Florence, Tuscany, Italy
I have worked in the elections field since the beginning of the 90s, starting work in the area of international electoral support in 1997. Between 1997 and 2004, I held several posts with the EU, the UN and the OSCE in countries such as West Bank/Gaza, Tanzania, Suriname, Indonesia and Zimbabwe, working as Senior Election Operations Expert, Electoral Training Advisor and Coordinator of EU Election Observers. I also gained extensive experience in managing electoral and democracy support projects while working for the Delegation of the EU in Mozambique and at the EU HQ in Brussels, where I worked as the Election Specialist within EuropeAid from Oct 2004 till Dec 2006. Starting Jan 2007 until Dec 2010, I served as Coordinator of the Joint EC UNDP Task Force (JTF) and Senior Electoral Assistance Advisor for UNDP Brussels. I led in the establishment of the JTF and in the supervision of activities for the formulation and support to the implementation of all EC-UNDP electoral assistance projects, mostly in the context of the EC UNDP Partnership on Electoral Assistance that I contributed to create. Thus, from Oct 2004 till Dec 2010 I was involved in more than 70 UNDP projects funded by the EU for ca. 600 million euros. I was also at the forefront of the conception and delivery of all electoral assistance trainings of the Joint EC UNDP IDEA from Sep 2005 till Feb 2011. From Jan 2011 till Feb 2012 I worked as UNDP Chief Technical Advisor for the Project in Support of the Electoral cycles of the 6 Portuguese Speaking Countries in Africa and Timor Leste (funded by the EU). In total I dealt with the electoral/democratization processes of 65 countries. I have founded the European Centre for Electoral Support and since the start of our activities I serve as Executive Director making ECES one of the most important electoral assistance providers in the world having implemented activities in more than 50 countries (mostly but not only in Africa and Middle East) and having led ECES to be ISO 9001 and TRACE certified for our quality management and financial transparency, to obtain 20 copyrights, mobilize more than 110 million euro and built a team of more than 60 nationalities that can speak and work in more than 30 languages.
Founder of ECES who still serves as Executive Director since the beginning of the activities of ECES and who brought ECES to be nowadays one of the most important actor in the electoral support sector at European and Global level. In charge of planning, implementation, management, monitoring and coordination of all ECES activities including: operations and personnel b) Establish links between ECES and external partners c) Identify approaches and modalities to achieve management targets and increased cost-effectiveness; d) Lead the advisory services in the drafting process of project identification fiches, financial proposals and project documents; f) Supervise ECES staff and liaise with beneficiaries and donors for the monitoring and the evaluation of ECES projects; g) Manage the recruitment of project teams, local consultants and support staff; h) Ensure timely production and submission of all partial and/or progress reports; i) Act as the Chief Electoral Adviser to and member of the Management Board (MB) of ECES and ensure the follow-up on the implementation of the MB decisions; l) Disseminate the results of implementation of ECES’ activities; n) Lead in the promotion, preparation and delivery of face to face and distance-elearning training; o) Lead in the creation of a synergies between ECES and Universities and Education Institutions; r) Increasing the visibility of ECES activities; s) Facilitate the collaboration between the ECES and networks of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) and Regional Organisations dealing with elections. u) Liaise and work with donor agencies. v) From its inception to nowadays, ECES worked in more than 50 countries, mainly but not only in Africa and Middle East having obtained 20 copyrightes for ECES, mobilized more than 110 million euro and built up a team with more than 60 nationalities able to speak more than 30 languages
Provide expertise and advice to UNDP CO in Guinea Bissau, UNDP Brussels and to all UNDP Country Offices in the PALOP and in Timor Leste on all project support activities; Provide advice and oversight for project implementation and achievement of project results. Heads the Project Management Unit (PMU) and provide leadership and guidance to the PMU team while supporting the other UNDP country offices of the PALOP TL. I provided the following deliverables: a) Overall responsibility for planning, implementation, management, monitoring and coordination aspects of the project operations; b) Liaise with the UNDP country office in Guinea Bissau, other PALOP and Timor Leste; UNDP Brussels; the project beneficiaries; the project’s senior supplier/donor (EC HQ and Delegations in the PALOP and Timor Leste) and all other partners on all matters concerning the