Background

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life, as envisaged by 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We are on the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, working with governments and people on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners that can bring about results.

The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan and help countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices; advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, South-South and Triangular cooperation initiatives, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. The HIV, Health and Development Group is part of BPPS and supports UNDP’s 2018-2021 Strategic Plan and countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda and making sure no one is left behind.

UNDP is a founding cosponsor of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), a partner of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and a co-sponsor of several other international health partnerships. UNDP’s work on HIV, health and development, as described in the HIV, Health and Development Strategy 2016-2021: Connecting the Dots, leverages UNDP’s core strengths and mandates in human development, governance and capacity development to complement the efforts of specialist health-focused UN agencies. UNDP delivers three types of support to countries in HIV, health and development.

First, UNDP helps countries to mainstream attention to HIV and health into action on gender, poverty and the broader effort to achieve and sustain the Sustainable Development Goals.  For example, UNDP works with countries to understand the social and economic factors that play a crucial role in driving health and disease, and to respond to such dynamics with appropriate policies and programmes outside the health sector. UNDP also promotes specific action on the needs and rights of women and girls as they relate to HIV.

Second, UNDP works with partners to address the interactions between governance, human rights and health responses. Sometimes this is done through focused or specialized programmes, such as promoting attention to the role of the law and legal environments in facilitating stronger HIV responses, including the use of flexibilities in intellectual property law to lower the cost of drugs and diagnostics. UNDP also works to empower and include marginalized populations who are disproportionately affected by HIV, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and people living with HIV. Beyond these focused efforts, UNDP plays a key role in ensuring attention to HIV and health within broader governance and rights initiatives, including support to municipal action on SDGs, sustainable responses for Health and HIV such as improving sustainability of AIDS financing, sustainable health procurement, strengthening of national human rights institutions and increasing access to justice for key populations.

Third, as a trusted, long-term partner with extensive operational experience, UNDP supports countries in effective implementation of complex, multilateral and multisectoral health projects, while simultaneously investing in capacity development so that national and local partners can assume these responsibilities over time. The UNDP/Global Fund partnership is an important part of this work, facilitating access to resources for action on SDG 3 by countries that face constraints in directly receiving and managing such funding.  UNDP partners with countries in crisis/post-crisis situations, those with weak institutional capacity or governance challenges, and countries under sanctions. When requested, UNDP acts as temporary Principal Recipient in these settings, working with national partners and the Global Fund to improve management, implementation and oversight of Global Fund grants, while simultaneously developing national capacity to be able to assume the Principal Recipient role over time.

Objective of the assignment:

Six years after the 2012 publication of its landmark report, Risks, Rights & Health, the recommendations of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law remain relevant: a legal environment that respects, protects and fulfils human rights, and promotes overall health and well-being, is an efficient and effective means of reducing the risks and the toll of HIV and other communicable infections on people, communities and resources. While laws alone are insufficient to achieve these objectives, bad laws are serious impediments to health and good laws can contribute to good health.

One area in which laws has impacted very directly on the HIV response is the criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission. Both in its 2012 Report and in the 2018 Supplement, the Commission addressed the issue of HIV criminalisation, highlighting the latest developments in HIV science, legal jurisprudence and related policy on the issue. The Commission’s recommendations in this respect include:

  1. As a general proposition, countries should not enact HIV-specific criminal laws and should repeal these laws where they exist;
  2. Countries may prosecute intentional or malicious HIV transmission under general criminal law, however such prosecutions should be pursued with care and require a high standard of evidence and proof;
  3. General law should not be applied to the same effect as the repealed HIV-specific laws;
  4. Criminal law should not be invoked in cases of adult, private consensual sexual activity, as this is disproportionate and counterproductive to enhancing public health;
  5. Where HIV-specific laws exist, courts must require proof to the applicable criminal law standard of intent to transmit HIV—and intent to transmit cannot be presumed solely from the knowledge of their HIV-status or from the fact of the non-disclosure of the accused person; and
  6. Where HIV arises in the context of a criminal case, all relevant actors should be informed by the best available scientific evidence.

 

The UNAIDS guidance note on HIV in the context of criminal law analyses the specific elements of harm, risk, mental culpability, defenses, proof and penalties and makes the general recommendation that countries should not have HIV-specific criminal laws. HIV-specific criminal laws are problematic because they are often not based on science; are overly-broad; single out, stigmatise and perpetuate discrimination of people living with HIV; and may disincentivise people from knowing their status and therefore seriously hamper both individual and public health. HIV testing is the entry point to diagnosis, to reducing viral load, and preventing transmission.

At the Commission’s Global Dialogue during the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands in July 2018, there was a call to UNDP as the Secretariat of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law and the responsible UN entity convening on human rights, stigma and discrimination and removing punitive laws within the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS, to develop a global guidance to support prosecutors (and inform other actors) within the criminal justice system dealing with HIV-related cases. This call was echoed by the African Regional Judges Forum on HIV, TB and Human Rights in Johannesburg, South Africa in December 2018. UNAIDS recommended in 2013 that countries develop and implement prosecutorial guidelines to clarify, limit and harmonise any application of criminal law to HIV.

