The European Commission is preparing to set up an EU Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to observe the country’s forthcoming National Assembly Elections.

COWATER has been selected to be the implementing Partner of the European Commission for this project. In an effort to promote organizational excellence, COWATER seeks highly qualified individuals for the following positions:

• Chief Observer / Deputy Chief Observer Assistant
• Political & Campaign Finance Analyst Assistant
• Election Analyst Assistant
• Legal Analyst Assistant
• Press Officer Assistant
• Media Analyst Assistant
• Social Media / Digital Communication Analyst Assistant
• Data Analyst Assistant
• Observers’ Coordinator Assistant
• Deputy Observer’s Coordinator Assistant
• Media Monitors
• Social Media Monitors
• Data Entry Clerks
• Long Term Observer Interpreters / Assistants
• Short Term Observer Interpreters/ Assistants

Duty stations for all positions will be Maseru except for the Observers interpreters / assistants who will be required for the districts of: Berea, Botha-Bothe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, and Thaba-Tseka.

Applicants must be Lesotho nationals and be politically neutral, not supporting any coalition/party/candidate.

The required education for all positions is a University Degree in the relevant field, plus 5 years of progressive, responsible experience at a national or international level in the related field. Fluency in oral and written English and computer literacy are essential. Knowledge of electoral framework or prior EOM experience is an asset. The assignment will be for September and October for a maximum of two months.

Recommendations and/or references are required and will be checked for all positions.

SPECIFIC TERMS OF REFERENCE

Position Title: Chief Observer / Deputy Chief Observer Assistant

Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Chief Observer (DCO), the Assistant will perform activities such as:

1. Coordinate the workload and activities in the DCO and Chief Observer’s offices;
2. Manage the agenda of the DCO and Chief Observer;
3. Draft and type letters or other texts required by the DCO and Chief Observer;
4. Handle visitors’ programme in the EU EOM office for the DCO and Chief Observer;
5. Secretarial duties to the DCO and Chief Observer;
6. Keep mailing list and contact data base updated for all the stakeholders;
7. Prepare and organise the DCO duty travels and keep the other team members informed;
8. Maintain the calendar of events of the DCO and Chief Observer;
9. Arrangement for the meetings and appointments for the DCO and Chief Observer;
10. Any other relevant tasks that may be assigned.

Candidates must be committed, flexible and adaptable to meet the high quality standards and tight deadlines expected in this role.

Position Title : Political & Campaign Finance Analyst Assistant

Under the overall supervision of the Political & Campaign Finance Analyst, the Assistant will perform the following tasks:

1. Acquire knowledge of the political situation and landscape in the country;
2. Establish and maintain contacts, setup meetings and follow ups with representatives of political parties, candidates, civil society groups, political analysts, think tanks, and other organizations relevant to the election process, including women’s groups and national minority representatives;
3. Follow and report on campaign events;
4. Monitor the media (electronic and print) for political news and prepare summaries;
5. Arrange various meetings with representatives of political parties, candidates, civil society groups, political analysts, think tanks, and other organizations relevant to the election process, including women’s groups and national minority representatives where relevant;
6. Attend and interpret meetings into English from/to local language(s);
7. Draft minutes of meetings;
8. Prepare presentations for briefings;
9. Undertake research as instructed;
10. Provide any other assistance to the Political & Campaign Finance Analyst.

Position Title: Election Analyst Assistant

Under the overall supervision of the Election Analyst, the Assistant will perform activities such as:

1. Assisting the Election Analyst in communication with the election authorities at central level for all technical matters concerning the electoral process;
2. Provide advice to the Election Analyst, including searching of required and relevant electoral documents/items;
3. Assist the Election Analyst in the meetings with the Election Commission and with representatives of the contesting candidates;
4. Assist to Election Analyst in briefings and debriefings of LTO Teams and meetings;
5. Assist in the meetings with individual Election Commission members, the international experts working in the Election Commission and NGOs (domestic and international) involved in the elections process;
6. Contribute to the preparation of Weekly Reports, the Preliminary Statement and the Final Report;
7. Provide any other relevant assistance to the Election Analyst in performing the duties;
8. Assess the election administration’s capacity, in relation to voter education initiatives; training of election officials, material production and distribution. Assess the role and participation of women and minorities in the country, and other human rights issues, as required by the DCO and in coordination with other Core Team members;
9. Assess the performance of the election administration, the extent of its effectiveness, independence, impartiality and transparent operation, and the degree to which it has the confidence of election stakeholders;
10. Support the DCO in developing the analytical framework and implementing the EU election observation methodology;
11. In consultation with other Core Team members, prepare STO report forms, ensuring that the information gathered can be processed effectively.

