UNDP Jobs - 81443- Consultancy to Develop Complaints Handling System

Consultancy to Develop Complaints Handling System for the Malawi Human Rights Commission.

Location :

Lilongwe, MALAWI

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

12-Nov-2018

Application Deadline :

23-Oct-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

35 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

35 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 – Malawi is supporting the Malawi Human Rights Commission (the Commission) in strengthening human rights complaints management. It is in this context that UNDP-Malawi seeks services of a HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERT to develop complaints handling system for the Commission. The Malawi Human Rights Commission is a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) for Malawi established by the Constitution of Malawi. The primary function of the Commission is the promotion and protection of human rights accorded by the Constitution or any other law. The Commission started its operations in 1999 following the enactment of the enabling legislation, the Human Rights Commission Act (HRCA) in 1998 and appointment of the first cohort of commissioners in 1999. At the foundation stage, the Commission was organised based on its functions, including investigations of violations of human rights. However, in 2009, the Commission decided to focus on thematic issues and as such, its operational structure was reorganised to include the directorates of Civil and Political Rights, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Child Rights, Gender and Women Rights and Disability and Elderly Persons. These directorates perform protection and promotion functions as stated above. Investigations of the violations of rights are however undertaken as part of the broader functions of the thematic areas and as such have often not received adequate attention.

Following performance of multiple tasks requiring diverse skills by technical directorates, it has been evident that, over time, the Commission has lacked the competency to effectively handle complaints. This inadequacy has manifested in inordinate delays in the conclusion of investigations and; inadequate ratio of concluded and resolved cases and complaints of human rights violations. While other financial factors account for these manifestations, the accumulation of the backlog mainly stems from weak complaint handling systems and procedures which occasion the delays and also inefficiencies; inadequate technical skills relevant for complaint handling. Additionally, the manual complaint handling systems and procedures do not adequately provide for case reminder and tracking system. These deficiencies account for the bulk of cases that remain unattended. It must be noted that owing to the aforementioned challenges, the Commission has accumulated more than 1000 cases. Some of these cases were received more than 17 years ago. It is not known whether complainants for these cases still exist or not or the issues remain unresolved or not. But it is noteworthy that such inordinate delays erode people’s confidence in the work of the Commission on protection of human rights. In addition, as the Commission is not able to adequately follow the process of complaint handling, it has become difficult (or almost impossible) for the Commission to detect the major importers of complaints of human rights violations by locality and also generation of human rights. But disaggregated data on the type of complaints the Commission receives is necessary to inform strategy selection.

Duties and Responsibilities

The assignment aims to contribute to the service delivery reforms currently underway at the Commission by turning around performance in complaints handling. In these reforms, the assignment will particularly facilitate capacity building of the Commission focusing on systems, policies, procedures and skills to enable the Commission effectively and efficiently handle complaints and other cases of human rights violations. Specifically, the assignment aims to:

review and redesign the systems and procedures for handling complaints in order to improve efficiency, effectiveness and responsiveness of the Commission;
reorganize and computerize data on human rights complaints
automate complaints handling system in collaboration with an ICT specialist;
orient complaint handling officers and members of the Commission on the new system and procedures;

The scope of the assignment shall include but not limited to:

Conduct an institutional assessment including gap analysis focusing on systems, policies, procedures and skills relating to complaint handling at the Commission;
Prepare an institutional assessment report relating to complaints handling;
Facilitate a consultative and participatory process of reviewing and redesigning the complaints handling system, procedures and policies;
Review other human rights complaints handling systems especially from the region to tap from best practices.
Develop a revised complaint handling system, policies and procedures;
Orient 40 members and complaint handling officers of the Commission on the new complaint handling system, policies and procedures;
Pre-test the revised complaint handling system, including procedures;
Come up with a Final Complaint Handling System,
Collate and document skills gaps and training needs for members and complaint handling officers of the Commission;
Facilitate skills transfer to members and complaint handling officers of the Commission; and
Prepare final report

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP;
Demonstrate integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies

Familiarity with National Human Rights Institutions procedures.
Familiarity with complaints handling systems

Required Skills and Experience

Education

A university post graduate degree or its equivalent in Law or Human Rights or related disciplines

Experience

Minimum of 10 years work experience in the field of Human Rights.

Language

Fluency in written and spoken English.

Detailed procurement notice can be accessed through the following link: https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fprocurement-notices.undp.org%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cmavuto.nkhoma%40undp.org%7C2b8b26545cf1415a55d208d62cee0fed%7Cb3e5db5e2944483799f57488ace54319%7C0%7C0%7C636745798324406493&sdata=oNeuBn3eBmc%2FNfXrBBqGxdPiI5r5vEkttMrDkcMcrco%3D&reserved=0