Background

UNDP Global Mission Statement:

The United Nations Development Programme (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. UNDP is 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 stabilization, State-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIROA), the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the State, Ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and sub-national levels. UNDP has played a role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN system to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational context:

UNDP Afghanistan’s Rule of Law and Human Security Unit (ROLHS) Programme Unit supports the Afghan Government in implementing its strategies for Rule of Law, developing its institutional capacity and providing services to the Afghan population. This includes supporting the implementation of the Afghanistan National Strategy for Combatting Corruption, such as the revised benchmarks 4.d. on the Anti-Corruption Justice Center (ACJC) and 1.c. on civil society.

UNDP has developed a Project Initiation Plan (PIP) for Anti-Corruption, “Development Plan for a Nation-Wide Anti-Corruption Project”. The PIP started implementation in January 2018. The PIP is an instrument for UNDP to initiate programmatic engagement on anti-corruption, while developing a full-fledged multi-year Anti-Corruption Project. The activities of the PIP will establish the evidence-base, partnerships and related implementation strategies and modalities that are required for effective implementation of the broader Anti-Corruption Project and its successful

implementation. It is anticipated that the upcoming broader Anti-Corruption Project will be focused around two main pillars namely support to the Government in its implementation of the newly adopted National Strategy for Combatting Corruption; and building more demand from communities, civil society and media for increased transparency and accountability.

The PIP contributes directly to the targets of the broader Rule of Law and Human Security portfolio and works in close coordination with other projects in this cluster and other development actors.

The PIP’s programmatic engagement includes technical and logistical support to the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC). The ACJC has been established by Presidential Decree No. 53, dated 30 June 2016 in order to enhance the fight against major corruption crimes through achieving a more efficient way to expedite, integrate and co-ordinate detection, investigation, prosecution and implementation of court decisions. The jurisdiction of the ACJC is focused on the most serious crimes of corruption either by the amount involved or by the rank of the state official alleged offender[1].

The ACJC is a joint center that includes:

• Major Crimes Taskforce – Reports to Ministry of Interior;

• General Prosecution Directorate – Reporting to Attorney General’s Office;

• Primary and Appeal Courts – Assigned by the Supreme Court;

• Executive Directorate – Reports to the Attorney General.

These functions are collocated within a secure facility in order0 to insulate them from political and other pressures as they detect, investigate, prosecute and adjudicate cases.

The establishment of the ACJC is a major step in the advancement of the investigation and prosecution of major corruption cases and the fight against impunity. It has, since its creation, received 851 cases: 52 cases have been decided by the ACJC Primary Court; 48 cases have been decided by the ACJC Appeal Court; and 36 cases have been decided by the Supreme Court.? Currently there are 199 cases under prosecution at ACJC. Of those cases that have been completed at the primary and appellate level, 40 related to high-ranking officials such as deputy ministers, a mayor, head or members of provincial councils, high-ranking generals and other senior commanders.

Despite these facts, there is still much to be achieved particularly to strengthen the capacity of the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (which is mandated to handle major and high-level government officials' corruption cases). The ACJC is at a critical stage of its development. Continued technical and financial support is essential to ensure continued progress and ultimately self-reliance and full efficiency of the justice center. Without the continued support to the ACJC, the efforts made, and progress achieved may stagnate, endangering what is considered to be the flagship initiative for the efforts of Afghanistan to combat corruption and impunity at its highest level. The ACJC is now at a turning point. While it has proven that it could operate despite a critically challenging environment, it must now prove that the court is capable to tackle increasingly more complex cases in full transparency and ensure its role in communicating to the citizens its efforts and sending the signal that the time for impunity is coming to an end. Supporting the ACJC technically is ensuring that the investments already made yield their full impact.

In 2018, UNDP provided - with the financial support of the Royal Danish Embassy - logistical support to the ACJC for a total value of about 1,000,000 USD. The logistical support principally aimed at equipping the ACJC with the required tools for its functioning on information and technology equipment, security, administrative equipment and vehicles. Under the full-fledge anti-corruption project, expected to begin in June 2019, UNDP plans to provide trainings to the staff of the ACJC.

