Elections/Voter and Civic Education Expert - Afghanistan

Counterpart International is seeking a full-time Elections/Voter & Civic Education Expert to assist its USAID-funded Afghan Civic Engagement Program (ACEP), based in Kabul, Afghanistan. Counterpart International implements ACEP in partnership with the Internews Network, the Aga Khan Foundation USA and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL). The goal of ACEP is to promote civil society and media engagement that enables Afghan citizens to influence policy, monitor government accountability, and serve as an advocate for political reform. The program aims to achieve this goal through the following five program areas: (1) regular CSO engagement with government; (2) increase CSO and media thematic expertise in democracy and governance; (3) expand civic engagement; (4) improve access to independent news and public affairs information; and (5) increase CSO organizational capacity.

This position will report to the Chief of Party based in Kabul. With support and guidance from the ACEP Team, the Consultant will provide overall effective management and support for civil society voter education and accountability/oversight activities related to the upcoming local elections. The Expert must extensive experience managing and implementing successful USAID-funded political participation programs as well as providing technical assistance to local partners/CSOs, government and other stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide technical support for activity planning, strategy development and management support to ACEP's Program Team which currently manages a portfolio of 40 grants to local CSOs involved in a range of outreach, civic engagement and voter education activities in advance of Parliamentary and District Council elections scheduled for October 2018;
• Support the ongoing activities of the Civil Society Elections Coordination Group (CECG) which is facilitated by ACEP and provides a platform for coordination between the IEC, local election-focused CSOs and donors; Conduct two workshops with the Working Group (needs assessment and project proposal);
• Provide training to ACEP project staff and CSO partners on a range of topics related to elections, the electoral cycle, voter and civic education;
• Establish supportive relationships and collaborative or complementary work streams with the IEC, UNDP ELECT and Donors to enhance CSO's role in upcoming elections.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in a related field preferred; Bachelor's required;
• At least 10 years of relevant international work experience directly related to technical assistance for electoral systems and processes;
• Expertise in developing and supporting the implementation of voter and civic education activities in collaboration with local civil society organizations;
• Demonstrated ability to develop effective training materials;
• Experience with USAID-funded sub-granting methods, processes and requirements;
• Extensive and specific experience in training and capacity-building of civil society organizations;
• Strong oral and written communication skills in English;
• Extensive experience with implementing electoral cycle projects;