Background

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set an ambitious target to ensure equal access to justice for all by 2030. Yet, more than five billion people - two thirds of the world population - continue to live without access to justice and affordable legal aid, unable to have their voices heard, exercise their rights, challenge discrimination or hold decision-makers accountable.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has long engaged in access to justice as a pathway towards peaceful and inclusive societies. Working on both the demand and supply sides of justice provision, UNDP work spans from legal protection, awareness and aid counsel to adjudication, enforcement, and oversight by civil society and Parliaments. Through the Global Programme on Rule of Law and Human Rights and other initiatives, UNDP has supported interventions in both development and crisis contexts, adopting a human-right based approach to programming to promote the inclusion of vulnerable communities.

The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of UNDP is hiring a junior evaluation consultant to support the thematic evaluation of UNDP support to Access to Justice. The evaluation, which will be presented to the UNDP Executive Board at its June 2023 session, aims to provide the Executive Board, UNDP management and other stakeholders with an assessment of UNDP work in this area and recommendations on the way forward.

The consultant will support the evaluation team throughout the evaluation, including the finalization of the design and definition of scope, data collection and analysis. The assignment is home-based, with limited travel opportunities depending on the progression of the pandemic, safety conditions, and teamwork arrangements as defined by the Lead Evaluator. The estimated duration of the assignment is from January to December 2022, with a more intense commitment until end-October 2022.

To view the full terms of reference for this consultancy, please click here.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the Lead Evaluator, the consultant will:

  • Conduct research to help set the context of the evaluation and define its scope.
  • Support the collection of data from UNDP and external stakeholders, including through the definition of list of stakeholders, the compilation of sources, and the development of instruments.
  • Create, maintain, and regularly update the evaluation repository of data and information.
  • Review and analyse quantitative and qualitative information included in databases and reports, as well as on-line available information.
  • Participate in the collection and analysis of primary data, including through surveys, interviews, community of practice, and possibly field visits to programme countries.
  • Contribute to drafting the evaluation report (and its annexes), through analytical summaries of evidence and data visualizations.
  • Participate in the team’s regular working sessions and perform additional research support as required by the evaluation team.

Competencies

Functional competencies

  • Strong analytical skills, including ability to quickly assess a diverse range of information with a discerning sense for quality of data.
  • Good mastery of information technology required for organized presentation of information.
  • Strong oral and written communication skills.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

  • Adhere to the principle of confidentiality and ethical code of conducts during the evaluation.
  • Available to conduct required analysis within the agreed timelines.
  • Time management and ability to handle a large volume of work.
  • Consistently approach work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
  • Capacity to work remotely, and self-directed.

Corporate Competencies

  • Ability to work in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams, acting with professionalism, diplomacy, tact and courtesy.
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP.
  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling United Nations values and ethical standards
  • Acts as a team player and facilitates teamwork.
  • Maintains confidentiality.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • A Master’s Degree in Law, Political Science, Development Studies, or other fields relevant to the assignment.

Experience

  • At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in programme evaluation and/or research at international level.
  • Proficiency with data collection and analysis techniques and methods, particularly around qualitative data.
  • Substantive knowledge of access to justice, including track record of working on this and related issues.
  • Experience in gender-sensitive programming and/or evaluation.
  • Familiarity and experience with UNDP or United Nations operations is desirable.

Language

  • Full proficiency in English (oral and written)
  • Full proficiency in at least one other United Nations language (particularly French and/or Spanish) is highly desirable.

Application Instructions

Applicants are requested to upload as one combined document the following material to the UNDP Jobs site:

Please note that the system can only accept one uploaded document therefore all documents must be combined into a single document for upload. Please also note that the links in this advertisement are best viewed in Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft browsers.