[1] Directive No. 385, dated 29.4.1395 (2016), of the High Council of the Supreme Court, specifies that the jurisdiction of the ACJC covers cases where the monetary loss exceeds 5 million Afghanis for bribery and 10 million Afghanis for embezzlement, or involves a high-ranking official (one-star general and above, or the civilian equivalent).

Training requirements have been identified in October 2017 and remains substantially the same. Overall, the needs expressed touch upon the three main following areas: laws and procedural laws, strategies for investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating complex crimes and communication and language. Trainings will require practical workshops to develop skills in addition to legal knowledge.

UNDP, recognizing that many different stakeholders have offered and offer trainings to the ACJC on an ad hoc basis, will develop yearly a capacity development plan through needs assessment and in close coordination with the main stakeholders – namely the ACJC staff, executive director and the donors supporting the ACJC. This will ensure that there is coherence, no duplication and that the trainings delivered yield their full potential.

Trainings are a key component of the overall capacity of the ACJC. However, trainings alone cannot guarantee the success of the ACJC without appropriate support given to logistics, security, administrative, communication and policy requirements for the ACJC to reach its full potential. For this reason, UNDP offers to conduct – in addition to the training needs assessment – a full fledge strategic needs assessment in comprising of the elements mentioned above.

Organizational context of the position:

Under the overall supervision of the Chief, Rule of Law and Human Security (ROLHS) Unit, under the direct supervision of the Programme Management Specialist for Anti-Corruption and in close collaboration with the Project Management Analyst for the Anti-Corruption PIP, the Individual Consultant will be responsible for conducting a human resource capacity assessment and designing a yearly training plan for the staff of the ACJC, for the trainings to be implemented under the full-fledge anti-corruption project. In addition, the Consultant will be responsible for conducted a full-scale strategic needs assessment inclusive of the training requirements mentioned above but also of (i) administrative and logistics needs; (ii) security and infrastructure needs; (iii) communication needs; (iv) policy and legislative needs.

The Individual Consultant will undertake close consultations with the senior management of the ACJC and with the Attorney General Office, Ministry of Interior and Supreme Court to ensure that the strategic plan is demand-based. Simultaneously, the Individual Consultant will undertake close consultations with the international community supporting the ACJC, through bilateral and multilateral consultations (using platform such as the ACJC Stock-take meetings) to ensure that there is no duplication of efforts and so as to take stock of past experience of partners in providing trainings, security, logistical, communication, administrative and other support to the ACJC.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the assignment:

This assignment aims at

Designing during the PIP the required tools for the implementation of the trainings for the investigators, prosecutors, judges and administrative staff of the ACJC to assist in increasing their capacity to investigate, prosecute, adjudicate and administrate cases under the jurisdiction of the ACJC. In particular, the tools required are:

• Human resource capacity assessment including an evaluation of the knowledge, experience, competency for all ACJC collocated staff; this assessment will serve as a baseline for the monitoring and evaluation of the trainings to be performed under the full-fledge anti-corruption project;

• Standardized/Yearly training/capacity development plan for the various roles of ACJC staff (investigators, prosecutors, judges and administrative staff) for implementation under the full-fledge anti-corruption project. The yearly training/capacity development plan will include the methodology for the trainings, including sustainability and budgeting.

Designing a full strategic need assessment incompassing – in addition to the above - the following: (i) administrative and logistics needs; (ii) security and infrastructure needs; (iii) communication needs; (iv) policy and legislative needs.

The Individual Consultant (Programme Development – Anti-Corruption) will undertake the following activities as part of the assignment:

• Review Afghanistan anti-corruption literature, ACJC creation, evolution, structure and results achieved as well as current challenges and recurrent issues through literature review and consultation with ACJC staff and national and international experts who are/have been working with the ACJC;

• Assess ACJC institutional capacity including its legal framework, organizational set-up and actual current structure/working mechanisms, governance oversight, human resource management, ability to successfully capitalize on trainings and provide trainings in the longer term, communication capacity and other related components that could be strengthened, identifying areas of potential strategic and technical support to increase the ACJC efficiency and sustainability;

