Background

Albania has committed to strengthening the rule of law and human rights through its ratification of international and regional treaties and its adherence to the 2030 development agenda.  The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights recognize equality before the law and before the courts and rights to a fair trial, to free legal assistance in criminal matters, to liberty and security of the person and to property as well as freedom from discrimination, protection of which are key elements of strengthening the rule of law.  Sustainable Development Goal 16 of the 2030 Development Agenda sets the goal of peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions as crucial to development. To support Albania’s international commitments to the implementation of international human rights standards, gender equality, environmental sustainability, and development of national capacities the Government of Albania and the United Nations signed in 2016 the Programme of Cooperation 2017-2021. While UN agencies will be required to mainstream gender in all their activities and projects, the Programme also envisages interventions focused entirely or considerably on gender equality issues, organized in the following outcomes:

Outcome 1: State and civil society organizations perform effectively and with accountability for consolidated democracy in line with international norms and standards.

Outcome 2 – All women, men, girls and boys, especially those from marginalized and vulnerable groups, are exercising their entitlements to equitable quality services, in line with human rights; and more effective and efficient investments in human and financial resources are being made at central and local levels to ensure social inclusion and cohesion.

Outcome 3 - Economic growth priorities, policies, and programs of the GoA are inclusive, sustainable, and gender-responsive, with greater focus on competitiveness, decent jobs and rural development.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNDP defines access to justice as “the ability of people, particularly those belonging to poor and disadvantaged groups, to seek and obtain a remedy through formal and informal justice systems, in accordance with human rights principles and standards”.

UNDP has already commissioned a comprehensive assessment made up of qualitative and quantitative components. The survey is focusing on vulnerable groups (rural women, women as heads of households, victims of gender based and domestic violence, including women and girls with protection orders, Roma and Egyptians, persons with disabilities, LGBTI persons, ethnic minorities, victims of human trafficking, elderly men and women, welfare aid beneficiaries to name just a few), looking at both their capacity to access justice and on the capacities of service providers to deliver justice and will look at the whole justice process from the occurrence of a grievance to the provision of remedies. The findings of the assessment and the process itself of the assessment will be used support national partners in the design of national mechanisms for providing equal access to justice especially at a very crucial moment for Albania with its justice system reform and its commitments with regard to Access to Justice and FLA. Quantitative and qualitative data generated through the survey will provide a much needed baseline to allow for effective Monitoring &Evaluation of progress of national reforms and UNDP support/interventions in this area.

UNDP is therefore seeking the services of an expert to support the implementation of activities Output 3 - Supporting practical initiatives to increase A2J for vulnerable groups” the UNDP project “For a more Accessible Justice for Albanian Women and Men” and more specifically:

Main tasks and responsibilities

• In collaboration with the Programme Manager, organize consultations with heads of district courts in the pilot areas and CSOs which offer legal aid services to discuss the modalities for the establishment of legal aid centers within the premises of the Courts in Tirana, Durres, Fier and Lezhe;

• Based on the outcome of the consultations, develop a proposal/concept note on the design of the legal aid centers in four piloted courts, including description of services to be offered, the staffing/resource requirements, target groups and the practical steps to be followed for the establishment of the clinics;
• Prepare draft agreements on the establishment of legal aid centers to be concluded with each Court;
• Support the Programme Manager to establish a network of free legal aid providers (CSOs), which will be offering legal services in four pilot court districts and discuss/negotiate the terms of collaboration between them and UNDP.
• Based on the outcome of the meetings prepare draft grant agreements to be concluded with selected CSOs;
• Maintain communication on behalf of UNDP with heads of courts/assigned staff from the court, the Ministry of Justice and legal aid service providers on the issues related to the establishment and functioning of the legal aid centers and coordinate communication among them;
• Support the Programme Manager to oversee the provision of legal aid services by the CSOs in each piloted district court in accordance with the provisions of agreements concluded with the Courts and CSOs and support them with necessary expertise and coordination;
• Draft materials for information packages to increase knowledge of vulnerable citizens on legal aid providers and protecting mechanisms and coordinate the publication process, including printing in accessible hard copy and online formats;
• Collaborate with network of legal aid providers to organize street law initiatives aiming at legal education of vulnerable citizens (in coordination with STAR 2 project). Special efforts will be made to reach women and girls, victims of BGV&DV; 
• Coordinate the development of a user-friendly manual/toolkit on citizen’s rights to legal aid and access to justice for the offices of People’s Advocate and Antidiscrimination Commissioner and organization of 6 open days at local level;
• Develop modalities for supporting two local offices of People’s Advocates to offer legal advice to citizens for issues that need or need not redress to court processes;
• Other tasks related to the project as requested by the Programme manager

