UNDP | Legal Aid & Human Rights Coordinator

Legal Aid & Human Rights Coordinator - Ramallah

Job ID/Title :     880 - Legal Aid & Human Rights Coordinator

Category : Governance and Poverty Reduction
Application Deadline :     02-May-16
Duty Station :     Ramallah   
Languages Required : Arabic, English,   
Duration of Initial Contract :     One Year
   
Background:
UNDP/PAPP is seeking a Legal Aid & Human Rights Coordinator (MOJ). The Legal Aid & Human Rights Coordinator will work under the overall guidance of the team leader and Joint Programme Manager, and the direct supervision of UNDP RoL Programme Specialist.
 
This assignment arises in the context of UNDP/UN Women Joint Programme, Strengthening the Rule of Law in the oPt: Justice and Security for the Palestinian People (2014-2017). The UNDP/UN Women Joint Programme is oriented around the following seven mutually reinforcing outcomes:
-Capacity of justice and security institutions strengthened and linkages forged
-Civil society contribution to rule of law and community access to justice in the West Bank enhanced
-Civil society contribution to rule of law and community access to justice in the Gaza Strip enhanced
-Gender responsive ness of justice, security and legislative actors strengthened
-Women and girls’ access to justice and security improved by ensuring accountable service provision to prevent, protect against and respond to violence, and by addressing their broader legal needs
-Juvenile justice and adherence to child rights improved
-Capacity of key actors and stakeholders to monitor progress and results in rule of law development increased.
 
The European Union funded Project “Building a Sustainable Legal Aid System in Palestine” (‘the Project’) is housed in the context of the UNDP / UN Women Joint Programme. The Project will be implemented between 1 November 2015 and 30 April 2017. The objective of the Project is to improve the administration of justice in the State of Palestine in accordance with international standards, including access to justice for vulnerable groups. A key focus of the Project will be to strengthen institutionalized approaches to the provision of legal aid services in Palestine and the harmonization of the legal framework.
 
It is anticipated that for the duration of the EU Project, the Legal Aid & Human Rights Coordinator will contribute 80% or more of her/his time to its implementation of activities under the Project and the balance under Sawasya Programme related outputs.
 
The MOJ leads policy development and reform of the justice sector to ensure the provision of public justice services capable of protecting human rights and providing ready access to justice for all community members, especially vulnerable groups and the poor. The Basic Law, as the de facto constitution, provides strong human rights protections for citizens in the justice sector. Accordingly, the role of the Ministry of Justice in providing access to justice and promoting and protecting human rights is crucial alongside the roles of the courts, the prosecution, police and the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR).
 
The Ministry of Justice has an established Human Rights Unit, however it lacks clarity as to the precise scope of its mandate and lacks capacity to provide robust human rights advice and services to the MOJ and the Palestinian public. It currently investigates public human rights related complaints, provides some oversight of places of custody and detention, and has input into human rights-related processes in the Ministry and the sector. Since the State of Palestine’s accession to all the core human rights treaties including the ICCPR, CEDAW and the CRC, the MOJ now has additional responsibilities to fulfill in accordance with international as well as national human rights standards.The model for the Human Rights Unit will include development of a recommended structure, TORs for the MOJ Human Rights unit and for staff posts within the unit, operating procedure, training needs etc., all to be harmonised with the existing and future work of the MOJ.
 
Another key area of the MOJ’s mandate is in relation to access to justice. The Ministry of Justice has already previously provided leadership on the development of a plan for a national legal aid scheme. One of the key recommendations arising from the inaugural Legal Aid conference was the establishment of a National Legal Aid Committee. The Ministry has prioritized the development of legal aid services in its strategic plan and wishes to proceed with establishment of the Committee, development of a national legal aid policy and strategy, review the draft legal aid law and develop a supportive regulation/bylaw.
 
As this position is part of the Joint Programme, UNDP/ UNWomen entitled Strengthening the Rule of Law in the occupied Palestinian territory - Justice and Security for the Palestinian Peoplewith an expected duration until 30 April 2017, a contract can be offered until 30 April 2017 and the Service Contract extension will be conditioned to satisfactory performance evaluation as well as availability of funding under the project.
 
Description of Responsibilities:
Summary of key functions:
 
Under the direct supervision and guidance of the UNDP Programme Specialist, with regular updates to the Joint Programme Manager ,the Legal Aid & Human Rights Coordinator (MOJ) will be expected to deliver the following key results : .
 
Sustainable establishment of National Legal Aid Committee and Strategy
-Successful establishment, regular convening and sustainability of a National Legal Aid Committee by the MOJ.
-Provide technical support to the National Legal Aid Committee and to the legal aid network on policy sub-committees relevant to the work of the Legal Aid Committee and the National Legal Aid Strategy.
-Work to ensure that the National Committee legal aid strategy includes protection of the right to access of justice for vulnerable groups, including women and children
-Support review of draft Legal Aid Law, development of supporting Regulation/bylaw through inclusive process involving civil society and institutional actors.

