Consultancy for operational and technical support to the structuring and management of regional initiatives on citizen security and justice in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Post of duty: Washington, D.C.
The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.
About this position:
Crime and violence (C&V) constitute a serious challenge for development prospects in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The region has historically displayed a record-high rate of homicides, and in spite of regional efforts, in 2018, the homicide rate was 19,7 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is three times higher than the global average of 6,3 (UNODC, 2019). Research shows that C&V problems incur high human costs and hamper sustainable and inclusive economic growth prospects as they absorb substantial public and private resources, reduce the productivity and competitiveness of businesses, undermine confidence in institutions and the rule of law, and compromise the development of future generations. For these reasons, the IDB has as one of its priorities to support LAC countries in strengthening their institutional capacity to prevent and reduce violence and crime.[1]
The Innovation for Citizen Services (ICS) has a Team dedicated to Citizen Security and Justice (CSJ) whose mission is to promote crime prevention policies, improve rehabilitation measures for people who have committed crimes, and strengthen the relevant institutions through the development of public policies, strategic advice, technical assistance, and training. The IDB has been carrying out CSJ projects in LAC for more than 20 years and has become a regional reference in innovative strategies and solutions in these thematic areas, both through the promotion and production of applied technical knowledge and through technical cooperation and loans.
In Brazil, the Bank has a growing portfolio of citizen security and justice projects, with a Conditional Credit Line Investment Program (CCLIP) of 1,2 billion dollars, eight investment loans, and five technical cooperations. In addition, the CSJ team has been working on the development of an ecosystem of platforms and digital solutions to promote the diffusion of the evidence-based CSJ interventions. Among these platforms, the following stand out:
i. Evidence on Security and Justice Platform: to facilitate access, by public managers involved in the areas of public security and justice, to up-to-date and scientifically sound knowledge, studies, and evidence, and to facilitate the identification of programs that have been proven effective to reduce crime and violence rates around the world.
ii. Safe Cities: to facilitate the process of municipal data integration and the construction and monitoring of data-driven public security diagnoses and evidence-based city-level prevention plans.
iii. PROSEG Federativo’s Platform: to assist city- and state-level public officials in Brazil to structure results-oriented investment plans, which will be funded under the Federative Program for Intelligent Public Safety (‘PROSEG Federativo’).
Considering this context, IDB’s Innovation in Citizen Services Division (ICS) is looking for an experienced, results-driven, and versatile consultant who will provide technical, operational, and knowledge support to CSJ’s at the country level (particularly in Brazil), and regional level (particularly with respect to its knowledge management digital platforms). As a full-time consultant, you will support the implementation and development of the team’s initiatives and the attainment of their respective objectives and expected results.
Given the characteristics of the work and the related responsibilities, we require a consultant with excellent technical knowledge and experience in project and product management, with sound planning and organizational skills, capable of managing multiple responsibilities within strict deadlines. Likewise, the consultant must have the capacity to establish harmonious and productive working relationships with the specialists of the Citizen Security and Justice Team, with the authorities of the countries, with social and community organizations, with regional think tanks, and with other international cooperation agencies. Last but not least, it is important that the person has strong leadership skills, a high level of initiative, and capacity for autonomous work, as well as the ability to work as part of a team.
What you’ll do:
The scope of this consulting project can be summarized in two main lines of work:
1. First, the consultant will support CSJ initiatives in Brazil, in the structuring and supervising of its loans, technical assistance, and knowledge products. The consultant will provide technical support for facilitating the structuring, monitoring, and management of ongoing projects. The overarching goal is to ensure the timely achievement of the objectives of the development interventions and projects conceptualized by the Team, while ensuring their quality in terms of scope, cost, and time. For that, your main responsibilities and duties include but are not limited to:
Manage and communicate with project team members, consultants, project sponsors, vendors, and clients on the projects’ scope, objectives, accountabilities, and commitments. Plan, organize, monitor, and report the projects’ status, finances, schedule, and risks to all sponsors, stakeholders, and management. Develop and permanently update project management tools that enable the strategic monitoring of the projects’ advancement by the Team specialists and management. Organize and coordinate the distribution of responsibilities and tasks among team members, as well as vendors, and monitor their execution using task management/agile project management tools. Forecast possible risks and proactively create a correct reaction approach. Work alongside the Team’s specialists to assist them in structuring presentations regarding the projects you will be assigned to. Provide technical and operational support for the design of technical cooperation within the Citizen Security and Justice Team. Support the structuring of new loan projects and assist the supervision of ongoing projects to identify opportunities for improvement, particularly in the areas of monitoring and evaluation and knowledge sharing. Support the technical dialogue with the authorities of the citizen security and justice sectors, other international cooperation agencies, and strategic partners, as required for the execution of operations and technical cooperation, the development of academic activities, and the exchange of experiences and knowledge among the relevant entities within the sector.2. Second, the consultant will act as product manager to deliver and improve the Team's portfolio of digital products (mainly the Evidence on Security and Justice Platform, Safe Cities, and PROSEG Federativo). The consultant will ensure the development of the Team’s platforms in accordance with their strategies and long-term visions, while ensuring that this development takes place within the defined parameters of scope, cost, time, and quality. For that, your main responsibilities and duties include but are not limited to:
Support resource mobilization efforts by developing and executing fundraising strategies. Set strategic plans for products creation/improvement and oversee the execution of these strategies while making sure that the plans are executed in a timely manner. Create products roadmaps with clearly defined action plans, defining the responsibilities and the timeline. Translate product strategies into development tasks by specifying user stories and organizing and sequencing the products backlogs. Manage and consistently review the products backlogs throughout the development process, while making them available to all relevant stakeholders. Communicate with and manage relevant stakeholders. Plan, organize, and coordinate daily scrums and sprint planning meetings, while ensuring that all team members understand the user stories and are clear on the priorities for each interaction. Inspect and evaluate the performance and progress of the product at every stage, considering the customers' needs and stakeholders’ expectations.What you'll need:
Education: Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Public Policy, International Relations, Administration, Economics, or related fields. Experience: Minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience (acting as project/product manager and/or consultant in public policy design-, implementation-, monitoring- and/or evaluation-related projects) or the equivalent combination of education and professional experience is required. Specific experience in managing public security-related projects is desired. Knowledge of and experience working with international organizations is also desired. Languages: Proficiency in Spanish and English, spoken and written, is required. Additional knowledge of French and Portuguese is preferable.Key skills:
· Project and product management experience.
· Experience managing teams and budgets.
· A proven ability to take initiative and work independently, and to work in a dynamic fast-paced work environment.
· Attention to detail without losing quality.
· Ability to work under short deadlines.
· Ability to take initiative, work in a team, share knowledge, and information.
· Proven ability to work effectively in complex, multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams.
· Superior inter-personal skills, client-orientation, diplomatic skills, and mature judgment
· Proficiency with Microsoft tools (Excel, Power Point, and Word), Project management tools and software (MS Project, Primavera, Project Builder, etc.), and Website content management systems (Drupal 9).
Requirements:
Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries. Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab. COVID-19 considerations: the health and safety of our employees are our number one priority. As a condition of employment, IDB/IDB Invest requires all new hires to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.Type of contract and duration:
· Type of contract: International Consultant Full-Time (CNS).
· Length of contract: 19 months.
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This vacancy is archived.