Electoral Expert

Overview of position

These terms of references specify the tasks and responsibilities for an electoral law expert to be recruited to support the EU Delegation to Somalia in the area of elections, with a focus on electoral legislation, electoral frameworks and women’s participation in elections/safeguarding women’s representation.

Role objectives

1. Functional Responsibilities

The electoral expert will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Review Somaliland electoral laws and identify gaps to promote inclusion of women candidates and provide specific recommendations for adapting content and exercises to the Somaliland context.

2. Prepare options for the framework of women, youth and minority representation for both parliamentary and local elections in Somaliland within the existing legislative system including on:

I. Candidate nomination frameworks, both from the perspective of the National Electoral Commission and the Political Parties;

II. Candidate selection within the political parties;

III. To demonstrate how these options would work in practice – what would be the options/framework of implementation/compliance for the political parties, options for implementation of National Electoral Commission and how would the framework(s) look for the voters

1. Submit a draft framework agreement to propose realistic measures to promote women, youth and minority groups’ participation in the upcoming parliamentary and local council elections.

2. Within the scope of the assignment, the support may also include working on the other aspects of electoral frameworks, such as on the dispute resolution mechanisms and on other relevant electoral processes.

Project reporting

The position reports to the Project Manager

Key competencies

· Fluency in English (oral and written);

· Computer literacy skills with standard software;

· Strong interpersonal skills in a multi-cultural environment, including communication skills and the ability to work independently, as well as in a team setting;

Team management

This role does not have any team management responsibilities

Further information

· 10+ years professional experience in the field of elections/democratisation;

· Proven experience in drafting legal and regulatory frameworks on elections;

· Proven experience in drafting and presenting policy option papers on elections

· Demonstrated experience in the areas of election legislation, election systems,

· participation/representation of women, youth and minorities in the elections and election dispute resolution mechanisms;

· Publications in the field of elections and democratisation

· Flexibility, including demonstrated ability to work under pressure, to adapt to changing work and project circumstances and respond to unforeseen developments

· Willingness to go on missions if deemed necessary for the implementation of activities​.