UNDP Jobs - 51460- National Assessment of the Legal and Institutional

National Assessment of the Legal and Institutional Frameworks for Youth Volunteerism

Location :

Sana'a, YEMEN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

19-Nov-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

62 working days (within 3 months)

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

As a response to the present transformational change in the Arab region, the regional project Arab Youth Volunteering for a Better Future was launched by the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme in five countries namely Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen in April 2013 to enhance youth’s social inclusion and active participation in socio-economic development through volunteerism. The project focuses on harnessing the energy and power of youth through volunteerism with the objective of strengthening the capacity of youth, enhancing their ability to contribute to and participate in sustainable community-centred development. In line with the regional strategies of the UN, UNDP and the UN Secretary General´s Five Action Plan, the regional project supports the establishment and the strengthening of the national and regional infrastructure necessary to build the skills and capacities of Arab youth through volunteering efforts, thereby enhancing their participation and inclusion in the socio-economic development of their communities and countries.

The project reflects the needs and aspirations of the Arab youth and other relevant stakeholders in the respective five countries which were identified following series of regional and national consultations throughout 2012. As a regional initiative, it takes into consideration the commonalities across the region as well as the uniqueness of each country.

Particularly, the project focuses on four outputs:

Output 1: Awareness of the role of volunteerism in socio-economic development and participatory governance increased;
Output 2: Institutional frameworks for volunteerism in the target countries and the region strengthened;
Output 3: Capacity of youth organizations and civil society organizations to promote youth volunteering enhanced;
Output 4: Formal structures for youth inclusion through volunteerism strengthened.

National Assessments of the Legal and Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Youth Volunteerism:

The project’s National Consultations: Country Findings Report reveals lack of legal and policy frameworks to support voluntary action in the five project countries, particularly for youth. Tunisia is the only country that has volunteerism legislation while the rest of the project countries have official youth strategies. Another UNV publication ´The Legal Framework for Volunteerism: Ten Years after International Year of Volunteers 2001´ states that the Arab states have been an exception to the broader international trend of adopting new laws and policies on volunteerism.

The National Consultations: Country Findings Report emphasizes the role of state in regulating and expanding volunteering activities and suggests a number of actions, including creating regulatory frameworks and adapting national strategies. The UNV Youth Volunteering Strategy 2014-2017, which was developed after the inception of the regional project, also highlights the importance of supporting enabling environments for youth volunteerism through development of youth policies and structures including legal frameworks and policies, among other mechanisms. As a response, under its output 2, the regional project focuses on strengthening institutional and legal frameworks to further promote youth volunteerism and youth engagement in peace and development activities at the national and regional levels. With the active involvement of youth, the project aims at providing support to governments to build on existing laws, policies and strategies on youth volunteerism or to develop new ones where they do not exist.

It is within this context that the regional project will conduct national assessments of the existing legal and institutional frameworks and facilitate youth engagement dialogues on the national assessment findings with parliamentarians and other key decision-makers in the project countries.

Please see the Arab Youth Volunteering for a better Future, National Consultations: Country Findings Report at www.unv.org

The publication is available at http://www.icnl.org/research/trends/trends2-1.html

Outcome 2 of the UNV Youth Volunteering Strategy 2014-2017

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

Developing a Methodology for the National Assessment;
In close consultations with the national partners including the National Advisory Committee and youth networks, the consultant will design a participatory and action-oriented methodology to ensure active involvement of all the key stakeholders in the assessment and the follow-up actions. It is crucial that the national stakeholders, including women and marginalized youth, take ownership of this process, reflecting their needs and aspirations. The methodology may include a comprehensive desk review, key informants´ interviews, workshops and surveys.

