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The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance — The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) is an intergovernmental organization with a mission to advance democracy worldwide, as a universal human aspiration and an enabler of sustainable development, through support to the building, strengthening and safeguarding of democratic political institutions and processes at all levels.

We believe that democracy is a universal human aspiration and an experience that is pursued and lived in different ways around the world. Beyond the basic tenets of citizens’ choice and citizens’ political equality, the critical choices are best made and the quality of democracy is best gauged by those directly concerned: the citizens themselves. We systematically nurture an open and pluralistic understanding of democracy. This is respectful of the national context, and is in line with our non-prescriptive and non-intrusive approach, as well as with the priorities set by national actors.

International IDEA produces, shares and enables the use of comparative knowledge in its key areas of expertise: electoral processes, constitution building processes, political participation and representation, as well as on democracy as it relates to gender and inclusion, conflict sensitivity and sustainable development.

It has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and offices in the Africa and West Asia, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe regions. International IDEA is a Permanent Observer to the United Nations.

Context:

Based in The Hague, IDEA’s Constitution Building Programme (CBP) provides in-country assistance, develops comparative knowledge resources, convenes high level dialogues, and conducts advocacy at the global policy level. We are currently recruiting for 2 positions, one working with CBP's flagship project ConstitutionNet, and the other providing research and support to International IDEA constitution building programme in Myanmar – ‘MyConstitution’, as well as for other country projects and global knowledge resources.

Vacancy 1 (ConstitutionNet):

One of CBP’s flagship projects is ConstitutionNet, an online information portal that is specialized in supporting a global community through providing the latest and most relevant information, knowledge resources and good practices on constitutional change around the world. The site receives approximately 500,000 visits per year.

International IDEA seeks an Associate Programme Officer to manage content and dissemination for ConstitutionNet.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Generates and promotes quality content for ConstitutionNet in a timely manner;
• Drives innovation and coordinates technical support for the site;
• Conducts research to assist in-country support work/knowledge generation activities, as requested by Head, CBP.

Editor: ConstitutionNet

ConstitutionNet (www.constitutionnet.org) is a dynamic information portal which has become the ‘go-to’ source of information for the constitution building community. It hosts the latest knowledge resources relevant to constitutional change around the world and features original analyses in its Voices from the Field articles, and relevant news articles and resources from around the web.

• Manages the Voices from the Field Series of original articles – including identifying issues for articles, managing and editing contributions for publication, and dissemination;
• Identifies, summarizes and uploads updates on constitutional reform from around the world; or when availability allows, supervises a Research Assistant to do the same;
• Compiles and disseminates a monthly newsletter;
• Manages and updates other content on the site, including Country Profiles;
• Proposes innovative new features for ConstitutionNet;
• Coordinates regularly with the ConstitutionNet technical team to ensure clear organization and functioning of the site.

Research

• Beyond managing the ConstitutionNet site, the APO will be required to conduct substantive research support for the Constitution Building Programme team.

Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Conducting research on comparative constitutional design, including both primary source (primarily constitutional texts) and secondary source (journal articles, reports, books) research;
• Assisting in the preparation of materials for in-country assistance including power-points, training materials and handouts;
• With supervision from team members, drafting of memoranda on issues relating to comparative constitutional design and constitution building processes for in-country partners.

Programmatic Knowledge:

• Has basic knowledge of comparative constitutional design;
• Has basic knowledge of political dynamics and how they affect constitution building processes.

Education andExperience:

• University degree (or equivalent) in Political Science, Law or a related field;
• Minimum three (3) years of experience working within the field of democracy, rule of law or governance support, preferably in the area of constitution building, including substantial internship(s);
• Work experience in professional handling of research tasks;
• Editorial experience is an asset;
• Interest in working with social media, web-based blogs and digital marketing is an asset;
• Experience working on websites is an advantage;
• Experience working in intergovernmental organizations or international NGOs is an advantage.

Vacancy 2 (MyConstitution/Global Constitution Building Programme):

International IDEA is currently operating a programme to support the Myanmar political transition through a number of activities relating to constitution building. This programme is supported with research from the Global Constitution Building Programme.

