Public Sector Expert: Civil Service Capacity Building

About the project

Platforms for Dialogue (P4D) in Bangladesh is a three-year programme funded by the European Union (EU) and delivered by the British Council in partnership with the Cabinet Division of Bangladesh. Its aim is to harness, promote and affect collaborative dialogue between civil society and government of Bangladesh (GoB), ensuring the most marginalized groups in society participate. 

Overall Objective of P4D is to strengthen democratic ownership and improve accountability mechanisms in Bangladesh. 

Specific Objective of P4D is to promote a more enabling environment for the effective engagement and participation of the citizen and civil society in decision making and oversight.

In addition to building the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs), P4D works with the Cabinet Division of the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) on national and local levels to enhance the capacity of government agencies to respond to the needs of the public, including through proactive facilitation of policy input via various local and national policy platforms.

About the role

The aim of this assignment is to support Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy (BCSAA) in design and delivery of a short training programme for senior civil servants broadly in Public Management, Governance and Leadership. 

Specifically, this activity will support capacity building of Deputy Secretaries, Joint Secretaries and Additional Secretaries, including but not limited to the following topics: identification of stakeholders, diversity management, consensus building, management of disputes, transparency and accountability of the governance processes, social accountability and work with civil society organisations. These cross-agency and agency-specific trainings will also include components of reflective feedbacks and performance coaching.

To achieve the objective of the assignment, the international consultant is expected to deliver the following broad set of outputs:

1. Conduct a rapid needs assessment or stakeholder consultation to understand the current level of knowledge of beneficiaries, their availability and specific needs.
2. Review current curriculum of courses offered by BCSAA to avoid duplications and to identify best fit for a new programme.
3. Design the programme, including a training module, handouts and instructors’ notes/guidelines.
4. Conduct a masterclass or a Training of Trainers for BCSAA academy staff who will be delivering the programme.
5. Support delivery of a pilot programme including evaluation and update of the programme as needed.
6. Develop recommendations for an international learning visit to supplement the classroom learning component of the program
7. Submit a final report with analysis and recommendations for further action.

The consultant is expected to follow a participatory and consultative approach, ensuring engagement of government counterparts, especially in the Cabinet Division (CD), Ministry of Public Administration, BCSAA and P4D team. The consultant needs to visit and meet with the CD as needed to discuss and agree the design and content of the training modules. 

The consultant will also attend and facilitate one validation workshop designed and implemented by P4D and CD. Other activities may include:

• Meeting with officials from CD/Ministry of Public Administration/ Training Institutions to analyses present training curricula/ module on policy instruments for civil servants and other officials;
• Coordination meetings with P4D staff and CD focal point;
• Consultation meeting/workshop with subject matter specialists at the CD and BCSAA;
• Develop training modules for civil servants and other government officials; 
• Provide necessary support to organize and share draft modules in validation workshop;
• Incorporate validation workshop feedbacks and finalize the modules.

The consultancy is expected to take 40 working days between 01 June and 31 August. 2019

Qualifications and experience required

• Master’s degree in public administration, law or another relevant subject.
• Skills and experience of designing and facilitation of governance/management training programmes, particularly for public officials.
• Proven experience of working with senior government officials and previous experience of interacting with civil service training institutes.
• Proven track record of working with international organizations and multi-cultural context. 
• Experience in Asia is preferred but not mandatory.
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English.
• Computer literate.

To apply, please send a cover letter (including your daily fee) and your most updated resume with three references to dhaka.recruitment@britishcouncil.org with copy to Siamul.Rabbany@britishcouncil.org  

Please include “P4D Public Sector Expert” in the subject line of the email. 

No application will be accepted without proper subject and required documents. No hard copies of the application will be accepted.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for the next step of recruitment process. Please note we will respond to successful applicants within 10 working days of the application submission. 

Note: Consultants contracting with the British Council are required to familiarise themselves with and adhere to British Council policies for consultants including the standards, behaviours and principles.