UNDP Jobs - 65505- Chief Technical Advisor

Chief Technical Advisor – Rule of Law

Location :

Nay Pyi Daw, Myanmar, MYANMAR

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

27-Apr-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year

Languages Required :

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

Myanmar is going through rapid and unprecedented change as it transitions from over 50 years of military rule to civilian rule. Since the introduction of a new Constitution in 2008, there have been a sequence of far-reaching political, economic, administrative and private sector reforms. Nationwide Parliamentary Elections were carried out in November 2015, with the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) winning an overall victory. A new NLD led Government will take over power in April 2015.

It is anticipated that justice sector reforms will be prioritised and gain more prominence and under a new NLD Government, and that there will be renewed efforts to establish an overall justice sector strategy. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD leader, has highlighted ‘rule of law’ as a priority in her former role as the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Rule of Law and Tranquility.

The Justice Sector in Myanmar has been widely affected by decades of military influence and rule. Research indicates that there is widespread distrust in the judicial system and men and women prefer to resolve disputes outside the courts. Efforts are needed to increase access and trust in the justice sector, to promote the independence and integrity of the judiciary and to overhaul colonial era legislation, systems and practices in line with modern day international human rights standards and best practice.

Since the start of the Myanmar reform process, justice sector reforms have not been as prominent or visible as other reform areas. In spite of this UNDP has been working with other development partners to promote changes and processes that set the foundations for comprehensive justice sector reform, that can be built upon by a new administration. There are now examples of more inclusive processes to develop access to justice related policies. Recently the need for a coordinated approach to justice sector reform seems to have gained traction. Both the Office of the Union Attorney General and the Supreme Court of the Union have recently developed strategic plans, with support from UNDP and other international development partners. These plans outline long terms visions for the transformation of these institutions so that they are better focused on the delivery of justice. There is an increased focus on initiatives that promote wider and more equitable access and delivery of justice to poor and vulnerable populations, including the promotion of legal education, but there is still a lot more to be done.

The UNDP Global Strategic Plan for 2014-2017; highlights the importance of Rule of Law for democratic governance. The second strategic outcome states that “Citizens expectations for voice, development, the rule of law and accountability are met by stronger systems of democratic governance.”

The UNDP Myanmar Country Action Plan (CPAP) 2013-17 contains three pillars covering (i) Local Governance; (ii) Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Disaster Risk Reduction and (iii) Democratic Governance. A new Country Programme will be developed in 2017 and will start to be implemented in 2018. The Rule of Law and Access to Justice output falls under the Democratic Governance Programme, which contains four areas of complementary work. The Democratic Governance team is split across numerous locations including Yangon, Naw Pyi Daw, Mandalay, Myikyina, Taungyii and Mawlaymine. The four areas of work or outputs are as follows:
Output 1: Development Effectiveness;
Output 2: Parliamentary Strengthening;
Output 3: Rule of Law and Access to Justice;
Output 4: Public Administration.

The Rule of Law and Access to Justice Output seeks to achieve the following result by 2017:
“Justice institutions equipped to develop and implement frameworks for justice sector reform that reflect the needs of diverse groups, especially women and vulnerable groups.” In order to achieve this output, work is currently focused on the areas of: coordinating overall justice sector reforms, capacity development and training, and expanding access to justice.

The Union Government of Myanmar is located in Naw Pyi Daw, approximately 1 hour flight away from Yangon where the UNDP Myanmar Country Office is located. Accommodation and education options are currently limited in Naw Pyi Daw, although there is a possibility that this might change. The Democratic Governance programme team is split between Yangon, Naw Pyi Daw and other Region/ State capitals. Both the Team Leader and Programme Specialist Rule of Law and Access to Justice are based in Yangon. There are three Chief Technical Advisors (Rule of Law and Access to Justice, Parliament and Public Administration) based in Naw Pyi Daw.

