Consultant to Develop a Training Manual on Gender Responsive Adjudication for Judicial Officers in Uganda

ABOUT IDLO

The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) enables governments and empowers people to reform laws and strengthen institutions to promote peace, justice, sustainable development, and economic opportunity. We contribute to creating stable and inclusive societies where every person can live free from fear and want, in dignity and under the rule of law. IDLO has its headquarters in Rome, Italy, a Branch Office in The Hague, Liaison Offices for the United Nations in New York and Geneva, as well as 17 Country Offices, including Uganda. To learn more about IDLO, please visit our website www.idlo.int or follow us on Twitter @IDLO.

ABOUT NAWJU

The National Association of Women Judges in Uganda (NAWJU) is a membership organization comprised of judicial officers from the lower and upper bench (Judges, Magistrates, and Registrars) who are committed to enforcing women's rights and increasing women's access to the legal system under the Judiciary. The Association was established in 1994 as a branch of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) and has since spearheaded advocacy in the advancement and promotion of gender equality especially improving access to justice for women and children. 

BACKGROUND

IDLO, with funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), is implementing the Community Justice Programme (CJP) 2018-2023, which seeks to enhance the accessibility, quality, and sustainability of justice services delivered for rural, vulnerable, and marginalized communities at the national, district and community levels in Uganda. As part of the CJP implementation, in September 2020 IDLO entered into a cooperation with NAWJU to strengthen the Association’s capacity to contribute to the dispensation of gender-sensitive and responsive justice for rural and marginalized women and girls in Uganda. It is on the above premise that NAWJU, with the technical support of IDLO and in close collaboration with the Judicial Training Institute (JTI), intends to develop a training manual for judicial officers for adjudication with gender considerations. The purpose of the manual is to improve adherence to the principle of gender equality in adjudication of cases as enshrined in the Constitution of Uganda and International Human Rights Laws. This will resultantly enhance the capacity of judicial officers to adequately respond to specific justice needs of women and girls during the adjudication of cases as a conduit to the attainment of gender justice. The manual development process will be preceded and informed by a capacity needs assessment that will be conducted among selected members of the judiciary especially NAWJU members.  Upon its finalization, the Judicial Officers Training Manual on Gender Justice Adjudication shall be utilized by NAWJU, with the support of IDLO and in coordination with JTI, to undertake a Training of Trainers (ToT) drawn from NAWJU membership who will roll out future training to judicial officers and other relevant stakeholders.  The training will be conducted in four regions of the country to increase awareness and utilization of policies and legislation related to dispensation of gender justice and to strengthen the capacity of NAWJU members in procedural handling of cases involving women and girls.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Objectives

The main objective of this assignment is to develop a training manual on gender-responsive adjudication. The purpose of the manual is to equip judges, registrars, and magistrates especially women, with the practical skills and knowledge on how to handle cases in a gender-responsive manner. The specific objectives of the assignment are the following:

1. Conduct a mapping of resource materials and tools on gender justice dispensation available and or in use by judicial officers (Magistrates, Registrars, and Judges) in Uganda.

2. Conduct a needs/gap analysis among judicial officers especially NAWJU members in relation to gender-sensitive adjudication. 

3. Based on the findings in 1 and 2 above, develop and facilitate the review as well as validation of a tailor-made training manual on gender-responsive adjudication for judicial officers.

4. Conduct a Training of Trainers (ToT) using the developed manual for NAWJU members.

Duties and Responsibilities 

Under the joint supervision of the IDLO Program Manager – Uganda (Gender and Civil Society Component) and the NAWJU President and Vice-President, the Consultant will:

• Develop a judicial officer’s training manual on gender justice adjudication in line with the specific objectives stated above. 
• Facilitate the technical review/stakeholders’ validation, and subsequent incorporation of the stakeholders’ perspective into the final manual.
• Support NAWJU in collaboration with JTI and assistance from IDLO, to launch the training manual.
• Conduct a ToT for NAWJU members and support them to develop a strategy to roll out training of judicial officers in 4 selected regions in Uganda.

Deliverables 

The Consultant is expected to produce the following deliverables:

a) A proposal bearing the following: Elaboration of her/his understanding of the assignment, a manual outline, a detailed methodology on how the mapping of available resources/tools and capacity needs/gap analysis to inform the development of the manual will be conducted, a detailed workplan including roles and responsibilities.

b) Report on the available resources/tools on gender dispensation available and or in use by judicial officers in Uganda

c) Report on the capacity needs/gaps assessment on gender justice adjudication 

d) Draft and final version of the Judicial Officer’s Manual on Gender Responsive Adjudication

e) Training of Trainers (ToT) for selected members and development of training strategy for judicial officers in four regions.

TIMELINE AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Upon receipt and review of deliverables of high and satisfactory quality, payment will be made within a reasonable period following submission of the deliverables.  The NAWJU President and IDLO may request changes to be made to any of the deliverables before granting approval for payment. The proposed payment schedule is detailed below:

All final deliverables shall be approved and signed off by the IDLO Country Manager-Uganda and the NAWJU President.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Education

• A Post Graduate Degree in Law or Gender Studies. 

Work Experience

At least 10 years of professional experience in implementing rule of law, gender, and governance sector reforms and programs in Uganda. Experience in comparative common law jurisdictions will be an added advantage.

Experience in implementing institutional strengthening and capacity development programs for judicial officers in Uganda or in Africa.

Technical Competencies

• Strong understanding of gender equality and gender justice including key challenges in achieving gender equality such as sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); 
• Experience in conducting judicial training including the development of judicial training curricula and delivering ToT for judicial officers;  
• Strong understanding of the justice system in Uganda; 
• At least 5 years of experience in conducting needs assessments, management of diverse stakeholders, and development of capacity development plans.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The consultancy will be home-based for a period of approximately 35 days, commencing at the latest June 28, 2021, and ending no later than September 23, 2021. Time is of the essence and agreed deadlines must be respected for full payment of compensation.

Applications will be screened on regular basis; a qualified applicant might be recruited before the deadline. In the interest of making the most effective use of resources, only the short-listed candidates will be contacted during the selection process.

IDLO is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in all areas of its operations. We welcome and strongly encourage qualified female and diverse applications to our positions.

DISCLAIMER AND CLOSING DATE 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the Contractor assigned to this work. This may not be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. 

The Director-General of IDLO reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities or even to cancel the recruitment to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

 The application deadline is 4 June 2021.