UNDP Jobs - 52178- Individual Consultant - Editor for the Lesotho HIV

Individual Consultant - Editor for the Lesotho HIV & AIDS Legal Environment Assessment Report 2014

Location :

Maseru, LESOTHO

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

05-Jan-2015

Application Deadline :

18-Dec-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

10 Working Days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

10 Working Days

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

UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. It works with individual countries on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. UNDP Lesotho supports Lesotho’s development priorities laid out in the National Strategic Development Plan and through that, the achievement of the MDGs. The main focus areas of the UNDP Country Programme are Democratic Governance, Environment and Energy, Poverty Reduction and Economic Growth, with Gender Mainstreaming and HIV/AIDS as crosscutting areas.

In 2014 the Government of Lesotho, under the leadership of the Ministry of Law and Constitutional Affairs and with the support of UNDP in Lesotho, commissioned an assessment of the legal and regulatory environment for HIV and AIDS in Lesotho. The rationale behind the assessment was to review, analyse and assess laws, policies and practices governing HIV and AIDS in Lesotho, including access to justice and law enforcement in the context of HIV and AIDS and key populations at higher risk of HIV. The report, developed on the basis of a literature review and the outcomes of focus group discussions and stakeholder interviews, made recommendations for government action to enhance a supportive and protective environment for people living with HIV and key populations that promote an effective national HIV and AIDS response in accordance with the National Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS and sexually transmitted infections 2012/13 - 2015/16 in Lesotho.

The report, Lesotho HIV & AIDS Legal Environment Assessment Report 2014, which was finalised in late 2014, presents the findings of the legal environment assessment for HIV and AIDS and requires to be edited in order to be finalised. The UNDP invites qualified individual local and international consultants to edit the final draft of the Lesotho HIV & AIDS Legal Environment Assessment Report 2014.

The objective for the assignment is to edit the Lesotho HIV & AIDS Legal Environment Assessment Report 2014 in alignment with UNDP and UNAIDS guidance on HIV, law and human rights. It involves the following activities:

Reviewing, proofreading and editing the Lesotho HIV & AIDS Legal Environment Assessment Report 2014, taking into account structure of argument, style, content and format to ensure the report presents a clear, well thought out and consistent analysis and recommendations;
Checking for and correcting terminology in accordance with UNAIDS guidance, spelling or grammatical errors as well as improving and standardising phrasing and language use for easier reading;
Reviewing sources (where necessary) and standardising all references and footnotes;
Reviewing and editing the presentation style and format (spacing, indentation, capitalization, paragraphs, headings etc.) for ease of reading and professionalism of presentation.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant is expected to:

Read and familiarise self with Legal Environment Assessments from Malawi and Seychelles, the Global Commission on HIV and the Law’s Risks, Rights & Health and the UNAIDS Terminology Guidelines on HIV and AIDS (2011);
Edit all sections of the Lesotho HIV & AIDS Legal Eenvironment Assessment Report 2014; ensuring that the English language is presented in a manner that is correct, effective and easy to read without compromising the information that the original authors intended;
Apply the editorial guidelines to edit all narrative sections of the report, including the precepts contained in the UNDP style manual. Check spelling, country and city names, abbreviations and acronyms, the location of callouts and text references, and bibliographic material, making sure they follow UNDP conventions. Ensure stylistic consistency, general readability and the accessibility to a broad readership. Be aware in particular of the target audience;
Check and coordinate the presentation of all boxes, graphs and other artwork, photos, and tables and their consistency with the material in the text;
Review and submit finalised Executive Summary in accordance with report findings and recommendations.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Responds positively to critical feedback and differing points of view;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Shares knowledge and experience;

Functional Competencies:

Ability to harmonise large data and information sets at the same time;
Conceptualizes and analyses problems to identify key issues, underlying problems, and how they relate;
Demonstrates substantive and technical knowledge to meet responsibilities and post requirements with excellence;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A recognized master’s degree in communication studies, journalism, media studies, literature or other relevant social science;
A PhD will be an added advantage.

Experience:

At least 10 years of relevant experience as a writer or editor, with proven experience in editing and writing;
Experience in editing human rights and/or HIV documents will be an added advantage.

Language requirements:

Excellent command of the English language, both spoken and written.

Application:

Interested individual consultants are required to submit the following documents as components of one application:

Comprehensive CV including three names of referees;
Technical Proposal;
Financial Proposal including a lump sum amount and a concise breakdown of fees;
Two samples of relevant documents edited by the consultant before.

Omission of any one of the above will result in automatic disqualification. Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file.

Applications clearly marked: “Application: Editor for the Lesotho HIV & AIDS Legal Environment Assessment Report 2014” must be made online at https://jobs.undp.org/ or be sent by email to registry.ls@undp.org.