Background

In the period preceding the 11 year civil war, Sierra Leonean society was characterized by a dysfunctional judicial system, wherein most Sierra Leoneans, particularly those residing in the provinces, had limited access to justice. Weak rule of law institutions, a perception of a lack of independence of the judiciary, and unpunished human rights violations resulted in poor overall governance, and was identified as one of the root causes of the hostilities. Despite many positive achievements in developing a stronger justice system, post-conflict Sierra Leone continues to be characterized by a weak formal justice system and a strong reliance by many Sierra Leoneans in traditional justice mechanisms. In addition, the lack of infrastructure and the difficulty in both access and awareness further hampers the administration of justice by the formal system.

UNDP, through its Rule of Law & Access to Justice Project, has adopted a two pronged approach in seeking to promote access to justice. On the one side UNDP is seeking to develop the capacity of state institutions such as the Police, Prosecutors and the Judiciary to provide quality services to Sierra Leoneans and on the other side UNDP supports civil society to improve their capacity to provide services to victims of SGBV, to enhance paralegal assistance at local court level, to increase public legal awareness and promote increased demand from the public for a functioning justice system. Creating stronger linkages between state and civil society is a key part of this approach. Recognizing that the continued widespread violation of women’s rights through SGBV and lack of gender equality with regard to women’s rights to property are fundamental human rights issues in Sierra Leone UNDP has placed the prevention of SGBV and the promotion of women’s property rights as priorities of the project.

Since late 2009 UNDP has supported CSOs nationwide through SGBV Grants in order to raise awareness of SGBV, promote community level prevention mechanisms and provide legal and practical protection to victims. The support provided to CSOs through these SGBV Grants falls directly within the first 3 outputs of SiLNAP (national policy dealing with the prevention, protection and prosecution of SGBV cases) and is a vital component of the Government’s strategy to eliminate violence against women. Through this support, from September 2011 up until June 2012, a total number of 75 SGBV convictions were obtained, representing an increase from 41 in 2010. During the same period 224 victims of SGBV received medical attention, counselling, shelter and legal assistance. Eighty-five CSO SGBV referral mechanisms were also established in local communities which act as a first line protection mechanism ensuring that victims are given support and that FSU respond immediately to reports of SGBV. These efforts link closely with UNDP activities to support FSU to conduct community awareness programmes.

In early 2012 UNDP piloted a 3 month programme to support a wide group of CSOs to monitor court cases at all levels including Local Courts, Magistrates Courts and High Courts. In August 2012, after careful analysis of the earlier methodology and results a second phase of support was rolled out until the end of 2012. The aim of the activity is to build CSO capacity to report on the standards observed and respect shown for human rights in judicial proceedings, with a focus on gathering desegregated data on cases involving women. Basic paralegal assistance is also provided to victims of SGBV.

Due to the difficulty in obtaining accurate statistics on case processing times and case numbers, it is UNDP’s plan to use the CSO Court Monitoring activity to gather relevant M&E information from reports received including through the use of random case sampling (to track average processing times, respect for procedural rules), court user satisfaction surveys and monitoring trends including disaggregated data on types of cases. This is in addition to the expectation that the presence of trained monitors in court proceedings should have a positive influence on the Judiciary in these areas due to higher expectations of due process and respect for human rights from the public. Along with CSOs supported by the SGBV Grants it is envisaged that these CSOs will provide a vital component in the Programme’s M&E activities in the future

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work
 
Under the overall supervision of the Access to Justice Project Manager, the CSO Capacity Building and M&E Officer will:  
  • Strengthen capacity of UNDP-CSO Grantees to provide services to victims of SGBV;
  • Build the capacity of grassroots CSOs and CBOs to raise awareness on SGBV and sexual exploitation in learning institutions;
  • Enhance the capacity of civil society organizations operating in remote areas to provide paralegal assistance to vulnerable litigants at local court and other formal justice institutions;
  • Strengthen the ability of CSOs to increase public legal awareness and promote increased demand from the public for a functioning justice system;
  • Build CSO capacity to monitor & evaluate justice service provision, as well as to ensure that effective M&E of project activities takes place;
  • Undertake quarterly monitoring of the implementation of grants to IPs in Project locations;
  • Monitor CSOs engaged in the monitoring of justice institutions and follow up on the administration of court user perception survey questionnaires; 
  • Organize reviews of implementation of SGBV Grants and Court Monitoring Grants to CSOs;

Ensure the coordination of all activities related to the engagement of CSOs by the Access to Justice Project. 

Functions / Key Results Expected
  • Capacity of UNDP-CSO Grantees strengthened to provide services to victims of SGBV at community levels;
  • Capacity of grassroots community based organizations built to raise awareness on SGBV and sexual exploitation in learning institutions;
  • Capacity of civil society organizations operating in remote areas enhanced to provide paralegal assistance to vulnerable litigants at local court and other formal justice institutions;
  • Ability of CSOs strengthened to increase public legal awareness and promote increased demand from the public for a functioning justice system;
  • CSO partners have their own M&E capacity strengthened;
  • Quarterly monitoring of the implementation of grants to IPs undertake in Project locations;  
  • CSOs engaged in the monitoring of justice institutions monitored with follow up on the administration of court user perception survey questionnaires; 
  • Review sessions on the implementation of SGBV Grants and Court Monitoring Grants to CSOs organized;
  • The coordination of all activities related to the engagement of CSOs by the Access to Justice Project ensured.

Competencies

  • Professionalism and Integrity
  • Promotes knowledge sharing and learning
  • Knowledge of statistics and data base application
  • Display cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Build strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
  • Demonstrate good oral and written skills;
  • Demonstrate openness to change and ability to manage complexities
  • Ability to work with national counterparts in building individual and institutional capacity.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Masters Degree or equivalent in law/Human Rights or Political Science, plus a minimum of 3 years experience in relevant area or a Degree in a relevant area of expertise with a minimum of 5 years experience.
Experience:
  • Must have a minimum of 3-5 years experience working in capacity building of human rights and/or rule of law institutions (such as judiciary, police, prosecutors, prisons, etc);
  • Must possess a minimum of 2-5 years experience working with civil society organizations and grassroots community organizations with a focus on capacity building and results based management (M&E);
  • Must possess a significant experience in building the capacity of CSOs, NGOs and CBOs with the ability to handle confidential and sensitive information.
  • Must have knowledge of the Sierra Leone legal system and dynamics in the civil society sector within the country;
  • Have a professional license to practice law and having prior working experience in Sierra Leone would be an asset. 
Language Requirements:
  • Excellent command of written and spoken English (including analytical and writing skills);
  • Excellent command of MS Office Applications (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint);
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with ability to work in a multi-cultural team environment. 
Reporting Arrangements
 
The successful candidate will report to Project Manager.
 
Duration of the consultancy
11 Months.
 
Payment Modalities
Payment to the consultant will be made on monthly basis upon satisfactory completion of the deliverables.
 
Evaluation of Criteria and Weighting
The consultant will be evaluated against a combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum score is 100% out of a total score for technical criteria equals 70% and 30% for financial criteria. The technical evaluation will take into account the following as per the weightings provided:
  • Background and minimum educational qualification as defined in the TOR (10%)
  • Practical experience in the areas of capacity building and working with CSOs, etc (30%)
  • Methodology of approach to the task (50 %)
  • English language fluency (10)
Application Procedure
 
The application should contain the following:
FC: 04000