Expected Outputs and Timeline

Deliverables:

• Prepare all draft documents relevant for the cooperation with courts and draft grant agreements with legal aid service providers;
• Legal Aid Centers established and supported in four piloted district courts and clinic services in each districts supervised for quality assurance at least once in two weeks;
• Regular reports on the provision of legal aid services by legal aid providers prepared and submitted to UNDP;
• Materials for information packages to increase knowledge of vulnerable citizens on legal aid providers developed and online and hard copy versions published
• Street Law initiatives organized by CSOs and reports on the outcomes of these activities prepared for UNDP;
• A user-friendly manual/toolkit on citizen’s rights to legal aid and access to justice prepared for the offices of People’s Advocate and Antidiscrimination Commissioner and organization of 6 open days at local level;
• Modalities for supporting of the two local offices of People’s Advocates to offer legal advice to citizens for issues that need or need not redress to court processes;
• Final report prepared analyzing lessons learned and recommending future development for national ‘scaling –up’ of project.

Timeframe:

• The expected duration of the assignment is for a period of 6 months, starting from July - December 2017, for a maximum of 48 working days.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by upholding the United Nations' values and ethical standards;
• Appreciate differences in values and learning from cultural diversities;
• Promotes UNDP vision, mission and strategic goals;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age-based sensitivity and adaptability;
• Demonstrates diplomacy and tact in dealing with sensitive and complex situations;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent understanding of domestic legal framework in relation to access to justice;
• Ability to use critical thinking, conceptualize ideas, and articulate relevant subject matter in a clear and concise way;
• Excellent writing skills with a strong background in report drafting;
• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity  
• Facilitating and encouraging open communication, communicating effectively.
• Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter;
• Demonstrates ability to negotiate and apply good judgment;
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

• Masters’ degree in law or social studies with specialized training/education in human rights;

Work experience:

• Minimum 7 years relevant experience working in the legal and/or human rights issues;
• Excellent knowledge of ground situation, justice and administrative systems of Albania
• Experience in working with government officials and civil society organizations desirable in particular related to the justice sector;
• Experience conducting assessments/monitoring work in the related area;
• Excellent writing and reporting skills;
• Availability and willingness and personal initiative to travel and engage in field work with the project’s partners;
• Prior experience with UN or multilateral organizations in the field of human rights preferred;

Language skills:

• Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills in English and Albanian is required.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max. 70 points:

• Criteria A: Compliant educational background - max points: 35
• Criteria B: Demonstrated knowledge and experience as per the respective ToRs - max points: 15
• Criteria C: Extensive experience in legal/human rights/social sector with specialized training in human rights - max points: 20

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points.

Application Procedure

Interested applicants are advised to carefully study all sections of this ToRs and ensure that they meet the general requirements as well as specific qualifications described. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
• Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability-please fill in the attached form...http://www.un.org.al/editor-files/file/PSU_%20ICLA.doc.
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. Download here.
• Financial Proposal in ALL* - specifying a total lump sum in Albanian Lek  for the tasks specified in this announcement.  The attached template may be used - http://www.un.org.al/editor-files/file/Financial%20Offer%20template.doc. Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services).
• Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport.

*Kindly note that Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal are two separate documents and should be both part of your application.

How to Submit the Application:

To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs);
• Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs), Financial Proposal Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and cover letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click “Submit Application;”
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

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.