We are hiring: Research Assistant to support Twaweza’s Open Contracting Analysis from April – June 2023
INTRODUCTION
Twaweza East Africa is a regional non-governmental organization registered in Tanzania with offices in Kenya and Uganda. Broadly, our work focuses on both the demand (citizen) and supply (government) side of decision-making processes (governance). At Twaweza we believe when citizens are well-informed and actively engaged in decision-making processes, they are more likely to promote inclusive governance, hold the authority accountable and enable equitable and sustainable development. Access to information fulfils a higher goal of better and informed participation in decision-making at different levels of society. Thus, one of Twaweza’s key missions is to contribute to creating an enabling environment for meaningful citizen-government collaboration in bringing about sustainable and equitable development.
In 2021, the IMF provided the United Republic of Tanzania with a $567.25m loan (including $100m for Zanzibar) to assist the country’s Covid-19 response. A condition of the funding was that all contracts financed by this assistance would be made public. The government of Tanzania has complied, publishing over 4,000 contracts and related documents on the MoF website. This presents a unique opportunity, never before in Tanzania have this many public procurement contracts been released with this level of detail.
As part of Twaweza’s efforts to promote meaningful access to information and accountability, we partnered with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) to adopt further transparency in public procurement to enhance the integrity of the process.
OBJECTIVE OF THE ACTIVITY
The overall purpose of this assignment is to conduct an in-depth analysis of approximately 4,000 contracts and other related documents to explore and understand how the IMF loan was spent. The analysis is also intending to foster a public conversation around public procurement, transparency and open contracting. As well as to support procurement regulators to adopt further transparency in public procurement to enhance the integrity of the process.
The analysis will answer questions such as:
- Which districts/regions and sectors received what funding for what works, goods and/or services?
- What is the range of contract values, and do they offer value for money?
- Who won the contracts (e.g., small contractors vs larger ones) and through what mechanisms?
EXPERT PROFILE AND QUALIFICATIONS
At a minimum the Research assistant must possess the following:
- A minimum of Bachelor’s level education in statistics, public policy and other related fields
- Background training in research – particularly data analysis
- Great interpersonal and communication skills in English and Kiswahili languages: writing, reading, speaking and listening
- Knowledgeable and respect for professional and research ethics
- Effective organizational skills with great attention to detail
- Ability to communicate observational data after data collection
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants should provide:
An updated CV and application letter that expresses the applicant’s interest, availability and qualifications to undertake the assignment.
Application materials should be submitted to jobs@twaweza.org cc. jkalemera@twaweza.org with “Twaweza Open contracting analysis’’ in the subject line. All proposals should be submitted no later than 31st March 2023.
For more information, read the detailed Terms of Reference here.
