ICMA (the International City/County Management Association) is a premier local government leadership and management organization founded in 1914. Its mission is to create excellence in local governance by advocating and developing the professional management of local government worldwide.
ICMA is an internationally recognized publisher of information resources ranging from textbooks and survey data to topical newsletters and e-publications. ICMA provides technical assistance to local governments in emerging democracies, helping them to develop professional practices and ethical, transparent governments. ICMA performs a wide range of grant and contract funded work both in the U.S. and globally, which is supported by federal government agencies, foundations, and corporations. For more information about ICMA, please visit www.ICMA.org.
ICMA is recruiting a Municipal Governance Advisor who will be working on a USAID funded Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations Program (RAMP UP) in Afghanistan. The purpose of RAMP UP is to create effective, responsive, democratic, transparent, and accountable municipal governance in the fourteen provinces that comprise the International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF’s) Regional Command East. RAMP UP East will: (1) increase the capacity of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) municipal officials, (2) markedly improve the delivery of municipal services to citizens in target municipalities, and (3) increase municipal capacity to enable, support, and sustain economic growth. As a result of the RAMP UP East, Afghan citizens will receive better services, understand the responsibilities of municipal leaders, play an active role in the municipal decision-making process, and see local governance structures as legitimate.
Position Summary:
The Municipal Governance Advisor (MGA) for RAMP UP East program is located in Kabul provides direct management support to a team of Kabul-based senior Afghan and international technical advisors and works closely with the entire RAMP UP East team to:
1) Identify needed improvements in core municipal government management functions.
2) Support the delivery of related capacity building activities (both formal training and on-the-job mentoring and advising) aimed at providing municipal officials the additional capabilities required to perform core municipal functions.
The MGA, in coordination with his/her staff and other technical experts and project staff, provides technical content for municipal training modules and coordinates closely with the training of staff in the development and delivery of municipal training modules developed for ongoing skills training and professional development of municipal government leaders and staff. In close coordination with the grants management and other RAMP UP East teams identified by the COP, the MGA ensures that grant projects selected are feasible, maximize development impact and sustainability, offer learning and organizational development opportunities for municipal leadership, and are executed in a manner that engages partner organizations and citizens throughout the process.
The MGA takes an active role in building and verifying the capacity of the project’s core Kabul staff team in their various municipal technical areas of expertise, as well as coordinates the deployment of staff input strategically across the target municipalities, i.e. input across all basic municipal functions, including public service delivery.
The MGA also performs the following;
- Coordinates with Afghan government officials and works with RAMP UP East staff at the area and municipal level to design and introduce innovative management structures, new performance standards, and new systems in government offices charged with delivering public services.
- Serves as an advisor on cross cutting public outreach, awareness, and participation activities related to core municipal government functions, and as a central facilitator and planner for cross-municipality coordination initiatives such as the planning of regional or nationwide municipal conferences.
- Works closely with the advisors and teams for Municipal Finance, Tax/Fee Collection and Revenue Generation, and Economic Development to ensure that parallel program activities are coordinated and synchronized with municipal governance capacity building and service delivery improvements.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (Urban and Regional Planning, Political Sciences, Geography) or other related field; Advanced Degree in relevant field, training and/or development field preferred.
- Minimum of 7 to10 years experience in capacity building, municipal development planning, institutional development and/or local governance, at least 5 years based in a developing country.
- Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience on international development projects; experience on USAID-funded projects preferred.
- Prior work experience in similar conflict zones preferred: experience in Afghanistan a strongly preferred.
- Highly organized and able to develop and streamline systems for efficient conduct of day-to-day tasks.
- Strong management skills to supervise a team of international and local experts.
- Strong training and oral communication skills to effectively transfer working knowledge of policies and procedures through formal and non-formal training activities.
- Ability to convey complex concepts through simplified approach and tools.
- Oral and written fluency in English.
Please submit resume and cover letter clearly highlighting relevant experience and skills at the “Apply Now” link above.