Integrating human rights and juvenile justice into work of MOJ
-Support the Ministry of Justice to review existing domestic law compliance with international human rights treaties obligations and national obligations including juvenile justice.

Institutional Support for the MOJ Human Rights Unit
-Develop a draft TOR for the Human Rights Unit, including assessment of the human resources needed to staff the Human Rights Unit, development of TORs for unit posts, draft Standard Operating Procedure for the MOJ Human Rights Unit
-Support the Human Rights Unit to further strengthen its existing linkage and collaboration with the ICHR and civil society human rights organisations as well as other core justice institutions and the police.
-Support the institutional development of the mandate and functions of the MOJ Human Rights Unit will also take into consideration relevant regional and other comparative models adopted in justice sectors’ elsewhere to ensure the model accords with best international practices.
-Develop an integrated multi and single year development and work plan for the HRU inclusive of SMART indicators.
-Ongoing provision of technical assistance and advice to members of the MOJ Human Rights Unit through implementation of a coordinated work plan with MOJ counterpart/s to incrementally transfer knowledge and skills to them and closely track implementation of the capacity development plan.
-Support the MOJ Human Rights Unit Head to provide ongoing advice and regular updates to the Minister/Deputy Minister of Justice as to progress of the Unit.
-Support the HRU Head to build and maintain strong external and internal networks that could facilitate progress and coordination of human rights and legal aid related activities between other justice institutions, the ICHR and with civil society organizations.
-Fully participate in the UNDP/UN Women Rule of Law Programmeincluding in Programme justice sector coordination meetings, plenary team meetings, review and input of programme documents, regular reporting and other work or activities stemming from the programme, as requested.
-Undertake any other duties requested by the supervisor.

Impact of Results:
Successful implementation of the European Union funded Project “Building a Sustainable Legal Aid System in Palestine” (‘the Project’) within the context of the UNDP / UN Women Joint Programme through :
 
-National Legal Aid Committee established and national policy for legal aid developed.
-Human rights needs of MOJ assessed and plan for the development of a Human Rights Unit.
-Identification of human resource and capacity needs of Human Rights Unit.
-Capacity of MOJ human rights unit counterparts strengthened to implement the work of the Human Rights Unit including coordination of implementation efforts across the MOJ and with other relevant institutions and civil society actors.
-Increased permanent capacity built within the Human Rights Unit to sustain highly functional human rights capacities across areas of access to justice/legal aid, juvenile justice, human rights treaty monitoring, ICC implementation and human rights complaints/fair trial standards.
-Improved capacity to monitor human rights and provide reliable, measurable data on human rights standards implementation across the MOJ’s work.
-Improved knowledge of senior MOJ staff of MOJ treaty obligations and approaches to implementation and monitoring.
-Strengthened relations with other core justice institutions on human rights implementation.
-Improved communication and coordination within and between MOJ relevant directorates and units on relevant aspects of human rights treaty implementation, access to justice/legal aid, juvenile responsiveness, and other aspects of the Human Rights Unit’s mandate.

Competencies :
Leadership

-Creates excitement for work through demonstrated excellence
-Excellent diplomatic skills and sound judgment

Innovation

-Collaborates and integrates
-Identifies and develops opportunities for innovative approaches and creative solutions

People Management

-Encourages collaboration and improves team performance
-Proven mentoring and capacity development skills

Communication

-Advocates, able to change mind of self, peers and partners
-Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Delivery

-Makes new ideas work
-Excellent organizational and time management skills.
-Proven ability and experience of working in a team.

Technical and functional competency

-Formulates ideas drawing from extensive expertise
-Knowledge of legal aid concepts and principles and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations
-Knowledge of international Human Rights standards and principles (including human rights mainstreaming) and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations
-Ability to manage complex relationships through pathways of knowledge exchange, capacity development, funding relationships and strategic engagement.

Qualifications :
Education:

-Minimum Masters Degree in law and/or public administration, with specialization or extensive experience in human rights.

Experience:

-Qualified legal practitioner
-Minimum five years of experience in human rights related area.
-Previous experience in working in legal aid service provision
-Previous experience working in the public sector.
-Excellent knowledge of the Palestinian justice sector
-Good awareness and understanding of gender and juvenile justice issues and the obstacles related to access to justice for women and children.

Language Requirements:

-Fluency in Arabic and English is a requirement (written and spoken)
-Excellent drafting, writing and communication skills to a highly professional level
-Full computer literacy (and strong knowledge of various software including Excel, PowerPoint and Word.

“UNDP/PAPP is an equal opportunity employer: applications from both internal and external men and women will be considered equally”
 
UNDP actively supports the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
 
Important message to all applicants!
-Please be aware that the UNDP/PAPP will review your application only if you have uploaded Personal History Form (P.11) to your application. Please download the form from the following link: http://jobs.undp.ps.
-You will get the opportunity to upload the P-11 at when you apply for the position.
-Incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date will not be given consideration. Please note that only applications that are under consideration will be contacted.
-For more detailed information about UNDP/PAPP please visit our website at www.undp.ps.

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