UN WOMEN Jobs - 62055- Constitutional and Access to Justice Consultant

Constitutional and Access to Justice Consultant

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

03-Jan-2016

Application Deadline :

11-Dec-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

One-year duration from January 3rd 2016 to January 2nd 2017

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

One-year duration from January 3rd 2016 to January 2nd 2017

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

Advances in women’s legal rights over the past decades have been considerable: The vast majority of countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), signaling their commitment to the human rights of women and girls. Actions to implement CEDAW have yielded results in many countries, for instance, constitutions have been reformed to include guarantees of gender equality. In many countries, laws have been adopted recognizing a woman’s right to be free from violence, and sexual and domestic violence have been recognized as a crime. The highest courts in many countries have issued landmark decisions regarding the State’s responsibilities to protect women’s rights. New efforts to improve gender sensitivity and responsiveness of policing have produced important innovations. Further, the world continues to witness a significant increase in attention to women’s rights in post-conflict contexts, with specific measures to address violence against women.

Women’s access to justice is a critical pathway to the achievement of substantive equality. The post 2015 sustainable development agenda identifies access to justice as one of the means of implementation of the SDGs. According to the SDGs, effective governance for sustainable development demands that public institutions in all countries and at all levels be inclusive, participatory and accountable to the people. Laws and institutions must protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. As well, justice actors such as the judiciary, police and prosecutorial services at all levels (national, sub national and community) and settings (formal, informal and semi-formal) are critical accountability mechanisms of support for the promotion and maintenance of the rule of law in all countries.

In keeping with its role as a knowledge broker of gender equality issues, UN Women launched the first global constitutional database on gender equality-related provisions in December 2013. Its scope extends to 195 constitutions of Member States and Territories of the United Nations and is organized on the basis of five geographical regions (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceana). As a searchable engine, it is underpinned by a number of categories—initially 17 (see: http://constitutions.unwomen.org/en/about) and through an Expert Group Meeting of academics and practitioners early this year, underwent a revision through an expansion to 24 categories. These reflect other social, economic, cultural and political perspectives of constitutional provisions, which are critical for advancing constitutional rights from a gender perspective and form part of efforts to improve the quality and utilization of the database. The database serves as a one-stop resource for a variety of technical and non-technical users such as Constitutional Review Commissions, Committees, Assemblies and other similar bodies, Constitutional Courts and other judicial bodies, National Independent Human Rights Bodies, Ministries of Justice and Law Reform Commissions, Human Rights Treaty Bodies, Public Interest Litigators and Academia.

Past and ongoing interventions in the form of constitutional reforms, new laws to advance gender equality or groundbreaking judicial decisions may be succeeding to some extent. However, there is a notable limit to which the overall picture is changing due to systemic and systematic discrimination against women in access to justice. In some countries, women are still perceived to lack legal capacity and autonomy. Lack of knowledge of rights and institutions which have been created to protect their rights continues to hinder women’s access to justice, as does the absence of police stations and courts within easy reach, delays, discriminatory attitudes of personnel, corruption, language barriers, lack of confidentiality, and lack of witness protection. Some women such as those with disabilities, indigenous women and minorities face multiple layers of discrimination and marginalization due to the intersections of poverty, ethnicity, religion, caste, sexual orientation, health status, property ownership and other factors. Comprehensive reforms must take place in all areas: constitutional, legislative, policy and practice in order for women’s rights to be realized and for substantive equality to be achieved.

Duties and Responsibilities

With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, UN Women’s technical role in the delivery of gender responsive constitution-making and justice to women is expected grow, particularly at country level. The organization is therefore seeking a consultant to undertake three concrete tasks, working under the supervision of the Policy Advisor, Constitutional and Access to Justice. They are as follows:

Support to deliver gender responsive constitutional and justice technical support to countries undergoing reforms;
Monitor constitutional and justice developments globally and on that basis prepare technical papers and briefs for internal and external audiences for policy dialogue and policy change;
Support the utilization of UN Women’s Constitutional Database and Women’s Access to Justice Tool Kit among a wide range of users and document the experiences and lessons from these processes for effective and timely action.

Competencies

Integrity:

Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Professionalism

Sound knowledge of global gender equality issues, including gender equality in access to justice and constitutional reform; feminist legal theory and gender mainstreaming in research and advocacy.

Communication

Excellent written and oral communication;
Ability to prepare succinct, evidence-based analytical reports.

Teamwork

Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations, both within the UN system and externally;
Ability to work in a multicultural and multi-ethnic environment with respect for diversity.

Ethics and Values

Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity.

Organizational Awareness

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

Creating synergies through self-control.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning

Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent writing skills, substantive knowledge of and experience in feminist theory.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Minimum of Master's degree in social sciences, development and gender.

Experience:

A minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in the delivery of constitutional and justice technical support from a gender perspective, particularly within the UN system;
Knowledge of preparing programming tools in the field of gender justice administration, including professional understanding the dynamics of the justice chain, vertical and horizontal relationships within and across ministries and departments;
Knowledge of the interface between civil, criminal, informal and quasi justice will be a strong advantage;
Experience in inter-agency or inter organization collaboration an asset;
Global and field experience a strong advantage.

Language:

Fluency in English is required;
As this assignment will require the identification of sources in other languages, proficiency in another UN working language will be an asset.