Under the direct supervision of the team leader Democratic Governance, the Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) will be based in Naw Pyi Daw with the primary function to provide strategic and technical advice to Justice Sector counterparts to advance justice sector reform. His/ her office will be based with the Union Attorney General’s Office, and the CTA will also be expected to work closely with other Justice Sector institutions namely, (as currently set up), the Office of the Supreme Court of the Union, the Ministry of Home Affairs (General Administration Department, Police), the President’s Office and relevant Parliamentary stakeholders such as the Rule of Law and Tranquility Committee and civil society actors. (Due to the impending change of government, there might be institutional changes in Ministerial and Parliamentary Committee set ups.)

The Chief Technical Adviser will work closely with the Rule of Law/ Access to Justice Programme Specialist based in Yangon and the wider Rule of Law and Access to Justice team based not only in Yangon but in Mandalay (Mandalay Region), Taungyii (Shan State) and Myitkyina (Kachin State). The Chief Techical Adviser will supervise and be supported by a National Programme officer based in Nay Pyi Daw and also be provided with logistical and administrative support by staff from UNDP’s Nay Pyi Daw office. The CTA will also be expected to work closely with the other Chief Technical Advisers in the Democratic Governance Programme (Parliament and Public Administration).
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Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

The Chief Technical Adviser will provide high-level strategic technical advice to national justice counterparts, principally the Union Attorney Generals Office and the Office of the Supreme Court of the Union. He/she will provide technical direction to the rule of law and access to justice output under the direction of the Democratic Governance Programme Team Leader and contribute to the development of programme formulation processes, work plans and input into monitoring and evaluation activities. He/she is expected to carry out the following functions:

Provides high level technical advice to effectively influence and design a coordinated justice sector strategy;
Provides high level technical advice and expertise to the Union Attorney General’s Office and Office of the Supreme Court on institutional strategic planning and capacity building, leading and implementing relevant areas of the UNDP Rule of Law and Access to Justice workplan;
Provides strategic and technical direction to the UNDP Rule of Law and Access to Justice output;
Effective Knowledge Management.

Provides high level technical advice to effectively influence and design a coordinated justice sector strategy:

Leads on UNDP efforts to influence and carry forward comprehensive justice sector reform in Myanmar engaging with the Union Attorney General’s Office, Office of the Supreme Court of the Union, Parliamentary Committees, Civil Society and other relevant actors;
Conducts through and high quality research and analysis of the justice sector, identifying priority reform areas;
Provides timely and context specific technical advice on emerging strategic policy issues including access to justice, legal aid and institutional performance;
Designs and develop policy/options papers and proposals to enable justice sector reform;
Proposes strategic approaches and priorities for reform implementation, including definition of baselines, performance indicators and monitoring and evaluation;
Develops pilot initiatives for functional partnerships between justice sector institutions and non-governmental organisations, local media and the public;
Effectively coordinates partnerships with other development partners, justice institutions on overall justice sector reform.

Provides high level technical advice and expertise to the Union Attorney General’s Office and Office of the Supreme Court on institutional strategic planning and capacity building, leading and implementing relevant areas of the UNDP Rule of Law and Access to Justice workplan:

Leads, oversees and implements areas of the UNDP Rule of Law workplan providing technical assistance to the implementation of the Union Attorney General Office and Office of the Supreme Court of the Union’s strategic plans;
Leads, oversees and implements training and capacity development initiatives;
Provides effective skills transfer and capacity development to the Union Attorney Generals’ Office and the Office of the Supreme Court on selected thematic areas through study tours, south- south cooperation, training and briefing sessions;
Provides strategic advice and mentoring to Senior Level Justice officials as required.

