THE ASIA FOUNDATION : ERAT Sr. Public Administration Advisor

 

POSITION INFORMATION

Position                                     : Sr. Public Administration Advisor

Project Name                          : USAID ERAT (Tata Kelola PemERintahan yang Efektif, Efisien, dan KuAT)

Location                                    : Jakarta

Job Type & duration of Contract : Full-time staff, initial contract for a year with potential extension

Closing Date                            : March 7, 2022

ICMA (International City/County Management Association) seeks a Public Administration Advisor to assist with the successful implementation of the ERAT Activity.  ERAT is a USAID-funded program that supports the Government of Indonesia (GOI), coordinated by the Center of Cooperation Facilitation of the Ministry of Home Affairs.  It is implemented in the following four years in six provinces in Indonesia – North Sumatra, Banten, East Java, West Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara – covering five districts in each province. It will contribute to the GOI’s efforts to benefit the citizens of Indonesia from effective local government by increasing the quality of policy implementation and service delivery at the subnational level. The goal will be achieved through three interrelated intermediate results (IRs): (1) coherence between national and subnational policies strengthened; (2) performance of local service delivery enhanced; and (3) local budget allocation and execution improved.  

Through a partnership between the Asia Foundation (TAF) and ICMA, USAID ERAT will implement various activities at the central, provincial and district levels.  It supports the GOI to improve monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems at the national and provincial levels to improve performance-based (non-fiscal and fiscal) incentive systems. Enhanced M&E system will also allow improvement of analysis of data and information to formulate better policies and programs to support subnational governments to provide public service delivery. The program promotes peer learning among subnational governments to improve the quality of governance and public service delivery. ERAT emphasizes collaborative governance in improving public service delivery – among different levels of government, among various sectors, and among various stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society organizations (CSOs). To allow broader participation of the communities, CSOs, and the private sector, ERAT supports improvement of access to information and various channels of public participation, including complaint handling mechanisms. Private sector engagement in public service provision that is based on mutual benefits is emphasized in the program. ERAT supports improvement of subnational budget allocation and execution to improve the quality of spending to improve access to and quality of public service delivery. The program promotes gender equality and social inclusion mainstreaming in local policies, programs, and budgets, as well as in the program implementation. ERAT will advance meaningful decentralization in Indonesia by promoting technically sound and politically feasible solutions to improve local governance and service delivery, based on the situations in each province and district.

The ideal candidate will have the experience necessary to ensure the strengthening of coherence between national and subnational policies by overseeing interventions focused on subnational performance M&E systems; strengthening subnational associations to promote policy harmonization; facilitating intergovernmental and other stakeholder collaboration; facilitating innovation exchanges and smart city initiatives.   Serving as ICMA’s senior technical expert, the Public Administration Advisor will supervise three Jakarta-based specialists – Intergovernmental, Performance Monitoring and Smart Cities – and provide technical support to 30 District Facilitators. He/She reports to Washington DC-based ICMA’s Program Manager and to the Activity Director of ERAT in Jakarta. This position will be based in Jakarta. The hiring of this position is contingent on approval of the prime implementer, TAF, and USAID.

 Responsibilities:

• Oversee interventions focused on subnational performance M&E systems; strengthening subnational associations to promote policy harmonization; facilitating intergovernmental and other stakeholder collaboration; facilitating innovation exchanges and smart city initiatives.  
• Supervise and coordinate the inter-government, performance management and smart cities specialists and provide high level direction to activities related in these areas
• Support activities to assist the 30 project districts with building capacity to collect, track, analyze, and use public service delivery data to improve evidence-driven management of targeted public services; 

Key Qualifications:

• Advanced degree, or equivalent, in Public Policy, Governance, Public Administration, Economics, Regional/Urban Planning, or a related field.
• A minimum of 10 years of experience working on international development programs with objectives related to decentralization, service delivery, civic engagement, local government enabling environments, and related topics.
• Demonstrated ability to establish productive relationships with government officials, ministries, the private sector, and civil society at the national and local levels.
• Strong analytical, writing, and training skills, along with institutional analytical and development capabilities.
• Good interpersonal and diplomatic skills, along with cultural sensitivity and a commitment to addressing gender equality.
• Strong knowledge and understanding of various regulations at all levels related to decentralization and public service delivery.
• Ability to lead and form constructive partnerships with and among local counterparts.
• English and Bahasa Indonesia fluency required, with excellent written and oral communications skills.

How to Apply:

Applicants should submit their application to erathr@icma.org by March 7, 2022, at 05:00 PM Jakarta time. Please write “ERAT Public Administration Advisor” in the subject of the e-mail. The application should include (i) a cover letter, (ii) CV or Statement of Qualifications which summarizes the applicant's suitability for the position based on the above qualification criteria.

ONLY SHORTLISTED CANDIDATE WILL BE CONTACTED. 

ERAT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER, WOMEN, AND MINORITIES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.