Consultant: Constitutional Support Database of Experts
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| Location : |
Home-based and/or in-country |
| Application Deadline : | 20-Dec-13 (Midnight New York, USA) |
| Type of Contract : | Individual Contract |
| Post Level : | International Consultant |
Languages Required :
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English |
| Duration of Initial Contract : | Varies from a few days to several months |
| Expected Duration of Assignment : | Varies from a few days to several 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.
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Background
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The United Nations support constitution-making making processes throughout the world. Several UN entities, including UNDP, UN Department of Political Affairs, UN Women, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and OHCHR are collaborating to respond to the growing demand of UN agencies, member states and other partners who are frequently called upon to field constitutional experts to support UN Missions, UN Country Teams and Governments. Such constitutional advice and support is required in various settings. Requests can be both for short-term consultancies and long-term constitutional advisory posts.
Experience has shown that experts can be:
- Subject matter experts (eg. federalism, power-sharing, women’s rights, human rights); and
- Experts on constitution-making processes.
The former are frequently called upon for short term consultancies while the latter may be brought in to serve as long term advisers (for example, to serve as a Chief Technical Adviser for a UNDP Constitutional Support Project).
UNDP and DPA are now soliciting highly-qualified experts and experienced consultants (individuals, not firms) to be considered for inclusion in a new UN Constitution Experts’ Database, which will be used to rapidly identify and deploy constitutional expertise in support of constitutional processes.
In order to better address demand in this thematic area of work, the UN is seeking individuals with constitution-making expertise in one or more of the following areas:
Constitution-making processes (including process design, support for civic education, communications/outreach, mediation and dialogue, Secretariat support and capacity development, civil society support, and inclusion of youth and women, minorities, the poor and marginalized groups) Constitutional content, in particular: - Federalism/decentralization/power-sharing;
- Systems of government/separation of powers;
- Constitutional rights (civil, political, socio-economic, communal, etc.;
- Islamic law;
- Natural resources;
- Gender equality;
- Minorities and constitutions;
- Constitutional analysis and research;
- Other.
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Duties and Responsibilities
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The following range of tasks would typically be expected from a consultant (one or more):
- Advisory services: Provision of technical advice to Governments, constitutional review/making bodies, civil society, other national stakeholders and UN agencies;
- Programme management: Project design and formulation, project implementation, coordination among stakeholders and project quality assurance;
- Operations management: SOPs for constitution-making/review commissions/committees, human resource, financial management and logistical support;
- Capacity development: Capacity assessment, planning and implementation of capacity building for constitutional review bodies and other national stakeholders, and delivery of training events;
- Monitoring and evaluation: M&E matrix design, mid-term/final project evaluation;
- Research and knowledge development: Constitutional research, development of options papers, conducting lesson learning exercises, developing drafting of knowledge products and tools.
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Competencies
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- Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
- Ability to work in a team; * Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills;
- Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
- Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
- Ability to manage workload with minimum supervision;
- Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities,reporting and writing abilities.
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Required Skills and Experience
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Education:
- Master’s degree in political science, law, international relations, development studies or any other relevant subject. experience;
- Minimum 7 years of experience in the area of democratic governance, rule of law or relevant field, with a minimum of 3 years of experience working on constitution making processes;
- Experience with the drafting of user-friendly knowledge products such as books, articles, research papers, toolkits, guides, methodologies, analytical documents, drafting agreements, policy papers and notes, project and program documents, baseline studies, desk reviews, comparative studies, etc. is an asset;
- Experience in management of post-conflict interventions is an asset;
- Experience working with a diverse range of stakeholders is an asset, including liaising with high level government officials and in cross-cultural contexts.
Languages:
- Fluency in both spoken and written English is a must;
- Working level knowledge of Arabic, French, Russian and/or Spanish is a strong asset.
Computer skills:
- IT literacy and ability to operate with on-line web-based applications. evaluation of applicants Applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies specified above.
Short listed candidates will be invited to participate in an interview and/or assessment.
Candidates’ references –including past employers- may be verified and confirmed.
Selected candidates will be invited to create a profile in the UN Constitution Experts Database; where they can be considered for consultancy opportunities as needs arise.
Contracting Arrangements: Successful candidates will be included in the UN’s Constitution Experts Database for a period of 2 years. Inclusion in the expert database does not guarantee a contract with any UN agency that may use the Database. When a request for services arises, the hiring unit/office will process the contracts according to its operations’ rules and regulations.
Application Procedure: Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via the UNDP website. Interested candidates are advised to carefully review this ToR and ensure that they meet the requirements and qualifications described above. Experts can indicate more than one sub-thematic area. Experts must submit all materials requested for the area of interest. Applications should contain: A brief cover letter, clearly identifying each thematic sub-area(s) for which the applicant wishes to be considered and a short summary of relevant qualifications for each sub-area. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application. A current completed and signed P11 form/ UN Personal History Form in English (blank form can be downloaded from www.sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc). Please also include your CV. Contact details for 3 references. Please note that your previous employers could also be contacted. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you provide all requested materials The deadline for submission of applications is 20 November 2013.
Qualified women and members of social minorities are encouraged to apply. Due to the large number of applications we receive, we are only able to inform the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
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