Job ID: 36272

Practice Area - Job Family: Poverty Reduction

Vacancy End Date: (Midnight New York, USA) 05/04/2021

Duty Station: Gaborone, Botswana

Education & Work Experience: I-Master's Level Degree - 7 year(s) experience

Languages: English

Grade: P4

Vacancy Type: FTA International

Posting Type: External

Bureau: Africa

Contract Duration: 1 Year

Background

The Country Programme Document (CPD) for Botswana (2017-2021) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) outlines the Programme’s response to support Government of Botswana (GoB). UNDP support is in three (3) areas 1) policy design, 2) policy implementation and 3) evidence-based monitoring and evaluation. The support is within the context of the UNDP mandate to provide technical expertise, exchange of knowledge and capacity development, based on international best practice.

It is also UNDP’s mandate to support developing countries to achieve national and international goals. GoB aspirations and UNDP’s areas of support are identified in National Development Plan 11 (NDP 11) and Vision 2036 include but not limited to; developing diversified sources of economic growth, employment creation, export-led growth, creating a conducive environment for the private sector, improving regulatory framework for doing business and global competitiveness.

Unfortunately, Governments today face many challenges and the road to success is not easy. The on-going Covid 19 pandemic, unemployment, budgetary constraints, human capital crisis and inadequate legal and policy frameworks are some of the impediments to success. In this environment, many governments recognize that they must transform, thus, change the way they operate to improve their performance in the midst of an economic downturn.

National priorities can only be realized through a responsive, accountable, effective and efficient Local Government system that is part of a coherent working national government. This is where the role of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) stems. MLGRD plays a critical role in coordinating and implementing national priorities at local government. MLGRD exist to deliver on the national mandate to;

  • Develop and monitor applicable policies and legislations aimed at transforming and strengthening Local Government and traditional institutions to fulfil their statutory obligations;
  • Develop, promote and monitor mechanisms, systems and structures to enable integrated service delivery at Local Government level; and
  • Provide requisite professional support and advice to Local Authorities.

The Ministry drives its mandate through Ministry Departments, 16 Local Authorities and 19 Tribal Administration offices which are geographically spread across Botswana. These institutions facilitate development programmes at local level and foster local democracy and governance while also promoting social welfare and economic empowerment to disadvantaged groups.

The legal framework guiding operations is espoused in the Local Government Act of 20 which sets out the responsibilities of District Councils as follows:

  • Provide democratic and accountable local governance to local communities,
  • Ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner;
  • Promote social and economic development;
  • Promote a safe and healthy environment; and
  • Encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in matters of local governance i.e. Village Development Committees, Village Extension Teams, Full Councils and Committees.

The Ministry is also guided by Customary Court Act of 2013 and the Bogosi Act 0f 2008, to discharge its Tribal Administration mandate which aims at promoting social Cohesion. Recently within the Local Government system there are worrying trends and signs that are undermining the progress and successes achieved to this end. Challenges that are undermining our Local Government delivery system include but not limited to;

  • Systemic factors linked to the model of local government;
  • Policy and legislative factors;
  • Political factors;
  • Weaknesses in the accountability systems;
  • Capacity and skills constraints;
  • Weak intergovernmental support and oversight; and
  • Issues associated with the inter-governmental fiscal system.

Driven by these challenges and changing public expectations, MLGRD embarked on a situational analysis process and different initiatives to redefine its role, strengthen its customer focus and build integrated service delivery models. The MLGRD Strategic Plan (2018 -23) review report unearthed that at Ministry level;

  • The MLGRD M&E system is not fully functional and not providing timely and critical information for decision making.
  • The strategy, M&E and Performance Monitoring system are not integrated
  • The strategy is not operationalised in that activities, clear responsibilities and budget allocations are lacking. Consequently, the strategy is not a guiding tool for planning and implementation. As a result, priorities change frequently.
  • There is a mismatch between the existing ministerial structure and its capacities on the one hand and future needs to manage and coordinate the decentralisation process on the other hand.
  • Due to the deconcentrated service delivery system there are too many overlapping mandates and responsibilities with other ministries while progress is hampered by excessively centralised and bureaucratic decision-making processes.

