UNDP Jobs - 82772- International Expert to Develop a Functional Coope

International Expert to Develop a Functional Cooperation Strategy between Formal and Traditional Justice Actors

Location :

Bissau, GUINEA-BISSAU

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

11-Feb-2019

Application Deadline :

31-Jan-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

30 working days

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 month

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

Guinea-Bissau has been in a vicious cycle of political instability since its independence, which primarily stems from a series of intertwined causes, including lack of access to justice and impunity. Despite the consecration of fundamental political, civil, economic and social rights by the Constitution, laws are barely implemented or enforced, resulting in limited and inequitable access to quality justice services for the population and an overall decline in confidence in the modern state system of justice institutions.

The State is unable to fulfil its mission to guarantee justice and security throughout the territory, particularly in rural areas and especially for women and children/youth. Since the independence, there has been a coexistence of both the formal justice system and forms of traditional justice system, based on customary law - which was recognized during the colonial period. The formal justice system is costly, slow and still widely discredited by the public, being viewed by many as manipulated and corrupt, serving only the needs and interests of the most powerful.

As a result, and for historical and cultural reasons, large parts of the population use alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (ADR); most conflicts are settled by local conflict resolution entities, including the family, heads of district, village chiefs and/or tribal chiefs and, since 2012, through the Legal Aid Centers (CAJ). Especially in rural areas, traditional customary law systems and practices are present in communities. In fact, traditional norms, rather than the State law are applied in the majority of cases. For this reason, customary systems are crucial for justice delivery in the country. Thus, a legal framework that properly contexts traditional justice and a cooperation mechanism between them and the formal justice system is of the utmost importance.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective of the assignment

The objective of this assignment is to develop the cooperation strategy between formal and traditional justice system in Guinea-Bissau.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work with one national consultant, under the overall supervision of the UNDP’s Representative Resident and the technical supervision of the Chief Technical Adviser for the Justice Reform and in close collaboration with the national stakeholders. The consultant is expected to perform the following activities:

Review documents and consult with UNDP senior management and rule of law and justice team members to better understand the project, including its design process, implementation aspects and expected results;
Legal review of the legislation in force – both International and Bissau-Guinean – namely in terms of conflict resolution mechanisms and roles, boundaries of traditional justice and the organic law of the sectoral courts, the Justice Reform Programme (2015-2019), etc.;
Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing international legislation on the legal boundaries of traditional justice and functional cooperation strategy between them and the formal justice system;
Prepare and conduct interviews/discussions with key stakeholders in the justice sectors – Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Supreme High Court, Magistrates, Bar Association of Guinea-Bissau, Traditional and Religious leaders, civil society organizations, Tabanka’s Committees, local opinion-makers, etc. – both at central and regional level;
Analyze and make a survey of the informal and formal justice sector relationship in Guinea-Bissau;
Prepare an all-inclusive draft on the strategy/mechanism between traditional and formal justice systems applicable/suitable to the Bissau-Guinean background;
Organize a workshop with relevant stakeholders to present, validate and collect further inputs to mechanism proposal;
Propose adequate follow-up initiatives;
Etc.

Deliverables

The following deliverables are expected:

A concept note: with a clear methodology and timeline proposal;
A clear and concise proposal of the cooperation strategy/mechanism between traditional and formal justice system;
The organization and presentation of a validation workshop;
A final report with the finalized version of the cooperation strategy, including the workshop validation’s inputs.

Duration of the assignment

The assignment must be conducted within one month and a half – 30 working days.

Competencies

Strong analytical and communication skills, including ability to produce high quality practical advisory reports and knowledge products;
Professional and/or academic experience in one or more of the areas of the Development or knowledge management field;
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;
Ability to work independently, produce high quality outputs;
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 in a concise manner;
Strong inter-personal, negotiation and liaison skills;
Excellent writing, research, analysis and presentation skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced studies (at least Master’s degree level) in law, human rights, political science, sociology, anthropology, development studies or similar areas.

Experience:

At least 10 years of proven experience working with the traditional and/or formal justice system actors;
Demonstrable experience in setting-up cooperation mechanisms and strategies between different stakeholders: equivalent experience in other countries with similar backgrounds is considered an advantage;
Strong knowledge and experience on the challenges and relationships between the traditional and formal justice systems and its legal boundaries and cooperation mechanisms/strategies;
Acquaintance and involvement with development programs/projects/activities, especially with UNDP is desirable;
Knowledge and demonstrable experience in the field of rule of law, human rights, access to justice and gender issues; including with UNDP is considered an asset;
Proven knowledge of Guinea-Bissau’s social and cultural context and/or rule of law and justice sector is strongly desirable;
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages as well as web-based management systems.

Language:

Proficient spoken and written French and/or English is mandatory;
Proficiency in Portuguese is considered a plus.

Guidelines for application:

Required documents:

A cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for this assignment;
A brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the tasks, describing the tools and workplan proposed for this assignment;
A financial proposal;
A personal CV including past experiences in similar projects and at least 3 professional references.

Lump sum contracts: The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel: All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the Individual Consultant wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable 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.

Evaluation: Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, 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 and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;
Technical Criteria weight – 70 points;
Financial Criteria weight – 30 points.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70 points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Evaluation criteria:

Education background - 10 points;
Experience as defined in the ToR - 20 points;
Competences as defined in the ToR - 10 points;
Understating of the ToR - 15 points;
Methodology and overall approach - 25 points;
Overall quality of the proposal (comprehensiveness, structure, language and clarity) - 20 points.