Civil Society and Governance Specialist

Pact's mission is to build empowered communities, effective governments and responsible private institutions that give people an opportunity for a better life. We do this by strengthening the capacity of organizations and institutions to be good service providers, represent their stakeholders, network with others for learning and knowledge sharing, and advocate for social, economic and environmental justice. Interdependence, responsible stewardship, inclusion of vulnerable groups, and respect for local ownership and knowledge are core values across all of our programs.

Location: Rwanda

Summary:

Pact seeks a Civil Society and Governance Specialist for a three year, USAID “Strengthening Civic Participation in Rwanda” project in Kigali, Rwanda.

Recruitment is contingent upon successful award of the project.. Only finalist candidates will be contacted. The Rwanda Project will assist USAID Rwanda and the Government of Rwanda in strengthening civic participation across Rwanda:
- in facilitating effective and meaningful engagement between government, civil society, and citizens in Rwanda at the national level, in the areas of policy assessment, policy formulation, advocacy, monitoring, and developing planning;
- in facilitating effective and meaningful engagement between government, civil society, and citizens in Rwanda at the local level, particularly in the areas of assessment, monitoring, and advocacy within the context of service delivery, planning processes, and capital project implementation; and,- the Government of Rwanda in developing a public process for giving input into and rolling out a civil service code of conduct at the local and national level.

The Civil Society and Governance Specialist will plan, oversee and deliver project deliverables that increase the quality of public dialog and public participation in policy making and implementation.

In addition to capacity building for local government officials to design and implement effective mechanisms for seeking and incorporating public input, the CSG Specialist will assist government to disseminate its new civil service code of conduct, and assisting CSOs to better understand public decision making processes and engage government.

S/he will work closely with the Chief of Party, Community Mobilization and Networking Specialist, Grants Manager, and other project staff and consultants. In addition to strong academic credentials, the CSG Specialist must possess five years of experience in:

- Designing, planning, and delivering capacity building programs for government officials;
- Training government officials and civil society representatives in planning, managing and implementing local governance score card systems and/or codes of conduct, especially regarding transparency and civil society engagement in the development and implementation of policy.
- Mapping civil society and governance networks to determine gaps and strengths, design appropriate interventions, and monitoring and evaluating effectiveness;
- Demonstrated ability to serve as liaison with government officials from local to national levels;
- Demonstrated experience in implementing USAID or other international donor funded projects;- Previous experience in Rwanda or a similar setting in Africa is highly desirable;
- Bilingual English & French spoken fluency, plus reading and writing proficiency is required.; Kinyarwanda proficiency a plus;
- Familiarity with local governance/citizen report card methodologies desirable;
- Familiarity with promoting public understanding of and access to public budgets desirable;
- Experience in cultural or applied anthropology or similar background in history or culture as it applies to modes of discourse, attitudes toward authority, and in assisting in the design of meaningful public participation experiences in Rwanda or similar setting desirable;
- Knowledge of and ability to effectively use word processing and data management systems and applications.

How to apply

Please visit our website at http://www.pactworld.org and complete an online application

Reference Code: RW_7NPUST-55

Closing date: 23 Feb 2009