Promoting Knowledge for Accountable System (PROKAS) Programme

Promoting Knowledge for Accountable System (PROKAS) Programme

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Project Officer (2 Positions)

1.  Introduction and background

The British Council has been contracted by DFID to implement Promoting Knowledge for Accountable System (PROKAS) Programme, formerly known as the Transparency, Accountability and Right to Information Fund (TARIF) in Bangladesh. DFID Bangladesh launched its Transparency and Right to Information Programme (TRIP started in 2014), aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in Bangladesh and PROKAS (5.5 years) is a component of the programme. It will be an actively managed programme, not merely a funding channel. PROKAS will support a coherent set of government and civil society initiatives to improve transparency and accountability in targeted thematic areas. PROKAS commenced on 13 April 2015 and will run till 12 April 2018 with a potential for additional 2.5 years extension.

2.  Objectives

PROKAS aims to support or influence changes in government policies, processes, systems and/or activities that will contribute to increasing transparency and accountability, and to reducing corruption in Bangladesh. PROKAS-funded projects must support this overarching outcome by funding and supporting networks and coalitions of civil society organisations to advocate for change on issues of common interest, and by supporting initiatives to help the Government of Bangladesh improve its own transparency and accountability.

3.  Managing agencies

The British Council is leading a consortium to deliver this programme where Palladium (formerly known as GRM International) is a member of the consortium focusing on private sector development and business regulation, right to information, and monitoring and results measurement, and WISE Development is a partner contributing on the gender and social development aspects.

4.  PROKAS scope of work

The PROKAS programme will be:

·  Conducting research to identify issues where the programme has the greatest scope to bring improvements in transparency and accountability, and local partners best placed to have an impact on those issues.

·  Proposing sub-projects around these issues, identifying likely partners and demonstrating a link to the overall programme results framework and theory of change;

·  Forming and managing issue-based projects (IBPs) which include partners from civil society, the private sector and government working in targeted thematic areas.

·  Providing technical assistance and capacity building for government and non-government partners to improve transparency and accountability in targeted thematic areas.

This programme is designed to support government and civil society initiatives to improve transparency and accountability in a few targeted thematic areas. Initiatives to be supported will fall broadly into the following categories:

Transparency

·  Initiatives that increase capacity to respond to Right to Information (RTI) requests;

·  Initiatives that promote and/or facilitate proactive dissemination of information;

Accountability

·  Initiatives that help citizens and/or CSOs access and use information, and mobilise to hold decision makers to account on targeted issues;

·  Initiatives that track implementation of responsibilities by officials;

·  Initiatives that encourage/require officials to explain their actions;

·  Initiatives that target specific aspects of poor performance or corruption in targeted government departments or sectors.

5.  Key tasks

·  Collect data and information for the programme team for the planning, designing of IBPs, situation analysis, stakeholder mapping etc.

·  Organize visits for the team which may include communications with stakeholders, partners, drafting of the TOR, management of logistics, documentations of the approval process

·  Keep track of the partners’ reporting and deliverables timeline and follow-up with them for timeline submission.

·  Guide partners on standards in event management. Coordinate with PROKAS Admin team for any national level events

·  Conduct field visits and draft case-studies on partner activities

·  Attend key planning meetings of partners

·  Write monthly reports on the status of implementation and include recommendations for action steps

·  Assist in organizing capacity assessment and capacity building activities for partners

·  Coordinate with Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team for monitoring, results and learning data from partners.

·  Work with partners in providing the required documents for the PROKAS Grants, Finance and Admin teams

·  Support programme team to facilitate hiring national and international consultants

6.  Qualifications

·  A University degree in Public Administration, Economics, Development Studies, or any Social Sciences

·  Three years’ experience of work in the development sector, including at least one year of experience in working in a governance programme is highly desirable

·  Good understanding of transparency and governance issues in Bangladesh

·  Experience in working with and knowledge of both government and civil society in Bangladesh

7.  Competencies

·  Strong communication and interpersonal skills

·  Demonstrated organizational and problem-solving skills

·  Good analytical and report writing skills

·  The ability to manage operational and logistical aspects of the projects

·  Fluency in both Bangla and English

·  Good understanding of transparency and governance issues is preferred.

·  Demonstrated cultural sensitivity to cultural, gender and inclusion issues, and sound judgment

8.  Contractual arrangement

Both the Project Officers are to be part of the Programme team and each will be assigned to a Manager. These positions are full-time positions up to the end of the programme. Successful candidates will be contracted by the British Council through fixed term consultancy service contract. The TOR is subject to update and modifications as per project need.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Interested candidates are requested to carefully review the requirements for Qualifications and Competencies and candidates meeting these requirements are encouraged to submit their detailed CV along with a one-page cover letter to or apply online through the British Council Bangladesh job portal.

The deadline to submit the application is: 9 am Sunday 22 November 2015 (Bangladesh time)6 January 2016.

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