UNDP Jobs - 59197- National Field Officer (Rule of Law and Access to

National Field Officer (Rule of Law and Access to Justice) - (Open Only to Myanmar Nationals)

Location :

Myitkyina and Kachin, MYANMAR

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

01-Dec-2015

Application Deadline :

01-Sep-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SC-8

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

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

Myanmar has gone through a phase of unprecedented change since the November 2010 general elections and UNDP has developed a new Country Programme to fully support the political, economic and peacebuilding transition process. According to the 2013-2017 Country Program Document for Myanmar, UNDP is implementing an integrated “Democratic Governance in Myanmar” program to support the country in the process of modernizing, democratizing, and decentralizing the state and society, pursuing an incremental institutional approach that is people and rights oriented. Assistance will strengthen accountable and responsive public institutions and trust in State-society relations, respect for the rule of law and human rights, and inclusive political processes that place emphasis on women, youth, and disadvantaged groups. Support will be grounded on a solid understanding of the transition context informed by evidence based analysis that can support national policy and planning for inclusive development and for mitigating and resolving governance related potential causes of grievances and conflict. Activities with parliament, justice, and public service at union and sub-national levels will be adequately prioritized and sequenced to establish a conducive environment for sustainable and equitable development, which is nationally driven and contextualized to the diversity of Myanmar.

UNDP’s project component on Rule of Law and Access to Justice is part of this integrated Program Document for Democratic Governance and is fully underpinned by a conflict sensitive approach for the country context. Its outcome is - justice institutions and legal framework improved to ensure Rule of Law and Access to Justice for all with a specific focus on marginalized groups. Core interventions under this component relate to i) upstream support for policy and strategic planning at national level, including support to legislative drafting and review and case management; ii) capacity development for all justice sector actors; iii) increased legal awareness at local level focusing on women and the most marginalized and empowerment of these groups to claim their rights and (rights based approach to access to justice). These interventions focus mostly on pilot approaches at sub national level, both in States and Regions.

Brief Project Description:

As part of UNDP’s Democratic Governance Programme, the Rule of Law and Access to Justice (ROL/A2J) Programme delivers programming both at national and sub-national level in pilot areas. This work focuses on supporting the capacity building of government justice sector institutions and actors – judges, law officers, police and lawyers – while also promoting legal awareness and access to justice initiatives with civil society and the wider community, with particular focus on vulnerable groups including women.

In 2013, UNDP carried out a ROL/A2J mapping in selected pilot areas and found that there is a general lack of public trust in the justice system, and a recognized need to strengthen legal awareness. Training on legal and justice issues was identified as a priority need by government justice officials and civil society actors alike. UNDP has since then provided training support and has worked with justice institutions on strategic planning.

Also, since 2013 UNDP has engaged with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to facilitate implementation of clinical legal education programme activities through its implementing partner the Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia Community Legal Education. CLE is an innovative approach to legal education that emphasizes practical skills development and “learning by doing”, with a focus on pro bono work and community outreach. The CLE programme is now active in all 18 law departments of Myanmar universities.

In 2014, a pilot project to provide rule of law training to justice actors was initiated on the request of the Rule of Law Centres Coordinating Body established by the Parliamentary Rule of Law and Tranquility Committee. At the Coordinating Body’s request, UNDP conducted a feasibility study in early 2014. The study consulted with justice officials, lawyers, community representatives and development partners. There was broad support for rule of law-focused training with emphasis on local justice issues and community engagement. In response, the Rule of Law Centres Pilot Project was launched in late 2014 for three months in two pilot areas, Lashio and Mandalay, providing comprehensive training in knowledge, skills and values on rule of law topics and local justice issues to justice actors. The project has trained a total of 78 participants in both locations, including lawyers, law teachers and civil society members.

When the pilot project came to an end in early 2015, an independent evaluation was conducted and its findings were presented to the Coordinating Body. The Coordinating Body then recommended the establishment of the rule of law centres in Mandalay, Myitkiyna, Taunggyi and Yangon. To that end, a National Field Officer will be recruited to support the implementation of the Rule of Law Centre in Myitkyina and other ROL/A2J activities in other parts of Kachin State. The National Field Officer will be supervised by the ROL Programme Analyst in Yangon but will have a functional reporting line to the ROL/A2J Officer (IUNV).

The incumbent will, together with IUNV, and in close cooperation with the Implementing Partner (IDLO), be responsible for the management of the ROL center in Myitkyina. Additionally, he/she will also support other areas of UNDP’s justice programme aiming to bridge the gap between the institutions and the public, such as a justice mapping study and will support the design of UNDP’s response to the mapping outcomes. The National Field Officer will work with state level justice institutions (judiciary and AG’s office) to support the implementation of their strategic plans, e.g. in helping them with building public trust through communication strategies. The incumbent may also be involved in providing programmatic support to other areas of governance, particularly UNDP’s sub-national support to state/regional level Parliaments, HIV Aids and Gender.