Provides strategic direction and technical direction and oversight to the UNDP Rule of Law and Access to Justice output:

Under the direction of the Team Leader, Democratic Governance, leads the development of the strategic vision for the rule of law/ access to justice of the Democratic Governance Programme (or successor programme) in a post-election context;
Prepares research documents and inputs to inform the direction of the new Country Programme Document (from 2018) as it pertains to Rule of Law and Access to Justice;
Provides advice and coherence and connectivity between planned and ongoing justice sector reforms and other ongoing reforms in the area of democratic governance (ie. administrative reforms, parliamentary reforms;
Proposes ways to ensure that UNDP rule of law and access to justice activities are better linked as part of efforts to bridge gaps in justice sector provision between formal and informal mechanisms, union, state/ regional and grassroots levels etc;
Provides inputs into the development of regional and state justice strategies for the rule of law/ access to justice output;
Contributes to annual work planning processes in a consultative manner;
Ensures technical soundness of rule of law output activities and achievement of results;
Ensures technical work undertaken across the output is in line with international good practice and adapted to the local context;
Integrates and promotes a human rights based approach to the rule of law, ensuring the mainstreaming of initiatives for the promotion and protection of human rights and gender equality;
Contributes to preparation of Terms of Reference and design for such events as training (curricula, courses, schedules), study tours, conferences and workshops, and to advise UNDP on the joint approval and sign-off of these documents;
Contributes to the formulation/improvement of an effective monitoring and evaluation system of the output and reports on progress, including reporting to UNDP, development partners and national stakeholders on progress;
Effectively coordinates with other UN agencies who work on justice issues (UNICEF, UNHCR, UNODC, UNFPA, OHCHR) to develop inter-agency synergies.

Effective Knowledge Management:

Produces at least one knowledge product on justice sector /rule of law reform and/or access to justice in Myanmar per year;
Raises visibility of the RoL/A2J programme strategies through knowledge sharing and well developed communication materials;
Selects and brings lessons learnt to help achieve the outputs of the programme and facilitating the use of global knowledge networks in the field;
Shares programme results including through reviewing programme publications, and by taking responsibility for knowledge networking with national agencies and UNDP’s global community.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Promotes UN's Values and ethical standards (tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation, impartiality);
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and sensitivity and adaptability;
Demonstrates integrity by modelling in the UN's values and ethical standards (Human Rights, peace, understanding between people and nations, tolerance, integrity, respect, results orientation, UNDP core ethics, impartiality;
Promotes excellent team work, putting team work and team objectives before personal objectives;
Demonstrates outstanding teamwork competencies by consulting widely, seeking views from all interested parties within and outside the team and listening attentively to them and shares joint responsibility with, and supports, team colleagues.

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Possess expert knowledge of advanced concepts in rule of law and access to justice, a broad knowledge of related disciplines;
Applies knowledge to support UNDP’s objectives and to further the mandate of the organization.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example, excellent knowledge of capacity building theory and the application of methodology, good understanding of capacity assessment methodologies, excellent ability to identify significant capacity building opportunities, ability to get capacity building, excellent ability to demonstrate national capacities building (mastery of the tools and their application);
Display understanding of the relevant contemporary ICT tools and continuously act towards personal capacity building.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

Ability to engage with high ranking UNDP Managers, Government Officials and international donor community and provide policy advisory services;
Ability to identify opportunities, conceptualize and develop project reports;
Ability to effectively lead strategic planning, and contribute to results-based management and reporting;
Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavioural/attitude change.

Management and Leadership:

Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Builds strong relationship with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback, timely responses to queries;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Demonstrates strong administrative skills and result oriented approach to work;
Provides inspiration and leadership to project staff as well as all the partners.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master Degree in Law or related field.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience in rule of law and access to justice including at least five years in a senior position in an international development role in judicial or law reform;
Experience in assisting with designing sector wide approaches to justice reform, including experience developing a nationally owned justice strategy;
Experience in access to justice in developing and/or transition contexts;
Understanding of protocols and cultural norms related to change processes of the justice sector including judges, lawyers, police, and prison officials;
Excellent analytical and interpersonal skills including oral and written communication;
Excellent team player with an ability to work in a multi-cultural team split across multiple locations;
Experience of working in a technical advisory role in a justice institution is an advantage;
Demonstrated programme management skills including: results-based orientation, preparation of work plans, monitoring and evaluation is an advantage;
Previous experience in UNDP and in Myanmar and/or south-east Asia would be an advantage.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English.