Abt Global - Team Leader Governance & Institutions | BP-APSP

Job Description

Abt Associates is seeking a suitably qualified individual to fill the role of Team Leader, Governance & Institutions with our Bougainville Partnership - Australia Papua New Guinea Subnational Program.

About the Organization

About the Program

For Australia and New Zealand, the emergence of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Bougainville is a key national interest; supporting the Government of PNG and the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) to implement the Bougainville Peace Agreement is an explicit commitment in the Australia government 2017 White Paper. An overriding interest is to maintain the peace that the Agreement brought about and that is enabled by political dialogue, within and outside Bougainville, and economic development. It implies a readiness to engage for the long term, accepting that the development of institutions and diversified economic opportunities will be slow.

The Bougainville Partnership (BP) took on its current form in 2016, inheriting activities from a number of separately administered initiatives. The structure of the program remains similar to the BP’s previous program, but with updated outcomes as follows:

Pillar 1 - Capable Institutions

1. GoPNG and ABG institutions are able to carry out high priority tasks that support Bougainville’s development and the post-referendum dialogue:
Supporting defined tasks connected with the development of essential institutions, the draw-down of powers, and Post-Referendum Dialogue.

Pillar 2 - Economic Development

2. ABG and business associations jointly plan and implement initiatives to improve the private sector environment for inclusive economic development: Measures to improve the environment for private sector development and deepen the dialogue between the government and the private sector will be promoted through technical assistance.

3. Women and men engaged in primary production have increased incomes and benefit from inclusive associations and cooperatives: The current agricultural value chain activities will be continued, focussing on improving cocoa quality and linking producers to markets.

Women and men engaged in primary production have increased incomes and benefit from inclusive associations and cooperatives: The current agricultural value chain activities will be continued, focussing on improving cocoa quality and linking producers to markets. This objective must be complemented with an economic inclusive policy and strategy that helps the interest of women, youth and people living with disabilities to actively take part and benefit from the economic activities.

Pillar 3 - Stronger Communities

4. Community, youth and women’s groups collaborate effectively to establish sustainable community assets, deliver services and advocate for their target groups: Formerly the peace-building component, activities will include continuation and expansion of the existing successful community grants program, initiatives to provide skills and foster networks for youth, and community infrastructure.

Pillar Crosscutting Outcome:

5. Women increasingly participate in decision making and take on leadership roles in civic, economic and political spaces: The program will use the entry points from its range of activities to promote women’s leadership.

The BP is part of the Australia PNG Subnational Program (APSP), which is an enabling mechanism comprised of three separately designed
programs including: BP, the Western Province Partnership (WPP), the Kokoda Initiative Partnership (KIP), and the Subnational Governance Implementation Plan (SGIP). Each program has its own outcomes, theory of change, operational approach and separate monitoring and evaluation systems.

Position Overview

The Team Leader, Governance & Institutions (BP Pillar 1) will have responsibility for the BP’s Pillar 1 End of Program Outcomes including:

• Oversight of long and short-term advisory inputs to:

o Provide capacity development and institutional strengthening of the ABG’s central agencies and other priority departments.

o Engage with the ABG and the GoPNG counterparts – including the National Coordination Office of Bougainville Affairs (NCOBA) –
as they jointly and progressively implement the draw down of legislative powers.

o Provide workforce capacity development, recruitment support, and structured senior leaders trainings.

o Support high-level intergovernmental dialogue and cooperation between GoPNG and ABG.

• Overseeing the redesign and delivery of the Partnerships electoral support to Bougainville, including overseeing grant or contract administration, advisory inputs and surge support delivered via the Partnership.
• Building the capacity of key ABG and partner stakeholders to carry out identified governance and institutional strengthening objectives as agreed through the Pillar 1 Technical Working Group.
• Operating in a senior leadership role, support the BP Director, lead BP Advisers, and manage BP staff in the implementation, management and coordination of the Partnership in consultation with the program’s primary counterparts.
• Ensuring Pillar 1 workstreams work in an adaptive manner, with the strategic ability to pivot program approaches in line with the political economy in consultation with, and at the direction of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), and BP management.
• Assist DFAT and MFAT to build, manage, and leverage a network of relationships and stakeholders that are central to the Bougainville Partnership.
• Demonstrate a visible and systematic commitment to achieving gender equality through the APSP and for achieving against agreed gender equality performance objectives.

The Team Leader will report to the Director (BP).

About You

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in law, international development, political science, public administration or a related field or equivalent experience

Knowledge

• Demonstrated understanding of sub-national governance in Papua New Guinea or Pacific region.
• Knowledge of legislative and policy development in Papua New Guinea or the Pacific region.
• Knowledge of the unique autonomy arrangements applicable to the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
• Knowledge of strategic planning, functional analysis, organisational design, organisational governance, capacity building and change management.
• An understanding of the monitoring, evaluation and reporting, and public diplomacy requirements of Australian/Papua New Guinea Government or donor programs.

Skills/Experience

• At least 5-10 years of governance or international development experience preferably in PNG or regional Melanesia
• Excellent political economy analytical skills that are regularly applied to ensure the Program’s sustained delivery against approved investment designs, strategies and workplans.
• Ability to understand local contexts and provide advice to donors on adaptive programming to ensure investments remain aligned with partner’s priorities.
• Excellent representational skills that ensure key relationships are well maintained with senior government officials (national and sub-national), donor partners, implementing partners and civil society.
• Strong negotiation skills that are applied across various contexts to ensure program continuity and program growth.
• Experience in monitoring & evaluation of complex government or international development programs with multiple contributing workstreams and providing high-level written reports to management and donors.
• Demonstrated skills and experience in advancing gender equality and inclusion approaches across workstreams.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with a demonstrated ability to lead and build effective teams, especially in a remote, cross-cultural context.

Personal Attributes

• Delivers Results
• Builds Internal and External Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty.
• Develops People
• Communicates
• Sets Vision and Direction
• Demonstrates Sound Financial and Business-Related Practices
• Builds Teams and Cooperation
• Promotes Technical Excellence and Quality
• Promotes Diversity Acts as a Role Model

For more information on the role and how to apply, please click on ‘Apply Now’