At Local Government level:

  • Similarly, the M&E system is not yet fully functional.
  • As a result of the deconcentrated structure, LGs have limited mandate and resources (staff and funds) to respond adequately to local needs and opportunities.
  • Good project management is hampered by lack of skills and overly bureaucratic procedures.

These efforts culminated into the development of the new MLGRD Strategic and Transformation Plan (2021 -2025). The MLGRD Strategic Plan (2018-2023) was reviewed to respond to several emerging developmental demands and improve performance. While the overall vision of MLGRD remains the same as before;

Sustainable Livelihoods and Effective Local Governance.

its mission now reads;

To deliver socio-economic development services and municipal infrastructure through effective and efficient local governance for environmentally sustainable development and improved lives of all Batswana.

MLGRD and LGs will collectively focus the coming five years on achieving the following six strategic objectives: The three (3) core developmental mandates of the MLGRD are strategic objective 4 - To play a catalytic role in building resilient and sustainable local economies, objective 5 - To provide effective and efficient local services and infrastructure, and objective 6 - To provide inclusive and shock responsive social protection services.

Strategic objectives 2 - To successfully implement phase 1 of the decentralisation process and objective 3 - To develop and implement a LG Digital Transformation Strategy and Plan are two mutually reinforcing process type of objectives that enable MLGRD to structurally improve the delivery of its core developmental mandates. Strategic objective 1 - To reorganise MLGRD to improve its organisational performance including M&E, is fundamental for the successful realisation of all overall strategy.

While there are assumptions in place for the success of the Strategy, it is anticipated that it would be difficult to change the already established systems and procedures of the local government system. With the revised strategy, a number of changes are required, these changes include policy-level changes, staff, resources, workload allocations and new responsibilities. Therefore, it is essential that changes should be managed carefully while highlighting the benefits it would accrue to the work environment and to the people. It is against this background that an Institutional Change Management Advisor is required to support MLGRD senior management to plan, coordinate, guide and advocate for the roll-out the MLGRD Strategic and Transformation (S&T) Plan (2021-2025) to ensure the rollout of the six pillars of the S&T Plan (2021-2025) are synchronized.

Duties and Responsibilities

The ICM Advisor is expected to carry out the following functions:

  • Support MLGRD senior management to plan in detail for the roll out the Strategy and Transformation Plan (2021-2025) to ensure the rollout of the six pillars of the Plan are synchronized at national and local levels
  • Support MLGRD to plan, manage and coordinate all consultancies at national and local levels, including those from all development partners, as part of the Strategy and Transformation Plan (2021-2025).
  • Support MLGRD to develop and implement a communication strategy and action plan at national and local levels

Support MLGRD to undertake resource mobilization initiatives to ensure adequate resources for the rollout of the Strategy and Transformation Plan (2021-2025).

1. Support MLGRD senior management to plan in detail for the roll out the Strategy and Transformation Plan (2021-2025) to ensure the rollout of the six pillars of the Plan are synchronized and monitored closely at national and local levels.

  • Assess the strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to determine MLGRD’s current position and ability to roll-out the new Strategy.
  • Develop a detailed roadmap, with clear prioritization and sequencing of all 6 pillars for the rollout the overall S&T Plan (2021-2025) at national and local levels for discussion with senior management and finalize based on their feedback. Particular attention must be given to defining clearly the functions at ministerial level and those of local level entities.
  • Together with the MLGRD senior management, define clearly how each action in the RoadMap will be implemented, strategic initiatives and innovation that will be adopted, the roles of all concerned at national and local levels, with clear timelines, end deliverables and budgets, to ensure the rollout will bring about the transformational change envisaged.
  • Provide technical support to MLGRD senior management to build linkages/synergies with extension ministries responsible for implementing some activities of the MLGRD Strategy.
  • Provide technical support to each Department and Local Level Authorities to develop their plans derived from the Roadmap.
  • Provide technical support MLGRD senior management to develop/revise tools required for implementation at national and local levels - procedures, policies, budgets, rules, standards ensuring as many as possible are digitized.
  • Develop a plan of action to establish a Monitoring and Evaluation Unit with an effective structure, staff, systems, procedures, tools and templates to be used to monitor progress by each department and local level in the implementation of the RoadMap
  • Define how the MLGRD can create participatory ways of consulting and working with relevant stakeholders such as labour unions and the Botswana Association of Local Authorities to ensure there is a sustained level of engagement and buy-in of the new MLGRD Strategy. Consult on a regular base with relevant stakeholders.
  • Prepare the templates that will be used to report progress to the Minister, ministerial meetings and parliament as required and support MLGRD with the content of these reports.

