Background

UNDP Global Mission Statement:

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP supports the Government in achieving a number of development benchmarks of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) in the field of security and the rule of law, civil service reform, transparency and accountability, local governance, political processes (support to the Elections Commission and the newly elected parliament), civil society empowerment, youth, gender equality, human rights, environment and rural energy, the reintegration of former combatants into society, as well as rural development and private sector development.

 The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works with the Government to develop local capacity and provide Afghan solutions for Afghanistan. UNDP Afghanistan programmes partner with Afghan institutions to focus on crisis prevention and recovery; democratic governance, and poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods, in line with the goals laid down by the Government in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS).

Organizational context:

UNDP Afghanistan’s long-term support to the justice sector has entered a new phase with the start of the Afghanistan Access to Justice (AA2J) project. AA2J draws on the lessons learned through previous UNDP justice projects– Strengthening the Justice System of Afghanistan (SJSA), Access to Justice at District Level (AJDL) and Justice and Human Rights in Afghanistan (JHRA) Phase I and phase II.

AA2J Project was initiated in April 2016. The Project will leverage on the work undertaken in phase I and phase II of JHRA and deepen the interventions at the national level and provincial levels and attempt to work across the justice sector, involving the rule of law service providers. The project should also establish links between UNDP’s work on justice and human rights and other relevant projects in the broader Rule of Law portfolio.

The project has 3 outcome areas:

• Legal aid and awareness;
• Justice sector coordination with a particular focus on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW);
• Capacity development for the Ministry of Justice, particularly as regards human rights and legislative drafting.

Output 2 “Justice Sector Integration and Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW)” supports interventions that increase access to justice for women who are victims of (domestic) violence, AA2J is working with all relevant stakeholders in the gender justice chain to harmonize working modalities and strengthen coordination mechanisms.

The Independent National Legal Training Centre (INLTC) was established in Kabul in 2007 and has been financially supported by the governments of Italy and the USA. The Kabul branch started to conduct Stage Training (Induction courses for new judges and prosecutors), covering more than 200 trainees annually until 2011. In 2011, the presidential decree No. 2402, regulated that the center was to work under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), as to structure and budget management, and to be annexed to Kabul University. While integration of the NLTC into the structure of Kabul University has not happened within the last seven years, other advisory board members, namely the Justice sector institutions (the Supreme Court, Attorney General’s Office and the AIBA) have raised their dissatisfaction about the modality of decision making, and academic nature of courses provided by the NLTC. Therefore, they have started to initiate separate stage trainings with the support of various donor countries for the last several years.

In line with the Justice and Judicial Reform Plan a considerable political momentum is predicted among Government actors, namely the 2nd Vice President (2nd VP) Office that is to adopt a new plan for harmonization and reunification judicial education / training system for all justice institutions under the umbrella of the National Legal Training Centre (NLTC). The envisaged system will ensure sustainability, cost-effectiveness, quality, evidence based planning and knowledge transfer, and better targeting of the various needs of the trainees according to their classifications and actual needs. However, the main goal is to have a uniform understanding, interpretation and application by the justice sector actors for the one legal framework throughout Afghanistan. This will ultimately promote national and territorial unity of Afghanistan under the existing fragility, multi-ethnicity and security instability. To fulfil this mission, national partners will require an extensive package of technical assistance to help them revise and restructure the NLTC in terms of formation and roles of the advisory board, administrative hierarchy, bulaw, organizational structure and managerial hierarchy modality of decision making, curriculum design, and operational plans etc.

Objectives of the Assignment

Working under overall supervision of the AA2J Project Manager and direct supervision of the AA2J Project Management Specialist (output 2), the international consultant will provide technical expertise to the 2nd VP Office and the NLTC management.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work and Deliverables:

The International Consultant will be achieving the following tasks:

• Assess, review the regulatory framework and amend the NLTC Bylaw: In close coordination with relevant actors within the MOJ and the 2nd VP Office, the consultant will identify needs for amending the existing bylaw by reviewing the regulatory framework and current NLTC bylaw. The consultant will assess, advise and provide recommendations for developing the necessary establishing documents and the regulatory framework including presidential decree and  cabinet decree as well as the budgeting/resources allocation agreements to ultimately ensure legality and constitutionality of the NLTC operations..   The consultant will re-draft and amend the NLTC bylaw by rendering technical support and advice to involved actors. The draft bylaw will identify modality of nominating, electing, assigning board members, their terms and limits, number of board meetings, board meeting schedules and policies and modality of chairing of the related committees and the other related issues;

• Develop the Organizational Structure of the NLTC: The consultant will develop the organizational structure in close coordination with beneficiaries’ department.  the organizational structure of the NLTC will define how activities are directed to achieve organizational aims.  The consultant should design the organizational structure through a top-down approach which will define work roles, its staff and their functions, modality of task allocation, coordination and supervision aiming to ensure that there is a clear operation of business by:

  • Design organization’s hierarchy of staff and departments as well as how information flows within the organization;

  • Develop a clear mission statement for the organization which includes the inter-relationship between workers at every level as well as inspiring innovation and ensuring efficiency;

  • Design the overall chain of command for the organization by adding subordinate roles and the process of reporting to the chain of command and determining the authority and responsibility to be assigned to each position;

  • Develop an organogram for organization ensuring that it has clear units that ensure good communication and avoid duplication and overlapping.

