UNDP Jobs - 55286- International Consultant on Forensic Issues for th

International Consultant on Forensic Issues for the Police Forces from Moldova

Location :

Chisinau, MOLDOVA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-May-2015

Application Deadline :

19-Apr-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

May 2015 – April 2016 (with a possible extension)

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

up to 250 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

The Concept Paper on the Reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its Subordinated and Decentralized Units, in particular, states the need to reform the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its units in a comprehensive manner to bring them closer to the community they serve. While the demands of the population for public services are constantly increasing, the Ministry of Internal Affairs` units are not always meeting these expectations.

The overall objective of the Police Reform Project is to strengthen and support the comprehensive efforts to reform the police forces in the Republic of Moldova. The project seeks to further strengthen the capacities of national stakeholders in specific areas with the focus on the tangible and visible results both for the target groups involved and the broader public. The project will also address activities that are equally important for a steady progress in the implementation of the police reform, but which have not received the relevant attention yet.

The proposed overall objective will be achieved by implementing the following project components:

Enhancing the capacities of the General Police Inspectorate staff in the area of crime scene management and evidence collection;
Strengthening the linkages between the police and community in the framework of the overall police reform;
Strengthening the capacities of the General Police Inspectorate to comprehensively implement the police reform agenda.

The current consultancy is sought under the third Project component. Police reform is one of the major goals of the Moldovan Government to increase the efficiency of Police and increase the level of the population`s trust in Police.

General Police Inspectorate (GPI) is one of the main actors of the reform process. This body was established in 2013 and its main purpose is to modernize police activity and improve its performance. The institutional component of reform, reflected through the structural changes within police bodies, needs to be supplemented by support and assistance in developing the capacities of the General Police Inspectorate to address, in a comprehensive manner, a number of policy areas. The support under this Project component aims at enhancing the ability of General Police Inspectorate to design and implement reform activities, as well as at enhancing and increasing GPI`s visibility and capacity to have a results oriented communication.

One of the activities of the project is the Embedded Advisors Program. The main goal of this activity is to provide the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the General Police Inspectorate, and where applicable other criminal investigation bodies, with assistance in strengthening the capacities to design and implement activities primarily focused on legislative reform, organizational efficiency, anti-corruption, case management, etc. Embedded advisors will have the advantage of working side by side with beneficiaries, understanding problems first hand and offering practical advice and expertise.

Forensics is one of the strategic areas where the capacities of Police needs to be improved in order to strengthen its role in the democratic society, raise the quality of performed work, increase public trust, enhance cooperation with national and international partners and achieve the standards and requirement of international accreditation for forensic laboratories.

The international accreditation of forensic laboratories in line with ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories) is a continuous priority for the Police authorities from Moldova. Initial preparatory work towards this goal have been undertaken with the support of development partners, including institutionalization of quality management system, adjustment of internal regulations, drafting institutional policies and procedures concerning the process of accreditation, capacity developing activities. The measures undertaken so far need to be further supported and capacities strengthened. The work to be conducted by the Forensics Consultant shall capitalize on the existing achievements and assist the advancement of Police forensic laboratories towards international accreditation.

The General Police Inspectorate shall be the main partner for this activity and will provide the necessary conditions of work and information for the embedded forensic consultant.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objective is to assist and enhance the institutional capacities of the General Police Inspectorate in order to achieve the international accreditation of forensic laboratories in line with ISO/IEC 17025:2005. The main focus of the assignment shall be on implementing and ensuring the functionality of the quality assurance mechanism.

The Consultant will also coach a number of Police staff members on quality assurance mechanism and will provide daily transfer of knowledge towards strengthening the Beneficiary`s capacities to engage in international accreditation processes.

The Consultant will ensure analytical support, facilitating the communication and cooperation with different stakeholders on forensics related issues. The assignment shall be carried out in close cooperation with the Forensic Centre of the General Police Inspectorate.

Scope of work and expected outputs:

In order to achieve the objective it is foreseen that the Consultant will:

Conduct an assessment of the GPI`s progress towards international accreditation of forensic laboratories, including identify gaps and propose solutions;
Conduct a review of regulations relevant for the international accreditation in line with ISO/IEC 17025:2005, propose and justify amendments, where necessary;
Assess the Police`s policy documents in connection to international accreditation, propose and justify amendments, where necessary;
Provide guidance and expert input to the implementation and ensuring functionality of the quality assurance mechanism within the laboratory environment;
Provide assistance in drafting quality assurance manuals, standard operating procedures and/or other protocols required for the forensic laboratories in line with ISO/IEC 17025:2005;
Conduct the internal audit in order to further initiate the process of international accreditation of forensic laboratories;
Conduct a training needs assessment and develop and implement a plan for capacity building activities with a focus on international accreditation of forensic laboratories;
Provide in-house training and knowledge transfer to the staff assigned on quality assurance mechanisms;
Assess the Police`s forensic infrastructure and provide comprehensive recommendations regarding the necessary improvements in compliance with ISO/IEC 17025:2005, including in terms of staff qualification and performance, equipment, regulations, standard operating procedures, etc.;
Provide assistance in developing technical specification for the forensic technologies to be implemented in line with ISO/IEC 17025:2005;
Conduct periodic internal assessment of the progress towards international accreditation, highlighting any bottlenecks and potential solutions (to be reflected in monthly progress reports and final report);
Coordinate with other assistance initiatives supporting the forensic capacity of Project beneficiary;
Act as the forensic subject matter expert for the donor organization supporting the project;
Assist the donor organization supporting the project in designing specific forensic development programs based on identified needs and existing capacities;
Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders throughout the entire period of the assignment;
Submit required reports;
Perform any other assignment related tasks.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Skills in knowledge transfer techniques, such as coaching and mentoring;
Commitment to the core values of the United Nations; in particular, is respectful of differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status;
Responsibility, creativity, flexibility and punctuality.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent (5-year university education) in Forensics, Criminal Investigation, Police Studies, Law or any other relevant field. A Bachelor’s Degree in the same areas combined with 15 years of relevant experience is considered as equivalent;

Experience:

At least 10 years of continuous professional experience in forensics issues;
At least 7 years of professional experience linked to the provision of policy advice in international accreditation of forensic laboratories in line with ISO/IEC 17025:2005;
Proven experience in designing and implementation of quality assurance mechanism within a laboratory environment. Experience in working with Police forensic laboratories shall be an advantage;
Proven qualifications (certificates, diplomas, etc.) in implementation of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 shall be an advantage;
Professional experience in Central and Eastern Europe on similar assignments shall be an advantage;
Proven experience in designing and delivering presentations and training programs;

Language:

Proficiency in Romanian and/or Russian language(s);
Knowledge of English would be a strong advantage.

Note:

For complete information about this vacancy, including detailed tasks and responsibilities, full and detailed description of the evaluation procedure which will be applied, as well as the UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract, please refer to the Terms of Reference, the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice published at the UNDP Moldova website, Jobs Section:http://www.undp.md/jobs/current_jobs/.