UNDP Jobs - 50862- Chief Technical Advisor

Chief Technical Advisor - Rule of Law and Justice

Location :

Bangui, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

14-Nov-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Following the armed take-over of power by the Séléka coalition in March 2013, the Central African Republic (CAR) has entered a period of crisis at unprecedented scale and complexity. For more than a year, CAR and its population have been victims of violence and of the breakdown of the already weak central and local authority and institutions, of law and order in and outside of Bangui, that have led to a near total collapse of the economy.

Further to the political breakdown, the country has become deeply divided along religious lines. Uncontrolled armed groups continue to operate all over the country. Since the beginning of the crisis there has been a sharp rise in reports of serious human rights abuses across the country, including arbitrary arrests and detention, sexual violence against women and children, torture, targeted killings and the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and armed groups. For some time the access to many areas has been very difficult amid the breakdown of law and order.

Following the resignation of President Michel Djotodia and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye on 10 January 2014 amid criticism for their inability to contain the latest wave of violence, the National Transitional Council (NTC) had two weeks to choose a new head of the transition. The members of the CNT established 17 eligibility criteria that excluded de facto a large number of potential candidates from the Central African political scene. Members of the CNT, political party leaders and former ministers of the transitional government were banned from applying. Among the 24 candidates registered by the CNT, only 8 met these criteria. On 20 January, the National Transitional Council elected Catherine Samba-Panza, then Mayor of Bangui, as the new Head of State of the Transition of the CAR. Since she took office, Ms. Samba-Panza has taken a number of decisive steps, including the restructuring of her original Government led by Prime Minister Andre Nzapayeké and the appointment of Mahamat Kamoune, the first Muslim Prime Minister on 10 August 2014.On 22 August a new government was appointed and included a significant number of female ministers.

On 10 April 2014, the United Nations Security Council issued resolution 2149 (2014) authorizing the deployment of a peacekeeping operation to the Central African Republic, known as MINUSCA. The peacekeeping operation became fully operational on 15 September 2014 with the re-hating of approximately 6,000 African Union forces to UN blue helmets to be deployed throughout the Central African territory. These forces will support ongoing international military operations including the French mission code named Sangaris, composed of 2,00o men and EUFOR-RCA, an EU military operation composed of 1,000 men to bolster ongoing peacekeeping efforts.

A cessation of hostilities agreement, signed in Brazzaville on 23 July 2014 by the two principal armed factions in CAR, the ex-Seleka and anti-Balaka, was widely greeted as a positive step forward. The agreement was an important first step marking the beginning of a political process in CAR. The agreement stipulates that all parties will abstain from all forms of violence, including summary executions, torture, harassment, arson, looting, arbitrary detention and execution, the recruitment and use of child soldiers and civilians, and sexual violence.

Through the MINUSCA mandate, the United Nations presence in the Central African Republic will provide support to the principles of international and national justice and the rule of law by helping to build capacities of the national judicial system and national human rights institutions in order to bring justice to those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 2013 violence.

The United Nations is working through the Focal Point Global Rule of Law, Justice and Security (GFP) on a joint UNDP, MINUSCA and UNWOMEN project designed to fight against serious violations of human rights and for the protection of communities, including vulnerable groups. In the context of the project, reinforcement of security focuses on both issues of community safety and capacity of the police and gendarmerie.

The project focuses on two areas: (i) Institutional support to strengthen the capacity of the judiciary to formulate strategies to respond to the crisis; and (ii) community support to strengthen the safety and security of communities, particularly for vulnerable groups. The project will be implemented in the cities of Bangui and its surroundings (Begoua and Bimbo) Bambari/Bria, Bossangoa and Bouar and Haute Kotto prefectures, Ouham and Nana-Mambere.

Duties and Responsibilities

The CTA Justice and Rule of Low will work on the general supervision of the UNDP Country Director and direct supervision of the UNDP Deputy Country Director/Programme. The CTA will be physically located within the MINUSCA Joint Justice and Corrections Section, to facilitate interaction, planning and programming with the MINUSCA Justice and Correction Section. S/he will work in close collaboration with the Chief, Corrections Advisory Unit of MINUSCA.