• Design the Curriculum of the NLTC: The consultant will be responsible for designing the NLTC curriculum to make it more structural, modern and reflective to the current needs of the judicial sectors. The training curriculum should be developed based on needs identification aiming to bring uniformity into the judicial trainings at national level. The consultant should identify the learning needs and based on that design trainings and develop monitoring mechanisms. The curriculum topics should be tailored according to the beneficiaries’ requirements covering programmes, courses and sessions of general trainings, pre-service training, in-service training, training of trainers, capacity building training and performance evaluation training;

• Submit final report on successful completion of tasks, with lessons learnt and recommendations to the 2nd VP Office and UNDP.

Payment Modality:

The Payments will be processed upon successful delivery of mentioned services and endorsement of the 2nd VP Office and UNDP in three (3) instalments as per the following deliverables:

Deliverables/Outputs; Timeframe and Payment Percentage:

Deliverable 1: 10 working days; 30%

• Prepare a detailed work plan of the assignment;

• Undertake needs identification;

• Develop and present the final draft of the amended NLTC bylaw.

Deliverable 2: 15 working days; 40%

• Develop, finalize and present the organizational structure for the NLTC;

• Develop, finalize and present the curriculum for the NLTC.

Deliverable 3: 5 working days; 30%

• Submit the final report with lessons learnt and recommendations.

The payment will be processed after the approval of the final report by the component manager and the project manager.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

• Project implementation experience with the UN system is a strong asset;

• Strong organizational and reporting skills;

• Results oriented, strong team player with outstanding interpersonal and coordination skills;

• Ability to work independently;

• Strong managerial competency with experience in results based management and results oriented approach to project implementation;

• Ability to establish substantive professional relationships with all stakeholders;

• Familiarity with post-conflict environments is an asset.

Functional Competencies:

• Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office;

• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;

• Ability to provide top quality policy advice;

• In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;

• Good interpersonal and diplomacy skills that allow for working productively as part of a larger team;

• Ability to use critical thinking, conceptualize ideas, and articulate relevant subject matter in a clear and concise way;

• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, Dari or Pashto;

• Ability to communicate effectively with and relate to people of different cultures, demonstrating an ability to see issues from other perspectives.

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience;

• Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Ability to perform a broad range of activities aimed at effective and efficient functioning of plan for harmonization and reunification judicial education / training system;

• Confidentiality of 2nd VP Office.

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;

• Remains calm, in control and good humoured even under pressure;

• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master or Bachelor Degree in Law or Public Policy is a requirement.

Experience:

• Master Degree in relevant field with minimum 5 years of relevant work experience, or Bachelor Degree in relevant field with minimum 7 years of relevant work experience;

• Hands on and practical institutional experience that involves proved programmatic and policy support in the context of Judicial training/ education at national and or international levels;

• Extensive experience in provision of institutional building interventions to various stakeholders;

• Extensive experience in drafting bylaws, analysis of regulatory framework, organizational structure development and curriculum design;

• Ability to interact and engage with high level Government officials and policy-makers;

• Previous experiences of working with similar institutional development processes will be an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English (written and spoken) is must.

 Working Arrangements:

Institutional Arrangements

• The consultant will be working under overall supervision the AA2J Project Manager and direct supervision of AA2J output 2 Project Management Specialist, in close collaboration with the 2nd VP office;
• The Consultant will follow UNDP working hours, ie Sunday-Thursday 07:30-16:00;
• The Consultant will be provided with office space in the AA2J office and work at the MOJ as required for the duration of his/her contract with UNDP;
• Work related communication costs will be covered directly by the project.

Duration of work:

• The total duration of this assignment will be over the period of one and half months (with maximum 30 working days).

Duty station:

The duty station of the consultant is Kabul, Afghanistan. At all times the consultant is required to observe and strictly follow UNDP security and other rules and regulations.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

• Daily Fee – The consultant shall propose a daily fee, which should be inclusive of her/his professional fee, local communication costs and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is maximum 30 working days;
• Living Allowance, LA - The contractor shall propose a LA at the Kabul applicable rate of USD 162 per night for his stay at the duty station. The maximum number of nights for which the LA shall be payable under the contract is 41 nights. The contractor is NOT allowed to stay in a place of his choice other than the UNDSS approved places. UNDP will provide MORSS compliant accommodation in UNOCA complex. The payment of accommodation shall be made directly by the contractor;

• Travel and Visa – The consultant shall propose an estimated lump sum for home-Kabul-home travel and Afghanistan visa expenses.

The total professional fee, shall be converted into a lump sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the abovementioned schedule of payment.

Evaluation Method and Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

• Cumulative Analysis.

The award of the contract shall 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 and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria: weight 70%

* Financial Criteria weight 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria – Maximum 70 points

Criteria A: Technical Approach & Work Plan (30 points)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (20 marks) – This explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach;

• Work Plan (10 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan.

Criteria B: Qualification and Experience (40 marks) [evaluation of CV for shortlisting]:

• Relevant education – 5 points;

• Technical relevant experience – Three (3) years of experience in training/workshop development, design and implementation – 20 points;

• Experience in supporting capacity building and training programs with government or public-sector institutions – 15 points.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Duly accomplished confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;

• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment and work plan as indicated above.