institutional development process and frameworks of Assemblies and better equipped elected representatives, selected committees and other parliamentary bodies at Provincial level.
Result 2 – Strengthened Assemblies’ Secretariats at provincial level.
Result 3 – Improved transparency and accessibility of Provincial Assemblies.
The Project is anchored at the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) in view of its mandate towards the federal and provincial levels, and will work with the four Provincial
Assemblies in the areas of:
a) institutional development through Strategic planning;
b) Rules of procedure especially as regards effective committee functioning in law-making, oversight and representation;
c) capacity building for parliamentarians and committees;
d) strengthening the Secretariat structure and human resource policy;
e) work with Secretariat Branches;
f) work in the area of the transparency of the assemblies towards the public by keeping the public informed about the assembly’s work and promoting public input into policy-making.
Target groups of the project are the following;
- Members of Provincial Assemblies.
- Secretariats of Provincial Assemblies.
- Committees and other established Parliamentary bodies and their staff, as appropriate.
- Legislative Assemblies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.
- Media outlets/journalists.
- Lawyers' fora, bar associations, researchers, civil society organisations, think-tanks,
academic institutions and others.
- Pakistani Institute for Parliamentary Services
- Federal assembly and in particular its specialised caucuses and fora relevant for fostering
of inter-assembly linkages and experience sharing
- The Senate of Pakistan as the House of Federation and in particular in reference to its work on
Inter- provincial collaboration and support to provincial assemblies.
- International development partners working in the sector
Broader legislative strengthening initiatives that the Project will also be pursuing include;
- Collaboration opportunities with the Federal National Assembly & its specialised caucuses which will provide additional platforms for fostering greater inter-assembly linkages and experience sharing opportunities.
- The Senate of Pakistan as the House of Federation and in particular in reference to its work on
Inter-provincial collaboration.
Provincial Liaison Coordinator responsibilities, duties, tasks and relationships within the Project team
The SUBAI Provincial Liaison Coordinator plays a crucial role in supporting, communicating and facilitating a close working relationships between different groups in the Provincial Assembly so that the SUBAI project can work together effectively to deliver the expected outcomes of the SUBAI project.
He/She will provide a range of liaison and coordination services within the Project team at the Provincial level in order to support the achievement of the Project’s objectives and thus ensure successful delivery of the programme. It is expected that Year 2 will require substantial support to accelerate the pace and scale of the technical delivery of the activities agreed and captured in the Province-specific Workplans. The Provincial Assemblies have a detailed and fully costed Workplan for the remaining period of the Project life i.e. until October 2019. The 2 year Workplan is further broken down into operational plans covering a 6 month period and these align with the EU Implementation Reporting cycle
Assist as part of the Technical Advisory Team (TAT) but based in the Province, the Provincial Liaison Coordinator is both accountable and responsible for the provision of support to assist the successful delivery of all technical interventions in the Province under the direct supervision of the Senior Key Expert, Democratic Governance. And will working together, be the face of SUBAI at the Provincial level. The SUBAI Provincial Liaison Coordinator role is to assist in the successful implementation of the Provincial Assembly project activities. The work of the SUBAI Provincial Liaison Coordinator will be guided by the agreed Assembly-specific 2-year Work Plan. The post holder is required to maintain impartiality in discharging all the functions associated with the assignment.
Key Responsibilities, Duties and Tasks
The SUBAI Provincial Liaison Coordinator, playing an important “front facing” role for the SUBAI project within the Balochistan Provincial Assembly will:
1. Maintain and broaden existing formal and informal platforms with beneficiaries which includes Members of the Provincial Assembly, the Secretariat, and PIPS.
2. Work in conjunction with the Senior Key Expert, Democratic Governance and the Assembly to devise Assembly specific six-monthly work plans. This will require a series of structured meetings, focus group discussions and dialogue with key informants for example but not limited to the SUBAI project Focal Point, members of the Project Steering Committee and others that may want to offer their thoughts on the content of the Workplan including commenting on the priorities for the next six months.