In close collaboration with UNDP Senior Management and the Chief Justice and Corrections Advisory Unit, the Rule of Law Advisor shall provide high-level policy advice to the relevant national counterparts, provide programmatic oversight, lead policy advocacy, and liaise with UN Agencies, Government officials, technical advisors and experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society in the areas pertaining to the Rule of Law portfolio. The Rule of Law Advisor will also assure coordination and close collaboration with UNDP’s HQ unit on Rule of Law, Justice Unit at the Bureau for Programme and Policy Support (BPPS) and alignment with the UNDP/BPPS Global Programme on Rule of Law and the new GFP arrangement.

The CTA will also assume responsibilities for the management of the Justice and Rule of Law portfolio, provide strategic planning and technical oversight to the joint strategy/programme/projects and ensure coherence and coordination with other ROLSI/UNDPs portfolio. S/he will create and maintain strategic partnerships with the Government, judiciary, civil society organizations, and key bilateral and multilateral actors. S/he will provide in-depth analysis of the legal and judicial systems and advise on strategies to enhance access to justice, in particular for vulnerable groups, including women and children. S/he will perform the quality assurance functions for the joint MINUSCA, UNDP and UNWOMEN project and other UNDP projects in the area of justice.

Summary of Key Functions:

Promote UNDP’s mandate and corporate policy and provide senior high level policy advice to government and other partners;
Strategic guidance and advice to UNDP and MINUSCA Senior Management for the implementation of the GFP Joint Programme for Justice focusing on a fully coordinated approach to criminal justice, access to justice, and justice reform and capacity development of justice sector institutions and actors in crisis situation;
Strategic Planning, Quality Assurance of the Strategic and Results framework of the Rule of Law window/MPTF, Joint Programme and joint projects, and coordinate the day to day management of the justice component;
Along with the Director of the joint Justice and Corrections Section Quality assurance of the Strategic and Results framework of the Rule of Law window/MPTF and the Results-based Budget (RBB) of MINUSCA joint Justice and Corrections Section;
Ensure resource mobilization and partnerships across the justice sector;
Ensure Knowledge management within the unit and other counterparts.

The Rule of Law Advisor shall promote UNDP’s mandate and corporate policy and provide senior high level policy advice to government and other partners by undertaking the following:

Promote justice and rule of law results, ensuring appropriate levels of visibility and public awareness on results and ongoing activities;
Provide policy advice to UNDP Senior Management in CAR, government counterparts, donors and other partners on issues related to justice and rule of law;
Develop a close partnership with the Ministry of Justice and other key national partners; and
Represent UNDP, as requested by the Resident Representative, Country Director or Deputy Country Director, in meetings related to justice issues.

Strategic guidance and advice for the implementation of the GFP Joint Programme and Projects for Justice focusing on a fully coordinated approach to criminal justice, access to justice, and justice reform and capacity development of justice sector institutions and actors in crisis situation focusing on achievement of the following results:

Advise UNDP CAR country programme on strategies and responses to changes in the rule of law context, oversee rule of law programming, and develop and implement a rule of law programming approach with increased coordination of various rule of law projects;
Manage, supervise and provide strong leadership for UNDP Country Office staff working in the area of rule of law, and an overall strategic vision for all rule of law-related work with a view to building national capacities and strengthening the rule of law to support the overarching peace-building objective of the UN;
Invoke the new Global Focal Point arrangement such that it supports existing rule of law efforts on the ground;
Ensure the integration of cross-cutting issues, such as gender and SGBV, peace building, and human rights into justice project design, monitoring and evaluation;
Ensure regular monitoring and evaluation, including but not limited to, regular field visits and participation in Project Board and/or Steering Committee meetings;
Provide strategic guidance and advice to national justice sector institutions and actors on policy issues; strategic planning, research and monitoring and evaluation, including key performance indicators, strategic plans for various organizations and research into various issues which impact on institutional performance, especially for criminal justice, and access to justice;
Advice on identifying entry points to achieve a mixture of short-term and medium term results which produce tangible improvements to restoring basic justice functions and improve access to justice at local level;
Ensure the technical work undertaken across the joint programme is in line with international good practice and adapted to the local context;
Contribute to building a strong understanding of the political dimension of the justice sector to identify the drivers and blockers of change and then develop strategies to ensure that project implementation is achieving impact;
Ensure technical soundness of project activities and achievement of project outputs and outcomes.

