International Consultant to perform the end of project evaluation of the “Strengthening the forensic examination of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in Moldova” Project

Vacancy Number: Pr12/00237

Location:Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline: 18 Nov 2012, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:Individual Contract
Starting date: 20 Nov 2012
Reference to the project: Strengthening the forensic examination of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in Moldova
Expected Duration of Assignment:12 working days
Submission Instructions:

Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button or by email to vacancies-moldova@undp.org, no later than 15 November 2012.

Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: alexandru.cocirta@undp.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

All forms of torture or other ill-treatment are unequivocally prohibited under international human rights law. Moldova being party to the main UN, international and European treaties and other relevant instruments, ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture by the Law nr. 66-XV dated 30 March 2006. The respective Law entered into force on 24 July 2006 and with this a National Preventive Mechanism for the prevention of torture was established in Moldova. However, concerns related to torture and other forms of ill-treatment in detention in Moldova are long-standing and have been the subject of extensive scrutiny by international and European human rights monitoring bodies.

Human rights concerns were heightened to the level of emergency in April 2009 after the authorities detained hundreds of people in the wake of demonstrations which turned violent. Abuses included arbitrary detention, widespread ill-treatment, as well as apparently malicious prosecution of a number of individuals. As of September 2009, the prosecutor office has opened criminal proceedings in a handful of cases. However, close to half of over 100 complaints submitted to the prosecutor offices have reportedly been dismissed, many of them because of a lack of basic documentation, including forensics evidence. Therefore, the forensic documentation is crucial for documenting torture cases, and is generally treated as a central component of any effort to prosecute torture.

In order to effectively address torture and other related forms of ill-treatment in Moldova in a comprehensive, integrated and holistic approach, UNDP with support of the European Commission and in partnership with Centre for Forensic Medicine launched the project “Strengthening the forensic examination of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in Moldova”. The overall objective of the Project is to strengthen the forensic examination of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, as a key strategic element in comprehensive, integrated, holistic efforts to end torture and related forms of ill-treatment in Moldova.

Scope of work

The Evaluation is expected to shed light on the underlying factors that impact outputs and outcomes, capture good and bad practices as well as lessons learned, including unintended consequences, with the objective of assisting UNDP in improving design and implementation of future UNDP-supported interventions in this area.

The overall objectives of the evaluation are the following:

  1. Provide an objective assessment of the achievements and results, failures and constraints of the project, as well as an analysis of its performance, impact, relevance and sustainability of the interventions;
  2. Generate lessons learned and good practices from each of respective outputs established in the project since its inception to date to inform current and future programming at the country level;
  3. Assess whether the results achieved are relevant for the current justice and human rights environment in the country and provide solid basis for UNDP and other players for future programming;
  4. Provide clear and forward-looking recommendations that can guide UNDP and partners in developing realistic strategies in this area of work.

The evaluation should be comprehensive and cover the outcome, outputs, activities and inputs of the project. The results of the evaluation will be used for re-focusing the interventions and guiding future programming. In this context, the evaluation will:

(i) Extract lessons learned for future interventions in the sector;

(ii) Propose improvement of the coordination between donor-supported interventions in meeting national requirements;

(iii) Outline main areas of focus for future UNDP projects in the sector.

It is expected that the evaluation will be conducted during the period 20 November – 15 December 2012, over a period of 12 working days, during which all activities and results envisaged under the present assignment will be performed. The assignment will also include an in-country mission of up to 3 working days.

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

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

  • Advanced university degree in social sciences, public administration, international development studies, law or other related areas;

 Years of experience:

  • At least five years of work experience in the review, evaluation and monitoring of development projects and/or programmes, with budgets over USD 0.5 million;
  • At least seven years of work experience in the field of democratic governance, public administration, development, including participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation;
  • Sound knowledge of results-based management (especially results-oriented monitoring and evaluation);
  • Previous work experience on similar assignments with UN agencies and other development organizations, preferably in the region;

 Competencies:

  • Ability to analyze, plan, communicate effectively orally and in writing, produce well written analytical reports, solve problems, organize and meet expected results, manage diversity of views, adapt to  different environments;
  • Good interpersonal skills, solid judgment/ decision making, having demonstrated initiative; creative and team player; self-starter and results-oriented.
  • Fluency in English, both written and verbal;
  • Knowledge of Romanian or Russian would be an asset;

Documents to be included

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

1. Proposal:

(i)  Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;

(ii) Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable);

2. Financial proposal;

3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Financial proposal

 

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments 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 travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).  

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

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