Digital Democracy Specialist- IPSA 10 – Home Based

The Regional Electoral Support Project for MENA is carried out with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). Its overall aim is to improve accountability, participation and representation in the electoral and political processes in the Arab States by raising awareness and enhancing knowledge and capacity on elections and broader democratic governance topics throughout the region, as well as supporting civic engagement. The project provides expanded technical assistance to institutions, electoral stakeholders, and civil society on electoral issues. Some of the partners the project engages with include the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions, the Organization of Arab EMBs and the Electoral Affairs Department of the League of Arab States.

While elections are critical milestones in the democratic pathway, and despite the progress made in recent years, the principle of genuine elections as the basis of democratic legitimacy is still sometimes undermined in the Arab States region by a lack of democratic culture, ineffective or inexperienced electoral institutions, under-representation of disadvantaged groups and a lack of access to information and evidence-based reporting that limit accountability. The project recognizes that a broader approach is needed that integrates a focus on electoral principles and good practices with the promotion of rights, inclusive political processes and increased democratic engagement.

The Regional Electoral Support project mainstreams the usage of social media and digital tools for positive transformational change, helping to amplify citizen voices, connecting people and providing platforms for citizens to work together towards achieving peaceful democratic transitions. It also works to guide how best to effectively use social media in electoral assistance in the Arab States. The Digital Democracy Specialist will contribute to these goals under the management of the Regional Electoral Advisor and in close and direct collaboration with OGC

• Lead the design and development of eMonitor+ tool to monitor and analyze political discourse on digital media globally with an emphasis on the Arab states region.
• Develop UNDP Electoral Support social media monitoring methodologies and provide advice and support to UNDP country offices and other stakeholders on social media listening and fact- checking during elections.
• Generate data visualization products, including dashboards and infographics, using Power BI, Tableauor other tools for UNDP regional products on information integrity in elections.
• Facilitate dialogues, events and training on promoting information integrity in elections in the areas of combating mis/disinformation, hate speech, and violence against women in politics, among others.
• Adapt global methodologies, tools, good practices and lessons learnt on information integrity in elections to the Arab states region.
• Contribute to UNDP data analysis, research, policy and implementation of activities around monitoring information landscapes in elections and integrated data analytics on conflict and post-conflict settings with an emphasis on the Arab states region.
• Establish and maintain partnerships with CSOs, researchers, academics, tech firms, UN agencies, and INGOs globally and in the Arab states’ region.

Institutional Arrangement

The Digital Democracy specialist will work under the management of the Regional Electoral Advisor and the direct guidance of the Regional Electoral Policy Specialist.