Background

1. Project Context and Description

Project Title:                           Justice Sector Reform

Project Duration:                   March 2019 – July 2020

Required Project Budget:      $588.000

Project Expenditures:            N/A

Resources mobilized:             $588.000

Donors:                                   National Parliament of Timor-Leste

National Institutions:            National Parliament

                                                Office of the President of the Republic

                                                Justice Institutions

                                                Government

Context

The Timor-Leste’s justice system is complex in character as the results of its historical circumstances. Various legal frameworks are currently applied in the justice processes which include the Indonesian’s legislation, UNTAET regulations and the Timor-Leste’s laws and regulations. The traditional justice practices are also still applied in the justice processes in particular in the rural areas.

Significant changes in the justice sector had taken place since 2002 with the adoption of the laws and regulations by the Timor-Leste’s Legislative Organs which aimed to gradually replace the Indonesian’s legislation and UNTAET’s regulations in order to put in place a harmonized legal order which reflects the socio-cultural and political situation of the country and in order to comply with the internationally recognized legal standards. Nevertheless, the Government of Timor-Leste had made a strong commitment to continue strengthening  the justice sector. To achieve the goal, the Government has developed and approved the Justice Sector Strategic Plan which set out five pillars which are deemed necessary to strengthening the justice sector. The five pillars include a). Institutional development; b). legal framework reform; c). human resources development; d). Infrastructure and Information Technology; and e). Access to Justice.

Given the current state of the justice system, the Government has also considered that a justice system reform is necessary to build a momentum around the State’s overall reform process in order to achieve the alignment with the internationally recognized democratic standards. More importantly, the justice system reform is necessary to ensure equal access to an efficient, transparent and reliable justice system by all citizens of Timor-Leste in particular the vulnerable groups.

An initial work on justice system reform had been undertaken previously by the Government. A Legislation Reform Commission was created to implement the reform initiative which later produced a proposal for the Government to develop and implement a legislative package for the reform of the justice sector.

Within this context and after a thorough consultation of the Government and all national Judicial bodies, the National Parliament of Timor-Leste took the initiative to advance the implementation of the targeted interventions set out in the reform documents which are to design, develop and implement the justice sector reform framework to ensure achievement of an independent, efficient, impartial and a transparent justice system. 

As the long term development partner of the National Parliament, UNDP Timor-Leste was then requested to support the implementation of National Parliament’s initiative by sourcing and providing technical expertise in the areas of Rule of Law, Access to Justice and strengthening Justice Institutions. The technical expertise is expected to identify gaps and legal constraints in the sector in order to facilitate the amendment of structural bills and drafting new legislation in the criminal sector.

Accordingly, a Project Initiation Plan (PIP) on the Support to the Justice System Reform was developed by UNDP to response to the request of the National Parliament. The overall objective of the PIP- Support to the Justice System Reform is to assist the National Parliament in reviewing and formulation of the following:

• Legislation to complete the organizational structure of the country's judicial system;
• The Superior Council for Magistrates and Prosecutors legal framework which includes the level of authority and autonomy in supervising the functioning of the respective portfolio;
• Legal mechanisms for the performance of judges, prosecutors and public defenders, within a new framework that will allow a merit evaluation model;
• The Criminal Law which include the definition of new crimes and their compliance with international instruments;
• The Criminal Procedural Law, specially the extension of deadlines and the creation of the preliminary hearing phase (pre-trial phase/instrução);
• A Legislation to define the relationship of customary justice to formal justice - delimitation of legal spheres - subject to consultations with traditional authorities and civil society organizations;

For the purpose, UNDP is seeking to engage International Individual Consultant who will act as the Chief Technical Adviser to coordinate the supports and the work of Legal Specialists/Experts as well as other relevant actors/stakeholders of the Justice System Reform so as to support the achievement of the National Parliament’s goals set in the PIP.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the Project Management Board and UNDP Management, the International Consultant will be responsible for the following key functions:

1. Effective project management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Day-to-day operational management of the project including work planning, resource allocation and financial supervision, and general oversight and risk management, and reporting on implementation of activities;

• Daily monitoring of implementation of project activities, workload management and performance assessment, ensuring that the project produces the results to the required standards of quality within the specified constraints of time and cost described in the project document;
• Preparations of Terms of References and involvement in design of all project related events such as training (curricula, courses, schedules), study tours, conferences and workshops;
• Drafting Terms of Reference for recruitment of consultants and advisors, provision of advice and support to national institutions on the identification, selection and approval of such advisors and consultants;
• Supervise and give constructive feedback of the work of all project support staff, provide the overall direction of the project, and motivate the project team;
• Revision and monitoring of the overall management, performance and progress of the project by preparing indicators to monitor progress on the project document;
• Contribute to the development of a Monitoring and Evaluation framework for the project that reflects progress on the sector in general;
• Reporting to management and donors on progress and achievement of results in consultation with the Democratic Governance Unit.

