Historique

Malawi’s new Legal Aid Bureau was established under the Legal Aid Act No 28 of 2010 as an independent national institution taking over from the then Legal Aid Department of the Ministry of Justice. The Bureau formally came into operation on 16th March 2015. The Legal Aid Act No. 28 of 2010 was enacted “to make provision for the granting of legal aid in civil and criminal matters to persons whose means are insufficient to enable them to engage private legal practitioners and to other categories of persons where the interests of justice so require; to provide for the establishment of a Legal Aid Bureau; to provide for the establishment of a Legal Aid Fund; to allow for limited eligibility of other persons, besides legal practitioners, to provide legal aid for the purposes of this Act and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.

Currently the Bureau is operating three regional offices in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu. As a newly established entity, the Bureau is operating on an interim strategic action plan coupled with the national legislation relevant to Legal Aid Bureau. The establishing of an independent Bureau emanated from the need to revamp the old Legal Aid Department and make it more efficient in the delivery of legal aid services in the country.

It is against this background that the Legal Aid Bureau intends to prepare a 2016-2020 strategic plan that is aligned to the Democratic Governance Sector Strategy and the overall national strategy in order to set out its objectives during this period and how they will be achieved. It is envisaged that the strategic plan will help the Bureau to advance its mandate and strategic themes in an efficient and effective manner. The process also coincides and builds on the thrust provided by the institutional reform processes being undertaken under the Democratic Governance Sector-Wide Approach (DGSWAp) as well as the Public Sector Reforms that are being championed by Government. 

Devoirs et responsabilités

• A review of existing Bureau’s plans, policy frameworks, laws, approaches, national implementation plans and other relevant documents;
• Development of an economically sound methodology for the strategic plan for how the Bureau can most effectively meet its objectives;
• Collection of additional data;
• Needs assessment of the Bureau;
• Stakeholder mapping and consultation;
• Situation analysis, including identification of constraints and opportunities for sustainable development Development of a vision and mission statement;
• Development, validation, finalization and costing of a strategic plan 2016-2020 including a theory of change or log frame, and a detailed implementation plan and general activities and;
• Monitoring and evaluation strategy and communications plan. 

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

The Consultant will:

• Carry out a desk review of documents relevant to an understanding of the mandate, legal framework, work and context of the Bureau. These will include the existing interim strategic action plan, legislation governing the Bureau’s subvention agencies (if any), national legislation relevant to Legal Aid Bureau, the National Growth and Development Strategy and the Democratic Governance Sector Strategy, and existing assessments of the Malawi’s Democratic Governance Sector.
• Based on the desk review provide an inception report interpreting the terms of reference and generate a partial list of documents to be reviewed for concurrence with the Reference Group and Legal Aid Bureau.
• Review other current relevant policy frameworks, laws, approaches and national implementation plans on Legal Aid issues.
• Develop an understanding of the current situation of Legal Aid in Malawi, paying special attention to issues of equality before the law, ready access to a fair process before the courts, substantive justice through adjudication conducted by an independent and impartial judiciary etc.
• Hold discussions with the staff of the Legal Aid Bureau and the Reference Group to build a common approach to the assignment.
• Conduct a needs assessment of the Legal Aid Bureau, which will include a review of the Legal Aid Bureau existing structure and institutional arrangements with a view to developing a “strategy for expansion”. This will be a component of the final plan.
• Develop a comprehensive methodology and work plan for a participatory process of the development of the Legal Aid Bureau strategic plan with a view to achieving both support, concrete co-operation and programming with relevant agencies such as the Law Reform Commission, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, the Malawi Prisons Services, the Malawi Police Service; the Directorate of Public Prosecution, the Malawi Judiciary, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant agencies.
• Hold consultations and facilitate interviews with relevant stakeholders including but not limited to: relevant government departments, Bilateral Development Partners, UN Agencies in Malawi; private sector companies, industry associations, chambers of commerce and other private sector organizations and civil society/NGOs. At all stages, the Legal Aid Bureau and Technical Reference Group will be closely involved with the process.
• Develop an advanced draft strategic plan for discussion with staff and the methodology for a national consultation process which will closely include Legal Aid Bureau staff.
• Together with the Legal Aid Bureau, lead a thorough programme of national consultations to receive feedback on draft strategic plan.
• Finalize the strategic plan, including a theory of change or log frame and a detailed implementation plan for 2016-2017 and provide general activities for 2018-2020. The plan should include jointly developed vision and mission statements, priority programmes and sector sub-strategies, baselines and targets, timelines and resource allocations and a monitoring plan and communications plan.
• Ensure that the strategic plan is professionally costed and includes a plan for how to integrate the strategic plans of sub-sectors and subvention agencies of the Legal Aid Bureau if any.

Summary of expected Outputs and Deliverables:

Inception Report (20% of contract amount) This report should include: - A comprehensive desk review of documents relevant to an understanding and execution of the assignment;

• An elaboration of a methodology/action plan, work plan, list and contacts of key stakeholders to be engaged; 7 working days.

Advanced Draft Report, Strategy for National Consultation (30%);

• The Draft Report should be at an advanced stage of completion including all relevant sections outlined in section 3 and will be availed to reviewers for feedback and will also form the basis for the national consultations
• A draft programme for the national consultations will include proposed number and type of workshops, planning sessions or similar discussion, as well as participants. This will be agreed with the Legal Aid Bureau and DGSWAp Secretariat, which will have responsibility for implementing the logistical arrangements in relation to venue, sending and following-up on invitations, and assisting with the presentations; 14 working days.

