Senior International Political/Legal Expert (Georgia)

Background

With funding from the German Foreign Office, Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) are implementing a project “Strengthening political pluralism in Georgia”. The aim of the project is to contribute to strengthening of political pluralism in Georgia by fostering an impartial facts-based debate on the problem of political polarisation.

Polarisation along the political party lines is a long-standing problem in Georgia. The high level of polarisation has been singled out as a serious problem by the European Union, Council of Europe and the OSCE. While Georgia’s progress in building democracy is widely recognised, the widespread polarisation of public and political life remains a critical obstacle to its consolidation, which cripples political decision making and causes citizens’ dissatisfaction.

Georgian civil society organisations are struggling to respond effectively to this challenge. In a nine-month fact finding project, DRI and GYLA are aiming to jointly advance the knowledge on the causes and effects of the political polarisation in Georgia, by working together on areas such as:

• Fact finding and analysis on the subject of political polarisation through discussion, research, media monitoring and comparative international inputs.
• Enabling the public debate about political polarisation in Georgia, through publication briefing papers, media materials and other reports.
• Development of possible strategies and tools to be employed by the civil society to overcome extreme political polarisation.

Description of assignment and responsibilities

The project is currently seeking the services of a qualified international political and/or legal short-term expert to support the research and fact finding activities of the project. The expert is expected to:

• Work with DRI’s Programme Officer, Georgian project partner and short-term experts to develop a baseline assessment of political polarisation in Georgia gathering the outputs of the two consultation workshops held by DRI and GYLA between July and November 2016 (including leading on editing and finalisation of this document). Background information and relevant reports will be provided to the expert at the start of the assignment.
• Conduct comparative research on political polarisation in different countries (at least three countries, to be identified in consultation with DRI) and develop a briefing paper summarising the outcome of research.
• Review and provide input to the two discussion papers developed by the Georgian short-term experts.
• Advise on the consolidation of key findings and recommendations developed by the project for final public presentation in Tbilisi in late January 2017, help develop recommendations on how to overcome polarisation.
• Be available for a presentation of their research results at the project concluding event in Tbilisi in late January 2017.

Qualifications

• Advanced university degree in political science, law or international public law.
• At least 8 years of relevant professional experience in a similar role, with demonstrated experience in providing political and/or legal expertise, writing, editing and summarising complex legal and political documents on the topics relevant to the project (political pluralism, political polarisation, inter-party cooperation).
• Work experience in academia, think tanks or civil society organisations is desirable.
• Good knowledge and understanding of Georgia’s political context is a plus.
• Demonstrated political judgment and analytical skills.
• Fluency in English is required, together with demonstrable report-writing and presentation skills.

Duration of the assignment:

The expert will be contracted for the period from 12 December 2016 to 30 January 2017. The working days will include mission days in Tbilisi and home-based desk work (17 working days maximum).

Deliverables and indicative timelines

An indicative timeline for the assignment is illustrated in the table below, however, it is subject to change based on participatory planning with DRI and GYLA:

How to apply

Interested applicants should send the following documents to [email protected] 

• An updated CV, including a list of relevant publications;
• A brief cover letter, explaining interest in the position and outlining the proposed methodological approach to the assignment.

The closing date for applications is 11 December 2016.