implementation of the project; c) Coordinate activities with all the National Authorizing Offices for the cooperation between the EU and the PALOP countries and Timor Leste, especially with the Regional Authorizing Office for the EU-PALOP TL cooperation based in Mozambique. Support coordination of all electoral support activities through regular contacts and briefings with the donor, project IV support and assurance structures (UNDP country offices involved); In collaboration with project support; Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of the project; Supervise outsourced electoral research and dissemination of research findings; Coordinate the collaboration between the project and the Electoral Management Bodies of Portugal and Brazil and with the CPLP (Organization of the Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries) whose HQ is based in Lisbon in the context of the establishment of a Forum of Portuguese Speaking EMBs www.propalop-tl.org
Managing cooperation between the EC and UNDP in the electoral assistance field in the identification, formulation, implementation and follow up of projects. Responsible for a) Monitor EC-UNDP electoral assistance projects b) Lead on the preparation and delivery of HQs, regional sessions and thematic seminars in the content of the Global Training Platform on Effective Electoral Assistance c) Lead formulation and monitoring missions at request of UNDP Country Offices and/or EC Delegations in collaboration with relevant EC-UN services d) Collaborating with and advising UNDP Country Offices on project budget, annual working plans, operational procedures, selection of personnel/contractors, and resource mobilization; e) Interacting and supporting the relevant EC services at HQ and field levels in the drafting process of Project Identification Fiches and Action Fiches; f) Drafting of MOUs and contribution agreements between Country Offices, EC Delegations, other donors; g) Liaising with PSO for the planning and Procurement of Electoral Materials; h) Liaising with BDP and EAD/DPA for the UN internal roster of electoral administration/assistance experts; i) Liaising with the EC services and IDEA for the ACE project; l) Coordinate and co-author the JTF Operational Paper on “Introducing ICTs in Voter Registration”-October 2010. m) Co-author of the UNDP Implementation Guide on Electoral Assistance; n) and the FOCUS ON effective electoral assistance published by IDEA. o) Supported the drafting and negotiation the 50 million US$ UNDP Global Programme on Support of Electoral Cycles (GPECS) funded by Spain and Canada; p) GPECS Project Manager AD INTERIM, July 2009-March 2010 q) Coordination of the Country Component of the GPECS in support of EMBs; r) Led the activities of the JTF in support of the Networks of EMBs of the PALOP/TL, ECCAS and ECF-SADC. s) Organization of the 1st OECD “Roundtable on International Support for Elections: Effective Strategies and Accountability Systems”
Set up, coordination and implementation of quality support activities for all electoral EC funded assistance projects. Anticipated the needs of Unit and facilitated the operational tasks of EC Delegations’ Advisors, AIDCO Geo-Coordinators and DEV/RELEX Country Desks at HQ in planning, formulating and managing electoral assistance projects. Specific tasks: a) Operational guidance and implementation strategies for the management of Electoral Assistance projects. b) Quality check/support of the operations’ cycle. c) Support on demand in all phases of the operations’ cycle; d) Monitoring of impact; e) Production, as lead writer and project coordinator, of the “EC Methodological Guide on Electoral Assistance”; f) Preparing and delivering training on Effective Electoral Assistance to EC and UNDP officials via a module developed in collaboration with IDEA; g) Developing the content of the EC intranet and internet web pages on EC electoral assistance; h) Focal point with the other major players and service providers in the field of electoral assistance; i) Co-drafting the EC/UNDP Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of Electoral Assistance Projects; l) Liaising with UNDP BDP and IDEA for the new phase of the Administration and Cost of Elections project; m) Specific Assessment/Formulation missions in Angola, DRC, Madagascar, Indonesia, West Bank & Gaza, Mozambique, Benin, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mauritania, Timor East, Pakistan and Angola while support from HQ was given to Geographical Services and EC Delegations of: Guinea Bissau & Conakry, Suriname, Haiti, Guyana, Iraq, Togo, Gambia, Gabon, Fiji, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Zambia. n) Planned a study on the relationship between civil and voter registration linked to the increased use of ICTs. o) Established the internal EC roster of electoral administration/assistance experts; p) Advising the EC services forElectoral Observation on reporting and coordination; management of observers; selection of Core team staff of EUEOMs.
