National Consultancy on Access to Justice for Children

Under the supervision of the Child Protection Specialist, the consultant will provide support in elaboration and implementation of the Rolling Work Plan on Access to Justice for Children for 2018. The consultant will also provide inputs to the Country Office Annual Reporting as well as development of internal thematic reports for Regional Office and HQ of UNICEF. The consultant will also provide expertise for the specific interventions listed below.

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfill their potential – to the benefit of a better world.

Background and Justification:

 The Government of Azerbaijan has confirmed its interest in reforming justice sector and undertaking specific measures to enhance rights of children in justice sector through close cooperation with and technical assistance from UNICEF. At the same time the country requires continues assistance to ensure that their system of juvenile justice as well as mechanisms of protection of the rights of children victims and witnesses of crime and ill-treatment are in line with international standards enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN standards and norms and harmonised with European standards defined within Guidelines on child friendly justice and other documents. In order to address the above mentioned goals, UNICEF and the Government of Azerbaijan has been implementing joint Work Plans including the Justice for Children component.

As a part of the partnership with the Ministry of Justice and international development agencies UNICEF Country Office in Azerbaijan has strengthened its interventions to promote and improve the Access to Justice for Children recent years. Comprehensive Assessment of the situation of Juvenile Justice System in Azerbaijan has been conducted and following this draft National Strategy on Strengthening Juvenile Justice System in Azerbaijan has been elaborated and submitted to the Ministry of Justice. UNICEF has also implemented the project of “Promoting Access to Justice for Children in Azerbaijan through national capacity building for State and Non-State Actors” which has provided free legal aid services for vulnerable children and families in five districts of the country.

In upcoming years UNICEF CO will continue promote the reforms in Access to Justice for Children based on the develped strategy by focusing the expansion of the practice of specialized juvenal justices teams, development of legislation and institutional capacity on Probation and Mediation system for children.

The Consultant will support Child Protection Specialist in addressing these priorities to enhance children’s access to quality justice services, protection of the rights of children and adolescents going through the justice system and build the capacity of state and non-state actors in fulfilling their roles in child rights protection.  

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Child Protection Specialist, the consultant will provide support in elaboration and implementation of the Rolling Work Plan on Access to Justice for Children for 2018. The consultant will also provide inputs to the Country Office Annual Reporting as well as development of internal thematic reports for Regional Office and HQ of UNICEF. The consultant will also provide expertise for the specific interventions listed below.

Consultant will be engaged and will contribute to accomplishment of the following tasks:   

• Contribute towards the preparation of the Rolling Work Plan (RWP) and Situation Analysis by compiling data, analyzing and evaluating information;
• 3-days per week, part time support to Child Protection Specialist in organizational maters, related to the activities on juvenile justice and access to justice for children;
• Observation of trials of the child related cases at the Baku Court of Grave Crimes and developing recommendations on effective use of child-friendly room at the court;
• Identify training needs, design and organize capacity building programs for the staff members of Probation office of the Ministry of Justice on Probation and Mediation practices for children;
• Develop proposals for the legislation and minimum standards on Probation and Mediation for children;
• Assist Government and NGO partners to plan and organize training/capacity building programs on the legal aid for children;
• Other support to the Juvenile Justice programme as per needed.

Deliverables:

• Proposals for activities in the RWP
• Recommendations for the effective use of child friendly court rooms
• Draft legislation and minimum standards on Probation and Mediation for children;
• Proposals for the capacity building of government and NGO partners on A2J for children.

To qualify as a/an [champion or advocate] for every child you will have…

• Advanced university degree in Law, International Law, Social Science, Economics or other related field.
• 5-7 years of experience of working with local and/or international technical assistance providers.
• Three years progressively responsible experience in programme design, administration, monitoring and evaluation or related field.
• Strong experience and expertise on issues of juvenile justice, justice for children and access to justice services in Azerbaijani and international context.
• Thorough knowledge of the national and international legal frameworks for juvenile justice and access to justice for children.
• Analytical and conceptual ability; communication skills.
• Planning and monitoring skills; ability to organize work and projects.
• Ability to make timely and quality judgments and decisions.
• Computer skills, including internet navigation, and various office applications.
• Commitment to continuous learning for professional development.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural environment, and establish harmonious and effective working relationships both within and outside the organization.
• Commitment to UNICEF’s mission and professional values.
• Good problem solving skills.
• Native Azerbaijani; fluent English.

Interested individual consultant must submit the following documents/information to UNICEF for application:

a) CV and motivation letter.

b) Financial proposal

For every Child, you demonstrate…

Our core values of Commitment, Diversity and Integrity and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified candidates from all backgrounds to apply.