UNDP Jobs - 62297- Technical Specialist (Legislative Reform) UNDP/LOT

Technical Specialist (Legislative Reform) UNDP/LOTFA Project

Location :

Kabul, AFGHANISTAN

Type of Contract :

TA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months

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

UNDP Afghanistan Mission statement:

UNDP supports stabilization, state building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels. UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational Context:

Capacity development is central to UNDPs work and is at the core of its mandate. UNDP defines capacity development as the process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time. It is the ‘how’ of making development work better. Thus, capacity development is integral to UNDPs approach, and underlying its support to national institutions. UNDP supports capacity development particularly at the institutional level because institutions are at the heart of human development, and when they are able to perform better, sustain that performance over time, and manage ‘shocks' to the system, they can contribute more meaningfully to the achievement of national human development goals.

LOTFA is a Trust Fund of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) originally established in 2002. In December 2014 newly elected H.E. President Ashraf Ghani instructed UNDP to transform LOTFA, to accelerate and make effective a transition of the payroll functions to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIROA) and to develop national capacity for its efficient and accountable management.

A new project document was signed by the Government and UNDP on 30 June 2015. The new LOTFA consists of two projects. Project One, the Support to Payroll Management Project (SPM), provides exclusively for full MOIA payroll management by December 2016. Project Two, MOIA and Police Development (MPD) The second project is focused on supporting MoIA to drive and consolidate its approach to professionalization. The objective is based on the premise that professionalization of police is at the heart of state sovereignty and should be nationally led in line with the national security vision and priorities.

The MOIA and Police Development Project consist of two components. The Institutional Development component is intended to help the MOIA develop the capacity to conceptualize, lead and manage reform, while at the same time improving administrative and support services’ performance and accountability, which are critical for police functioning and safety. The Police Professionalization component seeks to support MOIA in strengthening its foundations and training infrastructure for police professionalization, while at the same time supporting immediate police service delivery and outreach activities to strengthen police and community partnerships. The objective set forth in the project document says, “MOIA consolidates approach to professionalization of Afghan Uniformed Police to provide effective police services in accordance with human rights and professional policing standards”.

UNDP support to Police Professionalization will take place within the overall institutional development and reform framework. UNDP will promote the framework of democratic policing as per its comparative advantage and mandate. Accordingly, the Police Professionalism component will act upon the instructions of H.E. President Ghani “to initiate civilian policing in the areas where there is some level of security” and be based on the “vital role of police officers in enforcing the rule of law and enhancing their relationships with local communities”.

LOTFA’s overall legislative research and reform as well as legal advocacy activities will be led by the Technical Specialist. He / She will report directly to the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) of the MPD project of LOTFA and under overall guidance by the Head of the Rule of Law Unit of UNDP. He / She will provide input to the Project Management Team of MPD/LOTFA and will work in close collaboration with SPM/LOTFA project and other projects/partners of UNDP.

Note: UNDP Afghanistan reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP Afghanistan at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and education requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

Lead technical support on analysis, drafting and advocacy of legislative reform areas of LOTFA project;
Undertake research and coordination to identify strategic direction for the legislative reform based on the overall project framework;
Programme management support specific to legislative reform.

Lead technical support on analysis, drafting and advocacy of legislative reform areas of LOTFA project:

Undertake desk review to prepare an international best practice document to identify thematic areas of legislative reform and to establish a knowledge-base for legislative reform advocacy for MoI;
Conduct Legislative Gap analysis of the existing legal provisions, its bylaws, acts, policies and other corresponding frameworks that regulate Afghan Police and its functions to identify key gaps in the existing inherent law and its bylaws for effective police management and administrations;
Undertake consultations and interactions on the reform priorities with MoIA leaderships, LOTFA technical working group, reform commission, International partners and other national entities (MoJ, Supreme Court, BAR associations, Parliamentary committees) engaged in legal initiatives;
Facilitate workshops/seminars/conferences/round table discussions/policy dialogues amongst MoIA leaderships, police experts, academics and external entities including civil society groups, Human rights group, women’s group etc. to get a comprehensive set of recommendations to address existing gaps and ambiguities in the police regulatory framework;
Prepare priority recommendations to improve existing legal framework for Afghan police through extensive consultation and thematic interactions;
Provide recommendations to contextualize the amended issues in the policy, operating guidelines and the training curricula;
Draft legislative provisions from the priority recommendations in consultation with national and international legislative drafting experts for further advocacy for amendments/ repeal/enactment;
Undertake day to day supervision of relevant staff, consultant and activities based on AWP for legislative reform in LOTFA. The activities would include administrative affairs, financial disbursements, coordinate human resource management, lead in technical and substantive aspects to achieve results;
Develop relevant part of work plans, required terms of reference (TOR) etc. in consultation CTA, Participate in preparing monthly, quarterly and annual progress reports and organize, correspondingly, monthly, quarterly and annual progress reviews; Monitor project progress against annual and quarterly work plans and budgets;
Perform other relevant tasks as required.

