Strengthening the rule of law and promoting human rights are cornerstones of UNDP's mandate to achieve sustainable human development and eradicate extreme poverty. Through rule of law, access to justice and human rights assistance, UNDP contributes to building peace and democratic governance across the full range of development contexts.
The Kyrgyz Republic has embarked on a major transition towards establishing transparent, accountable and effective governance at both national and local levels. Constitutional reform in 2010 and parliamentary elections in 2011 and 2015 have contributed to shape a more responsive parliamentary system building the foundation for improved governance processes and application of rule of law and human rights. However, public sector effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of institutions remain key areas for improvement as to date, citizens’ expectations for more transparent and effective basic services have yet to be met, and polls continue to show that corruption, accountability, and economic development are perceived by the citizens as priorities. Rule of law in particular is an area where the Kyrgyz Republic requires improvement, with a composite score of 0.47 out of 1 and a country rank of 82 from 113 countries in the 2017-2018 WJP Rule of Law Index.
Within this context, rule of law and access to justice have been identified as critical priority under the Development Programme of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2018-2022, as well as by outcome II of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2018-2022 which supports institutions at all levels to become more accountable and inclusive ensuring justice, human rights, gender equality and sustainable peace for all.
Notably, significant efforts have been undertaken to reform the justice sector, law enforcement bodies, forensic services and the penitentiary system since 2013. In 2017-2018, the Parliament has amended and/or approved relevant pieces of legislation to establish a more accessible, accountable and effective criminal justice system, including the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, the Criminal Executive Code, the Law on Probation, the Law on Mediation, the Law on State Guaranteed Free Legal Aid, Civil Procedure Code, Administrative Procedure Code. The new legislation will enter into force starting from January 2019, along with other important legal regulations to support the effective implementation of the criminal justice reform.
Against this backdrop, in line with output 2.2 of the Country Programme Document 2018-2022: “Justice system and institutions enabled to uphold rule of law, promote and protect Human Rights, and improve access to justice of vulnerable population groups, especially women, youth, minorities and persons with disabilities”, the “Accountable Institutions, Justice and Peace” portfolio of the UNDP Country Office in the Kyrgyz Republic is currently implementing a number of strategic initiatives to strengthen accountable and responsive justice institutions; build trust in State-society relations and ensure inclusive processes that promote legal empowerment and access to justice for women, youth, and People with Disabilities; assist the Ministry of Justice to implement a sustainable legal aid framework and raise legal awareness among the general public; and support national rule of law actors in their efforts to implement the legal and criminal justice sector reform and promote a culture of accountability and rule of law among the general public. These projects, which are currently funded by the United Kingdom, the Government of Finland, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US Embassy and the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, are implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, as well as a number of civil society organizations working in the justice sector.
Moreover, from January 2020, UNDP will begin the implementation of The Spotlight Initiative (SI), a partnership between the European Union (EU) and the United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), including a number of rule of law and access to justice initiatives aimed at at promoting the rights of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and improve service delivery related to SGBV.
Under the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor Rule of Law and the strategic guidance of the Senior Advisor on Strengthening Parliament Democracy and Rule of Law of the Strong and Inclusive Parliamentary Democracy (SIPD) project and the National Programme Officer of the UNDP Accountable Institutions, Justice and Peace Cluster, the Rule of Law Coordinator will be responsible for the daily management of the rule of law projects’ activities, ensuring high quality technical, administrative and financial support in line with UNDP financial rules and programme and operations policies and procedures. S/he will ensure proper formulation, execution and monitoring of project’s agreements and work-plans, provide technical advice to country office, counterparts and implementing partners, supervise consultants and national staff as required by projects’ organograms, as well as be accountable to the Project Boards for the achievement of project results.
The emphasis of the assignment will be also on building strategic relationships and capacity of national counterparts with regards to rule of law, access to justice and justice sector reforms, and on the provision of sound context-based advice to the projects’ teams in support of project implementation. The Rule of Law Coordinator will also work with staff in the UNDP CO and at the project level, to promote effective achievement of results, ensure information sharing and promote knowledge, as well as develop viable working relationships with colleagues across the organization and counterparts, ensuring responsive client orientation and problem-solving attitude.
Summary of key functions:
1. Provide strategic advice on rule of law and justice initiatives focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Provide strategic technical advice to the rule of law and justice initiatives of the Accountable Institutions, Justice and Peace Cluster and contribute to the design of new interventions and development of projects’ proposals in the rule of law and justice sector;
- Undertake/support all exercises regarding mapping, rule of law and access to justice baseline assessments and surveys at national and local level, to establish realistic and contextualized baselines for project development and monitoring;
- Support the Government and relevant implementing partners in their efforts to lead justice, judicial and legal reform, promote justice sector coordination and carry out public legal information campaign;
- Input/support other relevant rule of law national interventions as well as other projects’ activities as requested by the CTA, the Senior Advisor and the Team Leader of the Cluster.
