Job Summary

Democracy International (DI) is seeking to hire a Public Outreach Consultant for the Municipality of Gjakova/Đakovica - hereinafter the Consultant - for the Social Contract Activity in Kosovo. The Social Contract Activity (the Activity), funded by USAID, aims to introduce sustainable practices for public participation to improve Kosovo citizens' quality of life and strengthen their partnership with the municipal government. In late 2023 and early 2024, the Activity facilitated a process between municipal officials and community groups to develop a Social Contract Agenda that lays out practices to expand public participation and lower the barriers of interaction for resolving community issues. In the Social Contract Agenda, the municipality agreed to apply participatory budgeting and build good practices to resolve community issues. 

The Activity is seeking a Consultant to provide support with public outreach and communication to support municipal efforts on public participation practices, including the application of participatory budgeting, to ensure a transparent and inclusive decision-making process, planned in the Social Contract Agenda of the Municipality of Gjakova/Đakovica. The consultant is expected to work closely with the Public Information Office and the Mayor’s team to provide advice and support to improve communication with the public. The Social Contract Activity point of contact and technical advisor for the Consultant will be the Governance Officer. The level of effort (LoE) for this engagement will be up to 20 days until September 30, 2024.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities of the Consultant

The Consultant will:   

1. Develop a public outreach strategy for participatory budgeting process and identify effective communication channels, including digital platforms, the municipality can use for broader community engagement and participatory budgeting (up to 3 days);
2. Assist municipal officials to plan and implement the public outreach campaign for participatory budgeting in targeted communities, including by supporting coaching sessions for municipal officials on properly carrying out the actions of the public outreach plan to the target communities; the Senior Communications Officer will facilitate the sessions (up to 5 days);
3. Coach municipal officials on facilitating participatory budgeting meetings and offer other technical support as requested by the municipality and approved by DI to foster interactive methods to encourage active community involvement, in coordination with the Activity staff (up to 4 days);
4. Coach municipal officials to properly register and respond to community issues to build good practices of community outreach on issues (up to 4 days);
5. Assist municipal officials in practicing lessons learned sessions to measure the effectiveness of outreach efforts, highlighting challenges and successful practices that drive to identifying areas for improvement in the future. The consultant will be expected to lead lessons learned/Pause & Reflect sessions with the municipal officials and advise them on how to conduct similar sessions in the future (up to 2 days);
6. Perform other similar communication tasks as required by the Activity and agreed with municipal authorities (up to 2 days).

Key Deliverables

The Consultant is expected to provide the following deliverables:

• A comprehensive work plan that includes the abovementioned key tasks agreed with the Office of the Mayor and/or the Point of Contact and a timeline for the key tasks (within 14 days of the start of the engagement);
• A plan for the public outreach campaign for participatory budgeting in the municipality;
• Materials used to coach municipal officials, reviewed and approved by DI prior to use, as well as sign-up sheets from the coaching sessions;
• Monthly reports detailing the support provided during that time, including sign-in sheets of any coaching sessions;
• A comprehensive Final Report with the set of recommendations to the USAID Social Contract Activity for improving community engagement strategies through effective public communication methods in the municipality. The report should also summarize the purpose of the consultancy, progress made during the duration of the consultancy, and any other notable observations; issues and/or problems encountered; and expected follow-on actions, as well as actions to be performed by counterparts; and lessons learned or advice for the Activity moving forward.

Qualifications 

• Residency in Kosovo
• Experience and technical expertise working on local governance in public outreach, communications, and/or public consultation
• Strong background and expertise in communication strategies, campaign planning, and coaching techniques
• Familiarity with text-based mobile application channels and the ability to coach others in utilizing these channels for effective communication
• Professional fluency in English and Albanian/Serbian
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred
• Experience working with donors preferred
• Strong interpersonal skills to effectively coordinate with a wide range of stakeholders
• Experience working in/knowledge of Gjakova/Đakovia is a plus

Reporting

The Consultant will report to DI’s Governance Officer.

Application Process:
Interested applicants must submit a cover letter and a CV by April 5, 2024. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. DI is dedicated to attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent, and the position will be filled as soon as a qualified candidate is identified. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Application Link:

https://recruitingbypaycor.com/career/JobIntroduction.action?clientId=8a78826757e082f20157e44efef80218&id=8a78839f8e5e56f5018e679712815034&source=&code=&fromAggregate=false&qToken=&applicant_guid=

About the Organization:
DI provides technical assistance, analytical services and project implementation for democracy, human rights, governance and conflict mitigation programs worldwide for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. State Department and other development partners. Since its founding in 2003, Democracy International has worked with civil society organizations, political parties, election-management bodies, government agencies, legislatures, justice-sector institutions, and others in 70+ countries.