UNDP Jobs - 62650- Consultant for Human Rights and Rule of Law

Consultant for Human Rights and Rule of Law

Location :

Istanbul, TURKEY

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

07-Jan-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Estimated 15 January – 15 January 2017

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Approximately 200 working days

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

Substantial progress has been made in many countries in Europe and the CIS and towards political stability, consolidation of democracy, rule of law, and improvement of human rights records. However, the development in several countries continues to be affected the legacy of past regimes and recent conflicts with persisting inter-ethnic tensions within and across borders, and only slowly improving sub-regional cooperation. Despite progress has been made in creating a framework for respecting human rights and the rule of law, many issues need to be addressed, including the independence and efficiency of the judiciary, widespread corruption, and discrimination based on ethnicity, nationality, race, sexual orientation, and other grounds.

The Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) is UNDP’s main knowledge and advisory hub for the countries serviced by UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS (RBEC). The Governance and Peacebuilding Cluster of this Regional Hub provides technical advisory services and programming support on Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security to UNDP Country Offices in the region.

In the region, UNDP works with national and international partners to strengthen the social contract between the state and society in a manner that protects human rights, promotes equality, and enhances social cohesion. This includes increasing citizen access to justice and safety; supporting the development of legislation that protects the rights of people, particularly minorities and other vulnerable groups, and those with disabilities; building efficient National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and supporting the implementation of international standards and recommendations; strengthening capacities of security and justice institutions; supporting conflict prevention, and placing gender equality and women at the center of governance and peace efforts.

The Hub also connects the region to a global network of development experts, to build knowledge and capacity, and to forge partnerships to meet the development challenges of a large and diverse region. Furthermore, the Hub is implementing the regional programme “Supporting voice for citizens, development, the rule of law and accountability in governance systems in Europe and the CIS”. The programme has been formulated based on the most crucial regional challenges with a particular focus on a strengthened approach to specific sub-regional challenges. While the programme uses three operational modalities of support, i.e. the implementation of regional projects, development of knowledge products and the provision of advisory services, the Regional Catalytic Facility has become one of the main modalities of support to UNDP Country Offices.

Location: Istanbul, Turkey, with app. 5 missions within the region

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant will work in the Istanbul Regional Hub, under the direct supervision of the Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programme Specialist and overall of the Governance and Peacebuilding Cluster Leader. The Consultant’s overall task will be to support the implementation of the rule of law, human rights and access to justice component of the regional programme, including the Catalytic Facility. The consultant will support the provision of technical support to the projects supported by the Catalytic Fund. The consultant will also provide support to the Programme Specialist for ad-hoc desk top advisory services to COs. Furthermore, the consultant will be supporting the development of knowledge/policy products.

Consultant will:

Contribute to the organization of the regional consultations/workshops, such as NHRIs' in protracted conflict situations (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) and sub-regional consultations on human rights and rule of law in Central Asia (NHRIs, National Human Rights Action Plans, access to justice and response to domestic violence and sexual gender-based violence).
Support implementation of and reporting on the projects supported through Governance and Peacebuilding Catalytic Facility to ensure regular monitoring and timely response to issues and challenges occurring;
Prepare thematic policy notes;
Oversee the conceptualisation of the 2015 Annual Report on Human Rights and Rule of Law in ECIS and contribute to the Annual Report on Governance and Peacebuilding;
Co-ordinate HuRiLab follow-up activities and link/liaise with other innovation projects in the Governance and Peacebuilding Cluster;
Contribute to sub-regional programme development on Human Rights and Rule of Law in the Western Balkans and Turkey;
Develop training tool on human rights fact-finding for NHRIs;
Other related work may be required to better implement the above-mentioned tasks assigned by the Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programme Specialist.

Deliverables
Completed by end of January 2016:

Conceptualisation of the 2015 Annual Report on Human Rights and Rule of Law in ECIS.

Completed by end of February 2016:

Concept Note for regional workshop on NHRIs' in protracted conflicts (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan);
HuRiLab follow-up actions designed.