Strategic Planning and Joint Programme/projects Quality Assurance focusing on achievement of the following results:

Provide advice and guidance for the strategic planning and the implementation of the joint justice joint programmes/projects and work plans of the mission on justice, ensuring appropriate coordination and integration with the mission’s general mandate and its components (in particular the human rights and protection, political affairs and mediation, and other ROLSI group sections) and in particular with the justice programme of UNDP;
Ensure the results specified in the annual work-plan of the Joint Programme/Joint Projects meet the required standard of quality, in a coordinated way and within the specified constraints of time and cost;
Liaison between MINUSCA and UNDP on issues pertaining to Justice Support;
Coordinate day to day management and guidance of the joint unit work;
Supervise and support the work of the UNDP Justice Project Manager and his/her team;
Advise the Director of the joint Justice and Corrections Section and UNDP Country Office on the overall implementation of the GFP Joint Programme/Projects;
Formulate an effective monitoring and evaluation system of the GFP joint programme/projects and report on progress, including reporting to UNDP and Director of the joint Justice and Corrections Section, development partners and national stakeholders on progress;
Facilitate and ensure quality assurance of reports including Progress Reports, Financial Reports, Annual Progress Reports, etc. and ensure timely completion of technical reports for the Joint Programme/Projects;
Co-lead with the Director of the joint Justice and Corrections Section annual work planning processes in his/her liaison role between UNDP and MINUSCA in a consultative manner;
Co-lead with the Director of the joint Justice and Corrections Section he technical committee of the joint MINUSCA-UNDP-UNWOMEN project Support to the fight against human rights violations and to restart justice in CAR.

Along with the Director of the joint Justice and Corrections Section, quality assurance of the Strategic and Results framework of the Rule of Law window/MPTF:

Provide advice and guidance for the strategic planning and the implementation of the strategic and results framework of the Rule of Law Window MPTF;
Provide strategic and technical advice and guidance to ensure that Joint Programme/Joint Projects funded through the Rule of Law Window MPTF meet the required standard of quality and are designed in a coordinated way and within the specified constraints of time and cost;
Formulate an effective monitoring and evaluation system of the strategic and results framework of the Rule of Law Window MPTF and ensure quality assurance of reports and timely completion of programmes developed and funded under the Rule of Law MPTF;
Co-lead with the Director of the joint Justice and Corrections Section the technical meeting of the Rule of Law Window of the MPTF and the RBB.

Resource mobilization and partnerships across the justice sector focusing on achievement of the following results:

Engage in a dialogue with donors, identify funding opportunities and endeavour to ensure sufficient resource mobilization for the programme in close consultation with Senior Management and be responsible for reaching the annual resource mobilization targets;
Support UNDP/MINUSCA efforts for resource mobilisation for the MPTF ROL Window and joint projects;
Coordinate programme activities with other UNDP initiatives as well as other United Nations agencies, donors, and other international partners, to develop inter-agency synergies and build complementarities with other programs;
Advocate for UNDP justice/rule of law work and represent UNDP CAR with national authorities, MINUSCA and UNCT, the donor community, and international financial institutions;
Raise visibility of the Joint Justice programme/projects through knowledge sharing and well developed communication materials;
Develop pilot initiatives for functional partnerships between justice sector stakeholders and non-governmental organisations, local media and the public;
Support joint communication efforts;
Liaise regularly and forge close linkages with other UN programmes, agencies and entities, as well as other international and national stakeholders concerned with or providing assistance on justice/rule of law issues in CAR;
Ensure high-quality and timely reporting to donors and other partners involved in the programme;
Contribute to the harnessing of effective partnerships and competitive selection of partners for implementation of UNDP projects; and promote joint programming, especially as part of the GFP arrangement, and UN reform, and collaborate effectively in established frameworks for UN and other international coordination.

The Rule of Law Advisor shall ensure knowledge management focusing on achieving the following results:

Identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned from the project area for organizational sharing and learning as well as external information;
Active participation in UNDP knowledge networks and taking advantage of best practices and lessons learned that are available in the region and globally, and encouraging project staff to do so by creating a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Promoting the participation of UNDP CAR in regional programmes and regional activities related to the project area as appropriate; and
Supporting capacity and knowledge building of national counterparts.

