About Us

International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI), a U.S. based international development consulting company established in 1987, has worked in over 100 countries and implemented over 300 projects. IBTCI serves government agencies, private sector companies, and several donor agencies. IBTCI specializes in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) and institutional support across many areas and sectors including, but not limited to, conflict and crisis, democracy and governance, agriculture, economic growth, food security, education, environment, and global health.

Job Title: USAID/DRC Elections Advisor

Department/Location: DRG / Kinshasa, DRC

Reports To: ISPI Program Manager

Type: Consultancy

Classification: Consultant / 100 days Full time Equivalent (FTE)

Clearance Required: Facilities Access

Overview:

USAID/Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC’s) 2020-2025 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) is: A More Peaceful and Prosperous DRC with Improved Opportunities for Communities and Individuals to Thrive. This high-level goal encapsulates USAID’s long-term vision of a DRC where all communities and people are empowered to move their country closer to self-reliance. Over the next five years, USAID will partner with individuals, communities, and institutions and increase their ability to generate and achieve locally-led solutions. However, significant obstacles, including pervasive corruption, weak and ineffective state institutions, extreme poverty, an extractives-dependent economy, and ongoing conflict and instability may affect the Mission’s ability to achieve this goal. These daunting challenges arise from a lack of capacity as well as weak government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (GDRC) commitment at both the national and sub-national levels.

On behalf of The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Democratic Republic of Congo Mission (DRC), IBTCI is seeking an experienced elections expert to provide support under an institutional support contract. The consultant will support the USAID/DRG Democracy, Governance and Human Rights Team (DRG) Office in assessing and designing activities following DRC’s 2023 elections. In December of 2023, DRC held presidential, legislative, and local elections in select municipalities.

USAID’s goals under its elections assistance programming in DRC include improving transparency and legitimacy of electoral processes, reducing fuel for violence and instability, increasing the capacity of the Electoral Commission (CENI), providing oversight and accountability through elections observers, countering misinformation and combating hate speech, and ensuring inclusive participation through GOTV media campaigns, CSO partnerships, and civic education town halls.

Responsibilities

Essential Duties/Tasks and Responsibilities:

In the aftermath of the 2023 elections, USAID is conducting an evaluation of program performance, and an after-action review to inform future programming directions. The Elections Advisor will play a key role in these activities, will provide analysis of the recent elections and program performance, and help shape new assistance efforts going forward. The selected candidate must work within the USAID/DRC Mission to conduct this work and collaborate with the DRG team, specifically the DRG Office Deputy Director, to oversee the Mission’s election
portfolio. This is a short-term consultancy with an anticipated period of performance of approximately five (5) months, or 800 hours full-time equivalent (FTE) work. Consultant is expected to work at the Mission on a full time basis (DRC Mission schedule) with situational telework as agreed with the Activity Manager.

All candidates must have the ability to pass a background check and obtain and maintain the necessary facility access clearance.

NOTE: The consultant will not perform other inherently governmental functions or duties (e.g. will not serve as AOR/COR or supervise staff), but rather will advise, mentor, and facilitate as appropriate on the performance of inherently governmental functions on the part of the DRC Mission.

Key Deliverables:

• Conduct partner visits to provide oversight to activities that support the election commission, voter and civic education, domestic and international election observation, media support, and public opinion polling.
• Complete one site visit outside of Kinshasa to assess the effectiveness of USAID assistance to local CSOs and provincial electoral commission offices.
• Synthesize findings from activity reports, evaluations, and after action reviews into a draft Program Description for a new electoral assistance activity covering the 2024-2029 electoral period.
• Conduct initial consultations with the CENI, and develop an outline and proposed process for new Memorandum of Understanding between USAID and CENI DRC for future programming.
• Conduct a review of the findings of the Complex Crisis Fund evaluation.
• Convene DRG partners to advance the DRC electoral reform agenda.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key elections stakeholders in DRC to inform program assessment and design.
• Develop an elections donor working group plan for 2024 in coordination with FSN staff.
• Draft internal USG and external communication materials (including talking points, briefing papers, fact sheets, and website and social media content) related to elections.
• Carry out other duties related to supporting the Mission’s Election portfolio, as assigned.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience in managing and/or administering international programs related to democracy, human rights, and governance, with a specific focus on elections and political processes.
• Demonstrated experience designing USAID elections, political process, and civil society strengthening programming.
• Experience with electoral integrity-focused activities or programs, such as those focused on election administration, political parties, election observation, electoral dispute resolution.
• Understanding of the USG and international landscape related to supporting democratic elections and political processes.
• Strong analytical skills and experience with scenario planning.
• Excellent organizational, logistics, and planning skills, as well as attention to details.
• Strong negotiating and independent problem-solving skills.
• Ability to multitask and work under pressure.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to produce and edit written documents in English.
• Outstanding presentation and facilitation skills.
• Demonstrable experience working successfully as an individual and as part of a team.
• Availability to work between approximately August to December 2024.
• Language proficiency: Working-level French required.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in human rights, international relations, public policy, social sciences, communications, or a related field.

Working Environment: Work is typically performed in an office environment. Currently the company is allowing for hybrid work in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) area. This can be updated by the company.

Physical Requirements: This is largely a sedentary position that requires the ability to speak, hear, see, and lift small objects up to 20 lbs.

Supervisory Responsibility: This position does not have supervisory responsibilities.

Travel: International travel may be required and may include travel to fragile and/or conflict-prone zones.

Work Authorization: Candidate must be authorized to work in Kinshasa, DRC

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

About the Organization:

IBTCI has been in business since 1987. We specialize in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL), Institutional Support (IS), Financial & Risk Management (FRM), Supply Chain Management & Procurement (SCMP); Social & Behavior Change (SBC) and Capacity Building. We provide these services across many sectors including, but not limited to, agriculture, resilience & food security, conflict & crisis, democracy & governance, economic growth & trade, education & human capacity development, energy & infrastructure, environment & climate change, global health & WASH and humanitarian and disaster assistance. At IBTCI, our colleagues are encouraged to collaborate and be part of the solution while getting the tools and guidance needed to grow and support our clients’ missions.

IBTCI is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identification, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, disabled veteran or Vietnam-era veteran, or any other classification protected by applicable anti-discrimination laws. We prohibit and do not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment. VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

If you are an applicant with a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability, or unable to use the online application system and need an alternative method for applying, you may contact the Talent Acquisition team at TalentAcquisition@ibtci.com (Do not send your resume to this account, for consideration please apply in our career page, https://careers.ibtci.com/jobs).