• Assess existing ACJC Human Resources capacity (knowledge, competency and attitude to carry out duties) with the aim of establishing (i) gaps of Human Resource capacity; (ii) a baseline for M&E of the future trainings;

• Assess the current gaps in security/infrastructure as well as in logistical and administrative equipment;

• Update the list of training requirements established in October 2017 through identifying demand for capacity developmentthrough consultations with ACJC staff and the executive directorate, as well as with the Attorney General Office where applicable; illustrate existing standardized (Afghan-owned) relevant training opportunities offered by the involved Afghan institutions (attorney General’s Office, Ministry of Interior, Supreme Court); with a view to Afghan ownership and the sustainability of the international community’s efforts, explore and illustrate the potential to conduct Training of Trainers;

Conduct consultations with international mentors embedded at the ACJC and donors on the trainings, logistical, security, infrastructure, administrative and other support provided in the past, lessons learnt and future plan of support to ensure coherence and no duplication of efforts and to provide a concise overview of these activities (“donor mapping”):

• Draft need assessments for trainings for the staff of the ACJC;

• Draft a strategic need assessment for administrative and logistics; security and infrastructure; communication and legislative and policy framework needs;

• Draft yearly training plan for the staff of the ACJC, developing a standardized catalogue for routinely required trainings differentiating when required between their different units and roles, and including the methodology for trainings. Methodology to conduct the trainings can be mixed, including but not limited to: practical workshops conducted by professionals and/or experts from different countries, mentoring on cases, seminars and immersive trainings. Trainings abroad are to be avoided insofar as is possible. The training plan should also account for the sustainability of the trainings in view of staff turnover. The methodology should seek to maximize the use of in-country resources, skills and knowledge such as the academia, but also of expert institutions such as the financial intelligence unit (FinTRACA) and Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), taking into account and including existing national training opportunities, and thus identifying gaps to be filled with support of the international community;

• Draft a yearly development plan including all the areas of support needed.

Deliverables:

• Deliverable 1: 5 days, 10%
  • Workplan and inception report with list of literature reviewed and proposed methodology
• Deliverable 2: 23 days, 30%
  •  Human Resource capacity assessment with baseline available for M&E of the future trainings
  • Institutional assessment with ACJC structure and oversight mechanism
  • Administrative and logistical; security and infrastructure; communication; legislative and policy framework assessment;
• Deliverable 3: 26 days, 30%
  • Draft needs assessment for the trainings;
  • Draft needs assessment for administrative and logistical; security and infrastructure; communication; legislative and policy framework;
  • Draft multi-year training plan;
  • Draft multi-year strategic support plan;
• Deliverable 4: 5 days, 10%
  • Consultations report with key stakeholders (donors, ACJC, international mentors, key institutions);
• Deliverable 5: 7 days, 20%
  • Final report accounting for all the activities listed above with relevant annexes.

Payment Modality: 

Payments under the contract shall be delivery-based and the payment will be upon receipt, acceptance and approval of deliverables as per ToR’s specific milestones indicated above and shall be deemed delivered upon the approval of the Programme Management Specialist for Anti-Corruption.

Competencies

Core competencies:

• Promotes ethics and integrity and creates organizational precedents;

• Builds support and political acumen;

• Builds staff competence and creates an environment of creativity and innovation;

• Builds and promotes effective teams;

• Creates and promotes environment for open communications;

• Leverages conflict in the interest of UNDP and sets standards;

• Shares knowledge across the organization and builds a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Functional Competencies:

Job knowledge/technical expertise:

• Possesses expert knowledge of advance concepts in primary discipline, a broad knowledge of related disciplines and in-depth knowledge of relevant organizational policies and procedures;

• Applies knowledge to support the Project´s objectives and to further the mandate of UNDP;

• Keeps abreast of new developments in the area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself;

• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;

• Demonstrates expert knowledge of the current programme guidelines and project management tools and manages the use of these regularly in work assignments.