International IDEA seeks an Associate Programme Officer (APO) to provide research and support to the International IDEA constitution building programme in Myanmar, as well as for other country projects and global knowledge resources.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Conducts comparative constitutional design research to support MyConstitution team (50%);
• Conducts research to assist other in-country support work/knowledge generation activities, as requested by Head, CBP.

Myanmar Constitution Programme (50% of total time)

Constitutionalism in support of inclusive, peaceful and democratic Myanmar project (“MyConstitution”) supports partners in Myanmar to use constitutional tools to strengthen the peace and democratization process. International IDEA maintains a dedicated team in Yangon who provide delivery of activities, and a global programmes team in the Hague, the Netherlands, responsible for research support and technical assistance. This position is situated in the Hague office, and will provide research and programmatic support to the Yangon team.

• Conducts research and delivers written briefs/analyses/data/training materials for the MyConstitution team;
• Maintains close contact with the Myanmar Programme Manager;
• Reviews written outputs from Myanmar Programme team when requested;
• Conducts regular missions to Myanmar, as requested by Myanmar Programme Manager.

General Research

Beyond responsibilities for the Myanmar Programme, the APO will conduct research and other support activities for the Global Constitution Building Programme in relation to other country-support work, and also global comparative knowledge resources.

Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Conducting research on comparative constitutional design, including both primary source (primarily constitutional texts) and secondary source (journal articles, reports, books) research;
• Assisting in the preparation of materials for in-country assistance including power-points, training materials and handouts;
• With supervision from team members, drafting of memoranda on issues relating to comparative constitutional design and constitution building processes for in-country partners.

Programmatic Knowledge:

• Has basic knowledge of comparative constitutional design;
• Has basic knowledge of political dynamics and how they affect constitution building processes; Knowledge of the political context in Myanmar is an advantage.

Education and Experience:

• University degree (or equivalent) in Political Science, Law or a related field;
• Minimum three (3) years of experience working within the field of democracy, rule of law or governance support, preferably in the area of constitution building, including substantial internship(s);
• Work experience in professional handling of research tasks;
• Editorial experience is an asset;
• Interest in working with social media and digital marketing is an asset.

Both vacancies:

General Profile:

• Requires basic understanding of constitutions, in particular comparative constitutional design;
• Understanding/awareness of constitution building processes is also an advantage;
• Adds value to team-based activities in his/her unit; collaborates with other entities of the Institute as required;
• Expected to work independently, as well as collaboratively on joint projects;
• Can be expected to travel globally (including at short notice) to any geographical area involved in his/her projects;
• Follows internal procedures to ensure high standards of performance and compliance with Institutional guidelines;
• Integrates a gender and diversity perspective in all activities.

Reporting Line:

• Head, Constitution Building Programme.

Operational Knowledge, skills and experience:

• Strong research skills;
• Illustrates integrity, a collaborative spirit, a sense of achievement, and an understanding of risk management.

Problem Solving:

• Is able to solve problems of varying degrees of complexity; approaches issues with new perspectives; analyses situations from a multitude of intervening factors.

Impact:

• Has an impact on the programme development and delivery.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills:

• Liaises regularly with all internal and external stakeholders involved in his/her projects;
• Acts in all assignments with personal energy and engagement;
• Communicates with external partners and collaborators in a professional and courteous manner;
• Excellent written and oral English is required; Any other widely spoken language in an International IDEA priority region (Arabic, French, Spanish) would be an asset; Vacancy 2: Knowledge of Myanmar languages would be an asset.

Terms of Contract:

• Local Post;
• Two (2) year fixed-term appointment;
• Salary €3 158 net per month plus benefits.

Applying for this position:

• Applications should be submitted no later than 5 January 2020. Please note that all applications must be made in English;
• Please apply directly by pressing the Send Application button.

Please note as this is a local post, International IDEA will bear no costs relating to relocation of the selected candidate to the duty station. This position is open to those legally authorized to live and work in The Netherlands.

International IDEA is an equal opportunity employer which seeks to further diversify its staff in terms of gender, culture and nationality.

this job offer is not open for applications