Completed by end of March 2016:

First draft of Annual Report on Human Rights and Rule of Law in ECIS reviewed;
Policy note on UNDP support to NHRIs’ in the region, including follow-up to capacity assessments, functional reviews, impact and effectiveness measurements of NHRIs and NHRIs’ role in conflict situations.

Completed by end of April 2016:

Organization of regional workshop on NHRIs' in protracted conflicts (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan).

Completed by end of May 2016:

Policy note on the victim and witness support work in the region, including SGBV;
Report of regional workshop on NHRIs' in protracted conflicts (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan).

Completed by end of June 2016:

HuRiLab follow-up actions implemented;
Final draft of Annual Report on Human Rights and Rule of Law in ECIS reviewed.

Completed by end of July 2016:

Catalytic Facility consolidated mid-term report and evaluation.

Completed by end of August 2016:

Training tool on human rights fact-finding for NHRIs.

Completed by end of September 2016

Organisation of sub-regional consultations on human rights and rule of law in Central Asia (NHRIs, National Human Rights Action Plans, access to justice and response to domestic violence and sexual gender-based violence).

Completed by end of October 2016:

Training tool on human rights fact-finding for NHRIs developed.

Completed by end of November 2016

Policy note on legal aid and mediation in the region developed.

Completed by end of December 2016

Final report catalytic facility final report and evaluation.

The Consultant will report about the progress of activities to the Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programme Specialist in written.

Payment will be performed in twelve (12) equal installments in relation to the progresses achieved with regard to the satisfactory completion of the deliverables upon submission of a report.

Given the nature of the tasks requiring strict cooperation with the Human Rights, Rule of Law, Justice and Security Programme Specialist and with the other members of the Governance and Peacebuilding team, full-time presence at the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub is required.

Competencies

Corporate 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;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

Good understanding of capacity development;
Excellent drafting, reporting, facilitation and presentation skills;
Ability to handle effectively multiple tasks without compromising quality, team spirit and positive working relationships;
Results driven, ability to work under pressure and to meet required deadlines;
Proven ability to work in a team, develop synergies and establish effective working relations within the Practice teams, with persons of different Country Offices, and other counterparts (as required, e.g. donors and CSOs).

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Law, Social Sciences, International Relations, Governance, Human Rights, Development, HIV/Health or other related fields.

Experience:

At least 5 years of proven work experience on rule of law and human rights related issues in international organizations or public administration;
Relevant international experience in the ECIS region is a strong asset;
Previous experience in similar UNDP assignments is considered as a strong asset;
Proven experience in programming in the areas of human rights/rule of law, i.e. NHRIs/Ombudsman institutions, Government institutions, judiciary and law enforcement agencies, access to justice, SGBV etc.;
Experience in drafting concept notes, project documents and project reports;
In-depth knowledge and understanding of Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) and human rights principles and work experience related to human rights treaties and mechanisms is an asset

Language:

Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English;
Other language of the EECA region considered an asset.

Evaluation of Applicants:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should 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 (desk review and evaluation of writing samples) and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria – 70% of total evaluation – max 35 points:

Criteria A (Relevant experience including in the ECIS region/experience and/or similar UNDP assignments) – max 8 points;
Criteria C (In-depth knowledge and understanding of HRBA principles and UN human rights treaties and mechanisms) – max 3 points;
Criteria D (Proven experience in programming in the areas of human rights/rule of law) – max 10 points;
Criteria E (Proven experience in drafting concept notes, project documents and project reports – evaluated through writing sample) – max. 10 points;
Criteria F (Working level of additional language of the EECA region) –max. 4 points.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 15 points

Application procedures:

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

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees;
(blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc); please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
Writing sample(s) relevant to this assignment (concept notes, project documents and project reports);
Financial Proposal* - specifying (in USD) a) total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement and b) travel cost to/from the duty station. Proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services.). Travel costs to/from duty station must be included in the financial proposal. Travel costs related to missions should not be included in the financial proposal, as they will be paid separately as per UNDP rules and regulations.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.
Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner certified by the supervising officer.

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 http://dss.un.org
General Terms and conditions as well as other related documents can be found under: http://on.undp.org/t7fJs.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.