UNDP Jobs - 76894- Rule of Law - Corrections Consultant

Rule of Law - Corrections Consultant

Location :

Various

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

05-Mar-2018

Application Deadline :

28-Feb-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Up to 12 months

Languages Required :

Arabic English French Spanish

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

Strengthening Rule of Law is a cornerstone in the overall support that UNDP provides and key for sustainable development, peacebuilding and state building. Today, following over a decade of delivering concentrated support in the rule of law and human rights area, UNDP is a global policy leader and the main implementer of comprehensive, sector-wide rule of law programmes on behalf of the UN system.

UNDP´s Global Programme on Strengthening the Rule of Law and Human Rights for Sustaining Peace and Fostering Development is specially designed to increase justice, security and respect for human rights in contexts affected by crises and conflict. It offers a comprehensive, flexible framework which allows for both rapid response to crises as well as continued support for sustaining peace.

Part of the support in this area is provided under the auspices of the Global Focal Point for Police, Justice and Corrections Areas in the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict and other Crisis Situations (GFP) which is an innovative arrangement for system wide rule of law assistance including coordinated joint approaches and delivery in missions, non-missions and transition settings.

In crisis-affected and fragile contexts, rule of law institutions are frequently undermined and prison/ corrections services are no exceptions. Corrections is an integrated component in the broader rule of law support that UNDP provides and part of the holistic approach to institution building which emphasize on the confidence building between society and the state, where capable and accountable institutions are established and strengthened to increase and improve the service delivery.

UNDP aims to strengthen the capacity of prison and other corrections systems to comply with international standards (including human rights standards) through means such as reconstruction, refurbishment, security, training, promoting new penitentiary solutions, and developing linkages to broader justice and security reform processes.

The current generic call aims to build Crisis Response Unit’s ExpRes roster capacity of consultants with relevant experience in Corrections. The Experts Roster for Rapid Response (ExpRes) is a recruitment and deployment mechanism which maintains pre-vetted consultants on a roster and contracts them quickly for country office support. The primary purpose of this roster has been to deploy Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) technical experts to UNDP Country Offices on short notice.

The Experts Roster for Rapid Response (ExpRes) provides pre-selected and technically vetted consultants across 21 profiles and 79 sub-profiles to support the work of UNDP Country Offices/units and other UNDP partner agencies in the area of crisis prevention and recovery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Consultants will provide advisory support to clients (UNDP offices, national project teams, and national stakeholders including governments, civil society organizations and affected communities). This is a generic corrections profile and the range of tasks for the consultant depend on the demand in the field and differs according to the assignment. It may include research, diagnostic missions, provision of strategic advice, capacity assessments and capacity development activities, strategic development and implementation of projects and policies, on-site support to programme identification and development, monitoring and evaluation, legislation drafting, negotiation and coordination with public/private partners and stakeholders, partnership development, community engagement and outreach.

Requirements for specific competencies, qualifications, duties and responsibilities will be outlined in assignment TORs and specific reporting and working relationships will be specified at the time of contracting.

Since UNDP is engaged in a broad spectrum of corrections support activities in crises- and conflict affected contexts with diverse level of development the need for specific technical expertise and experience varies greatly. Outlined in this section are some of the skillsets and technical expertise areas of particular interest to be able to meet the demands from the field.

Institutional reform. Organizational restructuring, prison management and leadership development, budget and resource allocation, strategic planning processes etc.
Policy development. Develop and draft strategies, policy guidance, action plans etc.
Procedures development. Develop and draft Standard Operation Procedures, checklists guidelines, job descriptions, routines etc.
Capacity Building. Training needs analysis, curriculum development, organize, plan and carry out training programmes.
Assessments. Conduct assessments, mapping exercises, needs analysis.
Inspections. Develop and support internal inspections and audit functions.
Administration. Strengthening admission procedures, record keeping and file management systems.
Human Rights. Develop systems to ensure compliance with International Human Right Standards for prisoners with particular attention to vulnerable and marginalized groups.
Individual plans. Development of risk and need assessment tools, classification categories, allocation plans and structures for individual sentence planning.
Rehabilitation programming. Conceptualize, develop and roll out Rehabilitation programmes, including psychosocial-, treatment-, motivational-, behavior- and educational programs.
Vocational training. Conceptualize, develop and roll out Vocational training programs for different crafts, for example tailoring, agriculture, masonry etc.
Work programs. Conceptualize, develop and roll out work programs and Prison Industries.
Social reintegration. Develop social reintegration schemes, including community liaison, pre- and post-release support.
Probation and aftercare. Establish and/or strengthening probation and parole systems, alternatives to sentencing, community based sanctions.
Prison Engineering. Support restoration, renovation and refurbishment of prison infrastructure and build facility maintenance capacity.
Prison Security. Support development of security regimes, with a human right based approach and including concepts of Procedural- and Dynamic Security.
Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE). Develop and support initiatives and projects related to PVE and radicalization in prisons.

Competencies

Corporate:

Demonstrate integrity by modeling the UN values and high ethical standards
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP
Good understanding of UNDP programming modalities and processes, particularly in crises and post- conflict settings
Knowledge of UN system inter-agency collaboration

Professional

Ability to perform and deliver as part of a team
Ability to work under pressure, navigate challenging situations and meet strict deadlines
Ability to work in complex environments requiring liaison and collaboration with multiple actors
Ability to strategic planning, ensure result-based management and reporting

Managerial

Excellent negotiation and advocacy skills
Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors
Schedule activities and ensure optimum use of time and resources

Behavior

Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
Self-reliant, well organized and able to work independently
Ability to demonstrate sensitivity, tact and diplomacy

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A minimum of a Master’s degree or equivalent in Law, Criminal Justice, Social Sciences, Political Science, Development Studies or other relevant field. A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years of progressive professional corrections experience with substantive and technical expertise in general corrections matters, including very good understanding of international human rights standards governing the treatment of prisoners
Exposure and experience of prison reform and capacity development support in contexts affected by fragility and experience of working with government authorities as well as with civil society and international organizations.
Cutting edge expertise coupled with experience in some of the thematic areas listed under Profiles is highly desirable and seen as a merit in the recruitment.

Additional experience:

Excellent knowledge of development issues and the internationally agreed SDGs.
Proven ability to conceptualize, develop, plan and manage corrections programmes/projects.
Strong research and coordination skills, analytical capacities and ability to synthesize complex inputs into coherent support.
Experience of sector wide approaches, partnership building and inter-agency coordination.

Experience of providing support, technical advice and guidance to national institutions in diverse working environments.

Application Submission Process:

Applicants are required to submit a P11 form (UNDP P-11 Form for ICs) and short cover letter. All applicants will be screened against the above criteria and the successful candidates will be invited to join CRU’s ExpRes roster.