2. Ensure high quality project management and implementation of projects’ activities focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Oversee the day-to-day coordination and implementation of relevant rule of law projects’ activities and the financial, administrative and operational management of the project in line with the annual work plan in the area of responsibility;
- Prepare and present work-plans, periodic narrative progress reports, financial and expenditures status reports to the Project Steering Committee/Boards, UNDP Country Office and participate in projects’ audit and evaluations; follow up on the recommendations made by the Committee/Boards and monitor the progress of the projects towards achievement of its outputs and outcomes;
- Ensure the effective management of projects’ staff, consultants and short-term experts, including conduct periodic performance appraisals, lead and motivate a solid team of professionals;
- Ensure high quality communication, information and visibility of the projects’ activities in compliance with the UNDP rules and procedures;
- Participates in design of monitoring tools and analysis of monitoring results to ensure achieving successful results of technical assistance and contribute to identification of operational and financial problems, and development of solutions in area of responsibility.
3. Promote knowledge building and develop strategic partnerships with rule of law and access to justice stakeholders focusing on achievement of the following results:
- Conduct analysis and research of information on donors, counterparts and implementing partners, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new project activities, active contribution to the overall project effort to mobilize resources;
- Under the guidance of the CTA, draft timely and high-quality background papers, briefing notes, talking points, analysis, and other substantive information for the CTA and as requested by UNDP CO on relevant rule of law projects-activities and issues;
- Support capacity and knowledge building initiatives of national counterparts, including curriculum development, trainings, workshops, seminars, conferences, design of interventions, as well as identify opportunities for government counterparts to share their experience with other countries and facilitates South-South cooperation;
- Contribute to the harnessing of effective partnerships and competitive selection of partners for implementation of UNDP projects; promote joint programming, and collaborate effectively in established frameworks for UN and other international coordination; ensure proper coordination and information sharing with all international and national partners working in rule of law and access to justice;
- Identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned from the projects for organizational sharing and learning as well as external information.
Corporate Competencies:
- Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
- 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;
- Ensures that programmes and projects are consistent with UN/UNDP values;
- Treats peers fairly by maintaining consistent values inspiring trust and confidence through personal credibility;
- Accepts responsibility and accountability for the quality of the outcome of his/her decisions.
Functional Competencies:
Knowledge Management and Learning:
- Shares knowledge and experience;
- Focuses on tasks/activities which have a strategic impact on programme and capacity development activities;
- Promotes a supportive environment to enhance partnerships, leverages resources and build support for UNDP’s strategic initiatives;
- Collaborates with regional, national and local partners to create and apply knowledge and concepts that will help partners achieve UNDP’s development objectives within the country and regional context;
- Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise / In-depth knowledge of the Subject-matter:
- Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines;
- Serves as internal consultant in the area of expertise and shares knowledge with staff
- Continues to seek new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the unit;
- Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
- Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.
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 Programme, managing data, reporting;
- Ability to provide input to business processes, re-engineering, implementation of new system, including new IT based systems;
- 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 represent UNDP in national and regional fora;
- 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;
- Capacity to implement the strategic vision and programmatic goals as laid down in the Project Document;
- Proven performance in organizing and coordinating major initiatives, events or challenging inter-organizational activities;
- Adapts flexibly to changing situations, overcomes obstacles and recovers quickly from set-backs.
Leadership and Self-Management:
- Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
- Ability to achieve results and meet strict deadlines in an effective manner, maintaining a high-quality standard throughout;
- 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;
- Demonstrated ability to manage a team and to foster team spirit and synergy in managing donor contributions towards the common project objectives that are outside the project.
Education:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in Law, Public Administration/Policy, International Relations, Political Science, Development Studies, or other relevant discipline.
Experience
- At least 3 years of progressive working experience in the design, management and implementation of development projects, preferably in the area of Democratic Governance and/ or Rule of Law, and/ or working in a relevant position to this post;
- Solid knowledge in the area of democratic governance, rule of law, accountability, access to justice, legal and justice sector reform;
- Solid project management experience and knowledge of principles and best practices;
- 1 year of experience in managing teams;
- Previous experience in legal aid and/ or justice system is an asset;
- Working experience with UN agencies, justice institutions and/or civil society organizations working on rule of law and justice issues is preferred.
- Previous experience working closely with high-level government officials and/ or local administrations would be an advantage;
- Proven ability to draft, edit and produce written proposals and results-focused reports;
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.).
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English and Russian;
- Knowledge of Kyrgyz is an asset.
Important applicant information
All posts in the SC categories are subject to local recruitment.
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Workforce diversity
UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.
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Contract Duration: 12 months with possible extension