Background

The Maldives is a young democracy attempting to build on considerable economic and human development gains, but simultaneously still challenged by deep socio-economic, environmental andpolitical issues. After presidential elections in September 2018, and a peaceful transfer of power, thegovernment is moving forward on its judicial reform agenda which will strengthen the justice sector and provide enhanced access to justice to the people. As part of this reform agenda, there are ongoing efforts to strengthen the justice sector – the legal framework, capacity development of the institutions and measures to increase access to justice.

Judicial education is crucial in the administration and dispensation of justice. It helps build public confidence in the system and ensuring fair and equitable justice for all. The Maldives Judicial Academy (JA) is mandated to promote legal and judicial knowledge in the Maldives by taking necessary measures to help judges, members of the Judicial Service Commission, the staff of the Maldives Judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission to enhance their knowledge, academic capacity, and professional skills.

UNDP has been supporting judicial reform and strengthening capacity of the judiciary over the years. Training and capacity building programmes have been conducted on newly enacted legislations as well as other aspects to enhance access to justice. In view of the existing needs, UNDP under its Integrated Governance Programme (IGP) is seeking the support of an international consultant to undertake a training needs assessment and review the existing judicial training curriculum and programmes currently implemented for the judiciary.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the Judicial Academy and UNDP, the consultant will lead the process of reviewing the judicial training curriculum and programmes currently undertaken in the Maldives. The tasks to be undertaken by the consultant under the Terms of Reference include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following;

Home Based (7 days):

1. Conduct a desk review of the current judicial training curriculum and programmes and submit an inception report outlining recommendations in line with international norms, standards and best practices;
2. Review relevant assessments and follow up on their recommendations.

In Country (13 days):

1. Organize and conduct consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders including but not limited to judiciary (Supreme Court, High Court, Superior Courts, Magistrate Courts), relevant government institutions, lawyers, academia and civil society organizations to conduct a gap analysis to better understand the current challenges and feasibility of recommendations;
2. Submit the final inception report and incorporate feedback from UNDP and Maldives Judicial Academy

Home Based (30 days)

1. Based on the review of suggested policy directives from the JA and key stakeholders and based on the inception report, submit a comprehensive assessment on the curriculum proposing recommendations and outlining challenges and opportunities for rolling out the curriculum;
2. Based on international models and good practices submit new curriculum modules and programme outlines identified in the assessment and incorporate stakeholder comments;
3. Based on international models and good practices submit a training evaluation methodology;
4. Based on the assessment, submit an academic calendar that identifies programmes, modules for the programme and the estimated cost for it;
5. Submit the final assessment reflecting the comments of the JA and UNDP.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

All reports shall be submitted as stipulated below and all reports will be submitted as drafts and upon review by the UNDP and the JA, the consultant shall revise the draft report. Once, the revised reports are accepted by the JA and UNDP, they will be termed as final reports for the consultancy.

The consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables;

1. Inception Report: The initial inception report shall include a summary of curriculum/programmes reviewed, proposed recommendations, possible constraints with regard to the proposed changes and organizations to be consulted in country. A final inception report is to be submitted based on the consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders for the gap analysis to learn about on-the ground practices including the challenges in implementation and monitoring and to discuss possible actions to overcome these challenges.
2. Final Assessment Report: Detailed review of the curriculum and programmes, proposed recommendations, constraints with regard to delivery, and proposed actions to overcome the constraints identified.
3. New Curriculum Modules and Programmes: Based on international models and good practices submit additional curriculum materials and programme outlines identified in the assessment.
   Academic Calendar: Based on the assessment submit an academic calendar that identifies programmes, modules for the programme and the estimated cost (to be provided based on consultation and support from the JA) to be utilised as the annual training calendar by the judiciary.
4. Training Evaluation Methodology: Based on international models and good practices submit a training evaluation methodology to be utilised by the JA for evaluation of their training programmes.

The following table shows an indication of the duration for the deliverables;

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant is expected to work with the JA. The consultant will be accountable to the Programme Office of IGP, for each deliverable as stipulated in the proposal. Fortnightly meetings will be held with the ARR and the JA. A briefing and debriefing meeting will be organized with UNDP senior management at the beginning and end of assignment.

Duration of the Work

This assignment will approximately take 8 weeks and is expected to start early-March. The consultant should come up with a clear timeline while submitting the proposal taking into consideration the estimated time durations for each deliverable as stipulated above.

Duty Station: Home-based, Maldives

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards and acts in accordance with the Standards of Conduct for international civil servants;
• Advocates and 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 favouritism.

Functional Competencies

• Knowledge about the UNDP programmes would be an advantage;
• Proven strong analytical abilities;
• Ability to work under pressure with several tasks and various deadlines;
• Ability to actively generate creative, practical approaches and solutions to overcome challenging situations;
• Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
• A pro-active approach to problem-solving;
• General IT Literacy

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• A minimum of a master’s degree in Law

Experience

• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in designing and reviewing of judicial and legal education curriculums and training programmes
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience working as a judicial trainer
• A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in the justice sector
• Experience of working as a judge is an added asset.
• Experience in the region or similar context is an added asset

Language requirement

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required

Application process

Interested individuals must submit the following as proposals in order to demonstrate their qualifications. 

• A letter indicating why the candidate considers himself/herself suitable for the required consultancy;
• Submission of an updated detailed Personal CV or P11 form which can be downloaded from http://sas.undp.org/documents/p11_personal_history_form.doc
• Lump sum financial quotation, with a breakdown of daily consultancy fee, daily subsistence allowance and ticket fees as applicable – clearly indicate the breakdown of daily fee and number of days of work; 
• At least two references from recent previous jobs or three references contact details

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