Back Project Associate Strengthening Efficiency of and Access to Justice in Moldova (A2J)/Reinforcing the National Capacities to Provide Efficient Skills-Based Training for Legal Professionals (NIJ 2), Chisinau, Moldova

Job ID: 35280

Practice Area - Job Family: Management - ADMIN FINANCE

Vacancy End Date: (Midnight New York, USA) 31/03/2021

Duty Station: Chisinau, Moldova, Republic of

Education & Work Experience: G-Bachelor's Level Degree - 6 year(s) experience

Languages: English, Romanian

Bulgarian, Gagauz, Romany, Russian, Ukrainian

Grade: SB3

Vacancy Type: Service Contract (SC)

Posting Type: External

Bureau: Europe & the CIS

Contract Duration: 31 December 2021 with possibility of extension

Open to Nationals of Republic of Moldova only

Background

Reform in the justice sector is a key area in Moldova’s national development policies and plans. Although important efforts have been deployed during the last years to improve the efficiency, transparency, fairness and accessibility of the justice sector, the justice system still fails to deliver at the level of users’ expectations. Men and women, particularly from marginalized or minority groups, are not able to claim their rights and access justice effectively. Forensic institutions remain a weak link in the justice chain, not able to consistently provide trustful evidence on cases due to a limited support in their modernization endeavours.

Lack of effective and fair justice service delivery, coupled with the low trust in governance institutions, reinforces a culture of civic passivity while a weak social cohesion is feeding deep societal divides and inequities along urban/rural, income level, ethnic and linguistic lines. This is particularly relevant at the subnational level, where the levels of civic engagement and legal empowerment are low, the civil society organizations are weak or not capacitated to ensure a proper monitoring and oversight of justice delivery in their community and are not able to engage with the justice chain actors in a constructive manner.

Furthermore, the problem of inadequate and insufficient reasoning/argumentation of judicial acts represents an issue of major concern for the whole judicial system. Judgments that are clear, logical and comprehensive advance the rule of law by helping the population better understand the rules and engender respect for judicial institutions and judicial professionals. Through its mandate, the NIJ can directly influence the quality of judicial acts, the reform of the justice system and ultimately the trust of people in justice institutions and processes.

In this respect, the overall objective of the A2J Project is to contribute to an increased efficiency of justice services and to improved access to justice of men and women in Moldova, in particular from vulnerable and marginalized groups, through enhanced capacities of forensic institutions to provide qualitative justice services, strengthened capacities of the justice sector actors in the selected pilot areas to provide coordinated response to men’s and women’s justice needs and strengthened civil society able to claim the respect of rights and engage in a constructive dialogue with the justice chain actors.

Understanding effective access to justice requires a focus on the ability of people to address their justice problems in a fair, cost efficient, timely and effective manner. Therefore, the project will prioritize the support to the implementation of reforms at sub-national level in a number of pilot areas for a more efficient and transparent administration of justice process, better coordination between justice agencies and increased and inclusive justice service delivery for the most marginalized and vulnerable segments of the population. The Project will explore and experiment with innovative solutions, developed and tested at the grass-root level, while empowering and working with civil society organizations to enhance access to justice for the population, as well as communication between diverse actors in the justice and law enforcement sector.

Moreover, recognizing the important role of forensics in ensuring a fair access to justice, the Project will employ a holistic approach to reinforcing the forensic system by developing better capacities of experts, more transparent and efficient institutional processes, standardization in line with ISO requirements and automation of internal workflows. In addition to the above-mentioned intervention, the incumbent is expected to support the implementation of the NIJ 2 Project, that aims at reinforcing national capacities and structures to provide efficient skills-based training for legal professionals in Moldova. The Project shall support the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in introducing legal reasoning concept into the professional legal training and contribute to nurturing a next generation of legal professionals equipped with relevant knowledge and skills. Institutional support and assistance will be provided to further build capabilities of the NIJ to ensure a modern legal professional training environment with due consideration to digital transformation needs.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Project Manager(s) the incumbent assists in the effective and efficient management of the project(s), initiatives and events through a range of actions contributing to the planning, implementation, management and monitoring of the corresponding activities. The Project Associate applies and promotes the principles of results-based management (RBM), as well as a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations. The Project Associate works in close collaboration with other Project team(s) members, the Programme, Operations, Communications and other project teams in the Country Office (CO) for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex project-related issues and information delivery. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems. The Project Associate in close cooperation with the project team, under the direct guidance and supervision of the Project Manager, will ensure the provision of financial, procurement and administrative services of the highest standards to the project team, UNDP Country office, as well as national counterparts and clients. More specifically: Administrative management

• Pro-actively contribute to the day-to-day projects implementation and ensure conformity to expected results and project work-plans;
• Supervise other support staff (Driver) and coordinate short-term consultants;
• Make pertinent logistical arrangements for the prompt and effective implementation of project activities;
• Provide advice to the team on financial and administrative issues;
• Assume overall responsibility for the coordination and performance of project administrative matters.