Impact of results

Basic functions of the justice system, and of the criminal justice chain, are re-established from an access-to-justice perspective;
Judiciary mechanisms enabling to fight against impunity are put in place/reinforced; national partners have minimal capacities to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate grave human rights violations, including sexual violence;
Grave human rights violations are being investigated and prosecuted ; victims of grave human rights violations, including of sexual violence, benefit from minimal assistance;
Local and national processes enabling peace building and transitional justice are supported within an approach based on the rights of victims;

The joint Justice and Corrections Section and partnerships with MINUSCA, UNWOMEN and any other GFP entity is functional and enables a coordinated and appropriate response to the challenges of justice (notably the criminal justice dimension) in a crisis situation in CAR; partnerships with international partners are supported and strengthened.

Competencies

Advocacy/Advancing a Policy-Oriented Agenda
Influencing the public policy agenda

Builds consensus concerning UN/UNDP Rule of Law strategic agenda with partners on joint initiatives
Dialogues with national counterparts and other stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts, incorporating country, regional and global perspectives

Results-Based Programme Development and Management
Achieving results through programme design and innovative resourcing strategies

Identifies country needs and strategies using a fact-based approach
Makes use of a variety of resources within UNDP and MINUSCA to achieve results, such as cross-functional teams, secondments and developmental assignments, and collaborative funding approaches
Ensures the full implementation of country programme and Financial Resources to obtain results
Demonstrated programme management skills including: results-based orientation, preparation of work plans, monitoring and evaluation, and leading cross-cultural teams;

Building Strategic Partnerships
Building strategic alliances

Makes effective use of UNDP’s and MINUSCA’s resources and comparative advantage to strengthen partnerships;
Creates networks and promotes initiatives with partner organizations.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches

Fostering innovation in others

Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
Conceptualizes more effective approaches to programme development and implementation and to mobilizing and using resources.

Resource Mobilization
Developing resource mobilization strategies at country level

Contributes to the development of resource mobilization strategies at Country Office level;
Actively develops partnerships with potential donors and government counterparts in all sectors at country level;
Strengthens the capacity of the country office to mobilize resources.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing
Participating in the development of policies and innovative approaches and promoting their application throughout the organization

Promotes UNDP and MINUSCA as learning/knowledge sharing organizations.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise
Expert knowledge of own discipline

Possesses expert knowledge of advanced concepts in primary discipline, a broad knowledge of related disciplines, as well as an in-depth knowledge of UNDP organizational policies and procedures (knowledge of DPKO organizational policies and procedures are an asset);
Applies a broad knowledge of best management practices; defines objectives and work flows, positions reporting relationships in such a way as to obtain optimum effectiveness for the unit/branch;
Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself personally;
Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
Demonstrates expert knowledge of the current programme guidelines and project management tools and manages the use of these regularly in the work assignment.

Global Leadership and Advocacy for UNDP’s Goals
Influencing global and national initiatives

Advocates for increased priority given to human development issues internationally and in national planning frameworks;
Advocates for increased resources at international and national level.

Client Orientation
Meeting long-term client needs

Anticipates constraints in the delivery of services and identifies solutions or alternatives;
Proactively identifies, develops and discusses solutions for internal and external clients, and persuades management to undertake new projects or services;
Advises and develops strategic and operational solutions with clients that add value to UNDP and MINUSCA programmes and operations.

Core Competencies:

Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents;
Building support and political acumen;
Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;
Building and promoting effective teams;
Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;
Leveraging conflict in the interests of the UN& setting standards;
Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree or equivalent) in law, criminology, human rights, human/social sciences or other related field.

Experience:

At least 10 years of relevant professional experience, including at least five years in a senior position in an international development role in justice reform;
Experience in managing and supervising projects aimed at developing the capacities of the justice sector;
Experience of sector wide approaches to justice reform, including experience working with all of the major actors of the justice sector is required;
Experience on access to justice practices and policy making is required;
Understanding of protocol and processes related to cultural norms of driving change processes with judges, lawyers, police and prison officials;
Experience with Joint Programmes desirable;
Previous experience in Africa and in conflict/post conflict contexts preferably with the UN / UNDP is required.

Language:

Excellent command of written and spoken French; and
Strong working knowledge of written and spoken English.