UNDP Jobs - 104104- Justice Advisor

Justice Advisor

Location :

Mbabane Eswatini, SWAZILAND

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Feb-2022

Application Deadline :

24-Jan-22 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six Months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Six Months

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 new Country Programme Document (CPD)2021-2025 is the guiding document for UNDP programming in Eswatini for this program cycle. The CPD is informed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), 2021-2025. The UNSDF is based on the evidence collated in the comprehensive Common Country Assessment (CCA) which provides the necessary evidence for guiding the UN support to sustain progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is also aligned to the National Development Plan (2019/20-2021/22) and the Strategic Road Map (2019-2022) of the country.

These national documents prioritize sustainable economic growth and inclusive governance to ensure that economic opportunities reach those furthest behind. Under the Governance and Human rights Pillar, the UNSDCF output provides that by 2025, oversight bodies and government institutions at national and regional level (Tinkhundla) operate in an independent, participatory and accountable manner, ensuring equal access to justice and services with a systematic, participatory implementation and reporting mechanisms for its human rights obligations and SDGs with a focus on leaving no one behind.

The Country office’s (CO) governance program focuses on strengthening public institutions oversight function and supporting effort of the Government of Eswatini to deliver efficient quality services to its citizens. The focus is to increase citizens voice and participation in public accountability and promotion of transparency; to strengthen knowledge-based research for informed evidence based advocacy and to support the implementation of National Development Strategy and policies especially those aimed at decentralisation of services to citizens and support national and local authority elections.

UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of justice seeks address a number of priorities as articulated in the national documents and the CPD. These activities include legal reform activities, supporting the country to adhere to its reporting obligations, digitalizing the justice systems and improving access to justice especially the most marginalized. One of the key challenges in the effective delivery of some of these activities is the human resource constraints within the Ministry. Given the current governance challenges, and ongoing interventions that need priority, there is urgent need to ensure that the lead ministry is able to deliver efficiently on its mandate and able to address the emerging issues timely.

As a measure to mitigate the gaps and enhance efficiency, UNDP is recruiting a consultant to support the Ministry of Justice to support implementation of the activities and priorities as articulated in the CPD and the annual work plans.

UNDP Eswatini is engaging a Justice Advisor to work within the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional affairs (MoJCA) towards achieving some key results. The functions of the advisor will include supporting the consultation and enactment processes for the family Bills; supporting the digital case management within the justice sector; facilitating finalization and enactment processes for the legal aid Bill and related instruments. The Justice Advisor will also be responsible for the implementation of training and other capacity building activities in respect to case management and legal aid as well as coordination of all related activities within the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and UNDP staff. The advisor will also support the Minister’s office in the execution of different functions relevant to the governance and human rights agenda.

Objective of Assignment

The key results of the Justice Advisor will have an impact on the overall contribution and success of the governance country programme portfolio. The consultancy will assist in delivering the governance programme as well as ensure its sustainability and impact. In close collaboration with the UNDP Programme Specialist - Governance, the consultant will be responsible for research, collection of data, analysis, and production of reports where needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the immediate supervision of Principal secretary and overall guidance of the Honourable Minister, the advisor is expected to deliver on the following tasks in close collaboration with other program team members at UNDP. The advisor will specifically focus on achieving the following key deliverables:

Facilitate measures to improve efficiency and strengthen the collaboration of the Ministry and UNDP and other donor partners;
Support the consultation and enactment processes for the family law Bills;
Support the digital case management project within the justice sector;
Coordinate the Legal Aid activities and following up with the necessary functions to facilitate the processes of advocacy for enactment and preparations for roll out;
Support the Ministers office and the ministry to have a systematic follow up on motions from Parliament and recommendations from assessments from entities like the Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration and other relevant partners that contributes to the attainment of the outputs of the UNSDCF and CPD;
Conduct research and analysis of information of key emerging issues that need the intervention of the Ministry;
Support the resource mobilization activities for the Ministry and provide technical guidance in the utilization of the support acquired;
Facilitate a coordinated approach to the activities and key priorities that involve the Ministers office including the asset forfeiture functions;
Compile and submit relevant reports through the Principal Secretary’s office to relevant partners including Parliament and donors; and
Support other strategic interventions within the Ministry to ensure effective delivery of the extensive mandate.

Deliverables:

The Justice Advisor will be expected to deliver the following deliverables:

Manage the implementation of the case management system and legal aid component of the programme at the MoJCA.
Facilitate the advocacy for the family Bills towards enactment.
Support the Programme Specialist - Governance in the functions to coordinate and manage the overall delivery of the governance programme activities in an effective and efficient manner, working closely with the MoJCA and other implementing partners/responsible parties.
Coordinate the collection of case management data and analysis at national level in collaboration with the MoJCA.
Prepare a case management and legal aid report of publishable quality highlighting the various aspects of case processing by the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
Provide strategic advice on the strengthening of the manual case management system to ensure proper tracking of all cases.
Provide policy advice and strategic technical guidance and leadership on transitioning of the case management system from manual to an electronic system.
Support government partners to initiate and pursue a holistic case management system and reduction of case backlogs.
Support the building and strengthening of strategic partnerships and alliance for the Ministry and the justice system role players.
Capacity development and institutional reforms.
Design and conduct capacity building trainings for MoJCA staff in case management and legal aid after assessing the capacities.
Conduct mentoring and coaching of assigned staff of MoJCA in the various aspects of case management and legal aid.

DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT, DUTY STATION AND EXPECTED PLACES OF TRAVEL

Duration: 6 months

Location: The incumbent will work from the Ministry of Justice or from their own space contingent on the arrangements with his/her immediate supervisor.

Travel: Justice Advisor will be expected to travel within the area or the duty station and to places where relevant activities are conducted within the country.

PROVISION OF MONITORING AND PROGRESS CONTROLS

Under direct supervision of the Principal Secretary and overall supervisor of the Honourable Minister of Justice the incumbent will work closely with relevant national stakeholders, development partners and other UN agencies. The advisor will also work in collaboration with and immediate support from UNDP Governance Programme Specialist and Programme Assistant.

Competencies

Corporate and Core Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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 favouritism.
Communication – Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals in line with agreed strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks and makes allowances accordingly.
Organizational Awareness – Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
Teamwork – Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost and quality standards.

Functional Competencies

Excellent written communication skills in English, including editing.
Excellent time management and ability to produce outputs as per agreed deadlines.
Ability to work seamlessly in a multi-cultural environment.
Ability to launch UNDP projects according to UNDP’s rules and regulations
Analytical skills are necessary.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

LLB degree in Law, or BA degree in Social Sciences or related field.
An Advanced university degree in any of the above fields is an added advantage.

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant experience working on Access Justice, Rule of Law or Human Rights.
Relevant experience working on justice sector, access to justice and human rights at high level state institutions, including working with other UN entities in Eswatini is desired.
Proven experience of working with high-level national counterparts and capacity to deliver strategic advice.
Proven record and experience in drafting of analytical research reports and think pieces.
Experience in working with the United Nations will be an added advantage.

Language Requirement:

Fluency in English both written and spoken.
Fluency in Siswati is an added advantage.

How to Apply:

Qualified candidates should submit;

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;Letter of Confirmation of Interest template
Personal CV or P11, (P11 form); indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Please note you can upload only one document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).

Incomplete applications will be excluded from further consideration.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and Experiences will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%