TITLE:  Technical Advisor-Civil Society

REPORTS TO: Principal Investigator

LOCATION: Kathmandu, Nepal

We are currently seeking qualified candidates for the position of  Technical Advisor - Civil Society for an anticipated five-year USAID/Nepal Kathmandu Valley Clean Air Program. This program will seek to reduce air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley, and potentially other areas of Nepal, by addressing the sources of air pollution through: 1) building the capacity of and providing technical assistance to government to increase adherence to environmental regulations, use data for solution identification, and drive policy formulation, enforcement and implementation; 2) strengthening existing and new civil society and community networks, particularly those representing marginalized communities, to advocate and advance public interest on improving air quality; 3) and establishing private sector partnerships. Under focus area 2, the program will seek to build civil society organization (CSO) capacity to strengthen social accountability. Through this workstream, the program will equip CSOs with the capacity and skills required to amplify engagement with government and local actors, with a particular focus on youth, women and marginalized groups, and to deliver and monitor pilot air pollution reduction initiatives and approaches at the community level. 

This position is subject to project award, funding, and USAID approval.

Position Description:

The Technical Advisor – Civil Society will provide technical and scientific leadership in designing, implementing and evaluating the project’s civil society engagement and capacity building strategy. S/he will support the Principal Investigator in providing technical advice and lead initiatives with government stakeholders and partners based upon expertise and knowledge of evidence- based civil society strengthening methods and strategies, current practice, and established operational and research standards to ensure quality and rigorous design. S/he will oversee the coordination of community and CSO forums at project outset to define shared goals and develop action plans for implementation of pilot activities to these. S/he will adapt existing FHI 360 tools to develop and deliver advocacy and accountability trainings for targeted CSOs and develop tools to implement agreed approaches and track progress. The Technical Advisor – Civil Society will also work with project partners to identify key characteristics for a knowledge exchange portal among CSOs and determine system specifications and primary outputs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership in the design, development, execution and evaluation of a civil society engagement and capacity building strategy, ensuring the project’s activities use a systematic planning process that is evidence-based and reinforced through a coordinated, shared vision among partners, key stakeholders, and the Government of Nepal
• Lead development and preparation of annual workplans and routine donor reporting for the civil society engagement and capacity building components of the project
• Oversee coordination of community forums in year 1 to gain insight into community and CSO priorities, define shared objectives and develop and monitor shared action plans
• Develop and implement an advocacy and accountability accelerator training and mentoring program, with a goal to help CSOs become more effective for holding local government officials accountable for reducing air pollution
• Work with project stakeholders to develop CSO tools and implementation frameworks, including air quality impact checklists, SOPs for open and interactive public hearings/forums, and citizen report cards to provide feedback to government officials.
• Provide support to CSO network as required through one-on-one mentoring, on-demand technical assistance (TA), learning-by-doing activities, group trainings, and relationship building with local government
• Work with the project’s M&E Specialist to track whether program civil society engagement and capacity building activities are achieving the project’s indicators
• Oversee development of civil society-led online knowledge sharing platform by program partners, with an emphasis on sharing cross-border knowledge across the region
• Ensure that new knowledge and best practices in civil society engagement and capacity building for air pollution reduction are shared and contribute to the knowledge base through participation in local, regional and global partner and technical networks, scientific forums and other knowledge-sharing platforms
• Oversee planning and implementation of other specific civil society activities

• Experience in training, mentoring, and providing technical assistance to local CSOs and local governments
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects and consultants, and to set realistic priorities, and plan for the successful implementation of activities required
• Flexibility and ability to adapt implementation based on data or information from monitoring of activities
• Thought leadership in Civil Society and demonstrated experience in advancing the field.
• Experience with working in USAID projects is preferred
• Proficiency in oral and written communication skills in English and fluency in Nepalese
• Qualified female candidates and candidates from ethnic minorities, socially excluded and disadvantaged groups are encouraged to apply

• Advanced degree in Business Administration, Education, Law, Political Science, Public Administration or other related fields. Masters degree, or international equivalent, preferred.
• 7-10 years of relevant experience in management of and technical direction to civil society engagement and capacity building projects and/or programs, preferably in countering air pollution, climate change, environment or related development areas