UNDP Jobs - 74021- Consultant on Rule of Law & Regional War Crimes

Consultant on Rule of Law & Regional War Crimes

Location :

Home-based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

25-Aug-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

estimated 15 September 2017 - 31 July 2018

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

approx. 80 working days

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

The “Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Processing of War Crimes and the Search for Missing Persons” is a regional project of UNDP, which builds on the Guidelines for enhancing regional cooperation in war crimes processing signed and agreed by the three prosecutors of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. This enables the project to build on a structure accepted by the national partners, ensuring national ownership and sustainability of results. The project aims to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of cooperation between the prosecution services and institutions for search of missing persons of former Yugoslavia, i.e., Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia in the processing of war crimes and to further enhance capacities for the search for missing persons from the armed conflicts.

The project is currently at its initiation stage, aimed to kick start the regional project with the seed funding. The larger-scale project is currently being finalized by Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) in close cooperation with the Country Offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Serbia and Montenegro. The draft project document was presented in February 2017 to the Prosecutors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia and representatives of the institutions for search of missing persons (IMPs) at the regional consultation meeting in Zagreb (Minutes of the meeting enclosed). The project received strong support from these counterparts and their views are now being integrated into the final draft of the Project Document. The estimated budget of this project is USD 3.3 million, already being discussed with several donors, including EU, Swiss, UK and US.

The Initiation Plan will support the actions that enable finalization of the project document and shall prepare grounds for its efficient implementation. It will also continue efforts in facilitating the dialogue of stakeholders on regional cooperation, assist in preparing assessments, researches and will pilot capacity development activities. The Initiation Plan will also help to test and identify effective mechanisms to enhance the regional cooperation, as well as establish key baselines for the full-scale project. The resource mobilization strategy will be also developed and implemented within duration of the Initiation Plan to secure funding for the full-fledged regional project.

The Initiation Plan will be directly implemented by IRH, supported by the Country Offices in BiH, Montenegro and Serbia. The consultant will be hired to support delivery of the Initiation Plan in Montenegro in close collaboration with the State Prosecutor’s Office, Commission for Missing Persons and other relevant stakeholders. S/he will also provide support to delivery of the IRH Regional Programme’s components related to Rule of Law, Justice, Security and Human Rights through arranging exchange events for other countries in the region that are interested to learn about Montenegro’s experience in rule of law and justice.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programme Specialist and in close cooperation with the Project Manager of Regional War Crimes project (based in BiH) and the Governance Team Leader of UNDP in Montenegro. The primary objective of the present consultancy is to act as country’s liaison for the regional project and facilitate timely and efficient collaboration of the project with the Montenegrin authorities and their counterparts in the countries, covered by the project.

In particular, the Consultant will:

Ensure cooperation with the Montenegrin authorities for Regional War Crimes project through bilateral and multilateral consultations and efficient technical collaboration with Montenegrin Prosecutor’s Office and Commission for Missing Persons and other stakeholders, regarding the project
Facilitation of bilateral operational, peer-to-peer working meetings of Montenegrin Prosecutor’s Office and Commission for Missing Persons with other countries’ counterparts
Provide advice and strategic guidance on the project implementation as it relates to review of legal obstacles for the regional cooperation, joint criteria for selection of cases, joint procedures for transfer of cases, exchange of information on specific cases, and facilitation of the victim and witness protection system, etc.
Cooperate closely with IRH and project focal points in countries covered by the project
Facilitate arrangements for rule of law and justice related exchange events under the IRH Regional Programme
Perform other tasks related to the assignment

Deliverables and timeframe:
The Consultant will report about the progress of activities to the Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programme Specialist at UNDP IRH in written.

Deliverables and estimated timeline:

The report on facilitation of bilateral operational, peer-to-peer working meetings of Montenegrin Prosecutor’s Office and Commission for Missing Persons with other countries to conduct the research and joint review of the selected war crimes. (app.15 days) (by November 15 2017)
Implementation and detailed report on support to Montenegrin authorities with regard to RWC project implementation, including on their participation in the regional consultations, development of the joint criteria for selection of cases, joint procedures for transfer of cases, exchange of information on specific cases, and facilitation and strengthening of the victim and witness support system, etc. (app. 20 days) (by 20 December 2017)
Draft review of legal obstacles in regional cooperation on processing war crimes, the search for missing persons, and related matters such as victim and witness support/protection, access to justice etc. (app.5 days) (by 15 March 2018)
Report on the inputs to the capacity needs assessment of Montenegrin Prosecutor’s Office and Commission for Missing Persons, the design of an outreach strategy, including the guidelines on the public information and media and the review on exchange of information between countries. (app.20 days) (by 15 May 2018)
Lead on Assessments of victim and witness support services in Montenegro; Develop policy and training manual guidance on VWS, including on development of SOPs/procedural framework; (app.20 days) (by 15 July 2018)

Payment schedule:

Deliverable 1: 10% of the lump sum;
Deliverable 2: 20% of the lump sum;
Deliverable 3: 10% of the lump sum;
Deliverable 4: 20% of the lump sum;
Deliverable 5: 20% of the lump sum.

In cases, when travel required, they will be covered by the project budget.

Competencies

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.

Functional Competencies:

Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in team and multi-cultural environments;
Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree in the areas of Law, Political Science, International Relations or a related discipline.

Experience:

At least 5 years of combined progressively responsible experience in the field of rule of law, justice and free legal aid in Montenegro;
Proven track record in project management, legal advice and report writing;
Experience in liaising and collaborating with the Government partners and Civil Society;
Experience with United Nations and inter-agency work is an asset.

Language:

Fluency in oral and written Montenegrin and English 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:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical (P11 desk reviews) 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. 35 points:

Criteria A (At least 5 years of combined progressively responsible experience in the field of rule of law, justice and free legal aid in Montenegro) – max points: 10
Criteria B (Proven track record in project management, legal advice and report writing) max points: 10
Criteria C (Experience in liaising and collaborating with the Government partners and Civil Society) – max points: 10
Criteria D (Experience with United Nations and inter-agency work) – max points: 5

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 points.

Application procedures:
Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. 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.
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
Financial Proposal* in USD - specifying total all-inclusive lump sum amount for tasks specified in this announcement.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

*Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services).

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner. Individual Consultants are responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director. Consultants are also required to comply with the UN security directives set forth under dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
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.