Vacancy: OHCHR Human Rights Litigation Consultant, UNDP Moldova

OHCHR Human Rights Litigation Consultant

Vacancy Number: Pr17/01485

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	22 Feb 2017, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	06 Mar 2017
Reference to the project:	Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Expected Duration of Assignment:	March - August 2017 (up to 40 working days indicative)
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online only, by following the “Apply online” link, no later than 22 February 2017. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: violeta.fetescu@one.un.org. UNDP will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) represents the world's commitment to universal ideals of human dignity. It has a unique mandate from the international community to promote and protect all human rights.

OHCHR in Moldova led by the National Human Rights Coordinator supports and advises the UN RC Office, United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Moldova, Government, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), civil society and community groups in strengthening human rights and human rights based approach to development. The National Human Rights Coordinator is assisted in the accomplishment of his mandate by a National Human Rights Officer.

According to the Country Note for the Republic of Moldova 2014-2017, the thematic priorities for interventions include: (1) countering discrimination, in particular racial discrimination, discrimination on the grounds of disability, religion, sexual orientation and other criteria; (2) combating impunity and strengthening accountability and the rule of law; (3) strengthening the effectiveness of international human rights mechanisms and the progressive development of international human rights law and standards.

Scope of work

The litigation consultant under these Terms of Reference works under the guidance and supervision of the National Human Rights Officer and National Human Rights Coordinator. The national consultant works in close collaboration with project partners, beneficiaries and stakeholders for the effective achievement of results, anticipating and resolving complex program-related issues and information delivery.

Under the present Terms of References, the national consultant will:

Task 1: Assist the office in its interaction with potential victims of human rights violations through:

1.1) Screening the incoming human rights complaints and meeting with the complainants;

1.2) Providing orientation advice to the complainants and redirecting complaints to the relevant national bodies;

1.3) Responding to the complaints addressed to the RC or OHCHR Office related to human rights violations;

1.4) Assisting in setting up a structured system of dealing with individual complaints in the Office;

1.5) From the above-mentioned complaints identify the cases with potential success in strategic litigation, assist the beneficiaries in drafting the necessary documents and provide the necessary consultancy in this respect;

Task 2: Continuously interact with lawyers having in their portfolio cases of strategic interest for the Office mainly focused on the rights of groups vulnerable to human rights violations. Hold the records of the office regarding the cases of particular strategic interest to OHCHR.

Task 3: Coordinate and manage OHCHR’s work on strategic human rights / discrimination cases by:

3.1) Following-up on national and international cases earlier dealt with by OHCHR Moldova;

3.2) Facilitating initiation of new strategic litigation cases before the national Equality Council and the Constitutional Court;

3.3) Facilitating transformation of promising strategic cases at the national level into individual complaints under the UN human rights mechanisms (under treaty bodies and special procedures).

Task 4: Assist the Office in coordinating and implementing its work on capacity building for Moldova’s legal professionals (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police officer, law students), through:

4.1) Planning and implementing human rights and non-discrimination capacity building activities for the legal professionals;

4.2) Assist the lawyers in deciding the strategy for strategic litigation cases;

4.3) Coordination of advocacy activities of the Office and dedicated practicing lawyers.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

I. Academic Qualifications:

University degree in law, human rights or other relevant discipline (Master’s degree – a strong advantage);

II. Experience and skills:

At least three years of professional experience at the national and/or international level in human rights, especially human rights litigation;
Experience of work on complaints to at least one of the following a) Equality Council; b) Constitutional Court; c) UN human rights complaints mechanisms (experience of work in two or all three is a great advantage);
Experience in capacity building for civil society and/or legal community;
Experience of working with minorities, marginalized or stigmatized groups is a strong asset.

III. Language requirements:

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

Documents to be included

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Proposal:

Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work.

Financial proposal;

Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and the contact details of at least 3 reference persons.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. Payments are made in installments and are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fees, taxes, mobile phone calls, etc.).

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Disclaimer

In case of discrepancies between the text published on the website and the contents of the supporting documents, the provisions, instructions and conditions included in the supporting documents (published as Adobe Portable Document Format files) shall prevail. In case of discrepancies between the English version and the Romanian and/or Russian versions of text, documents or other content published on this webpage, the English version shall prevail.

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