Gender/Inclusion and Civic Education Specialist - VEEP III

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:

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

Summary of Key Functions of the Gender/Inclusion and Civic Education Specialist:

Implement and provide strategic guidance of all activities under Output 1 and mainstreaming gender and inclusion across all other outputs of the project.

• Work with key stakeholders to undertake a Needs Assessment to identify the specific barriers faced by women, youth, and people with disabilities to meaningfully participate in electoral processes.
• Implement and track the progress of the “Liftemap Fiuja” Gender Strategy, implementing key activities within the strategy in collaboration with VEO.
• Provide advice to VEO and affiliated committees on best ways to reach traditionally underrepresented in elections populations, especially women, youth, and people with disabilities through voter outreach channels.
• Ensure Voter Registration activities under Output 2 are inclusive of all populations, especially people with disabilities. 
• Wherever necessary, support VEO in political parties registration efforts.
• Integrate gender and inclusion into all VEO and EC governance activities, ensuring all demographics are equitably represented throughout the process. 

Build strong relationships with key stakeholders to ensure sustainable implementation of civic and voter education activities.

• Collaborate with VEO to strengthen parternships with civil society organizations, NGOs, government agencies, and decentralized networks.
• Ensure stakeholder partnerships are equally representative of all populations and demographics across Vanuatu.
• Support planning and preparations of outreach committee events.

Manage sub-grant process, including tracking and monitoring of sub-grant activities while providing advice to grantees on best ways to integrate gender and inclusion into activities.

• Provide advice and guidance in development of call for proposals.
• Monitor and track activities of both sub-grantees’ activities and the effectiveness of the sub-grant process within UNDP and inform on lessons learned to improve in future calls for proposals.

Track and monitor implementation of civic education across Vanuatu’s secondary schools, providing advice on ways to continually enhance civic education curriculum. 

• Integrate assessments of civic education into Ministry of Education and Training’s planning and testing.
• Collaborate with VEO to conduct consultations and evaluations of civic education effectiveness. Build lessons learned into civic education materials.

Ensure reporting and maintenance of records as necessary

• Work closely with project team to provide inputs into annual and other reports and presentations as necessary.
• Collaborate with the project team, especially the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, in project closure activities as necessary.

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

Core competencies:

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact 
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems 
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands 
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Business Direction & Strategy    

• System Thinking. 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.

2030 Agenda: People    

• Gender. Gender Equality and Institutional Transformation.

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.

Finance    

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

2030 Agenda: Partnerships    

• Governance. Electoral Cycle Support