Rule of Law Specialist

Eligibility criteria

Minimum age: 25 years old. Nationals of the country of assignment are not eligible, except the assignments in Headquarters duty stations.

Description of task

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of Chief Technical Advisor for Rule of Law and Program Manager, or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer Rule of Law Specialist will perform the following tasks:

Provision of advice and technical support:

• Advise the state level stakeholders in improving or establishing sustainable mechanisms for access to justice, including statutory, traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, human rights and transitional justice mechanisms;
• Advise the stakeholders on policies, strategies, systems, methods of management and training needs of justice actors;
• Liaise with the Chief Technical Advisor to provide overall technical guidance on matters of government policy on access to justice, human rights respect and transitional justice;
• Put in place policies, strategies and systems for inclusive law reform, effective access to justice, human rights promotion, impunity against SGBV and transitional justice;
• Collect and issue updates on activities on access to justice, SGBV, human rights and transitional justice including changes in legislation and national or regional strategies or action plans.

Capacity building of state level stakeholders:

• Support state institutions to develop and implement policies, long term strategies, systems and action plans for the establishment of effective legal and justice services and monitoring of human rights trends;
• Support the development and practice of alternative and modern methods of increasing access to justice especially for vulnerable groups and resolving communal disputes;
• Develop and implement capacity building strategies to meet the capacity and training needs of the state institutions involved in dispute resolution and human rights protection;
• Support community-based organizations and group, state government, traditional authorities and vulnerable groups to develop community solutions for the protection of individual and community rights;
• Promote skills for mainstreaming gender, respect for human rights and support to vulnerable groups into reform priorities of and service delivery by statutory and traditional justice actors;
• Coordinate and manage implementation of capacity building support to state institutions of justice including formal and traditional;
• Identify and support initiatives for providing legal assistance such as the expansion of community-based NGOs, legal aid centres and community mobilisers to advise victims, detainees and families of abducted groups, and provide basic legal aid services;
• Organize and/or conduct human rights and rule of law trainings

Support to Program planning and implementation:

• Provide substantial inputs to program planning, implementation and monitoring, including drafting of relevant project documents including memos, briefs, talking points, meeting debriefs, minutes;
• Develop detailed Program Annual Work Plans for the state law reform, access to justice, human rights, SGBV and transitional justice initiatives together with the Program Specialist, and provide inputs to develop the consolidated Program Annual Work Plans;
• Support development of ToRs for Small Grants, oversee the work of beneficiaries of Small Grants Facility, and ensure quality of outputs in keeping with grants applications;
• Implement program work plans in the state and supervise UNDP supported work undertaken in the state as and when required.
• Submit quarterly analytical reports and provide inputs into other reporting requirements to the donor and M&E activities in the rule of law area to the Program Manager on work done and further prospects as decided by the program.
• Support the program management to develop necessary documentation (concept notes, briefs, and fundraising notes) to operationalize and steer programmatic initiatives and activities;

Facilitation of the strategic partnerships:

• Develop strong working relationships with all local stakeholders and between the state and traditional justice institutions, and with the security actors, other relevant government agencies, CSOs and international partners;
• Liaise with partners and facilitate communication on Program-related activities including organizing joint thematic learning and networking events on justice, human rights and transitional justice topics;
• Develop and maintain close working relationships with local civil society and community groups to facilitate project implementation, as well as identify issues, risks, priorities, and opportunities that support effective project implementation;
• Liaise with and establish strong working relationships with other UN agencies and international organizations to promote a coordinated approach to the development and implementation of justice, human rights and transitional justice programs;

Knowledge management and communication of results:

• Collect Program monitoring data on a regular basis and issue updates on activities in the rule of law area including changes in legislation and national or regional strategies or action plans;
• Monitor the key interventions of the Program on rule of law particularly for vulnerable groups such as IDPs, children, the elderly, and survivors of SGBV;
• Monitor and report on justice, human rights and transitional justice issues locally, and identify emerging trends using program mapping and other available data;
• Communicate results based on corporate principles of gender-responsive communications and non-discriminatory language.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end of assignment self- reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Qualifications/Requirements Required degree level: Master degree or equivalent Education - Additional Comments:

Master’s degree in either law, human rights, international relations or public administration.

Required experience: 60 Months Experience remark:

• A minimum of five years of relevant experience, at the national and international levels, in planning, developing, managing and monitoring legal, human rights and judicial/justice sector reform processes.
• High-level planning, facilitation, communication and capacity development skills with a demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge and skills in a complex institutional environment
• Experience of working in conflict/post-conflict settings;
• Demonstrated experience in coordinating with and reporting on the work of diverse teams and financial resources at international level.
• Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills;
• Accuracy and professionalism in document production and editing;
• Excellent interpersonal skills; culturally and socially sensitive; ability to work inclusively and collaboratively with a range of partners, including grassroots community members, religious and youth organizations, and authorities at different levels; familiarity with tools and approaches of communications for development;
• Ability to work and adapt professionally and effectively in a challenging environment; ability to work effectively in a multicultural team of international and national personnel;
• Solid overall computer literacy, including proficiency in various MS Office applications (Excel, Word, etc.) and email/internet; familiarity with database management; and office technology equipment;
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision; ability to work with tight deadlines;

Language skills:

• English(Mandatory), Level - Fluent

Area of expertise: Rule of law, judicial and national legal system reform, Human rights Area of expertise details:

• Ability to provide and advocate for policy advice;
• In-depth knowledge of development and justice sector issues;

• Ability to clearly and articulately present concepts and strategies on a broad range of issues.
• Proven knowledge of programme and financial management as well as administration of rule of programmes and services at the local level.
• Concrete skills in conceptualizing strategies and justice sector and human rights interventions.
• Ability to perform and adapt to complex and changing political, social, and economic contexts.
• Promotes a knowledge-sharing culture in the office;
• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects and programs, particularly in the justice sector;
• Focuses on impact and results for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Fosters a strong team approach to optimize results delivery;
• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
• Communicates effectively with staff at all levels of the organization;

Driving license: No Competencies values:

Adaptability and Flexibility, Commitment to Continuous Learning, Communication, Integrity, Planning and Organizing, Professionalism, Working in Teams

Application procedure:

* Not yet registered in the UNV Talent Pool?
First register your profile at https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/signup.
Important: After creating your account, complete all sections of your profile and submit it. Then go to ‘My Page’ at https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/mypageand click on the ‘Special Calls’ hyperlink. Lastly, select the special call to which you would like to apply.

* Already registered in the UNV Talent Pool?
First update your profile at https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/profile. Then go to ‘My Page’ at https://vmam.unv.org/candidate/mypageand click on the ‘Special Calls’ hyperlink to select the special call to which you would like to apply.

Application deadline: 05-Mar-2020