Undertake research and coordination to identify strategic direction for the legislative reform based on the overall project framework.

Undertake global best practice research and prepare briefing notes on comparative legal analysis on police legislations and policy documents for stakeholder- to identify thematic areas of legislative reform and to establish a knowledge-base for legislative reform advocacy for MoI;
Coordinate with national and international UN staff and consultants and streamline different review exercises, findings and recommendations in the areas of policy review, gender, human rights etc;
Coordinate with national and international stakeholders to update, consult and stay informed about key areas of the legislative reform for MoI;
Based on stakeholder and expert level discussions, identify entry points and way forward for the legislative reform activities;
Undertake advocacy work, presentations to stakeholders the findings of various research works for legislative reform activities;
Identify opportunities to enhance team-work and collaboration within the MPD and SPM projects within LOTFA and with UNDP projects in the Rule of Law Cluster to capitalize on the specific advantages of multi-disciplinary support;
Coordinate with all UN interventions and identify areas where harmonization can be undertaken for coordination and implementation of joint activities.

Programme management support specific to legislative reform.

Make presentations on the legal comparative analysis for stakeholders where necessary;
Advise, supervise and prepare communication products and services specific to legislative reform;
Contribute to the production reports and publications, and serve as peer reviewer.

Scope of work Expected results/Deliverables/deadlines

Ensure contribution and continuation of work on legislative reform in the areas of police professionalization, policing principles and police management along with entry to regulatory provisions for payroll support to police;
Coordinate and ensure the strategic results in the area of legislative reform is achieved timely;
Coordinate and ensure LOTFA’s contributions in legislative and policy formulation are well received by the national government and reflected in national documents;
Provide support to CTA on coordination and management of legislative reform discussion and advocacy;
Ensure timely submission of reports and documents.

Competencies

Competences:

Knowledge of Legislative drafting, Legal analysis, Law-making theories and practice in development and conflict countries, interdependent relationship among justice and rule of law institutions;
Experience in working on innovative areas in law and justice;
Experience in legal drafting; Legal analysis and legislative advocacy;
Experience in developing knowledge products, briefing note, legal commentaries;
Experience in projects and programme implementation on rule of law in conflict and post conflict countries;
Experience on UNDP projects; familiarity with UNDP rule of law projects, guiding documents and mandate in rule of law and justice sector;
Ability to evaluate national and international political issues especially in conflict and post conflict countries;
Demonstrated ability to interact with decision-makers and beneficiaries to develop productive partnerships and excellent networking skills.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Project implementation experience with the UN system a strong asset;
Strong organizational and reporting skills;
Results oriented, strong team player with outstanding interpersonal and coordination skills;
Ability to work independently;
Strong managerial competency with experience in results based management and results oriented approach to project implementation;
Ability to establish substantive professional relationships with all stakeholders;
Familiarity with post-conflict environments is an asset.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
Ability to provide top quality policy advice;
In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
Good interpersonal and diplomacy skills that allow for working productively as part of a larger team;
Ability to use critical thinking, conceptualize ideas, and articulate relevant subject matter in a clear and concise way;
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
Ability to communicate effectively with and relate to people of different cultures, demonstrating an ability to see issues from other perspectives.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to lead implementation of new systems (business side), and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change;

Management and Leadership

Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Shows conflict resolution skills;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master`s degree or equivalent in Law, criminology or other relevant field.

Experience:

At least 5 years of progressive experience in managing rule of law and justice sector reforms, especially legal research and reform programmes and activities;
Demonstrated knowledge of law making theories and practices around the rule of law and justice sector institutions of south-east Asia;
Experience in conducting primary and secondary legal research and analysis;
Experience in legislative drafting and preparation of legal commentaries;
In-depth knowledge of programming on UNDP’s global best practices in rule of law and justice/ human rights projects in conflict and post conflict countries;
Technical and practical expertise on UNDP programming work, especially in creating programming and planning materials and documents is desirable;
A range of experience working with United Nations, government, multilateral agencies and civil society organizations;
Work experience in Afghanistan or in other conflict, post conflict countries will be an asset.

Computer Skills:

Proficiency in Microsoft Office software;
Proficiency with Online communication, including Skype, etc.

Language Requirements:

Excellent knowledge of English and ability to communicate clearly in written and spoken English;
Working knowledge of Dari, Pashto is a strong asset.

Aplication procedure:

Interested and qualified International candidates should apply on-line through the UNDP Jobs site at http://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/operations/jobs/ and please ensure that to fill up and upload Personal History Form-P.11 which is available at http://www.af.undp.org/content/afghanistan/en/home/operations/jobs/ in the relevant field of the on-line application.

Incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date will not be given consideration. Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

For more detailed information about UNDP Afghanistan please visit our website at http://www.af.undp.org/.

Successful candidates must be prepared to start work within 6 weeks of the offer of appointment.

Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.