Job Description

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments with a membership of 183 Member Parliaments and 15 Associate Members. The IPU promotes democratic governance, institutions and values, working with parliaments and parliamentarians to articulate and respond to the needs and aspirations of the people. It works to promote peace, democracy, human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment, climate action and sustainable development through political dialogue, cooperation and parliamentary action. The IPU has supported over half of its members to strengthen parliament capacity to perform their functions. The IPU collaborates with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) both nationally and globally for over 40 years.


UNDP has been supporting more than 60 parliaments globally to strengthen parliament as an institution of good governance, inclusive development and public accountability.


In the Pacific, the UNDP Pacific Office (PO) has been supporting Pacific Parliaments to fulfil the core functions of parliaments of law-making, oversight and representation. The PO has supported Pacific Parliaments to reform the parliamentary professional service, provided trainings and activities to strengthen parliamentary library and research services, provided policy support with a focus on SDG advocacy, supported the production of Budget Briefs for members to assist with informed debates on the national budgets, increased opportunities for citizens and CSO engagement in the work of parliament, built capacities for members and staff on substantive and procedural issues as well as skills such as public speaking, dealing with the media, debating, and codes of conduct, supported the development for institutional frameworks to ensure that parliaments have sufficient power and independence to contribute to democratic development.


In late 2025, the IPU and UNDP have entered into a cooperation agreement to support parliaments in Pacific. Within this agreement IPU and UNDP will support 2 Parliaments in the Pacific that are committed to enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of its staff and institutions. To this end, parliaments require comprehensive institutional policies to guide training and development, define service standards through service statements, establish a structured training calendar and for sustainability inclusion of implementation of the policies into the Strategic plan of parliament. These policies will ensure the continuous professional development of parliamentary staff and improve service delivery to MPs and parliament.

Objectives

The main objective of the consultancy is to assist two pacific parliament to develop robust, clear, and context-appropriate institutional policies on training and development, service statements, a training calendar and to integrate the same into the parliament's Strategic plan.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Technical Cooperation Programme, IPU and working closely with parliamentary human resource department and relevant units. The consultant will:

Review existing policies, frameworks, and practices related to training, development, and service delivery of each parliament. Consult with key stakeholders including parliamentary leadership, human resource personnel, to gather inputs and understand specific needs and challenges. Develop a comprehensive training and development policy tailored to the parliamentary environment, outlining objectives, roles and responsibilities, needs assessment, implementation strategies, monitoring, and evaluation. Draft service statements that clearly articulate the standards of service expected from different parliamentary services and units, focusing on transparency, accountability, and responsiveness. Design a training calendar aligned with parliamentary sessions, priorities, and resource availability, ensuring a systematic approach to staff development. Design a roadmap for inclusion of implementation of new policies in the Parliaments strategic plan. Facilitate workshops or validation meetings with stakeholders to review and refine the draft documents. Provide recommendations for policy adoption, dissemination, and ongoing review mechanisms. Submit finalized documents suitable for presentation to parliamentary management or relevant committees.

Institutional Arrangements

The expert will report directly to the Manager, IPU Technical Cooperation programme. All reports and documents relating to the assignment will be submitted to the Programme Specialist/Manager (Governance and Parliamentary Development) The expert will be responsible for all technical related equipment including Laptops, Printing, Internet, and Software subscriptions relevant to this assignment.

Duration of the Work

20 days between 15/01/2026 - 30/04/2026

Duty Station & Travel

Home based

Educational Qualifications (Minimum):

Advanced degree in Public Administration, Human Resource Management, Organizational Development, or related fields.

Experience:

Proven experience working with parliamentary or legislative institutions. Demonstrated expertise in policy development in training and professional development and service delivery frameworks. Strong facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and communication skills. Experience of work in the Pacific region and in a development context is a strong asset. Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including politicians, parliamentarians and parliamentary staff.

Competencies:

Good representational and liaison skills. Excellent interpersonal, intercultural, communication and networking with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain professional relationships. Ability to meet deadlines. Excellent English writing and communication skills.

Deliverables

Deliverable



Due date

Inception report including work plan, methodology and expected outcomes


Within 10 days of contract signature

Draft Training and Development Policy.

Draft Service Statements.


Draft Training Calendar covering [specify period, e.g., one-year, legislative mandate etc].


Workshop or validation session report.



20 days following submission of inception report

Final report which outlines:

Findings and progress; challenges faced and how they were mitigated; opportunities availed of (if any); recommendations going forward.


Final versions of all documents incorporating stakeholder feedback



10 days following receipt of stakeholder feedback






How to apply
The deadline for applications is

19 December 2025

at 12.00 CET. Applications should be sent by e-mail to job@ipu.org with "Consultant: PPEI-ITPDP" in the subject line. For further details about the consultancy, please contact Norah Babic at the IPU Secretariat (nb@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.


We ask all our personnel to apply the Common Principles for Support to Parliaments in their work.


We ask all our personnel to agree to our Code of conduct for personnel and our Fraud and corruption prevention policy available at https://www.ipu.org/about-us/working-with-ipu, and our policy to prevent and address harassment including sexual harassment at IPU Assemblies and other events available at: https://www.ipu.org/about-ipu/structure-and-governance/statutes-and-policies-ipu.



Deadline:
Friday, 19 December 2025