1. Active knowledge management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Responsibility for selecting and bringing lessons learnt to help achieve the outputs of the project and facilitating the use of global knowledge networks in the field;
• Sharing of project results including through reviewing project publications and by taking responsibility for knowledge networking with national agencies and UNDP’s global community;
• Serve as an advocate for UN core values and UNDP’s policies on rule of law in the dialogue with the justice and anti-corruption institutions and facilitate the practical implementation of this dialogue through the project interventions.

3)   Coordination and oversight of the necessary legal firms or other consultants needed for the achievement of the results:

• Monitor the support by the legal firms and consultants to ensure that projects/progmmmes under his/her responsibility are progressing according to plan. This includes assisting programme/project authorities in problem-solving and implementing corrective measures;
• Oversight and quality assurance of the work of the consultants or legal firms;
• Making sure the support to the National Parliament of the legal firms and consultants is timely and is adapted to the national context of the country;
• Supporting the legal consultancy firms and consultants in establishing the introduction to the national counterparts and other stakeholders necessary for the kickstart of their work;

4) Coordination with the national counterparts and donors focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Strategic coordination with the National Parliament and other national counterparts;
• Representation of the project before the national authorities;
• In cooperation with the National Parliament, support preparation and hosting of Project Management Board meetings, circulation of meeting minutes and ensure follow-up on the implementation of decisions taken;
• Participate and actively contribute to all justice and National Parliament coordination forums;
• Liaise with other multilateral and bilateral donor agencies, NGOs and private institutions in areas of responsibility with a view to coordinating activities and obtaining possible cost-sharing and/or co-financing of projects/programmes;

Functional Competencies and Critical Success Factors

In addition to specific tasks, the International Consultant is expected to carry out his/her work with professional standards demonstrating the skills and behaviors as listed below:

1. Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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.

1. Functional competencies

• Knowledge in the area of work of Parliament and its procedures;
• Knowledge of institutional capacity development, preferably within the judiciary;
• In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices inside and outside of UNDP;
• Ability to organize and perform a variety of specialized tasks simultaneously related to Results Management, including administrative support to design, planning and implementation of program, managing data, reporting;                                                     

• Time management for tasks’ deadline;
• Strong IT skills, knowledge of office software packages;
• Ability to review a variety of data identifies and adjusts discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to handle visitors, phone calls with tact and courtesy.

1. Self-management and leadership

• Managing own time and tasks effectively and efficiently, and completing tasks with minimum supervisory follow up;
• Carefully checking one’s own work for accuracy and completeness, and responsible for one’s own work and actions;
• Self-motivated and working with energy and a positive, constructive attitude, and responds positively to feedback;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills, and interacting with others in a professional and respectful manner;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the clients;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities, creatively providing solutions to problems;
• Leads the team effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Good self-control even under pressure.

1. Knowledge Management and Learning

• Sharing knowledge and experience with colleagues;
• Actively working towards continuing personal learning, and applying newly acquired skills;
• Demonstrating openness to improve and ability to manage complexities

Competencies

1. Implementation Arrangements

The International Consultant (IC) will be reporting to the Senior Management of UNDP Timor-Leste, with delegated authority to the Governance Programme Analyst. The Governance Programme Analyst will arrange the introductory meetings within UNDP and will establish the first contacts with the government partners. The IC will then set up his/her own meetings and activities as necessary. The IC will report on the progress and achieved results at each milestone as scheduled.

Required Skills and Experience

1. Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree law, political science, international studies, development studies, political administration or any other related field with 5 years of working experience or Bachelor’s degree in law, political science, international studies, development studies, political administration or any other related field with 7 years of working experience;
• At least 4 years of experience in development programming focused on governance, accountability, capacity development, gender equality and peacebuilding.
• At least 10 years of working experience with the Parliament system. Extensive hands-on experience with the National Parliament and other Government Institutions of Timor-Leste is an advantage.
• Knowledge of Justice system of Timor-Leste
• Knowledge of UNDP and its mandate, the civil society and working with government authorities.
• Knowledge of results-based management evaluation, as well as participatory M&E methodologies and approaches.
• Strong reporting and communication skills.
• Good communication skills with various partners including donors.
• Demonstrated excellent command of spoken and written English and Portuguese. Tetum is an advantage.

1. Timeline and Schedule

The Consultancy is expected to last 15 months between 01 May 2019 to 31 July 2020.  

1. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

Lump Sum Contract

The financial proposal must be expressed in the form of a LUMP SUM amount that is all-inclusive of all costs, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per the template provided. The amount should be inclusive of professional fees, travel costs (travel to duty station and repatriation), living allowance, insurance, communication etc.

1. Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Combined score method including 70% of qualification criteria and 30% price offer.   

1. Recommended Presentation of Offer

The candidate must submit the following documents to demonstrate their qualification:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and availability.
2. Personal CV or P11 form, indicating all past experience from similar projects as well as contact details including e-mail and phone number of the candidate and at least three professional references. (template available here http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=54834)
3. Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price. A break-down of this lump sum amount be provided by the candidates. (template available here http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=54834)