Conceptual innovation in the provision of technical expertise:

• Conducts programme assessment to improve development of models and methodologies;

• Designs policy models to support comprehensive interventions linking UNDP´s policy objectives to programme delivery and capacity development objectives;

Advancing a policy-oriented agenda:

• Advocates for inclusion of UNDP´s focus areas in the public policy agenda;

• Brings visibility and sensitizes decision makers to relevant emerging issues;

• Builds consensus concerning UNDP´s strategic agenda with partners on joint initiatives;

• Leverage UNDP´s multidisciplinary expertise to influence policies and programmes;

• Demonstrates political/cultural acumen in proposing technical sound, fact-based solutions/approaches;

• Dialogues with national counterparts and other stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts, incorporating country, regional and global perspectives;

• Demonstrates cultural sensitivity, political savvy and intellectual capacity in handling; disagreements in order to promote and position UNDP in complex environments.

• Ensures that the design of policies are appropriate to country social and development context;

• Demonstrates the ability to engage development partners at all levels in conceptual and methodological innovation that is pertinent to the context.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master´s Degree in Criminal Law, International Development, Social Sciences, Economics or public-sector management or similar fields.

Required experience:

• Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience organizing functional review and training needs assessment and trainings programmes and modules development is required;

• Demonstrated experience in providing legal advice and technical assistance to national institutions on anti-corruption measures is an advantage;

• Experience in working at the country level in a post- conflict environment is a requirement;

• Experience working in multi-cultural environment is desired.

• Strong communication skills both written and verbal, excellent report writing and organizational skills;

• Good computer literacy – MS office applications, web-based management information systems.

Language:

Excellent written and oral English skills is a necessary requirement.

Working Arrangements

Institutional Arrangements:

The International Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Chief, Rule of Law and Human Security (ROLHS) Unit, under the direct supervision of the Programme Management Specialist for Anti-Corruption and in close collaboration with the Project Management Analyst for the Anti-Corruption PIP. The International Consultant will also need to work in close collaboration with staff from the UNDP ROLHS, the LOTFA M&E team, as well as other units within the UNDP Country Office.

The ROLHS Unit will provide office space and internet facility, logistical and other support service including transport and security applicable to UNDP international personnel. The consultant however is expected to bring his/her own laptop and mobile phone and meet local communications costs (ROLHS Unit will provide a local pre-paid SIM card). Costs to arrange meetings, workshops, travel costs to and DSA during field visits (if any), etc. shall be covered by the ROLHS Unit.

The consultant will be hold to the highest level of confidentiality regarding the information he may encounter on pending cases at the ACJC.

Duration of the Work:

The performance under the contract shall take place over total contract duration of 4 months with a total of 88 working days), excluding joining and repatriation travel days.

Duty Station

The consultancy will combine in-country work (90%) at the duty station with home-based work (10%) to develop the deliverables. The Individual Consultant is expected to spend most of his working time in Kabul within the premise of the ACJC or in consultations with partners, while reporting regularly at UNDP ROLHS Unit (UNOCA), security conditions permitting. The contractor will follow the working hours and weekends as applicable to UNDP CO staff. Contractor’s movement for meetings and consultations shall be coordinated by the UNDP ROLHS Unit. The contractor is at all times required to observe UNDP security rules and regulations.

Price Proposal and Schedule Of Payments

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

• Daily Fee – The contractor shall propose a daily fee which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication cost and insurance (inclusive of medical health and medical evacuation and etc). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 88 working days;

• The contractor will stay in a place approved by UNDSS. UNDP will provide MORSS compliant accommodation in UNOCA Complex to the consultants. UNDP- Anti-Corruption will pay the cost of accommodation directly and the accommodation for IC holder is fee of cost within the Kabul, Afghanistan;

• Travel & Visa – The consultants shall propose an estimated lump-sum for home-Kabul-home travel (economy most direct route) 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 Proposal (70marks)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (25 marks) – This explains 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 (20 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.

Qualification and Experience (40 marks) [evaluation of CVs for shortlisting]

• General Qualification (10 marks);

• Experience relevant to the assignment (15 marks).

Documents to be included when submitting 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); as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;

• Personal CV, indicating all experience from similar projects.

Technical proposal:

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

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

Incomplete application will not be considered, it will be disqualified automatically.