Financial management

• Prepare requests for advance of funds and/or direct payments;
• Monitor budget expenditures and maintain a proper record of approved project budgets and their revisions;
• Prepare proposals for budget revisions;
• Prepare and submit expenditure and project budget status reports and maintain accurate budget reporting;
• Respond to queries from UNDP with respect to financial aspects of the project, liaise with UNDP-appointed and external auditors wherever required;
• Prepare recurring reports as scheduled and special reports as required for budget/financial preparations and audit;
• Coordinate the financial aspects related to the implementation of activities by the Responsible Parties under the HACT modality;
• Advise and assist international and national consultants on all aspects of allowances, travel claims and other financial matters and calculate payments due for claims and services;
• Undertake other financial and administrative tasks on an ad hoc basis.

Procurement

• In accordance with the Project Work Plan(s) coordinate and arrange for the procurement of equipment, supplies and services;
• Prepare project procurement plans and monitor their implementation;
• Coordinate and prepare documents necessary for the launch of procurement processes;
• Organize procurement processes, including preparation and conduct of RFQs, ITBs or RFPs, development of bidding documents, receipt of quotations, bids or proposals, their evaluation, negotiation of conditions of contracts, in full compliance with UNDP rules and regulations;
• Organize procurement processes with respect to individual consultancy services (ICs, RLAs), coordinate receipt of applications and financial proposals, their evaluation, negotiation of certain conditions of contracts in full compliance with UNDP rules and regulations;
• Promote and monitor the transparency of the procurement and contractual processes, and the use of international best practices; ensure that contractual processes follow the stipulated UNDP rules and regulations;
• Draft contracts for goods, services, consultancy or civil works for management approval;
• Effective management, maintenance of evidences and monitoring of awards and contracts with project implementing partners, consulting organizations, contractors, etc.;
• Monitor supplier’s performance with respect to the quality and timely delivery of goods and services;
• Create and manage e-requisitions in ATLAS;
• Coordinate equipment maintenance and insurance as required;
• Ensure that contractual processes follow the stipulated UNDP procedures;
• Clear and ensure delivery of equipment and supplies procured for the various project sites;
• Maintain the equipment and spare inventory including verification and transfer when required.

Perform other relevant duties as required.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Adheres to the core values of the United Nations; in particular, is respectful of differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status;
• Exerts strict adherence to corporate rules, regulations and procedures. Familiarity with the internal control framework and results-based management tools is a must;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Accepts responsibility and accountability for the quality of the outcome of his/her decisions.

Functional Competencies: Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

• Understands the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position;
• Possesses and apply knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position (knowledge related to financial resources management, including formulating budgets, maintaining Accounts Receivables and Accounts Payables, reporting);
• Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.

Knowledge Management and Learning

• Shares knowledge and experience with Project team members and other staff;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

• Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to Results-Based Management, including support to design, planning and implementation of Project, managing data, reporting;
• Adapts flexibly to changing situations, overcomes obstacles and recovers quickly from setbacks;
• Ability to engage with various partners and stakeholders at different levels, to establish and maintain contacts with senior-level officials of the host government and, when delegated, represent UNDP in national and regional events;
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, is required to obtain, evaluate and interpret factual data and to prepare accurate and complete reports and other documents.

Leadership and Self-Management

• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Tolerates conditions of stress, uncertainty or ambiguity and continues to maintain a positive outlook and to work productively;
• Ability to achieve results and meet strict deadlines in an effective manner, maintaining a high-quality standard throughout.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University Degree in economics, finance, accounting, law, public administration or another related field.

Experience:

• At least six years of professional experience of which at least four years of experience in developmental assistance projects, including administrative work, accounting/finance, procurement, economics, or other substantive work;
• Experience of working with an international organization, donor organization, consulting company, or NGO is an advantage;
• Previous experience of work with the UNDP is an advantage;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling web-based management systems.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in oral and written English and Romanian;
• Knowledge of one or more minority languages relevant for Moldova, including Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Romani, Russian, Ukrainian and sign language, is an asset.

Disclaimer

Important applicant information

All posts in the SC categories are subject to local recruitment. This is a local position, therefore only citizens of the Republic of Moldova or others legally authorized to work in the country are eligible to apply.

UNDP is an employer committed to gender equity and to providing equal opportunities to both male and female. UNDP is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

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