Knowledge and Learning Consultant to Support Operationalization of OGP’s Local Strategy

Job Description

Description

Background

OGP launched its Local Program in 2016, as an initial pilot of local jurisdictions co-creating and implementing action plans similar to those of national members of OGP. While the Local program offered a limited number of local governments and civil society champions an opportunity to participate independently in OGP, efforts to use OGP to promote open government at the local level have existed since the very early days of OGP. Since 2011, 332 commitments relevant at the local have been made in 60 countries’ National Action Plans; accounting for nearly 10% of the total commitments made.

Recognizing the need to continue to support collective efforts of national and local governments and civil society in promoting open government for reforms to be sustained and scaled over time and the need to build on the successes and lessons learned from the OGP Local program and other initiatives to support open local government, the OGP Steering Committee endorsed a new Local Strategy in May 2019.

The new strategy comprises of the following key pillars:

1. Supporting strategic national-local integration to support effective national government and civil society strategies to foster local open government through national initiatives, including the OGP national action plan processes.
2. Enhancing the OGP Local program by redesigning the current program to be more flexible, scalable and inclusive.
3. Developing a collaborative platform for learning that provides easy access to knowledge resources, learning opportunities, self-serve guides, peer and expert networks to those working on open local government.

OGP is now in the process of operationalizing this new strategy and preparing for its launch in early 2020. Part of this will involve designing group-based, online and offline learning programs for onboarding and ongoing support to governments and civil society involved in OGP processes at the local level, developing a mentor program, and curating or developing an initial set of guides, case studies and resource materials. In this context, OGP is seeking a consultant who will be able to lead the development and delivery of an approach to learning and knowledge sharing within the OGP Local Strategy in a manner that respond to needs and feedback received from relevant stakeholders. The consultant will work closely with an existing team with responsibility for design and delivery of the overall OGP Local Strategy.

Scope of Work

• Analyse learning needs of OGP stakeholders across pillars 1 and 2 of the strategy, identify how best those needs can be met, prioritize select areas required for launch, building on some of the needs identified during the strategy development phase (in consultation with the overall project team).
• Develop an initial set of resources/self-serve guides and online learning materials/courses.
• Identify and curate existing relevant content from OGP and partner organizations.
• Provide viable options or approaches for setting up an active virtual community of practice/ peer support network for stakeholders interested in open local government, including how OGP can leverage on existing partnerships and assets to do so.
• Design a cohort (group)-based online and offline program to support government and civil society in co-creating and delivering ambitious open local government reforms
• Develop a mentor program that matches current OGP local participants (within the Local program and within national processes) and new participants including options for testing and refining the program over time.

Terms of the Consultancy:

• The total fee for the assignment is USD 25,000, payable based on 5 output-related milestones that will be agreed with the consultant.
• The consultant should be ready to start in August and complete the assignment by the end of December, with an average of at least 3 working days per week allocated to this project during the course of the assignment.
• The consultant can be based anywhere, as long as they are able and willing to conduct interviews and participate in virtual meetings across different time zones and have good access to the internet.
• The consultant will report to the OGP Lead for Asia Pacific (based in Singapore), work closely with the Program Manager for Knowledge, Learning, Innovation and Capacity Building, and other members of the team based in different locations across regions, and will be expected to maintain regular communication while carrying out the work, with weekly check-ins scheduled.

Requirements

Qualifications, Requirements and Skills

• Experience in designing e-learning and other learning programs, including developing user-friendly learning materials. In-depth knowledge of innovative approaches to stakeholder engagement and learning.
• Experience in operationalizing strategy and in program and service design
• Experience of developing or contributing to virtual communities of practice
• Strong listening skills, verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with non-native English speakers
• Strong deductive, analytical and critical thinking skills, including the ability to generate actionable insights from diverse sources of information.
• Ability to work flexible hours to accommodate time zone differences of locations in which stakeholders to be interviewed are based.
• Strong project management skills
• Understanding of how OGP works, and of open government and local governance issues is highly desirable.

How to Apply

• Must upload a cover letter and resume within application. Interested candidates, please click here to apply.
• Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, so applicants are encouraged to submit their materials as soon as possible and no later than August 5th.
• Because of the volume of applications, we will not be able to respond to every applicant. We thank applicants in advance for their expressions of interest.

The Open Government Partnership, is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, including bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, medical condition (cancer-related) or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions (ARC). Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application.

About the Organization

The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from national and subnational governments to promote open government, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.