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Senior Institution Building Advisor, Afghanistan ISLA Program

Tetra Tech ARD is currently accepting expressions of interest from qualified Senior Institution Building Advisor candidates for the Initiative to Strengthen Local Administrations (ISLA) program. 

 

The purpose of this Program is to strengthen the sub-national government system in Afghanistan to enable the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) to improve provincial governance in the areas of fiscal and development planning, representation of citizens, and enhanced delivery of public services. The ISLA program will strengthen subnational systems in the areas of planning, operations, communication, representation, and citizen engagement. Improvements in these areas, along with the passage of clear, legal sub-national governance frameworks by GIRoA will improve GIRoA’s ability to prioritize service delivery and develop central plans and budgets that represent provincial interests. This will lead to services that more closely respond to all citizens’ needs in health, education, security, justice, and urban services. As all citizens benefit from public services, their perception of government legitimacy will increase. The core problems to be addressed are better integration of provincial priorities into the national plan and budget, and strengthened flows of information. The program will work within the existing system to improve its functionality. This will be done by fostering a combination of top-down and bottom-up consultative processes between central and provincial levels to formulate plans and budgets that align with local community service delivery priorities and with national developmental priorities and available resources.

 

Responsibilities:

*Provide technical leadership for the development of targeted capacity development programs to institutionalize systems and administrative processes, as well as the design of all capacity development approaches to support GIRoA counterparts.

*Lead and supervise the project’s Components A (Provincial Planning and Budgeting) and B (Subnational Institution Building) technical teams to facilitate completion of project deliverables and the provision of high quality technical support to the project’s GIRoA counterparts [Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG), Ministry of Economy (MoEc), and Ministry of Finance (MoF)]. 

*Facilitate the development and of skills assessment and institutional capacity and performance assessment tools for GIRoA counterparts, through project staff or consultants, to review capacities related to provincial planning, budgeting, management, administration, and governance. 

*Lead and oversee the development of the project’s capacity development and training plan, training curricula, tools, templates, and other related resources.

*Manage and oversee the project’s Provincial Governance Internship Program.

*Provide coaching, mentoring, and training support the project technical team and embedded advisors to strengthen skills in provincial development planning and budgeting, institutional strengthening, capacity development, public administration, management, and governance.

*Coordinate and support project short term technical assistance providers, subcontractors, and consultants in the areas of provincial development planning, public administration and management, public finance, and institutional strengthening. 

*The candidate will engage with IDLG, MoEc, and MoF and provincial administrations on a regular basis to improve inter- and intra-governmental systems and processes.

*Coordinate closely with GIRoA counterparts, including IDLG, MoEc, and MoF focal persons and leadership. 

*Advise and participate in technical working groups, the Project Management Committee, and the Project Steering Committee meetings as assigned.

 

Qualifications:

*Master’s degree in urban planning, public administration, public policy, political science, or other social science related field.

*Three years additional work experience in a related social science field can be substituted for a master’s degree.

*At least eight years of accomplishments and experience in institution building, capacity building, and working with host country government counterparts in transitional, Islamic, or post-conflict countries.

*Experience working in Afghanistan and understanding of the subnational governance system of Afghanistan is a plus.

*Demonstrated experience in developing activities to strengthen de-concentration in centralized, unitary government systems. 

*Experience implementing capacity development programs, including on-the-job coaching and mentoring.

*At least five years of progressively responsible supervisory experience, including direct supervision and performance evaluation of professional and support staff.

*Prior experience on USAID-funded projects is a strong advantage.

*Excellent oral and written English language skills.

*Proficiency in Dari and Pashto is desired.

*Demonstrated ability to interact regularly and professionally with senior host country government counterparts on policy and other strategic planning issues.

*Proven organization, management and communications skills in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity and gender.

 

Submission deadline: September 1, 2017

 

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