The National Field Officer will work with UNDP programme technical team at State/Regional level with support from the UNDP country office. This post will be based in UNDP field office in Myitkyina, which is led by an International Early Recovery Manager and a National Area Office Coordinator. The incumbent should be able to link the assigned work to UNDP’s other areas of work and if required to support other teams under the Democratic Governance Programme.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under direct supervision of the ROL Programme Analyst and while working closely with the IUNV for RoL/A2J, the National Field Officer (RoL/A2J) oversees the implementation of the Rule of Law Centre in Myitkyina and supports other RoL/A2J activities in Kachin State.

The Rule of Law Centre in Myitkyina and outreach activities in other parts of Kachin State

Support the recruitment and training of national project staff and the identification of relevant beneficiaries;
Oversee the implementation of the ROLC project including monitoring, financial management (if required), reporting and evaluation of the project interventions;
Support ongoing development and modification of training curriculum for ROLCs by advising on local justice issues and providing contextual information in the pilot area;
Liaise with relevant actors to support the development of a small library in each pilot location;
Through support to ROLC, build the capacity of local justice actors in pilot areas to understand and share knowledge on rule of law topics, with particular focus on local justice issues and community engagement/ outreach;
Regularly liaise with and maintain excellent relations with implementing partner staff;
Support in the development/revision/update of a media strategy for the work of the ROLC project.

Other ROL/A2J activities

Be responsible for – jointly with the IUNV – the overall management of RoL/A2J project activities in Kachin State including monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the project interventions in Kachin, including contribution to all routine quarterly and annual results reporting;
As part of outreach activities, facilitate and implement workshops, seminars, capacity building training, local policy advocacy initiatives with stakeholders as necessary;
Support the justice mapping to establish realistic and contextualized baselines for project development and monitoring;
Support the Clinical Legal Education initiatives together with the responsible party and local universities;
Support the possible dialogue between state and non-state justice actors, including INGOs, CSOs, and women and youth associations;
Support the implementation of strategic plans of justice institutions such as the High Court and the Advocate General’s Office at Kachin State level;
Support the establishment and functioning of the Legal Aid Centres as determined by stakeholders and the project in pilot geographical areas;
Establish relevant ROL networks and excellent relations with all international and national partners working in ROL and Governance areas at state/region level;
Build the capacity of local organizations in the region, to identify access to justice issues, and advocate for enhanced access to justice and the protection of human rights and women’s rights;
Input/Support other ROL national interventions relevant for the State pilots as well as other programme activities requested by the Rule of Law Analyst;
Provide support to any other activity of Democratic Governance Programme, if required.

Impact of Results

The key results have an impact on the overall success of the Rule of Law Centre and other RoL/A2J activities which in turn contribute to the Country Programme Document’s goals. Additionally, the key results have an impact on the design, operations and programming of activities, creation of strategic partnerships as well as reaching overall project targets.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards (human rights, peace, understanding between peoples and nations, tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation (UNDP core ethics) impartiality;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly and without favoritism; and
Shows strong corporate commitment;
Promotes knowledge management; Shares knowledge effectively.

Functional Competencies:

Management and Leadership

Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback, timely responses to queries;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Demonstrates strong administrative skills and results oriented approach to work.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to engage with high ranking UNDP Managers, Government Officials and International donor community;
Ability to identify opportunities, conceptualize and develop project reports;
Ability to analyze situations and act accordingly;
Ability to effectively support in strategic planning results-based management and reporting;
Ability to formulate and manage budgets, manage contributions and investments, manage transactions, conduct financial analysis, reporting and cost-recovery: excellent project oversight functions, including audit, accurate and thorough risk assessment;
Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavior/ attitudinal change.

Client Orientation – Establishing effective client relationships

Researches potential solutions to internal and external client needs and reports back in a timely, succinct and appropriate fashion;
Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines.

Building Strategic Partnerships

Maintain and establishes network of contacts with national counterparts for information sharing and responding to capacity development request;
Analyzes and selects materials for strengthening strategic alliances with partners and stakeholders;
Advancing A Policy-Oriented Agenda - preparing information for policy input;
Identifies and communicates relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating UNDP’s mandate.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Law, development Studies, Public Administration/ Management or a related field with up tp two years of experience; or
Bachelor’s Degree in the mentioned fields with minimum two years of experience.

Experience:

Working Experience with justice institutions and/or CSO working on justice issues is preferred;
Experience in designing, monitoring and evaluation of development projects is highly desirable;
Knowledge of access to justice and women’s rights and/or human rights and/or the local context is an asset;
Good written and oral communication skills is required;
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages is required;
Willingness to undertake regular travel, build partnerships with local actors, monitor project activities and report back to project structures with concise analysis and advice is preferred.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and Myanmar, both written and spoken;
Knowledge of a local language would be an advantage.

Note:

Candidates must apply on-line through UNDP job website together with duly filled and signed UN-P11 form, academic qualification certificates. Applications without these document will not be considered. P11 form can be downloaded here:

http://sas.undp.org/documents/P11_Personal_history_form.docx”.

Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one. document.