Position Title : Legal Analyst Assistant

Under the overall supervision of the Legal Analyst the Assistant will perform activities such as:

1. Translate and analyse as required the laws and legislations of Beirut concerning the election administration, election complaints and appeals, political party registration, voters’ registration candidate registration, the electoral campaign, the media, constituencies delimitation, polling, counting and tabulation of votes.
2. Assist to Legal and HR Analyst in acquiring knowledge of the legal framework for electoral process and regulations in Lesotho;
3. Provide the Legal and HR Analyst with the relevant information on the laws in connection with the elections such as submission of nomination by the candidates, screening of candidates, complaints etc.;
4. Arrange schedules and meetings for Legal and HR Analyst with political parties, candidates and political analysts;
5. Gather, consolidate and analyse data/information, drafts presentations and briefs for the Legal and HR Analyst;
6. Interprets/translate documents for the Legal and HR Analyst and takes minutes as required;
7. Assist the Legal and HR Analyst in maintaining close relations with domestic field staff groups and other non-governmental organizations;
8. Draft reports on political developments for the Legal Analyst and provide oral briefing as required;
9. Assist in developing and providing a cultural awareness briefing for mission staff taking into consideration; religious, customs and practices. In conjunction with operations and security advisers, assist in briefing mission members about culturally sensitive issues and the appropriate behaviour to be adopted by observers in the course of their activities;
10. If requested, coordinate the assessment of the role and participation of women and minorities;
11. Assist in the assessment of the participation of women and minorities in the electoral process & evaluate the approach of the election administration with regard to women and minorities, the registration of women and minorities as voters and the representation of minorities at all levels within the electoral administration);
12. Assist in the assessment of the role and participation of women and minorities in the country, and related human rights subjects, as required by the DCO and in coordination with other core team members;
13. Participate in field staff briefings, debriefings and team meetings as required;
14. Assist in the preparation of weekly reports the preliminary statement and the final report.

Position Title : Press Officer Assistant

Under the overall supervision of the Press Officer the Assistant will perform technical activities as:

1. Draft a basic daily press digest of political and election related items for the mission;
2. Recommend the methodological framework for monitoring the most important press outlets;
3. If required, assists in co-ordinating the implementation of press monitoring by field staff in their areas of responsibility;
4. Assist in monitoring the press coverage of the mission;
5. Gather data and analyze the following:
   • the tone of the press coverage of the campaign including recording any statements that “go beyond acceptable limits”;
   • the quantity and range of official voter information items distributed in the press;
   • any complaints directed by political parties against the press;
   • the legal mechanisms to handle press related complaints including the performance of press regulatory bodies during the elections;
6. Collate and analyses all material available on opinion polls;
7. Keep updated contact list of civil society groups engaged in press monitoring, especially in regard to the public broadcaster and other state owned media;
8. Arrange schedules and meetings of the Press Officer with domestic NGOs;
9. Gather information to assist in verifying the freedom of the press to carry plural political expression;
10. Assist in establish and maintaining contact with the local and international press;
11. Adhere to the “Mission Visibility guidelines for external actions”;
12. Assist the Press Officer in the preparation of press releases and press conferences, as instructed;
13. Provide, where appropriate, the translation of the relevant information and documents issued by the mission to the public;
14. Consolidate and update the press distribution list for both local and international media;
15. Maximise distribution of the mission press releases and statements both locally and internationally;
16. Assist the CO and DCO in the preparation of media interviews, press releases and press conferences, as instructed by CO/DCO;
17. Advise the CO and DCO on strategies to achieve maximum visibility for the EU EOM in the national and international media;
18. Suggest strategies to achieve maximum visibility for the mission;

Experience in the Lesotho's media as a reporter, producer, assistant, editor – preferably in content creating and/or journalistic roles – good skills in compiling information, creating memos and press reviews; familiarity of the main social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and experience in creating and publishing both visual and written content in different platforms; photography skills; video editing skills; experience in organising press conferences.

