Form of Employment: Short-term consultancy
Position Location: Yangon, Myanmar
Reporting lines: Country Representative Myanmar
Contract Period: 13 May 2019 – 31 December 2020
Estimated days for the overall contract: 70 working days maximum (mission and home-based)
Deployment Period for the first mission: 29 May 2019 – 03 June 2019
Estimated days for the first mission: 8 working days maximum (mission and home-based)
Background
Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organisation registered in Berlin. Democracy Reporting International promotes political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies and the development of democratic institutions world-wide.
DRI is recruiting a Senior Constitutional Expert to support the implementation of the European Union- funded STEP Democracy project. STEP Democracy is implemented by a consortium of 8 international and local organisations and works with the Union Election Commission (UEC), political parties and civil society organizations (CSOs), supporting Myanmar’s democratic transition with tailor-made and non-prescriptive technical support in line with the unique needs of each electoral stakeholder, promoting dialogue on electoral reforms, human rights and democratic governance.
The Senior Constitutional Expert might also provide support to the DRI Myanmar office, if required, in the development and implementation of future projects aimed at strengthening the capacities of relevant stakeholders in topics related to elections, human rights, pluralism, democratic governance, federalism and constitutional reforms.
Duties and responsibilities
The Senior Constitutional Expert will work with the DRI Myanmar team to design activities relevant to the current political context, participate in the events as resource person, and provide comparative insight to state officials, civil society organisations, political parties, and other stakeholders that take part.
In particular, the Senior Constitutional Expert will work with DRI Myanmar team to design and conduct the Myanmar Democracy Fellowship, an innovative 15-day programme designed for representatives from state institutions and civil society leaders on the international standards of democratic governance. The expert will also act as a resource person during multi-stakeholder roundtables that DRI has been organizing since 2016 focusing on the various aspect of democratic governance currently discussed in Myanmar peace negotiations, including but not limited to: election system, human rights, pluralism, federalism, decentralisation, subnational constitutions, linkages between peace process and constitutional reform. Furthermore, the expert will also be required to hold meetings and provide on demand briefings to relevant national stakeholders on election and democratic governance issues.
Tasks
The Senior Constitutional Expert will be expected to:
- Collaborate with the DRI Myanmar Country Representative and Country Office team on the design and development of the activities;
- Provide technical advice and comparative inputs on election and democratic reforms to high-level government officials, political parties, civil society organisations and other national stakeholders involved in the peace process as well as legal and constitutional reforms efforts;
- Act as a resource person during the Myanmar Democracy Fellowship (Module 3 from 28 May to 2 June 2019), designing and conducting expert sessions as required;
- Act as a resource person at multi-stakeholder roundtables on democratic governance issues at stake in Myanmar peace process and other relevant events, designing and facilitating sessions as required;
- Develop handouts and other relevant knowledge products.
Timeframe
The contract period is from 13 May 2019 to 31 December 2020. During this period, the Senior Constitutional Expert will be expected to travel to Myanmar for several missions, each of which lasting 5 to 12 days.
Location and/or Travel Plan:
During planned events, the Senior Constitutional Expert will be expected to travel to Myanmar and work from the DRI office in Yangon, with internal travel to Naypyitaw and other major cities as appropriate.
Qualifications
- Advanced university degree (Master’s, or Ph.D) in law, political science, or a related field;
- At least 10 years of experience in democracy support with a focus on human rights and constitution-making processes and subject matter expertise in any of the following areas: the right to self-determination, civil and political rights, international human rights law, comparative constitutional law, democratic governance and federalism.
- Experience in delivering technical assistance, training sessions, or capacity-building on human rights and democratic constitutions, as well as any of the subject matters listed previously;
- Experience in leading academic research is strongly preferred;
- Demonstrated knowledge of the constitutional and legal frameworks in Myanmar is a strong asset;
- Working experience in Myanmar is strongly preferred;
- Working experience in the region is an asset
- Excellent command of English is required;
- Excellent research and reporting skills are required.
DRI values diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. Women are encouraged to apply.
Deadline for applications is 10 May 2019. Candidates might be contacted prior to the deadline.
Candidates should submit a CV to [email protected] with ‘Senior Constitutional Expert Myanmar’ in the subject line.