Uganda will go to the polls between April 2020 and February 2021 to, first, vote for the representatives of special interest groups and, later, for the president, parliament, and several district and local government leaders. The February 2021 general election will be the fourth one since the re-introduction of multiparty democracy in the country in 2005. Uganda approved a Constitutional Amendment in 2005 to restore a multiparty political system and lift restrictions on political parties’ activities. Since then, the country a has held regular general election, i.e. every five years. About 19 million Ugandans are registered as voters.

In 2018, the Electoral Commission of Uganda (EC) unveiled a strategic plan and an electoral roadmap for 2020/21 both of which commit the EC to promoting free, fair and transparent elections in 2020 and 2021 and mainstreaming stakeholder engagement and voter education. The EC also committed itself to addressing the recommendations of various election observer missions, both international and domestic, following the 2016 elections. Some of the milestones of the EC road map are: the publication of the list of 2020/21 polling stations; update of the national voter register; commencement of district consultations by presidential aspirants; national consultations by Parliament on electoral reform; and the national voter register display.

In line with its commitment to supporting development, democratic governance and peacebuilding as provided for in the key development cooperation instruments signed between UN/UNDP and the Government of Uganda including the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and the Country Programme Document (CPD) and also in pursuance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Uganda developed a two-year integrated electoral support project for implementation between February 2020 and February 2022. The 10,5m USD donor-funded project under the name ‘” Strengthening Electoral Processes in Uganda (SEPU)” will be led by UNDP and implemented in collaboration with other UN agencies including OHCHR, UNWOMEN, and UNESCO.

The proposed project will have four outputs: i) Inclusion and transparency of the electoral process strengthened; ii) Institutional capacity for the Electoral Commission and other Electoral Stakeholders enhanced; iii) Electoral violence Early Warning and rapid response (EWER) supported; and iv) Effective and efficient management, partnership formation, and monitoring and evaluation of the project. The project interventions will target the Electoral Commission as the senior beneficiary and other national electoral actors such as Uganda Police Force, Uganda Human Rights Commission, media, Judiciary and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

The Project activities are time-bound in response to the Electoral Roadmap issued by the EC and this makes it imperative for detailed and expeditious planning on the part of the UN and other stakeholders to be responsive and make strong contribution towards the project objectives of strengthening electoral processes in Uganda.

Organizational Context of the Post

Given the need to support effective delivery on the said project results based on an electoral cycle approach (ECA), UNDP wishes to recruit a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) as soon possible. The CTA will manage a team of technical advisers and the support staff of the project team and provide technical guidance to facilitate the timely resourcing of activities that meet with agreed priorities. The CTA will report directly to the UNDP Resident Representative and will liaise closely with the Deputy Resident Representatives of Programmes and the Team Leader for Rule of Law and Constitutional Democracy. The Project will be implemented in close partnership with UN Women, UNESCO and OHCHR and the CTA will therefore also liaise closely with the relevant colleagues in the respective agencies

• Ensure technical assistance is focused on building a sustainable institutional capacity to organize democratic elections that are genuine and periodic; and have the full confidence of electoral stakeholders.
• Provide expert guidance to EC in the overall management of electoral processes through technical advice to promote transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections covering aspects such as policy development and implementation; implementation of administrative and management reforms, operational and administrative reforms; institutional capacity development, stakeholder engagement, civic and voter education and inclusive participation;
• Provide targeted technical advice on the implementation of specific electoral operations and activities according to the current EC Strategic Plan and Elections Road Map;
• Recommend and develop strategies to enhance and maintain EC communication with stakeholders including political parties, the media, civil society and donor partners;
• Promote and build on the knowledge and capacity that is already present in the EC; making more effective use of locally available resources; and introducing new knowledge in a way that is sustainable;
• Prepare capacity development plan for the EC, other state and non-state actors;
• Support project efforts to strengthen the role of the Judiciary in promoting electoral justice through effective electoral dispute resolution;
• Lead on project efforts to provide training to the Police and related law enforcement agencies election security;
• Support media training and capacity building for a catalytic role by the media in elections;
• In close collaboration with UN Women, provide technical and policy support to all project partners and stakeholders to implement gender mainstreaming strategy in project activities and beyond;
• Provide electoral advisory support to UNDP Country Office and other UN entities as may be required.

• Lead on the establishment of the project team;
• Advise on the design of the project, its objectives, subsequent activities and managing implementation of work plans;
• Preparing Terms of Reference (TORs) for required inputs, and oversee the recruitment/formation of the team;
• Coordinate actions and activities of the project team, overseeing the performance of all team members;
• Facilitate the design, planning and the implementation of electoral activities under UNDP responsibility;
• Ensure effective implementation of project activities and results;
• Plan the activities and monitor progress against the quality criteria;
• Monitor financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports;
• Supervising the project’s communication strategy and publication of relevant reports;
• Monitor and report on progress and risks including monitoring and;
• Monitor the project’s performance against the work plans and budgets, update the risks and issues log according to Project Technical Committee discussions and Project Steering Committee decision; review relevant reports prepared by the project team;
• Host regular project governance meetings and ensure timely and effective follow-up to decisions;
• Foster proper application of UNDP rules and regulations in the management and oversight of project resources;
• Advise UNDP Country Office on the development of resource mobilisation strategies;
• Continuously review the project status and provide strategic and policy advice to the Project Steering Committee and Project Technical Committee on required follow up and/or corrective action;
• Lead the coordination of the Project Technical Committee activities as Co-Chair with the EC.

• Promote project and donor visibility based on UNDP relevant rules and regulations and also donor cost sharing agreements;
• Ensure timely production and dissemination of project reports, financial reports, to relevant partners including donors, national stakeholders and UN at regional and global level;
• Ensure in all circumstances that the project does not compromise the credibility of the UN System, the country’s interests and partners implicated in the process;
• Liaise and foster strategic cooperation with other partners to reinforce the dialogue between the stakeholders of the process;
• Communicate and coordinate the project’s work with UN agencies which are project responsible parties; also, convene and chair UNDP meetings with other UN agencies as per agreed modalities to be agreed upon;
• Coordinate on a daily basis with the national counterparts, mainly EC, and clearly defining responsibilities for an effective electoral process;
• Represent UNDP in all elections related activities; participate in all regular meetings of the international and donor community on elections;
• Coordinate with all national and international organizations working on elections in Kampala;
• Identify needs for capacity development to ensure adequate transfer of knowledge to the electoral administration
• Provide regular briefings and written reports to UNDP, donors and other stakeholders;
• Participate in project review and/or evaluation meetings, as and when necessary;
• Analyze broader democratic governance and electoral issues and trends in the country and advise the project, the country Office, UN system and the partners accordingly.
• Recommend and ensure the application of national and international best-practice in the subject areas and generate knowledge-based products, drawing on global, regional and thematic policy and advisory support resources within the UN, UNDP, EC, etc.
• Lead the analytical development work of the project and ensure high quality knowledge products.
• Perform any other duties or tasks as the supervisor may assign with respect to the conduct of the elections;