Historique

The essence of the Ombudsman Institution is to actively promote professional civil service administration and processes, towards contributing to an administrative culture that is citizen- and client-oriented. In Turkey, the Law on Ombudsman Institution was adopted in June 2012 (Law No.6328) and authorizes the Ombudsman Institution (OI) to examine, study, and make proposals concerning acts and actions as well as attitudes and behaviors of the Administration within the framework of human rights-based justice and in conformity with the principles of fairness. It is aimed to serve as an independent and effective mechanism of complaint concerning the public service.

The Chief Ombudsman and other Ombudsmen were elected by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), the staff was later recruited and officially began receiving complaints applications/petitions as of end March 2013. Since then, the OI has made efforts to design its structure and operational processes. However, as in other countries with such recently established institutions, the Turkish Ombudsman Institution is experiencing a number of structural and institutional challenges. Addressing its operational and administrative challenges, UNDP and OI initiated a joint Project entitled “Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of Ombudsman Institution” in September 2014 (hereinafter: the Project). The objective of the Project is to support the institutional capacity development of the OI based on a comparative analysis of different country-specific cases and international standards, and relying on UNDP's substantial experience on similar interventions in the region and, in general, in capacity development practices and approaches. The  Project is expected to follow a holistic approach to addressing the OI’s institutional needs and measures to to lay the ground for future capacity development initiatives.

As the first step of the capacity development process, the capacity assessment of the OI is envisaged, , covering assessment of the current needs, assets and opportunities in the key organizational development, technical, functional and financial capacities of the OI. This will be critical for the OI to generate understanding of the institution’s capacity strengths and needs but also to identify convergences/ divergences from the legal frameworks and areas of jurisdiction as stipulated by the international standards and practices in other European countries. This will also provide substantive information that will help guide the OI to understand its organizational development needs that will facilitate the strengthening of organizational systems, coordination mechanisms, human resource development, among others, that will contribute to its long-term institutional development.  Based on the findings of the capacity assessment, recommendations for areas of improvement will be developed, and strategic capacity development areas supported and implemented. This would form the basis for further capacity development related activities of OI.

This Terms of Reference is for an International Consultant, who will support UNDP during the implementation of the Project for the referred capacity development exercise. The consultant will conduct the capacity assessment  in close cooperation and coordination with the human rights and capacity development specialists in UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) and Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

According to the European Commission's  2014 Turkey Progress Report, by September 2014 the Ombudsman Institution addressed 2170 out of 3502 received complaints. They related mainly to human rights, the rights of people with disabilities, civil service-related matters, social security, property rights as well as financial, economic and tax issues.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The International Consultant will work closely with the representatives from UNDP IRH/HQ, UNDP Turkey and OHCHR, who will participate in the capacity assessment mission.

The consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Conduct a preparatory work for capacity assessment/development exercise including but not limited to review of existing legal and administrative framework, international and national reports and assessments; and development of self-assessment survey;
• Conduct a comprehensive capacity assessment exercise as per the standard UNDP Capacity Assessment/Development Tool in cooperation and coordination with human rights and capacity development specialists in UNDP IRH/HQ and OHCHR. The framework tool of UNDP will be contextualized as per the context of Turkey and OI;
• Based on the results of the capacity assessment, formulate a capacity development framework and action plan consisting of strategic areas of invention along the three capacity levels, i.e., enabling environment/policy, organizational, and human resources/individual, with specific timelines for their implementation;
• Provide and/or recommend international expertise on relevant topics of capacity enhancement, as needed by OI.

Deliverables:

Report including capacity assessment with recommendations and Capacity Development Action Plan/Framework. The Report will include two sections:

Results of capacity assessment including the following:

• SWOT, Stakeholder Analysis, suggestions for vision and mission statements;
• Institutional Performance Analysis, pinpointing the areas in which the OI’s effectiveness prevails and lags behind; identification of fields that need further improvement in terms of legal framework and/or operational structuring;
• Institutional Adaptability Analysis, assessing OI’s ability to perform in future conditions and meet future needs;
• Risk Analysis of the Ombudsman Institution,  including the review of the OI so as to define operational and financial risks to fulfill its mandate;
• A Comparative analysis of the functioning of other Ombudsman Institutions, to compare the situation in Turkey with the international standards and review the experiences of selected countries, the best practices and lessons learned on the overall mandate and functioning of human rights mechanisms

Capacity Development Action Plan/Framework that will outline short term and medium term follow up actions, to be undertaken by OI.

The report will be completed, in consultation with OI, UNDP Turkey, UNDP IRH/HQ and OHCHR after the finalization of the assessment.

Timing, Duration and Place of Work:

The Assignment is to start in April 2015 and be completed in September 2015.  The table below outlines the number of working days that are allocated to the International Consultant to carry out the assignment. The Assignment is planned to be launched on 20 April 2015 and be completed by 20 September 2015.

Activity and Timing - International Consultant

Conduct a preparatory work for capacity assessment/development including review of existing legal and administrative framework, international and national reports and assessments; and development of self-assessment survey - 10 w/d Place of Residence.

Conduct a comprehensive capacity assessment exercise based on the methodology outlined above - 20 w/d Ankara.

Develop a report including findings of capacity assessment, development framework and action plan for OI - 20  w/d Ankara / Place of Residence.

Contingency - 10 w/d

Total Days Allocated for the Assignment - 60

Compétences

Functional Competencies:

• Mature judgment and initiative;
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams;
• Ability to work under pressure against strict deadlines;
• Ability to present complex issues persuasively and clearly;
• Excellent analytical, writing and communication skills.

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Fullfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• Master’s degree in law, human rights, international Relations, public policy, institutional development, sociology or other fields relevant to the assignment.

Experience:

• Minimum of ten (10) years professional international experience;
• Proven experience in working with senior government personnel and human rights institutions including Ombudsman Institutions.

Specific professional experience:

• At least 5 years of hands-on work experience for capacity development of human rights institutions including  Ombudsman;
• Demonstrated experience in assessment of National Human Rights Institutions/Ombudsman Institutions;
• Familiarity and understanding of human rights instruments, systems and programming, particularly in the Europe and CIS region Knowledge of UNDP Capacity Development Framework is an asset;
• Excellent facilitation and interpersonal skills.

Language:

• Full proficiency in English.

Services and Facilities to be provided by UNDP :

UNDP will provide project documents and background information. The meetings planned for the assignment will be organized by the Project.

Payments:

The International Consultant will be hired under an Individual Contract (IC) and be paid in USD on daily basis and the payments schedule for the Consultant is set out in the table below.

Deliverables - Payment Conditions

Submission and approval of self-assessment survey and other preparatory materials prior to capacity assessment/development exercise   - 10 working days of the contracted amount.

Submission and approval of the report including findings of capacity assessment, development framework and action plan for OI - 40 working days of the contracted amount.

Contingency - 10 working days of the contracted amount

The payment conditions indicated herein represents the maximum amount to be paid for the particular deliverable and will be based on the actual number of working days invested for the development of each deliverable.

The amount paid shall be gross and inclusive of all associated costs such as social security, pension and income tax. Assignment-related travel and accommodation costs will be borne by UNDP upon submission of documentation.