THE CARTER CENTER (TCC) AND LIBERIA ELECTION OBSERVATION NETWORK (LEON)
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Background
The Liberia Election Observation Network (LEON) was established in 2017 to contribute to strengthening Liberia’s electoral democracy through CSO capacity building, election observation, legislative and social media monitoring and assertive advocacy on electoral reform that guarantees the equitable participation of women and other marginalized groups in politics. LEON has since developed into one of Liberia’s primary and most respected organizations operating in the democracy and governance space of Liberia. LEON’s relevance in this light will be gauged by its capacity to influence local and national level stakeholders for consensus building on electoral standards; the quality of its knowledge products; its ability to build and sustain own credibility through internal technical capacity enhancement frameworks and activities; and engagements in all national, special, by-elections and legislative monitoring activities throughout Liberia.
LEON is a nonpartisan, civil society partnership organization encompassing the Liberian Crusaders for Peace (LCP), the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), the Federation of Liberian Youth (FLY), and the National Union of Organizations for the Disabled (NUOD). The network emphasizes the participation and representation of marginalized segments of the Liberian people, in particular women, youth, and persons with disabilities. The networks main areas of activity are advocating for electoral reform; encouraging constitutional reforms; observing legislative by-elections; monitoring the legislative branch to improve transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement; conducting surveys and discussion groups to ensure citizen input on legislative and government programs; monitoring the effects of social media on Liberia’s democracy.
LEON receives technical and financial support from the Carter Center (TCC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
CONSULTANCIES
The Carter Center is currently seeking technical advisors who can support the work of LEON around upcoming national elections in Liberia. The number of consultancies and their duration is contingent upon funding. Work would be anticipated in August – November 2023, with some opportunity for remote support as well as some opportunity for in-country support based in Monrovia, Liberia. Anticipated roles are as follows:
*Statistically Based Observation (SBO) Advisor. The SBO Advisor would support LEON’s operational plans to conduct a statistically-based observation of the upcoming elections. The successful applicant would guide LEON on appropriate methodologies for drawing samples, advise on deployment strategies, and support with the collection and analysis of data.
*Observation Methodology Advisor. The Observation Methodology Advisor would support the preparation and deployment of LEON’s election observation team nation-wide around Liberia’s upcoming national elections. Support could include advice on observer recruitment and training, deployment, data collection methodologies, public relations and visibility, external engagement, and communications.
*Organizational Strengthening Advisor. The Organizational Strengthening Advisor would support as needed the development and adoption of new policies and procedures, review of existing policies and procedures and their implementation, and review of recent capacity assessments and development of activities to address gaps. Other areas of support could include financial management and procurement, administrative management, human resources management, and monitoring and evaluation.
*Communications Advisor. The Communications Advisor would support LEON to maintain and strengthen its public visibility and public relations around upcoming elections. This could include support around arranging press conferences and public events, support with the public release of reports and key findings, support with messaging on social media, and support to maintain and update LEON’s website.
To Apply
Interested applicants should send their CV and cover letter to: liberiarecruitment@cartercenter.org. Include in the subject line: Capacity Building Consultant [Your Name] [area of expertise]. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis in August 2023.