The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments, established in 1889. Over the years, it has grown into a global organization with 180 Members and 15 Associate Members. The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.

For more than 50 years, the IPU has implemented programmes of support to parliaments. These aim to accompany parliaments in their work and support them as institutions, though their members and staff, to strengthen their action and impact. Programmatic work carried out by the IPU focuses on the core constitutional functions of parliament as well as providing assistance in delivering on key policy areas including human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment, sustainable development, and peace and security. In so doing, IPU programmatic work complements the political platforms and initiatives led by the Organization, which facilitate parliamentary diplomacy and multilateralism.

The programmatic work of the IPU is demand-driven and builds primarily on the wealth of experience and knowledge of IPU Member Parliaments. The IPU offers tailored support at national level and facilitates exchanges of experience, good practices, knowledge and information at the regional and global level. The IPU also develops standards, as well as research, tools and online platforms, to support parliamentary work.

In providing support to parliaments, the IPU abides by the Common Principles for Support to Parliaments, which set out the fundamental principles for planning and implementing programmes to strengthen parliaments. The Common Principles were first developed in 2014 by a group of parliaments and partners brought together by the IPU and have since been widely endorsed around the world.

The impact of the IPU’s programmatic work depends on numerous factors. Parliaments are complex institutions evolving in ever more challenging and multi-dimensional environments that influence ways in which change happens, both at individual and societal levels. That notwithstanding, at the heart of its impact is the IPU’s capacity to trigger and accompany change not only in institutions but also in people, i.e. Members of Parliament and parliamentary staff.

The IPU believes in continuous learning to enhance its skills and effectiveness. To that end, it organizes capacity-building initiatives for its staff to enhance their way of delivering support to IPU Member Parliaments and achieving the key objectives set. Bearing in mind the target audience of IPU work, and the very sensitive political environment in which it delivers its programmes, the IPU is looking to enhance its understanding of and its capacity to integrate further social and behavioural change approaches and methodologies into its work.

Objective and deliverables

The objective of the consultancy is to equip the IPU Secretariat with the knowledge and skills to better integrate the concept of “social and behavioural change” in the IPU’s programme work.

The consultant(s) will provide training that introduces the key concepts of social and behavioural change and discusses these concepts in the parliamentary and IPU contexts.

The consultant(s) will then provide tailored support to some key pilot projects for enhanced integration of social and behavioural change.

Finally, the consultant(s) will assist the IPU Secretariat in reviewing its results framework and indicators with a view of better capturing social and behavioural change.

The list of deliverables will be finalized in consultation with the consultant(s) recruited.

Outcomes

At the end of the consultancy, IPU staff would be expected to be able to:

• Identify potential processes, activities and targets for behavioural change.
• Set up processes for integration of behavioural change approaches in IPU programmatic work.
• Describe a specific behavioural problem in terms of what needs to change: capability, opportunity and/or motivation, and describe the influences on a target behaviour.
• Understand how to measure behavioural change
• Improve IPU indicators to reflect behavioural change and its impact.

Timeframe

The series of training and support activities would be held between mid-October 2024 and the third week of December 2024. Should timelines be too short, a possible extension to February 2025 could be considered. Further details with regard to the duration and timing of the consultancy will be defined in collaboration with the consultant(s) recruited.

Required competences

• Social and behavioural change knowledge and training expertise
• Professional experience in working with international organizations, especially in sensitive political contexts
• Strong experience and previous work with organizations working on governance, with parliaments and in politics
• Sound knowledge of parliaments; experience working with parliaments an asset
• Proficiency in English; knowledge of French an asset.

How to Apply:

Candidates should provide the following documents and information:

• Curriculum vitae.
• Brief description of why they are the right candidate for this series of activities, including details of their personal contribution to at least two relevant projects.
• Information on how they propose to go about the assignment, including detailed methodology presenting how they would approach the work and a schedule of activities.
• One sample of published work on a related topic.
• Indication of a proposed daily rate and budget.

Applications missing one or more of the required documents and information listed above will not be considered.

The deadline for applications is 1 December 2024. Applications should be sent by email to job@ipu.org with Surname Name – Consultant – Social and behavioural change support in the subject line. For further details about the consultancy, please contact postbox@ipu.org.

Applicants will be contacted only if they are under serious consideration. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.

Recruitment principles

Our guiding principle in selecting candidates is to secure the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. We do not discriminate on any grounds and are committed to promoting diversity in our workforce. Particular attention is paid to candidates from developing countries and to achieving gender balance. We strive to provide an environment where the contribution of each individual is valued.