2. Support MLGRD to plan, manage and coordinate all consultancies

at national and local levels, including, those from all development partners, as part of the Strategy and Transformation Plan (2021-2025).

  • Provide technical support to MLGRD Departments and local Authorities to develop their annual procurement plans of consultancies with budgets to undertake the implementation of strategic initiatives as defined in the Road Map.
  • Provide technical support to implementing departments in MLGRD and local authorities to develop Terms of References for engaging consultants.
  • Provide technical support to Strategy Management and Reforms Division to ensure that all TORs are synchronised across all 6 pillars.
  • Provide technical support to Strategy Management and Reforms Division to ensure they put in place a system to manage and closely monitor consultants so that deliverables are provided with high quality and within times agreed.

3. Support MLGRD to develop and implement a communication strategy and action plan at national and local levels.

  • Provide technical support to MLGRD to prepare a detailed costed communications and advocacy plan for the rollout of the S&T Plan (2021-2025) at national and local level to keep staff, stakeholders and the public well informed of each stage around the implementation of the S&T Plan. The adviser will give particular attention to:
  • Determine what will be communicated and on what platforms
  • Define key audiences for the implementation of the new MLGRD Strategy.
  • Identify media channels for effective delivery of messages to target audiences.
  • Develop a solid timing strategy to execute the steps of the communication plan.
  • Assist in drafting communication briefs for the Minister and Permanent Secretary
  • Assist MLGRD to set up a system to Monitor the implementation of the communications and advocacy plan according to the timelines
  • Assist MLGRD to develop a weekly report on achievements to the Permanent Secretary
  • Assist the Minister, in his role as MLGRD S&T (2021-2025) Champion, to develop a champions program for the rollout of the S&T Plan (2021-2025) to keep staff, stakeholders and the public well informed, engaged, motivated and inspired.

4. Support MLGRD to undertake resource mobilization initiatives to ensure adequate resources for the rollout of the Strategy and Transformation Plan (2021-2025).

  • Explore available financial institutes, donors and development partners, their purpose and modalities to determine the best fit for MLGRD or for a specific strategic initiative.
  • Conduct a comprehensive analysis of financial institutes, donors and development partners and assess the feasibility of securing annual, multiyear and thematic funding.
  • Map donors and development partners strategic areas of interest and explore opportunities for partnerships, mobilizing and leveraging resources.
  • Provide technical support to MLGRD to develop a plan for pursuing partners and obtaining funding and technical assistance for the implementation of the new MLGRD Strategy.
  • Provide technical support to MLGRD to develop objectives and methods for resource mobilisation.
  • Recommend ways to develop and maintain strategic partnerships and engagement with key partners.
  • Assist MLGRD senior management in preparing resource support requests.

Competencies

  • Innovation
  • Leadership
  • People Management
  • Communication
  • Delivery
  • Change Management
  • Project Management
  • Analytical Skills
  • Time management
  • Risk Management

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters’ Degree, or Professional Qualification, in; Business Administration, Management, Change Management, Strategic Management or any Business-related field necessary to undertake the assignment.

Experience:

At least 7 years of working experience with focus on change management, service quality improvements, institutional development and capacity building in private sector/public sector institutions as core areas of expertise.

Language Requirements:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Disclaimer

Women are strongly encouraged to apply. The selection process will be fair and transparent.

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This vacancy is archived.

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