Job Description
Role Description
Adam Smith International is looking for an experienced international advisor to join the IDLG Technical Assistance Project, in order to help improve the support provided by Afghanistan’s Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) to provincial and district administrations.
IDLG has legal responsibility for provincial, municipal and district administrations and is the primary institutional link between them and the central government in Kabul. However, the legislation governing the relationship between governors, councils and sectoral agencies is stated in very general terms, and the law is silent or unclear about the precise levels and types of authority that governors have in relation to development, governance, and security, and on how a governor’s general responsibilities should be carried out. A 2014 study carried out by the World Bank regards such lack of definition as being a major impediment to the provision of basic services.
Following a recent strategic review, supported by the project, IDLG has renewed its commitment to further clarifying the roles and responsibilities of governors in these areas, and has requested support from the project with this process. The project intends to conduct an initial six-week workstream scoping phase to investigate the current status quo and begin the process of developing detailed guidance for governors - this role would be extendable to March 2016, dependent on initial performance.
Competences
- First rate analytical capability
- The ability to argue and present a case clearly, succinctly, and cogently, in writing and orally
- The ability and discipline to produce high quality written work to tight deadlines without close supervision and under sometimes difficult and stressful working and living conditions
- Effective interpersonal and cross-cultural skills
- A higher degree in development studies, governance, management, political science, law or other relevant social science from a well-recognised university
- Some familiarity with the recent development literature on conflict and post-conflict states
- Experience of working with government ministries in developing countries in an advisory role
- Broad understanding of some of the main issues of subnational governance in developing countries
- Solid understanding of qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis and the essentials of human resource management and organisational and work design
- At least 5 years of relevant consultancy or other relevant work experience in developing countries, incorporating data collection and analysis for policy and institutional development, strategic planning, and project design
- Relevant work experience in post-conflict countries will be viewed favourably
- Experience working in Afghanistan, particularly on local governance, will be viewed favourably
Outputs
During the initial six-week scoping phase the consultant will:
- Not later than five calendar days after the start of the consultancy, produce a 3 to 5 page methodological note setting out how the work will be carried out, what primary and secondary data will be used, and how such data will be gathered
- In the last week of the consultancy make a presentation of a draft of the final report to government stakeholders and obtain feedback
- By the end of the consultancy period, produce a written report that:
- Examines current practice and legislation regarding interactions between provincial governors and deconcentrated line directorates responsible for the delivery of health and education services
- Makes clear recommendations – in the form of detailed guidelines - concerning the preferred purpose, character, and frequency of such interactions and the distribution of authority between the different parties involved
- Considers and makes recommendations concerning the extent to which such guidelines might be generalisable to other services and to other domains of governor responsibility (e.g. security and governance)
About the Organization
Adam Smith International is an award-winning professional services business that delivers real impact, value and lasting change through projects supporting economic growth and government reform internationally. Our reputation as a global leader has been built on the positive results our projects have achieved in many of the world’s most challenging environments. We provide high quality specialist expertise and program management capability at all stages of the project cycle, from policy and strategy development, to design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
We offer 11 service offerings including agriculture, private sector development, infrastructure reform and governance. Our projects are funded by a range of development agencies including DFAT, DFID, the World Bank and the ADB. We operate from four main global regions with registered offices in Sydney, London, New Delhi and Nairobi.
