Consultancy Opportunity: Technical Expert in International Parliamentary Diplomacy

The Parliamentary Centre of Asia (PCAsia) is seeking an active and motivated candidate to fill the position of Technical Expert for a high profile and dynamic organisation.

PARLIAMENTARY CENTRE OF ASIA

The Parliamentary Centre of Asia (PCAsia), established in early 2021 in Phnom Penh, is the successor of the Parliamentary Institute of Cambodia (PIC) founded in 2011, a transition that reflects an expansion of activities with Parliaments across Southeast Asia, and encouraged through an MoU with the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and the adoption of resolutions by AIPA’s General Assembly. The mandate of PCAsia is therefore to contribute to the strengthening of Southeast Asian Parliaments through capacity building of their staff, based on the demands or requests of each Parliament. It draws on the expertise of national, regional, and international partners (Parliaments and research centres).

ROLE OF DEPARTMENT

The training of Parliamentary staff is at the core of PCAsia’s mission, and the Capacity Development (CD) department is responsible for carrying out the majority of this work. CD handles curriculum and syllabus design for many training programs, and its staff provides practical training according to their respective expertise for most of the training programs. With the transition to blended learning and learning by distance, CD staff increasingly play a facilitation role, working with external experts to design and deliver content suitable for digital platforms, then working with trainees to complete the related assignments. Other responsibilities include researching, the mentoring and quality control of research products produced by the trained parliamentary researchers, and providing quality control technical advice with regards to newly-trained parliamentary staff members when back working in their institutions of provenance in applying their newly-acquired skills. The Program on Parliamentary Diplomacy is one of the main training initiatives provided by the Capacity Development Department.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE PROGRAM/PROJECT

The PCAsia Parliamentary Diplomacy Program (PCAsia-PPD) is a needs-based and demand-driven regional initiative that aims to contribute to the strengthening of ASEAN parliamentary institutions, and in particular the capacity of parliamentary staff to better support their parliament’s diplomatic work. The focus has therefore been on enhancing the capacity and knowledge of the staff of ASEAN member parliaments.

The main objective of the PCAsia-PPD is to provide trainees with knowledge, skillsets and techniques that will enable them to better support Parliamentarians in their increasing role in international/foreign affairs. Due to requests identified this year by member Parliaments of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), this program will be oriented towards how AIPA meetings are conducted, as well as how AIPA member Parliaments participate in these meetings. 

POSITION DESCRIPTION  

The International Technical Expert is responsible for assisting the Director of the CD Department with the conceptualization, oversight and overall guidance of the program. He/she will ensure that the quality of training is provided at an acceptable level to meet the learning objectives of the program – to develop the knowledge of the trainees, to equip them with the necessary skills to support Parliamentarians in their parliamentary diplomacy activities (e.g., speeches, drafting country position summaries, negotiation techniques, drafting resolutions, debates for international/regional meetings etc.)  by making use of, as much as possible, the templates for these developed by AIPA in accordance with the AIPA Statutes and practices.

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES / SCOPE OF WORK

  1. Conceptualization and implementation of training programs on Parliamentary Diplomacy including, Geopolitics, International Relations, Parliamentary Negotiation Techniques, as well as the identification of experts to participate in the program.
  • Deliver, as required, training courses on topics related to Parliamentary Diplomacy such as, but not limited to, international relations, parliamentary negotiation techniques, geopolitics etc., through both face to face and distant learning, with a priority focus on the topics discussed at this year’s AIPA meetings.
  • Design tailored training program on specific parliamentary diplomacy skills upon request for Parliamentarians.
  • Contribute to any other activities of the program as required.

TIMEFRAME

2 May 2023 – 7 July 2023 (subject to change)

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES/OUTPUTS

  1. Build knowledge of parliamentary staff on the difference between non-parliamentary diplomacy and parliamentary diplomacy.
  2. Give parliamentary staff skills to understand resolutions, country positions, among other things, for AIPA forums or meetings.
  3. Provide training on selected aspects of parliamentary diplomacy such as mediation and negotiation techniques.
  4. Tailored training on diplomatic skills upon request for Parliamentarians.
  5. Assessment report on the program – lessons learned and challenges to address.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Essential

  1. At least 20 years’ experience in diplomacy, political science or related field.
  2. PhD in International Relations or geopolitics.
  3. Teaching experience in higher education, with demonstrated competence in assessment, mentoring and coaching.
  4. Experience in parliamentary work in preparation for and during the various AIPA meetings.
  5. Experience in negotiation and mediation techniques and alternative dispute resolution.
  6. Good understanding of training organizations.
  7. Strong spoken and written English.
  8. Good understanding of Parliamentary operations.

Desirable

  1. Fluency in spoken and written French.
  2. Proficiency in one or more languages of ASEAN member countries.

Application Information

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and CV to [email protected] with “Technical Expert in International Parliamentary Diplomacy for the PCAsia”, in the subject line and indicate where you learned about this vacancy as well as the expected fee in the email message. The two-stage application process will consist of an interview(s). The application deadline is 5 April 2023. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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