3. Keeping in mind the agreed workplans, support the Senior Key Expert to design contextually appropriate technical interventions, seeking to ensure that such interventions are also fully consulted with the Assembly, and where possible, documentary evidence demonstrating Assembly approval and endorsement is obtained.
4. Seek to advance key cross cutting governance themes including gender, social inclusion, fundamental rights and youth in all programmatic activities. As well as seeking to link activities to the Provincial Level Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Taskforce(s).
5. Support the Senior Key Expert, Democratic Governance, in developing Assembly specific monthly activity calendars, forward looks, drafting letters and other background notes, documents and/or presentations.
6. Work closely with the Senior Key Expert, Democratic Governance to provide regular, accurate, non-partisan and timely information and analysis to the TAT to aid reorientation of strategies and activities. This includes the identification of any challenges or problems that may arise and which could, if left unaddressed adversely impact on the implementation of the agreed Project activities.
7. Attend and actively contribute to reporting on Provincial level progress at all meetings called within the Team and responding to the SUBAI Activity Tracker timelines set by the Research, Monitoring & Evaluation (RME) Team, and ensuring that all evidences from programmatic activities, are submitted to the RME Team in a timely manner.
8. As part of the SUBAI Governance Architecture support the Senior Key Expert, Democratic Governance in managing the following dialogue platforms overseeing the SUBAI project within the Assembly(s):
a. The Project Steering Committee (PSC) is the decision- making body and is chaired by the Honourable Speaker and the EUD attends. Those meetings are held bi-annually.
b. The operational dialogues platform the Project Assurance Technical Working Group (PATWG) meets more frequently and oversees and sense checks the SUBAI technical delivery on a day to day basis. As per the TORs for these two platforms the SUBAI Provincial team plays an important role in providing the secretariat for these dialogue platforms.
9. Where required, work with other SUBAI Senior Key Expert, Democratic Governances and SUBAI staff responsible for other Provincial and Legislative Assemblies to deliver inter-provincial technical assistance;
10. Supervise logistical arrangements associated with the roll out of programmatic activities.
11. Submit Provincial Assembly-specific contributions to the formal bi-annual reports that are contractually required to be submitted to the EU.
12. Ensure all project related paperwork, notably the individual monthly Timesheets are submitted on the last working day of every month.
Reporting Arrangements:
The SUBAI Provincial Liaison Coordinator post will be based in Peshawar and report directly and be supervised by the Senior Key Expert, Democratic Governance. The ultimate reporting line will be to the Deputy Team Leader (DTL) who is accountable and responsible for driving the overall technical delivery of the SUBAI project.
Qualifications & Experience:
1. University degree in a relevant subject preferably in law, economics, political science, history, , international relations, , governance, , or related degree with demonstrated work experience in the subject area or other relevant subjects
2. At least 3+ years of professional experience and familiarity with the working of legislatures preferably Provincial assemblies and democratic governance principles, practices and processes,
3. Strong English writing and communication skills
4. Ability to work within a team setting
5. Sound knowledge of democratic processes
6. Excellent verbal communication skills in Urdu
7. Excellent interpersonal and presentational skills
8. Demonstrable adaptability, social awareness and cultural sensitivity
Core Competencies:
Core competencies are defined as the Team Member’s capabilities in the form of knowledge, skills and behaviours that allow them to perform their job tasks effectively and efficiently.
§ Understanding roles and responsibilities of other team members - Familiarisation with the roles and responsibilities of other team members as well as key SUBAI management frameworks, policies and guidelines;
§ Mentoring - Providing direct guidance and support for partners and colleagues within and outside SUBAI;
§ People and relationships - Developing and using collaborative relationships and developing and valuing team members;
§ Influence - Encouraging others to be committed and excited about SUBAI.
§ Team building - Using formal and informal opportunities such as staff meetings and social events to reinforce teamwork within the SUBAI team.
Personal skills:
Understanding the governance challenge: Ability to interpret the issues arising from the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
Innovation: Able to contribute to programmatic design through offering novel and innovative strategies in order to deliver the workplan more effectively.
Communication: Ability to effectively communicate and change communication style to suit difference audiences and target groups.
Ability to deliver within timelines. Ability to produce quality work within strict deadlines.