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European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) is hiring a team of international experts for the Presidential Elections in Ukraine 

1.      Background of the Experts’ Mission and Scope of Work

In December 2013 European Exchange (Germany), Promo-LEX Association (Moldova) and International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (Georgia), with the financial support of the European Union,  have launched in the framework of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (http://www.epde.org/en/) a two years project[1]  aimed to support the democratization of the EaP countries by enhancing the role of civil society organizations in promoting free, fair and democratic elections.

In the framework of the project, Promo-LEX Association and partner organizations (Action Management Team, AMT) will deploy an Experts’ Mission to the Presidential Elections in Ukraine, planned to be held on May 25, 2014. It is envisaged that the Experts’ Mission will concentrate on one or both of the following aspects: need-based support and assistance offered to EPDE platform members in Ukraine to run independent election observation efforts and analysis/expertise of the main problematic issues related to the electoral policies and legislation in the eve of the Early Presidential Elections in Ukraine.

Taking into consideration the specific of the social-political situation in Ukraine, based on the recommendations made by the Ukrainian EPDE members, the Experts’ Mission will focus on the following specific objectives:

• To analyze the impact of the conflicts in the South-Eastern regions of Ukraine and in the occupied territories on the conduct of Presidential elections (potential security threats for the conduct of elections and election observation, security of the observers, information/internet security etc.);
• To assist EPDE member organizations from Ukraine (upon request) on the planning and implementation of their own election related activities (election observation and citizens’ involvement in monitoring of the electoral processes, organization of civic engagement activities/informational campaigns etc.);
• To monitor the conduct of the election campaign, particularly from the perspective of occurrence of such problems as abuse of official position (administrative resources), voters’ bribery, unsatisfactory activity or sabotage of the work of the electoral bodies and law enforcement agencies.

2.      Description of the Experts’ tasks

The AMT is looking to select a team of international experts who will be capable to accomplish the above mentioned objectives. The members of the Experts’ Mission will be assigned the following specific tasks:

• Analyze the legal framework and the electoral background of the Presidential elections in Ukraine;
• Review the election observation reports of previous national and international EOM, media and other sources for the identification of the most problematic issues connected to the elections;
• Conduct field research in Ukraine;
• Hold meetings, interviews or focus groups with relevant stakeholders for an in-depth analysis of the most problematic issues related to the elections;
• Elaborate tools, guidelines and relevant documents that will be used by the EPDE Expert’s mission during the Election Day;
• Offer assistance (upon request) to the Ukrainian partners (consultations, analysis of documents, trainings/workshops etc.), including at distance (via e-mail, Skype etc.);
• Collect relevant information for the reports, statements that will be elaborated in the framework of EPDE;
• Formulate recommendations that would further improve the law on election of the President of Ukraine;
• Elaborate the interim and final reports of the EPDE Expert’s Mission;
• Participate in the presentation of EPDE reports, statements in Ukraine and, contingent on the experts’ availability, participate in the presentation of the final report of the mission at the international level;
• Other relevant tasks.

3.      Timeframe, deliverables and honoraria

EPDE Experts will work for about one month during the period April 17-June 30, 2014 (this period includes also the eventual second round of the Presidential Elections). Also, contingent on the experts’ availability, in the end of the EPDE mission a representative of the experts’ team may be invited to present the final report in Berlin or Brussels in the course of an international event organized by EPDE.  The experts’ team will have to provide to the AMT two short reports on their activity (interim and final reports) as well as to elaborate two analytical reports (interim and final reports). The analytical reports will be done in accordance with the Mission’s Action Plan and structure that will be adopted in the beginning of the activity. The honoraria will be paid in the end of the Experts’ mission contingent on the delivery of the services. The amount of the honorarium is negotiable but will not exceed 1500 Euro net/expert.

4.      Criteria for selecting the experts

The Action Management Team (AMT) is recruiting a team of international experts that will act together as an EPDE Experts’ Mission to the Presidential Elections in Ukraine. The international experts must meet the following criteria:

Education:

• University degree in law, political science, public administration, public policy, management or other relevant fields.

Experience:

• Relevant experience for the accomplishment of the above mentioned objectives;
• Experience in delivering election assistance to the civil society organizations and/or election authorities;
• Experience in election observation (Core team, LTO), preferably in Ukraine and/or other EaP countries;
• Working experience of at least 3 years with the NGO sector or international organizations / donors from EU/EaP countries, preferable in the area of elections, human rights and democratization;
• Good understanding of the political processes in Ukraine, specifics of elections  etc.;

Other required skills:

• Deep analytical and presentation skills;
• Excellent self-organization skills;
• Ability to work in sensitive political environments;
• Good communication skills;
• Fluent in English or Russian, Ukrainian would be considered an asset.

5.      Method of application

The interested experts should send below listed documents to [email protected] by 10th of April 2014:

• CV (max. 3 pages, please include contact phone and/or Skype ID for an eventual interview) and
• a letter of intention (stating his/her area of expertise  and how can the expert contribute to the accomplishment of at least one of the above mentioned objectives, motivation/interest for participation in the EPDE Experts’ Mission, as well as the availability during the April-June period, including the availability to travel to Ukraine).

6.      Short description of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE)

On 12th of December 2012, 13 civil society organizations supporting or conducting citizens’ election observation in the states of the Eastern Partnership, the Russian Federation and the European Union have launched the “European Platform for Democratic Elections” (EPDE) in Warsaw. The aim of the EPDE is to assist citizens’ election observation in the countries of the Eastern Partnership and in the Russian Federation, and to contribute to democratic election processes throughout Europe. The European Platform of Election Observation will improve the professional quality of its members through development and implementation of unified standards and methods of election observation. EPDE will encourage, train and defend those experts and citizens who stand up for transparent and equal suffrage wherever it is at risk all over Europe – be it in the European Union’s member states, in the Eastern partnership countries or in the Russian Federation.