View Vacancy – Governance Adviser- Open Societies and Effective Institution Group , Grade- G7, Islamabad

The work of the British High Commission (BHC) in Pakistan is focused on six main workstreams – Regional Stability, Threats, Health and Education, Climate, Resilience and Humanitarian, Open Societies, and Economy and Trade. 

BHC Islamabad is looking to recruit a suitably qualified and experienced Governance Adviser. This position is open externally and internally to Country Based Staff on promotion and level transfer who have demonstrated the required technical competencies and experience.

This role sits within the Open Societies and Effective Institution Group in BHC Islamabad (BHCI), also known as CG5. The Group has a £91m portfolio. It leads policy & programmes at the federal and sub-national levels relating to governance and effective institutions (e.g. public sector management, PFM, local governance); human rights (e.g., freedom of religion and belief; minority rights; children’s rights; modern slavery); gender and social inclusion (women and girls, children, transgenders, religious minorities gender & disability) as well as civic space and media freedom. Within CG5, this position will sit under Governance, Reforms & Institutions Team (GRIT), who lead on a £42m portfolio including two programmes a) Sub-National Governance (SNG II) Programme and b) National Governance Programme (NGP). The GRIT team provides cross-cutting governance advice to teams across the BHC and leads much of the BHC’s interaction with key government stakeholders, especially in the bureaucracy (e.g. Finance Department, Planning and Development) at both federal and provincial levels.

CG5 is a top performing unit, that offers an attractive and rewarding work environment. CG5 strives to work together in a positive team environment, making professional development and career progression a priority, and providing flexibility to deliver results at pace on high-profile priorities while maintaining work-life balance.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Open Societies and Effective Institutions Group. The position is a leadership role. The successful candidate will be contributing to mission’s leadership on governance, accountability, and state capability.

Roles and responsibilities – what will the job-holder be expected to achieve?

FCDO advisers help identify, generate, and utilise the best evidence, knowledge, technology and ideas to improve the effectiveness and impact of the UK’s development programmes and policies. Advisers have a key role in programme design, management and evaluation, and in influencing the broader development and implementation of policy – for FCDO and across HMG. They should have strong links with development networks, decision makers, political actors, research organisations and professional bodies both in Pakistan and internationally.

Governance is about how a country manages its affairs, including how power and resources are acquired, managed and distributed. It is about political relations and bargaining processes amongst elites and between the elites and different social interests. Effective governance requires state capability to get things done, accountability to citizens, and responsiveness to citizens’ needs and rights. There is no standard recipe for improving governance and the evidence shows that technical fixes alone do not work. This means our approach should be tailored to local context and informed by rigorous analysis of the underlying political-economy and related constraints and opportunities.

The successful candidate will be an experienced governance professional with a strong understanding of, and demonstrated ability to apply, core governance concepts, evidence, policy, and practice to a range of issues in Pakistan. You will be expected to: 

• Provide high quality, reliable, timely and relevant governance analysis and advice to FCDO programmes and policies, in the key technical competency areas listed below. This includes commissioning and quality assuring political economy and institutional analysis.
• Design, manage, and lead clearly defined programmes or programme components in CG5, and contribute governance expertise to other programmes across the BHC.
• Maintain and leverage strong links to key BHC counterparts in governance, especially provincial bureaucracies (e.g. Finance Department, Planning and Development), civil society, and academics to inform the BHC governance, and wider development, portfolio.
• Engage with international partners to strengthen coordination of governance support in Pakistan (UN system, World Bank, IMF, bilateral development partners, NGOs and civil society) working on the governance areas listed below.
• Working as integral part of the governance team in BHC Islamabad, to contribute to the BHC’s understanding of the bureaucratic and institutional context in Pakistan through regular engagement and analysis, helping to inform wider programming and policies.
• Engage actively with FCDO’s broader governance agenda, including by providing regular and high-quality technical governance inputs to policy and strategy and sharing learning across the Governance cadre and Network. The job holder is required to contribute 10% of their time where feasible in support of the Governance cadre and Network

You will be skilled at seeing the big picture and have a strong grounding in understanding and applying political economy analysis. You will be able to proactively identify ways in which governance can add value to wider BHC objectives in Pakistan, and spot opportunities in other BHC agendas to progress governance outcomes around state capability, accountability and responsiveness.   We are looking for someone with a demonstrated ability to build relationships with a broad range of actors and networks (in person and remote), an excellent ability to communicate and influence effectively with stakeholders beyond their own team. 

• Applied Governance and Political Economy Analysis, understanding governance evidence, policy, and practice in a range of settings and apply both political and institutional analysis to inform policy direction, deliver plans, advice, and programming decisions.
• Inclusive Growth and Economic Development: Demonstrate knowledge of institutional and political barriers and drivers for inclusive growth and economic development. Influence and provide support to economic development work in a range of settings.
• Public Sector Governance and Service Delivery, in particular role and value-add of governance to priority agendas such as climate change, health, or gender.
• Public Financial Management and Domestic Revenue Mobilisation: Understand the role of public financial management and domestic revenue mobilisation in development, accountability, and state-building processes. Advise, influence policy direction and programme leadership on PFM and revenue mobilisation, working with HMG, country, and international partners.

The successful candidate will be expected to accredit to the governance cadre at expert level. if More information is available in the Governance Technical Competency Framework

Please use the STAR method to describe your example (for guidance : A brief guide to competencies – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Language requirements: English and Urdu

 Level of language required: Fluent