Responsible for coordinating activities of the 68 Long Term Observers, 128 Short Term Observers and the 20 local observers from the EU local embassies providing the link between the field and HQ. Tasks: a) Arrangements for the Observers’ training, briefing & debriefing; b) Prepared Observers’ reporting forms for their activities in the field and for E-Day; c) Planned and organized the Observer Deployment Plans; d) Received, analyzed and summarized the observers’ reports e) Briefed observers on activities of the election administration and CSOs, instructing on the desirable level of co-ordination; f) Gathered information on the performance of the election administration and election campaign; g) Gathered information on the material and financial means used during the campaigns by competing political parties; h) In conjunction with the media expert, analyzed the tone of the election campaign; i) Gather information to assess the impartiality of state institutions and monitor the use of state resources; j) Prepared statistical analyses based on observation data collected by the observers during the mission and on Election Day. k) Contributed towards the preparation of the mission reports and statements; l) Designed and supervised the content of the mission’s web site, m) Produced the first leaflet for EUEOM in Bahasa and English; n) Drafted guidelines on how to build Web Sites, Visibility Material, Manuals for Observers, Observation Forms and how to set up an effective communication flow with the field for EUEOM. http://www.eueom.eu/missionarchive/eueom-indonesia-2004?LANG=fr
a) Deputy Team Leader, ensured the administration of the project and filling in for the Team Leader when required; b) Analyzed the cost of the electoral process plus negotiating and drafting the 10mEUR Financing Agreement between the European Commission and the Central Elections Commission (CEC) for the funding of the core electoral operations; c) handled electoral issues pertaining to civil society (such as domestic observation and voter education), political parties and media; d) provided technical assistance to the CEC’s Departments of Electoral Affairs and Public Outreach in its handling of relations with domestic and international observation missions, political parties and its information strategy; e) Contributed to the Design and selection of the content of the CEC’s website; f) Assisted the Secretariat of the Election Reform Support Group; f) Coordinated the reporting of the Project. http://www.elections.ps:90/english.aspx
a) Established links and consulted the local election administration, parties and communities; b) Reported to the EU Observation Unit on developments in electoral campaign, polling, counting and tabulation procedures.
a) Identified and planned a 10mEUR project in support of the reform of the Justice Sector; b) Closed the commitments, recuperated unspent funds and organized the evaluation of projects in support of the Municipal Elections 1998 (9,5mEUR) and General Elections 1999 (21mEUR); c) Planned and identified activities in support of municipal elections (2003) and general/presidential elections (2004); d) Liaised with HQ for the management of the democratization/human rights budget lines with priorities on: conflict management/resolution, voter education and support to the independent press; e) Contributed to an improved knowledge of civil society in Mozambique by maintaining a day-to-day dialogue in light of the definition of the 9th EDF programme in support to Non State Actors; f) Administered and initiated new projects on mine clearance and small arms destruction; g) Assisted the Head of Delegation in the organization of the EU Heads of Cooperation meetings and in drafting political reports; h) Coordinated HQ missions and monitored projects i) Responsible for press/information activities, including delegation website. http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/mozambique/index_en.htm
Preparation of groundwork for the election observation mission and Observer Coordination. a) Liaised with HQ and with the implementing agency on logistical arrangements for the arrival of Long Term Observers (LTOs); b) Organized and ensured the training of the LTOs; c) Prepared observation material and set up of the reporting system; d) Supervised all logistical activities including deployment and evacuation of the mission; e) Realized the website of the mission. Mission was withdrawn for political reasons.
a) Coordinated and assisted observers with guidance and central backstopping; b) Drafted weekly synthesis reports on the electoral process and on the political situation; c) Briefed/debriefed observers and diplomatic corps on electoral observation procedures. d) Prepared standard reporting forms for the use of observers and established procedures of reporting; e) Designed and selected the content of the website of the project; f) Drafted an observer deployment plan in coordination with the Head of Mission.