individual Consultant - Revision of the Magistrates’ Handbook for Criminal Cases for the Judicial Service Commission

Background

The overall vision of the Spotlight Initiative in Zimbabwe is that women and girls realize their full potential in a violence-free, gender-responsive and inclusive Zimbabwe. The Spotlight Initiative will directly contribute to Zimbabwe’s achievement of three of the country’s prioritized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 5 on Gender Equality, Goal 3 on good health and well-being and Goal 16 on inclusive and peaceful societies. The programme will contribute to the elimination of SGBV and HPs through the creation of a broad partnership with Civil Society, Government, Private Sector, Media, among others; and, build a social movement of women, men, girls and boys as champions and agents of change at the national, subnational and community levels. A specific focus will be on reaching and including in the programme women and girls who are often isolated and most vulnerable to SGBV and HPs due to intersecting forms of discrimination. The programme will also seek to address the SRHR needs of all women and girls using a life-cycle approach.The SI Zimbabwe Country Programme will use a multi-sectoral, multi-layered, interlinked community-centered approach to the implementation of the interventions on the following six Outcome Areas based on the socio-ecological model for addressing SGBV and HPs:

• Legislative and Policy Frameworks;
• Strengthening Institutions;
• Prevention and Social Norms;
• Delivery of Quality, Essential Services;
• Data Availability and Capacities;
• Supporting the Women’s Movement.

Duties and Responsibilities

The aim of this consultancy is to revise and produce a comprehensive Handbook for Magistrates which juxtaposes the current jurisprudence relating to criminal law and the appropriate criminal proceedings and sentencing for guidance in the Magistrates’ Court. This Handbook will also codify recent judgments handed down by the higher courts for ease of reference in the day-to- day mandate of Magistrates. It is expected to develop a Magistrates’ Handbook which will provide principles of criminal law and guidelines in SGBV matters and the principles and responses entailed in the Protocol on the Multi-Sectoral Management of Sexual Abuse and Violence. Key tasks to be accomplished by the Consultant

• Revising and developing a comprehensive Handbook on criminal cases for Magistrates;
• Undertaking desk research, analyzing and incorporating recent developments in criminal law, SGBV and women’s access to justice.

The Consultant will undertake the following activities

• Hold an inception meeting with the Secretary or his designate;
• Consult with relevant stakeholders;
• Facilitate a validation workshop with identified participants for validation of the Handbook;
• Produce the final Handbook.

The consultant is expected to follow the style guide used by the Judicial Service Commission, United Kingdom English, with font size 12 in Times New Roman for body text and margins, indentations and one and a half line spacing specific to each paragraph considering uniformity for each page.

Deliverables

• Inception report within 6 working days after signing the contract;
• Draft handbook within 20 working days after signing the contract;
• Validation meeting report within 30 working days after signing the contract;
• One revised and proofread Handbook presented in both soft and hard copies in MS office format, within 40 working days after signing the contract.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Judgement/Decision-making

• Strong technical skills and analytical capacities, sound judgment;
• Strong technical problem-solving skills;
• Ability to understand and establish priorities and work by objectives.

Teamwork

• Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relationships with people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds;
• Ability to work under stress and work overtime when required;
• Self-Management and Emotional intelligence;
• Conflict Management/Negotiating and resolving Disagreements;
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making, builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:  

• Post-graduate qualification in Gender, Law, Human Rights, Evaluation, Social Science, International Relations, Development studies;
• Expertise in gender equality with special focus on protection, prevention and ending VAWG/HP, and on people with disabilities and adolescents.

Experience:

• At least seven years of proven experience in conducting qualitative and/or quantitative research;
• Previous experience conducting gender and/or justice/SRHR related analysis, policy analysis and participatory research;
• Professional experience in areas of Law, Gender, SGBV, HP and/or Human Rights research is an added value;
• Knowledge of the Zimbabwean legal context and experience of working in Zimbabwe on at least one similar assignment desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required and at least one local language Shona/Ndebele.           

Applicants are requested to upload copies of:    Latest CV highlighting the relevant experience. Prospective candidates could apply either as a team or as individuals. When applying as a team, the CVs of all experts in the team should be provided, along with the application;    Updated P11 Form template of which can be downloaded from this website - http://www.sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc;    A detailed technical proposal on undertaking the tasks and evidence of previous work;Please group all your documents (CV, P11, Technical Proposal and certificates) into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Incomplete applications will not be given consideration.Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the applicationPlease note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.Evaluation criteria:The Consultant will be evaluated based on qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the ToR.  In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology:Technical Criteria weight: 70%;Financial Criteria weight: 30%;The award of the contract shall be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the Terms of Reference.“UNDP is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff, and equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Well qualified candidates, particularly women and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply”.