Civil and Voter Registration Specialist

Office/Unit/Project Description 

After the passage of a comprehensive electoral and political reform followed by a National Referendum in May 2024, Vanuatu has entered into new phase of implementing these reforms. The Parliament of Vanuatu passed a reforms package which provides for greater independence to electoral management bodies, introduces more modern and inclusive electoral management, regulation and registration of political parties and anti-defection measures to govern the behavior of Members of Parliament.

 The Vanuatu Electoral Environment Project has been providing technical assistance to Electoral Commission, Vanuatu Electoral Office and Civil Registration and Identity Management (CRIM) Department over the years. The third phase of the project “VEEP III” builds on previous electoral assistance to Vanuatu and its main objective is to further the democratic development of Vanuatu. The project will do this by further strengthening the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Vanuatu Electoral Office (VEO) to more effectively implement their mandate and ensure inclusive, transparent, and credible electoral processes and by improving the institutional environment and practice of democracy.   The project strategy is twofold: (i) to influence the institutional environment: the laws, rules, and regulations of the democratic processes; and (ii) to empower the agency of stakeholders: notably the Electoral Commission / VEO on one hand and individual citizens and civil society organisations on the other. VEEP III will support to the EC/VEO, to work in partnership with key stakeholders, including with civil society organisations, to improve voter education and to maintain trust in the electoral and broader democratic system.

 Following are four specific objectives of the VEEP-III project:

1. Provide services to support all citizens, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups, to be increasingly aware of elections and the importance of democratic practices and processes
2. Voter register kept accurate and updated with every eligible voter registered
3. Political parties operate within the legislated regulatory environment
4. Effective and efficient electoral governance with less reliance on external assistance

Scope of Work 

The Civil and Voter Registration Specialist will work with the UNDP VEEP III to provide support to Civil Registration and Identity Management Department (CRIM) and Vanuatu Electoral Office (VEO) to implement the second objective of the project to keep voter register accurate and updated with every eligible voter registered. This will be done by promoting legal identity for all citizens including women, youth, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups of Vanuatu through continuing support to complete the integration and enhancement of the new Central Register with a strong identity management component. The intention of the output is to leave no one behind when it comes to access to their legal identity and voting rights of all eligible voters. Also, with a focus on the output, it will include the development capacity to track civil and voter registration segregated by demographic groups such as women, youth, and persons with disability. Additionally, it will provide technical assistance to the Department of Civil Registry and Identity Management (CRIM), as well as the Vanuatu Electoral Office (VEO), in managing and operating the new comprehensive civil and voter registration database RV5. 

This new system is a foundational, integrated, interoperable identity management system.  The Specialist will work with key government stakeholders to develop the operational and procedural capacities of the staff and users of the new system. The Specialist will provide policy, legislative, and procedural support including developing or updating of proposals for legislative reform, Standard Operational Procedures, new templates and forms.  These will be developed to support the implementation of distinct features of the new civil registration system, including the following: New Registration, Birth Registration, Adoption Registration, Marriage Registration, Divorce Registration, Death Registration, and Voter Registration. The Specialist will ensure the coordination of activities and contribute to reinforcing national capacity in this area. The procedures codified should, ideally, be further developed into the permanent CRIM and VEO architecture, incorporating elements from the legal framework and good practices that can institutionalize the principles of transparency and integrity for future processes. The “Civil Registration and Identity Management Specialist” would also be working with other departments, ministries, and the private sector, to create their forward-facing part, SOPs and MOUs for interlinkage of the new central civil register and Vanuatu Population Database, contributing to wider digital transformation objectives of the Government of Vanuatu. 

   Institutional Arrangement

The Civil and Voter Registration Specialist will be working with the Project Support team and reporting to the Chief Technical Specialist.

Summary of Key Functions 

Regular cleaning and updating of RV5 and Implementation of RV5 and VanElekta

• Coordinate the design and implement user training of the new Central Registration Database, RV5, and VanElekta
• Ensure long-term sustainable practices are incorporated into every training to ensure that any new deployment of RV5 can be trained virtually
• Work closely with the government to create programs and yearly planning to ensure that civil and voter registration records are updated regularly to maintain accuracy and reliability.

Provision of technical capacity support to CRIM and OGCIO for managing ad-hoc and major ICT issues related to the CRVS system, including cyber-security, data protection, and privacy issues.

• Manage and oversees the ICT Team and UNDP software, which will provide technical support to the responsible bodies (such as the Civil Registration and Identification Management Department, the Office of the Chief Government Information Officer, and System Companies) to manage critical ICT systems and ensure data security in civil and voter registration systems.

Support CRIM and OGCIO to determine the gradual transition of responsibilities to the government.

• Assisting in the transition plan for the government to take full responsibility for civil and voter registration operations, including system management and maintenance.

Training national staff to localize the CRVS platform and equip them with the necessary independent operation and maintenance skills, including developing manuals, user guides, and SOPs.

• Update and maintain RV5 and VanElekta training toolkit and coordinate the handing over of the maintenance of the Kit to CRIM and VEO staff
• Coordinated capacity training for CRIM to manage and update user manual and standard operating procedures with each new installment of RV5 and VanElekta

Develop outreach strategies to promote awareness and accessibility of the National ID card programs, including promoting the importance of registering for vital events (birth, marriage, death) and updating residential addresses. These efforts will specifically target women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.

• Creating campaigns to increase awareness and encourage participation in civil and voter registration, especially for obtaining national identification cards.

Implementation of community engagement events, awareness campaigns, and targeted communication strategies to reach eligible individuals.

• Organizing initiatives to engage with communities directly, promoting the importance of civil and voter registration, and ensuring that all eligible individuals are informed and encouraged to register.
• Support and advocate for the implementation of the CRIM Communication Strategic
• Support the Civil Registration Awareness according to the Communication Strategy

Collaboration with local authorities and civil society organizations to facilitate outreach efforts, particularly in marginalized and remote communities.

• Working with local bodies and organizations to reach underserved communities, ensuring that civil and voter registration services are accessible to all, including marginalized groups.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Business Direction & Strategy: 

• Strategic Thinking 
  • Develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.
  • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.
• Effective Decision Making 
  • Take decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one's authority, area of expertise and resources and take into consideration potential wider implications.

Business Management: Customer Satisfaction/Client Management

• Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfill and understand the real customers' needs. 
• Provide inputs to the development of customer service strategy.  
• Look for ways to add value beyond clients' immediate requests. 
• Ability to anticipate client's upcoming needs and concerns. 

Administration & Operations: Events management (including retreats, trainings and meetings) 

• Ability to manage events, including venue identification, accommodation, logistics, catering, transportation, and cash disbursements, etc 

Finance: Budget management 

• Ability to support budgetary aspects of work planning process, drawing and management of team budgets.

2030 Agenda: Peace: Governance 

• Electoral Cycle Support