2. Position Information

Job Title: Public Administration and Institutional Reform Practice Manager

Duty Station: Nairobi/Mogadishu with travel to Southwest State and Jubaland State

Reporting to: Director of Services

Duration: Full-time

Email: Recruitment@asalconsulting.com

Application Deadline: 08 September 2023

1. About Asal

Asal is a top tier consulting firm focused on Somalia and all Somali speaking regions in the Horn of Africa. We specialize in public sector reform, private sector development, governance, leadership and accountability. We create spaces for change in the Somali public and private sector – bringing the right people together to align agendas, define needs and co-create sustainable solutions. Asal contribute to broader national development and state-building goals by leading projects across the region, building institutional infrastructure; nurturing and growing local leaders; and building platforms to convene and connect key players in Somalia’s government and development ecosystems to facilitate collaboration and impactful change. Our team is composed of experts based in Somalia and internationally and our globally distributed talent pool includes the best of professionals, giving us in-house expertise across different disciplines and specializations. Our experience ensures an intimate, nuanced and intuitive understanding of the cultural, political and structural complexities of post–civil war regions and, crucially, enables us to provide solutions and services that are tailored and effective within the local context and culture.

1. Scope of Work

Asal is seeking a full-time, Public Administration and Institutional Strengthening Practice Leadto join our growing public administration practice and to support Asal’s overall project implementation and business development.The practice sits within Asal’s Public Sector Governance Practice As the PracticeManager you will drive Asal’s Public Sector Governance Practice including helping to establish strategic direction, overseeing a portfolio of projects, staff and short-term consultants, providing technical inputs to projects and leading new business efforts.

This is a senior leadership position, closely working with Asal’s leadership and other practice managers. You will cultivate and manage partnerships with Somali and international stakeholders including civil society, donors, and development organisations. You will be providing high-quality solutions designed to improve the effectiveness, accountability and responsiveness of institutions, strengthen communities’ participation and advances equity and inclusion.

1. Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership, Strategy, and Innovation

• Lead on the delivery of technical deliverables in the fields of institutional reform, public administration, and public policy.
• Assist in delivering technical consultancy, including business development, monitoring and project management responsibilities for a range of Asal projects to a high standard.
• Provide technical supervision and support to Asal activities in the practice area, including with the development and implementation of annual work plans and budgets, ensuring compliance with contract requirements.
• In close consultation with the Head of Practice and other program staff, provide direction to team members under your supervision ensuring project inputs and deliverables are defined and delivered on time and to quality standards.
• Contribute to the development of the practice areas through sharing knowledge by facilitating skills and expertise transfer to team members and contributing ideas to a dynamic knowledge base that promotes more efficient and effective reform outcomes.
• Provide activity updates, lessons learned, and stories for communication and learning purposes.
• Represent Asal as a thought leader in your practice area through our communication priorities and at industry events, meetings, and conferences.
• Ensures the “Asal Way” values are lived by setting example and tone for practice and emphasizing the importance of practicing our values to achieve impact.

Nabadaynta Soomaaliyaa

Asal is a lead implementer on Nabadgelinta Soomaaliyaa (NS), a 7-year multi-donor funded justice and security program. Asal (together with Saferworld) implements the component “Participatory Public Policy and Institutional Strengthening”. NS’ intended impact is to have ‘Somalis benefit from improved security and access to justice through inclusive approaches that enjoy elite support and public confidence’.

Specific responsibilities under NS

• Provide technical direction and management of activities to strengthen and advance public administration and institutional strengthening, as well as strengthening of public participation in policy.
• Manage relationships with stakeholders (alongside the Engagement and Political Economy lead).
• Collaborate with government officials, non-state actors & community structures to gain buy-in and support for reform initiatives, fostering effective partnerships & building consensus.
• Develop methodologies and standards for improving institutional strengthening of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Security, courts, informal institutions and other relevant institutions.
• Design and develop institutional capacity assessments of targeted formal and informal institutions.
• Build capacity of stakeholders (authorities & non-state actors) including to analyze and develop legislation, policies and regulations in a participatory manner.
• Assist the Somalia Federal Member State governments to implement and institutionalize participatory policy framework and other policy documents that govern justice and security.
• Coordinate activities with the senior management team to ensure the end goals of programs are met.
• Collaborate with other technical leads to ensure cohesion among program interventions.
• Actively participate in the development of annual work planning, design, implementation and reporting related to the program.
• Continuously monitor the results of program activities, evaluate progress against project targets and identify course-corrections recommended to improve impact.

Business development

• Building on existing strategic relationships, partnerships, and programs, create new business opportunities for Asal.
• Drive the proposal development process within your practice areas, including technical conceptualization and writing; development of new partnerships and technical resources; recruitment of high-quality technical personnel.

1. Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in a relevant field such as public administration, political science, law, and public policy.
• At least 10 years proven experience in fields related to public administration reform, institutional development, public policy, or capacity building in the public sector.
• Significant professional experience in designing and delivering supporting institutional reform on donor funded programs.
• Excellent people and talent management skills, with proven ability to form lasting relationships both internally and externally.
• Demonstrates values that contribute to the collaborative, team driven way of working that is promoted within Asal.
• Proactive in identifying challenges, proposing solutions, and is results driven.
• Proven experience in the management of international development programs and projects.
• Deep understanding and experience with innovative approaches, best practice and trends in public administration systems, processes and governance structures.
• Experience of working with senior leadership in government, civil society, or the private sector.
• Ability to maintain harmonious working relationships in a multicultural setting with a good team spirit.
• Excellent communication skills, both in written and spoken English. Somali written and spoken is highly desirable.
• Excellent project management skills.
• Experience of working in Somalia and/or the Horn of Africa is strongly preferred.