Project Background:

UN/UNDP and several donors undertook an assessment of the environment within which the next elections will take place, with a view to identifying the needs for technical assistance. In light of the findings and recommendations of the assessment missions, a project of Electoral Cycle Assistance has been formulated to support a free, fair and transparent electoral process. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and several donors have expressed a strong interest in ensuring coordinated support to the next elections through the project.

The project will be implemented using the UNDP Direct Implementation (DIM) arrangements under the supervision of a Project Review Board (PRB). A Project Management Unit (PMU) will be established to act as a secretariat for the PRB and to assist in the implementation of the project as well as in the coordination, management and reporting of donor assistance. The PMU will be headed by a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and the project teams, both technical and operational, will report to the CTA.

Job Description:

With overall guidance of CTA and under the direct supervision of CTA, the Civic and Voter Education Specialist Officer will be responsible for the following tasks:

§ Design and implement a civic and voter education programme for election activities including:

a. Supporting the ECP in the design and development of culturally- and gender-sensitive civic/voter education materials through a variety of mediums for potential voters;

b. Assist ECP to undertake civic and voter education programme in partnership between ECP and other interlocutors such as media and civil society;

c. Provide support to ECP for better inclusion of various marginalized sectors in the electoral process, especially rural populations, women, youth etc. through civic and voter education initiatives/programmes;

d. Develop TORS for the procurement of civic and voter education related activities;

e. Design communications strategies for ECP to reach out to various stakeholder groups including political parties, civil society, media, etc through use of traditional media (print, electronic, radio, leaflets, newsletters etc) as well as innovative new media (mobile, web/internet, social media and networks etc);

§ Support the ECP in building its institutional capacity through following activities:

a. Provide technical advisory support to ECP for the production and dissemination of civic and voter education materials;

b. Conduct training programmes for the ECP to effectively undertake civic and voter education activities.

§ Provide regular reporting on the coverage and quality of civic and voter education activities through:

a. Design and commission baseline surveys on voter perceptions etc.

b. Develop relevant indicators for measuring changes in voters’ perceptions, voters’ participation etc.

c. Development of monitoring and evaluation tools for the continuous assessment of impact of civic and voter education activities on target populations, as well as and feedback mechanisms for incorporating lessons learnt;

§ Ensure close coordination among UNDP’s civic/voter education initiatives and other programs being carried out by other partners such as national and international NGOs.