Position Title : Media Analyst Assistant

Under the overall supervision of the Media Analyst, the Assistant will perform activities such as:

1. Assist in acquiring knowledge of the media laws and regulations;
2. Assist in assessing the state and private media;
3. Provide the Media Analyst with the relevant information on the media situation in connection with the elections;
4. Coordinate media monitoring conducted by LTOs in their areas of responsibility;
5. Monitor a sample of local Media (TV, radio, and newspaper) using quantitative and qualitative methodology provided by the Media Expert to measure time, Plan and Tone devoted to political parties and candidates and send monitoring report daily to the Media Expert;
6. Assist whether the media, both public and private, provide balanced coverage of the election campaign in accordance with the existing legislation, using both quantitative and qualitative analysis;
7. Screen the data and analysis reports prepared by the Media Monitors and finalize them with the Media Analyst;
8. Assist the tone of the media coverage of the campaign including recording any statements that “go beyond acceptable limits”;
9. Assist the coverage of women and minorities issues in the media, the access of women and minorities to the media, and other human rights issues coverage, as required by the DCO and in coordination with other Core Team members;
10. Assist the Media Analyst during meetings with representatives of the Media;
11. Assist in the preparation of a written report on the media for the Preliminary and Final Report;
12. Maintain contact with civil society groups engaged in media monitoring, especially in regard to the public broadcasters and other media;
13. Any other relevant tasks as may be required.

Position Title : Social Media / Digital Communication Analyst Assistant

Under the direct supervision of the Social Media / Digital Communication Analyst, the Social Media Assistants will support the following tasks:

1. Monitor the online platforms of a sample list of political and electoral contestants, key state institutions officials, relevant opinion leaders, third-party campaign accounts, others;
2. Track the strategies used by candidates and parties to campaign on the main online platforms (Facebook - Twitter - YouTube);
3. Analyse the types of online political advertising and sponsored content placed by electoral contestants during the election campaign (if data is available);
4. Identify the presence of hate/inciteful speech, incitement to violence against candidates and political parties;
5. Identify possible information manipulation efforts affecting the integrity of the electoral process;
6. Provide insight on how women candidates and marginalized groups are portrayed in social media;
7. Assist in acquiring knowledge of the general media landscape and existing regulatory framework for online content;
8. Create social media monitoring databases and prepare qualitative and quantitative reports on the assigned online platforms;
9. Suggest meetings with relevant stakeholders and participate in meetings with the SMA if needed. This may include meeting with institutions, agencies, internet activists, academics, social media and technology companies, domestic election observer organizations, and civil society;
10. Contribute to other relevant duties as required by the Analyst.

Experience working with social media tools (e.g., CrowdTangle, Buzzsumo, Brandwatch, Sentione) and digital analytics tools is required.

Position Title : Data Analyst Assistant

Under the overall supervision of the Data Analyst the Data Analyst Assistant will perform activities such as:

1. Collect e-Day reports over the phone from the LTO/STO;
2. Contribute to the design and content of observer report forms ensuring that the information contained can be processed effectively by a computer programme;
3. Entry of e-Day reports (collected over the phone) into the database created for this purpose;
4. Generation of comprehensive summary of all calls received, and verification of information entered on the database;
5. Ensure the security of data and make necessary back-ups;
6. Follow-up on missing reports with LTO and other related mission members;
7. Any other task related to the data analysis/entry/collection of e-Day reporting.

Position Title : Observers’ Coordinator Assistant / Deputy Observer’s Coordinator Assistant

Under the overall supervision of the Observer Coordinator & Deputy Observer Coordinator the Assistant will perform activities such as:

1. Maintain and manage the observer list, contacts with observers, arrangement of appointments, meetings;
2. Maintain and implements protocol procedures;
3. Maintain and updates rosters of observer contacts, telephone lists;
4. Coordinate the information flow between coordination and observers, follow on circulation files;
5. Keep the record of the visitors and directing to the concerned persons;
6. Facilitate information sharing between the Coordinator and observers;
7. Follow-up on deadlines, commitments made, action taken coordination of collection and submission of reports to the Coordinator;
8. Ensure that observer report formats adequately tackle human rights, women and minorities issues, as required by the DCO;
9. Receive, analyses and carefully summaries observer reports for the CO and notify the Core Team members and the Service Provider of specific issues within their areas of responsibility as identified by the observers;
10. Provide the Commission with all LTO evaluations, STO certificates, LTO and STO End of Mission reports in line with the Commission guidelines. Provide the Commission with a comprehensive synthesis of all evaluations, certificates and End of Mission report before the closure of the mission;
11. Coordinate and draft, under the guidance of the DCO and with the contribution of other analysts, and based on evaluations from observers, the internal final report, including feedback on individual terms of reference for each analysts and for observers, modus operandi of the mission, lessons learnt and good practices, and suggestions for methodological improvements and information on possible areas of technical assistance;
12. Screen all incoming calls and correspondence/mail;
13. Any other duties assigned by the supervisor.