Conducting a National Assessment of the Legal and Institutional Frameworks

The national assessments of the existing institutional and legal frameworks for youth volunteerism covering the relevant laws, policies, and strategies will be carried out in a participatory process with the involvement of all the key stakeholders. To allow meaningful contributions of the stakeholders in this process, the consultant will organize a training workshop on the legal and institutional frameworks including a briefing on the methodology prior to the assessment. The assessment will also take into consideration to what extent the current legal and institutional frameworks facilitate involvement of women and marginalized youth in volunteering programmes.

Producing the National Assessment Report

The assessment report, which will be in English, will present the findings and identify gaps, recommendations and a commonly agreed action plan on how to further enhance enabling legal and institutional frameworks for promoting youth volunteerism in socio-economic development.

Organizing Dialogue Events among Stakeholders

Once finalized, it is crucial that the report is discussed by the youth volunteers, VIOs and the policy makers among other stakeholders who can implement the recommendations. Following the assessment, the consultant will organize and facilitate three dialogue events to promote youth engagement with the policy makers. The dialogue events will be designed and conducted based on the findings of the assessment report and demands of the national stakeholders. The consultant will identify the participants, develop an agenda for each dialogue event, facilitate an open dialogue among the stakeholders and produce a short report outlining the key discussions and next steps. The consultant will also produce a short report summing up the three dialogue events, the outcomes of the discussions and the recommendations, to be added as annexes to the final assessment report.

Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing

As needed, the consultant will share information and expertise with the consultants/project team based in other target countries working on the national assessment of the legal and institutional frameworks and youth engagement dialogues.

Institutional Arrangements

Under the direct supervision of the UNV Field Unit, and the overall guidance of the Regional Youth Project Manager, the consultant will work in close consultation with the national partners including the National Advisory Committee and the youth networks.

Duration of the Work

The consultant is expected to carry out this work over a period of 62 days. As there will be a time gap between the assessment of the legal and institutional frameworks and the three dialogue events, the 62 days are expected to be spread out over a period of up to 3 months.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the Assignment:

Conduct assessment of the existing institutional and legal frameworks pertaining to youth volunteerism covering the relevant laws, policies and strategies;
Identify gaps with regard to legal and institutional frameworks which set the conditions affecting involvement of youth in voluntary activities;
Propose recommendations and a commonly agreed action plan to promote enabling legal and institutional frameworks in the respective project country;
Facilitate youth engagement dialogues with the parliamentarians and the decision makers to allow open discussions on the assessment findings and recommended follow-up actions;
Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing on enabling legal and institutional frameworks among regional project partners.

Deliverables:

The consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

Methodology of the National Assessment of the Legal and Institutional Frameworks for 5 days;
The National Assessment conducted including the training workshop for 30 days;
Draft Assessment Report for 10 days;
Final Assessment Report for 5 days;
3 Dialogue Events + corresponding report for 12 days.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Organizational awareness;
Proven ability to work in teams;
Excellent communication and facilitation skills;
Self-starting and ability to work independently.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in International Human Rights, International Relations, Political Science, or related field. A higher post graduate qualification will be a distinct advantage;
Excellent command of common office software (MS Windows, MS Office etc.);
Extensive background knowledge about volunteering, youth, the Arab States, the United Nations, civil society and other human development related areas is highly desirable;
Excellent spoken and written skills in English and Arabic.

Experience:

At least five (5) years of proven experience in conducting assessment on the legal and institutional frameworks and facilitating policy dialogue events. Previous experience with the UN is an advantage;
Experience of living, working and/or volunteering in developing countries is an advantage.

Language:

The language of the consultancy is English and Arabic.

Additional Information Required:

At least three references from previous clients: name, address, e-mail, and telephone number;
An up-to-date CV or brief description of relevant experience including contact name, telephone number and e-mail;
Proof of any previous relevant work carried out e.g. portfolio of similar work, links to websites, and evaluations of previous work;
A financial quotation, which includes breakdown of daily fees, travel expenses and any other possible costs associated with this consultancy;
A proposal (a maximum of 500 words) in English, on how you would approach and plan this consultancy to ensure its success.