UNDP Jobs - 4670- Programme Advisor-Judge Lecturer

Programme Advisor-Judge Lecturer

Location :

Dili, Timor Leste

Type of Contract :

ALD International

Starting Date :

23-Jun-2008

Application Deadline :

09-May-08 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

ALD-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 months

Languages Required :

Portuguese

Expected Duration of Assignment :

2 years

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

The Justice Programme is a joint effort by the Ministry of Justice, the Courts and the Prosecution Services of Timor-Leste and UNDP. It aims to strengthen the institutional and human resources capacity of the main institutions of the justice sector It was launched on July 2003 for an initial period of three years and it was revised in the end of 2005 to adapt to the new priorities and reality of the sector. As a consequence of this revision it was increased in scope and in budget as well as extended in time. The programme is presently a sequence of capacity-developing measures - advice, training and equipment - budgeted at $11m for a 3 to 5 year period, starting in January 2006.

A key component of the programme is the training of national court actors -judges, prosecutors, public defenders and support staff- comprising formal classes in the Legal Training Center, on the job training during a probationary phase and mentoring by experienced international advisers after the final graduation.

In August 2007, the programme fielded an Independent Mid-Term Evaluation mission, as mandated in its Project Document. Following the recommendations of this mission, the Justice Programme will endeavor to strengthen the training of national court actors, accelerating the scheduling of new courses and widening the offer of courses to include court clerks and private lawyers. It is expected that this actions will deliver an increased national ownership of the justice sector and support the Programme exit strategy, shifting international advisers from line functions to mentoring roles and finally phasing them out.

Taking advantage of the lessons learned so far, the Programme will focus on deploying lecturers with experience as court actors but devoted full-time to teaching and mentoring. During the probationary phase, the mentoring of the trainees will require more harmonization of technical and pedagogical aspects, leading to the need of a stronger coordination.

Along the line of creating national capacity, it is necessary -and a request of the national counterparts- that the Programme fields an international adviser as counterpart of the national Director of the Legal Training Center

Under overall direction of the Executive Board of the Legal Training Centre (LTC), the Judge-Lecturer will report to the Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) through the Training Coordinator of the LTC. The incumbent will contribute to the design and development of training plans for the specialized courses for judges, prosecutors, public defenders, legal clerks and others conducted at the LTC. He/she will be responsible for the implementation of the training plans through lecturing, coaching and evaluating the students, applying his/her specific experience as a court actor and pedagogic methods, observing the rules established by the Executive Board. The Judge-Lecturer will provide advice to the Executive and Academic Boards and the CTA in the general implementation of the training component of the Justice Programme. He/she will work closely with the Training Coordinator and other Lecturers of the LTC.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lecture on a full time basis at the Legal Training Centre on penal, civil and procedural law: transfer skills and provide full time, post-graduated, professional training for lawyers seeking appointment to judge, prosecutor or public defender at LTC on Penal, Civil and Procedural Law. Support and train court clerks and other court actors; focusing on transfer of theoretical knowledge to LTC students.
Conduct examinations and evaluation of students: prepare, organize and conduct regular examinations, evaluations and other activities related to the training as required. Ensure that graduated students have the required level of competency to assume judicial functions, according to the regulations set by the Executive Board, in compliance with the Law.
Design and develop training curricula: Design, develop, and consolidate curricula and summaries for the training programme in cooperation with the National Director and the International Training Coordinator and according to the policies set by the Executive and Academic Board. Implement comprehensive training programme, design material and training plans. Adapt training curricula according to the policies set by the Boards.
Advise the Executive and Academic Boards of the Legal Training Centre: define and establish mechanisms to report on student’s progress and identify risks and constraints. Advise the National Director and International Training Coordinator as well as the Executive and Academic Boards of LTC ensuring submission of progress reports on students and identify complementary training needs.
Coordinate and mentor the national prosecutors in the probationary phase: Coordinate and mentor the national judges in the probationary phase to assist the introduction of routines, systems and processes learned during the training. Contribute to the identification and implementation of capacity-building strategies and mentoring guidelines. Transfer practical knowledge and skills to the national trainees and evaluation of their level of competency in practice.

Competencies

The incumbent should have strong communication skills - spoken, written and presentational and cultural sensitivity, being able to dispense specialized legal training for magistrates and other court actors, to students from a different cultural and academic background that may not be completely fluent in Portuguese.
He/she should have the ability to write legal plans, programmes and syllabi and write and develop comprehensive training manuals.
The lecturer must earn and show respect for the students, establishing him/herself as a trusted adviser that will, in the probationary phase, be able to dispense advice in the practice of the judicial function without interference in the responsibility of decision of the probationary judges.

Required Skills and Experience

Masters Degree or Advanced university degree in law or Judiciary studies from a civil law country
A minimum of 10 years of experience as a judge in a civil legal system, and at least 3 years of these as trainer or law teacher.
Substantive knowledge and practical skills of an experienced, senior practitioner (as a judge) in a civil law country, capable and willing to study and adapt to the national legislation.
Proficiency in Portuguese is required.
Working knowledge of English and Tetum is highly desirable.