Position Title : Media Monitors

Under the direct supervision of the EUEOM Media Analyst, the incumbent will assist with the following tasks:

1. Gather data on all sources of media outlets in Lebanon to be monitored in terms of distribution, audience, ownership and impact;
2. If required, assists in co-ordinating the implementation of media monitoring by field staff in their areas of responsibility;
3. Gather data, analyse and reports to the Media Analyst on whether the media, both public and private, provide balanced coverage of the election campaign in accordance with the existing legislation, using both quantitative and qualitative analysis; 
4. Gather data and analyse the following:
   • a. the tone of the media coverage of the campaign including recording any statements that “go beyond acceptable limits”;
   • b. the quantity and range of official voter information items distributed in the media;
   • c. the media related legal framework and code of conducts and any complaints directed by political parties against the media;
   • d. the legal mechanisms to handle media related complaints including the performance of media regulatory bodies during the elections;
5. Keep updated contact list of civil society groups engaged in media monitoring, especially in regard to the public broadcaster and other state owned media;
6. Gather information to assist in verifying the freedom of the media to carry plural political expression;
7. Assist in regularly communicating the media monitoring findings to field staff;
8. Participate in staff briefings, debriefings and team meetings as required.

Position Title : Social Media Monitors

Under the supervision of the Social Media Analyst, the incumbent will assist with the following tasks:

1. Identify, code and extract data from the main social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube) to answer specific research questions;
2. Use of external tools and database management to track the main political and social discourses on social networks, before, during and after the elections. Identification of who shapes these narratives and how they are disseminated on which social media platforms;
3. Maintenance of the project database on an ongoing basis;
4. Analysis of social media metrics and preparation of specific reports;
5. Creation of static and interactive graphic displays to show the main trends during the monitoring period, as well as to share insights and conclusions;
6. Identification of the most prominent cases of widespread misinformation on key issues previously agreed with the Social Media Analyst;

Knowledge of social listening and sentiment analysis; proven familiarity with social media measurement tools (ex. Crowdtangle, TalkWalker, Buzzsumo, SentiOne, Google Analytics, Social Bakers, Trendsmap, Workbench Data); ability to design graphic reports, organise and share findings and conclusions; knowledge of video editing tools and the YouTube ecosystem in Lesotho would be an asset.

Position Title : Data Entry Clerks

Under the direct supervision of the Data Analyst, the incumbent will perform the following tasks:

1. Enter accurate and timely data into the project database on E-day;
2. Manage data transcription and computer data entry;
3. Maintain database using Access, Excel and other software under minimal supervision;
4. Maintain the filing system to keep data collection records in an organised manner and ensure completeness of records for future review;
5. Compile, sort and verify accuracy of data to be entered;
6. Keep track of received data and source documents;
7. Perform other duties as assigned.

Position Title : Long Term / Short Term Observer Interpreters / Assistants

Under the supervision of the Long-term Observers (LTOs), the Assistant/Interpreter assists a team consisting of two LTOs in their area of observation (AOR). She/he reports directly to the LTO team. Main Tasks and Responsibilities:

1. Provide simultaneous interpretation from/to English to/from local languages (Sesotho);
2. Provide written translation from/to English to/from local language(s) of various documents on a wide range of technical topics;
3. Assist in making contacts and setting up meetings with officials from local and regional election authorities, governors, mayors, local representatives of political parties, candidates, the media, and civil society;
4. Summarize, in English, election-related news published in the local language(s)
5. Travel within the area of observation /district when required;
6. Keep lists of names, addresses and phone number of the LTOs’ interlocutors;
7. Assist the LTO team in monitoring regional medias within the area of responsibility of the observer team (local radios & newspapers);
8. Assist the teams on E-day.