The consultant will be home-based will report to the Team Leader: Human Rights, Key Populations and Treatment Access.  The consultant will develop a manage the stakeholder consultation on the prosecutorial guidance and develop the prosecutorial guidance for HIV-related cases.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of Team Leader, Human Rights, Key Populations and Treatment Access, the Consultant will be responsible for:

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Undertaken desk review of available literature, jurisprudence and practice on prosecutorial guidance for HIV or infectious disease-related criminal cases

  • In consultation with UNDP Human Rights, Key Populations and Treatment Access team, identify members of the technical advisory group committee for the project;

  • Develop and administer survey for key stakeholders and conduct key informant interviews

  • Develop the prosecutorial guidance on HIV-related criminal cases with annex of case studies.

Specific Deliverable and Outputs:

  • Brief report of the desk review of available literature, jurisprudence and best practice on prosecutorial guidance for HIV and other infectious diseases.

  • Draft survey for key stakeholders and questionnaires for key informant interviews

  • Outline of the prosecutorial guidance for HIV-related criminal cases, with table of content and format of annex case studies.

  • Final draft of prosecutorial guidance for HIV-related criminal cases, together with executive summaries and annex of case studies.

Reporting:

The consultant will regularly evaluate progress in meeting the set targets with the Team leader: Human Rights, Key Populations and Treatment Access.

Travel:

In the case of travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Timeframe:

The consultant’s assignment will be home based and is expected to last 45 days, completed over the period from 17 June 2019 – 30 July 2020

Evaluation

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and competencies specified below. Applicants shortlisted after the technical evaluation will be invited submit a proposed methodology for undertaking the assignment as well as a financial proposal

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 (70%) points on technical part will be invited to submit a proposed methodology and financial proposal.

Criteria for technical evaluation (45 points maximum):

  • An advanced degree in law, human rights, public health, public policy or a related degree (maximum points: 10)

  • Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience in the area of HIV, public health, human rights, international affairs or a related field (maximum points:10)

  • A demonstrated knowledge of HIV, public health, criminal law, human rights and social justice as evidenced by combination of similar consultancy assignments with UN entities or multilateral institutions, membership of and/or recognition by relevant technical and professional bodies, and an extensive publication record on this or related subject matter (maximum points:10)

  • Exceptional writing and editorial skills (maximum points:10) Include a link to list of published work with link to online access

  • Familiarity with the work of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law (maximum points:5)

Criteria for proposed methodology (15 points maximum):

  • Coherence of the proposed methodology including sequence of task, description of activity, etc. (maximum points: 10)

  • Feasibility of proposed timeline (maximum points: 15)

Criteria for financial evaluation (30 points maximum):

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Payment

Payment will be certified through the Certificate of Payment (COP) and timesheet, certified by the direct supervisor. The rate will be based on the all-inclusive daily rate or rate mentioned in the Offeror’s letter to UNDP.

Competencies

Organizational 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.

Functional Competencies:

  • Strong analytical, negotiation and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products,

Project and Resource Management:

  • Ability to produce high quality outputs in a timely manner while understanding and anticipating the evolving client needs.
  • Ability to focus on impact and results for the client, promoting and demonstrating an ethic of client service.
  • Strong organizational skills.
  • Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs.
  • Sound judgment, strategic thinking and the ability to manage competing priorities.

Partnership building and team work:

  • Demonstrated well developed people management skills.
  • Strong ability to manage teams; creating an enabling environment, mentoring and developing staff.
  • Excellent negotiating and networking skills.
  • Demonstrated flexibility to excel in a multi-cultural environment.
  • Provides constructive coaching and feedback.

Communications and Advocacy

  • Strong ability to write clearly and convincingly, adapting style and content to different audiences and speak clearly and convincingly.
  • Strong presentation skills in meetings with the ability to adapt for different audiences.
  • Strong analytical, research and writing skills with demonstrated ability to think strategically.
  • Strong capacity to communicate clearly and quickly.
  • Strong inter-personal, negotiation and liaison skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • An advanced degree in law, human rights, public health, public policy or a related degree

Experience

  • Minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience in the area of HIV, public health, human rights, international affairs or a related field

  • A demonstrated knowledge of HIV, public health, criminal law, human rights and social justice as evidenced by combination of similar consultancy assignments with UN entities or multilateral institutions, membership of and/or recognition by relevant technical and professional bodies, and an extensive publication record on this or related subject matter

Languages

  • Excellent written and spoken English.

 

Guidelines for Applications:

Interested applicants are advised to carefully review this advertisement and ensure that they meet the requirements and qualifications described.

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Please note that our system only takes one attachment. Therefore, kindly scan all your documents into a single PDF file to upload.

*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. rent of dwelling, fee, health insurance, vaccination, visa costs and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). All envisaged costs (except of the unforeseen travel costs for missions, if any) must be included in the financial proposal. Unforeseen travel costs for missions, if any, will be paid separately according to UNDP rules and regulations. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. Per diems cannot exceed UN DSA rates (http://icsc.un.org/rootindex.asp).

Security: 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 https://trip.dss.un.org

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

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are only able to inform the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

 

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.