UNDP Jobs - 63860- Elections Legal Consultant

Elections Legal Consultant

Location :

Monrovia, LIBERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Apr-2016

Application Deadline :

25-Feb-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

4 Months (126 working days)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

4 Months (126 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

The successful conduct of the 2011 and 2014 elections has been considered as a significant step in the consolidation of democracy in Liberia. Furthermore, to ensure success in all future elections in Liberia, a series of administrative, capacity and legal challenges must be addressed. The election project therefore aims to extend the democratization process in Liberia, with specific emphasis on improving electoral institutions processes and laws. More specifically, the project will contribute to strengthening capacity of the electoral management body, enhancing electoral processes and support the ongoing process of the constitutional amendment as it relates to elections. The project will also promote effective election coordination and seek to mainstream gender and conflict preventative approaches in its activities.

In follow up to the implementation of the NEC strategic plan, in early 2013, the NEC, supported by UNDP, initiated an electoral legal reform process which has provided the opportunity for an on-going unprecedented dialogue between key stakeholders including the NEC, Civil Society Organizations, political parties, the general Liberian public and international partners. The Elections Law amendments adopted by the Legislature and printed into handbill in September 2014. Continuing efforts by the UNDP Elections Project, the NEC, IFES and other partner organizations provided great support for successful accomplishment of the election law amendment process in Liberia prior to the 2017 elections.

The 2014 Special Senatorial Elections were highly contested in Liberia. It also raised demand for improvement of the complaint adjudication mechanisms at all instances and developing more comprehensive framework for complaint resolution as well as strengthen the capacity and qualifications of complaints adjudicators and legal practitioners. Therefore, the UNDP election project seeks international legal consultant to work closely with the NEC legal and hearing offices in reviewing regulations, guidelines and other legal documents as necessary for the upcoming electoral processes and assist in strengthening of the capacity of hearing and NEC magisterial staff on election complaint adjudication process.

Duties and Responsibilities

Legal consultant will be responsible for the achievement of the project output relating to the assistance to the NEC to provide inputs into necessary election related issues during 2014 elections. The Consultant will be under the direct supervision of the UNDP election project CTA and working closely with the NEC Chief legal section and Chief hearing officer.

Legal Specialist will:

Assist NEC in revising regulations, guidelines and other legal documents as necessary for electoral operations and also to align with the existing constitutional and statutory requirements;
Develop specialized training curriculum to training NEC election magistrates and hearing officers on hearing procedures and duties related to legal activities according to election law;
Conduct information sessions on election law amendments for electoral practitioners and other stakeholders;
Organize an electoral dispute resolution study trip overseas with participation of election administrators, legislature and judiciary to gain knowledge on how these particular tasks are dealt with in other democracies;
Provide expertise and necessary training for NEC sections, hearing office and election magistrates on various election and election operation related issues;
Assist NEC hearing office and the board of commissioners during the complaint adjudication process in drafting of decisions;
Assist NEC legal section and hearing office in dealing with the legal issues during the upcoming electoral processes;

Deliverables/Outputs

More specifically, the following are the deliverables which are linked to the payments as per below:

Revise legal documents as necessary for electoral operations, legal hearing and align them with the existing constitutional and statutory requirements; Conduct information sessions on election law amendments for electoral practitioners and other stakeholders;Develop the curriculum for the training of NEC election magistrate, hearing officers, CSOs, and political parties on electoral dispute resolution - 30 days;
Conduct trainings for the NEC election magistrates, hearing officers, political parties and CSOs on electoral dispute resolution - 30 days;
Organize an electoral dispute resolution study trip overseas with participation of election administrators, legislature and judiciary Assist NEC hearing office and the board of commissioners during the complaint adjudication process in drafting of decisions - 30 days;
Conduct second phase of trainings for the NEC election magistrates, hearing officers, political parties and CSOs on electoral dispute resolution; Submit final mission report to the acting CTA - 36 days.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the project;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly and without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge and expertise in democratic governance, electoral assistance and democratization;
Knowledge and expertise in election complaints adjudication mechanisms in electoral processes;
Significant experience in providing practical advice to policy makers; be able to work well with senior counterparts in government, electoral management bodies, civil society, political parties, and the donor community; and know how to contribute to building national capacity for development;
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, ability to foster networks and partnerships, and good working knowledge of information and computer technology. While representing UNDP views, the candidate should also be able to provide coordination among the UN family of agencies;
Excellent negotiation and representational skills, at senior level;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities. Demonstrated ability to multitask under pressure and to meet strict deadlines often under hardship conditions;
Extensive knowledge and work experience of electoral administration and management with specific experience in legal assistance;
Excellent training and presentation skills;
Excellent drafting and analytical skills;
Good knowledge of cross-cutting democratic governance issues, such as constitutional reform, capacity development and aid effectiveness.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Law.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years of experience working in the areas of electoral assistance or democratic governance;
Experience in assisting election dispute resolution process;
Experience in drafting regulations and guidelines for election process;
Experience in legal advisory role (knowledge of Liberian electoral legal framework is advantage);
Experience in running the election administration trainings based on BRIDGE interactive methodology.

Language:

Excellent command of English.

Criteria for Short listing:

Relevance of education/degree - 10 points;
Years of relevant experience - 40 points;
BRIDGE Experience - 25 points;
Adequacy of skills & competencies - 25 points;
Only shortlisted candidates will be forwarded the UNDP Procurement Notice.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodologies:

Cumulative analysis

Award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable;
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria;
Technical Criteria - [70 points];
Financial Criteria - [30 points];
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% of the total rating will be considered for the financial evaluation.