Final Draft Strategic Plan (50%) - The final product of the process will be a final draft of the 2016-2020 strategic plan for the Legal Aid Bureau aligned to the democratic Governance Sector Strategy. Features of the final draft will include, inter alia:

• An executive summary
• An overview of the mandate of LAB
• A needs assessment and strategic analysis for the Bureau
• A succinct Vision Statement (should be easy to remember)
• A succinct Mission Statement

Key Strategic Priorities:

• A detailed implementation plan which will include all implementable strategic priority activities that balance the short term quick results and long term strategic work that deliver the most results within the capacities and resources and time frames for 2016-2020 and general activities for the following years
• Summary analysis of principal partners for the successful implementation of the Strategy
• Logical Framework for the implementation of the Strategic Plan including objectives, baselines and targets, defined timelines and resource allocations, in both financial and human terms, as well as relevant indicators and regular evaluations of their results and impact
• Detailed cost estimation for the implementation of the Strategic Plan, mapped to possible funding options including Government and the country strategies and funding cycles of development partners
• Time-frame for the delivery of each year’s strategic objectives
• Monitoring and Evaluation strategy; 7 working days.

Institutional Arrangement:

The Consultancy shall be under the overall supervision and direction of the Director of Legal Aid Bureau. The quality of work and certification of satisfactory delivery of the out-puts shall be provided by the Director of the Legal Aid Bureau. To ensure coherence, a Reference Group composed of Convenors and Co-Convenors of the Thematic Technical Working Groups shall be established to provide quality assurance on a regular basis. Progress Reports shall be provided to the Reference Group on a weekly basis or as shall be agreed upon at the Inception Phase. The Consultant shall provide Progress Report to the Director of the Legal Aid Bureau every after two weeks or as shall be agreed upon at the Inception Phase.

The Consultant shall use an evidence-based approach and ensure the highest standard of work and timely deliverables at every stage of this assignment. In particular, the Consultant shall ensure clarity of objectives and process during the National Consultations; countercheck all facts and figures cited; ensure that the content and format of the Draft Strategic Plan meets the highest standard for such documents; and ensure proper editing and clarity.

Duration of the Work:

The consultancy is expected to take maximum 28 days (read twenty-eight days) effective upon signing of contract. The Inception Phase is expected to last maximum 7 (seven) days; the Consultation and Drafting Phase a maximum of 14 (fourteen) days. The Finalization Phase shall not exceed 7 (seven) days. The Target start date for this assignment is 21 August 2016 and completed by 30 September 2016.

Duty Station:

• The Assignment shall be based in Lilongwe with travel of 7 days to other locations where governance institutions are domiciled in Malawi.

Compétences

• Demonstrates integrity in line with the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• In-depth practical knowledge of strategic planning;
• Ability to apply knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP:
• Builds strong relationships, focuses on impact and result and responds positively to feedback;
• Demonstrates ability to manage complexities;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

• An advanced degree (Masters or Equivalent) in law, political science, governance, human rights, economics, social sciences or related discipline;
• A PhD in a relevant subject will be considered as advantage.

Experience:

• At least 10 years’ experience in the area of governance, law, human rights, and development, of which at least 5 relating to government policy
• Experience working for or with developing country governments;
• Strong professional knowledge in Legal Aid issues with particular reference to policy, institutional development;
• Strong professional knowledge of legal aid and organisational change and re-engineering;
• Experience in leading strategic planning processes and good group facilitation skills;
• Experience in leading strategic planning processes and good group facilitation skills;
• Experience in program management and understanding of the planning and funding cycles of the public sector and development financing organizations;
• Demonstrated understanding of sector-wide approach issues in democratic governance.

The following qualifications and experience are desirable:

• Experience and understanding of Malawi and the SADC Region;
• Experience working for an international development organisations bi and multi-lateral organisation would be considered an advantage;

Language:

• Strong written and spoken English.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications by 4th August, 2016, before 5 pm online, where Procurement notice is advertised: https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm or if any difficulties to the following email address:  procurement.mw@undp.org

Technical Proposal

• Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
• Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work.

Financial Proposal

Personal CV (P11 Form) including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Proposals must include all three documents (combined) uploaded in the online system as one document. Proposals not meeting this requirement will be rejected.

Financial Proposals

Contracts based on daily fee:

• The financial proposal will specify the daily fee, travel expenses and per diems quoted in separate line items, and payments are made to the Individual Contractor based on the number of days worked upon satisfactory completion of the required deliverable.

Travel:

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station in Lilongwe /repatriation travel. 

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer:

Evaluation:

The Consultant will be evaluated based on the qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the ToR.  In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis: When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the 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%.

The award of the contract shall be made to the 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 ToR.

Selection Criteria:

Technical Evaluation: 70% of total evaluation (maximum 70 points):

• Criteria A: Education (maximum 10 points);
• Criteria B: Experience (maximum 40 points):
• Criteria C: Technical Proposal (maximum 20 points).

Final selection: Only the candidate with the highest ranked will be selected.

Note:

Only the highest ranked candidates who have obtained a minimum of 49 points (70%) on the technical evaluation will be considered for the financial evaluation.