Antecedentes

Sierra Leone has made major strides in moving towards a pluralistic democracy governed by the rule of law and with respect for human rights since the civil war ended in 2002. The Mo Ibrahim Governance Index for 2012 ranked Sierra Leone 31st out of 52 countries, with the third-fastest improving governance score. Political developments also went hand in hand with economic development, largely driven by extractive industries. Incidence of poverty declined from a high value of 66.4% in 2003 to 52.9% in 2011 However, despite gains made, Sierra Leone was still ranked 184 out of 187 countries in the 2014 Human Development Index, and the gender inequality index in 2013 ranked Sierra Leone at 139 out of 149, mainly due to low participation of women in the overall economy. Women remain largely excluded from political, social and economic power: only 15 out of 124 MPs are female. Both prevalence and acceptance of GBV are high.

UNDP Sierra Leone commenced its new Country Programme Document (CPD) 2015-2018, slightly delayed due to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) crisis since most of 2015 was dedicated to supporting the complete halt of EVD and realigning projects to encompass and support the Government’s planned 10-24 months EVD recovery strategy.

In line with the Agenda for Prosperity (AFP) 2013-2017, the government's poverty reduction strategy, the UNDAF 2015-2018 and UNDP’s strategic Plan 2014-2017, UNDP’s CPD focus is on Inclusive and Effective Democratic Governance and Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development. Within this framework, the programme will seek to address the social, economic and geographical inequalities by targeting the most marginalized groups especially women and youth to bring about shifts both at policy and operational levels.

Aligned with this framework UNDP is currently developing its new five (5) year Rule of Law Programme in accordance with the commitments made in the UNDAF 2015-2018 in support of the government’s achievement of the AFP priorities for the justice and security sector. Furthermore, the new programme will focus on promoting a just and peaceful Sierra Leone and strengthening existing justice and human rights oversight institutions in support of the effective achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16.

The new programme will commence in 2016 and will further build on key achievements, lessons learnt from the previous Rule of Law and Access to Justice two (2) year project and support the justice institutions in overcoming adverse effects imposed by the 2014-2015 Ebola crisis that will contribute to restoring trust and confidence in government services that further degraded during the crisis.

 Under the umbrella of the Rule of Law Programme, UNDP and the Judiciary of Sierra Leone embarked on a two-year project that commenced 1 July 2015 to develop and implement a sentencing policy and guidelines, and to amend the 2009 bail policy – as well as support the justice sector in establishing a case-management system that will support accountable justice services in the country.

 The Project Manager – INL funded project will be placed in the Rule of Law Programme and will be responsible for the effective achievement of the Sentencing and Bail project under the direct supervision of the Rule of Law Program Specialist. The incumbent will have the lead coordination and oversight role of the Sentencing and Bail Working Group, and ensure effective implementation of all activities under the project in close cooperation with the Judiciary and the relevant stakeholders.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Summary of Key Functions

• Project Planning and Management;
• Technical assistance to the Judiciary;
• Financial and Operational Management.

Project Planning and Management

• Support the RoL Program Specialist in his/her functions to oversee and manage all programme implementation functions with a specific focus on the Sentencing and Bail project, including budget and finance management, work planning, procurement, recruitment, monitoring and evaluation and reporting functions;
• Support the Sentencing and Bail Working Group in planning and implementing all activities in coordination with national and bilateral partners - leading to the development of the sentencing and bail instruments;
• Support the RoL Program Specialist in her/his functions to coordinate and manage the overall delivery of the project in an effective and efficient manner, working closely with the justice institutions, civil society organizations, academic institutions, UN agencies and entities, and donors/development partners;
• Prepare the annual work plan for the Sentencing and Bail INL funded project, a human resource plan and procurement plan in line with the project outputs and objectives;
• Closely monitor the delivery status and prepare progress updates – both narrative and financial – in relation to the agreed work plan, implementation strategy, and the agreement signed between UNDP and the donor;
• Ensure proper information sharing, coordination and cooperation with other development actors;
• Ensure strict adherence to UNDP procedures, rules and regulations;
• Ensure integration of cross-cutting issues into the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of project activities.

Technical Assistance to the Judiciary

• Provide technical assistance to the Judiciary to implement project activities in line with the project outcomes and outputs as stated in the INL Project document;
• Strengthen capacity of the Judiciary to coordinate and lead the process of reform in terms of sentencing and bail and effective records and case management in the country;
• Facilitate justice reform processes by providing high-quality technical assistance based on international best practices;
• Support the coordination and stronger working relations between justice sector institutions and civil society organizations working within the sector;
• Analyzing information in order to identify rule of law and human rights trends and propose actions.

Financial & Operational Management

• Ensure integrity of financial and administrative procedures as well as a consistent application of UNDP procedures, rules and regulations;
• Support the procurement process and ensure all procurements are updated in ATLAS and that e-requisitions, purchase orders and payment requests are initiated in a timely manner; provide evidence of resource availability to avoid delays in processing procurements;
• Provide leadership and oversight to ensure that qualitative services are provided to national partners, including by putting in place fair and transparent procurement processes and by providing efficient operational support.

Competencias

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;
• Excellent analytical and organisational skills.

Functional Competencies

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Promotes a knowledge-sharing and learning culture in the office;
• In-depth knowledge of justice sector and human rights issues;
• Ability to provide and advocate for policy advice;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more UNDP Practice Areas and applies newly acquired skills.

Building Strategic Partnerships

• Ability to identify needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners.

Result Orientation

• Ability to get things done efficiently and in a timely manner;
• Ability to take responsibility for achieving agreed outputs within set deadlines and strives until successful outputs are achieved;
• Identifies opportunities to bring forward and disseminate materials for advocacy work.

Team Work and Communication skills

• Demonstrates initiative and self-motivation to work independently, as well as, cooperative and collaborative spirit to work in a team;
• Excellent time management, monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Innovation and Marketing New Approaches

• Consistently looks at experience critically, drawing lessons, and building them into the design of new approaches.
• Identifies new approaches and promotes their use in other situations;
• Creates an environment that fosters innovation and innovative thinking;
• Capacity to make fair and transparent decisions, and take calculated risks.

Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

• Promoting lessons-learned and best practice and effective knowledge management;
• Advocates for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches;
• Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms;
• Shares knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education

• Master’s degree in Law or any other relevant discipline, preferably with specialization in human rights and/or criminal law.

Experience

• At least 5 years’ professional experience in developing countries and substantial experience with access to justice, judicial reform and strengthening the rule of law;
• High-level planning, facilitation, communication and capacity development skills with a demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge and skills in a complex institutional environment;
• Proven knowledge of project management and project tools;
• Sound knowledge of UNDP procedures, rules and regulations;
• Prior experience working in Africa is considered an asset, but not a requirement.

Language Requirement

• Fluency in English, including excellent writing skills.