VAC-7956 National Senior Legal Advisor

• Political developments in 2020 & 2021 jeopardized Somalia's progress towards peace & reconciliation. The failure to reach a political agreement on the implementation of the electoral framework hampered advancement on all other key priorities, including constitutional review process, justice & security sector reform, institution building etc. The political crisis resulting from disputes around elections reached its peak in April 2021, when federal security forces split along clan lines that later on escalated in the brief conflict in Mogadishu. Following the emergent diplomatic actions, the National Consultative Council (NCC) was convened in May 2021 discussing at length how to find solutions on holding elections for the Federal Parliament & related contentious political issues. In an annex to the electoral agreement, the NCC decided to implement the roadmap for crucial mid to long term state building priorities in Somalia based on the federal system, highlighting that completion of the constitutional review process is the matter of key importance.

• Recently completed parliamentary & presidential elections may be (cautiously) considered as a potential starting point for the positive transformative changes. The focus is now being placed on the transition towards good governance, constitutional democracy based on the federal system & rule of law. For example, on its last session held on 11th - 12th June 2022 NCC agreed to prioritize the following state building matters namely completion of constitutional reform & safeguard the gains achieved in the previous periods & finalization of national security architecture & continuation of fight against terrorism, development of a unified democratic election model, resolving social & political conflicts, initiation of a dialogue between the FGS & Somaliland, implementation of the federal system & finalization of a national independent judicial system.

• Capacitation of the legislative institutions is of key importance to ensure progress on the state building priorities, following the NCC June 2022 Agreement. Hence, going forward, our client will be particularly focused on capacitation of the MPs of the 11th Federal Parliament (FP) to fulfil their mandated tasks. In particular, our client will deliver orientation trainings on the role of the parliament, assist to develop & review key documents to enable efficient operations of the FP, such as the FP rules of procedures, strategic plan etc., provide trainings on law drafting, help establishment of the women caucus & increase the capacity of the women MPs to advocate for gender sensitive laws & gender rights (in coordination with UNWOMEN & other agencies & programs & contribute to creation of a platform for continuous engagement with CSOs & citizens to ensure inclusive & transparent parliamentary processes.

• The support will be also extended to the FMS parliaments, who are fully operational, but still require additional assistance to be able to perform their constitutional role, following the completed needs assessments.

• Hence, our client would like to recruit an experienced National Consultant who will provide technical assistance to the FP & Hirshabelle & Southwest parliaments to draft, amend & adopt laws, prepare relevant strategies, plans & internal documents & assist in establishment of sustainable platforms to ensure citizens engagement in the parliamentary work. Finally, the consultants will assist our client & UNSOM to efficiently facilitate discussion between the FGS & the FMS on the state building priorities, integrating technical & political approaches.

Under overall supervision of our clients Inclusive Politics Portfolio Manager & direct supervision of the Program Specialist, the consultant will provide direct high level technical assistance to the parliaments of Puntland, Jubaland & Galmudug states to increase their capacities to fulfil their mandated tasks, focusing on:

• Legal drafting.

• Amending rules of procedures, strategic plans & by laws to ensure efficient parliaments.

• Ensuring accountability towards citizens, with the particular focus on women.

• Monitoring of the executive.

• Assisting our client & UNSOM to facilitate discussions between the FGS & the FMS on the state building priorities, integrating technical & political approaches. The consultant will also coordinate with other relevant UN agencies, international partners & national counterparts for the successful completion of the assignment.

Deliverable 1:

• Prepare & deliver orientation trainings to the parliaments.

• Draft reports from the trainings.

• Review rules of procedures of the parliaments.

• Assist in establishing of women caucus.

• Deliver trainings to women MPs to advocate for the GEWE.

• Assist parliaments in drafting & review of bills.

• Support parliaments in conducting research on draft bills.

Deliverable 2:

• Prepare & deliver legal drafting trainings.

• Draft reports from the training.

• Review strategic plans of the parliaments.

• Support to establishment of platforms for the citizens engagement in the parliamentary work.

• Support our client & UNSOM to facilitate political discussions on state building priorities.

• Final report for completion of all deliverables as mentioned above.

• The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Inclusive Politics Portfolio Manager & in consultation with the Portfolio National Officers in all the locations.

• Progress reporting shall include regular meetings / conference calls & written reports with brief description of progress towards achieving the expected deliverables. The national consultant will maintain close communication with our client on regular & needed basis throughout the assignment. In the event of any delay, the national consultant will inform our client promptly so that decisions and remedial action may be taken.

• All reports & presentations including the final report shall be in the English language. There may be 1 to 2 rounds of additional review prior to finalizing the document.

• Deliverables will be reviewed & endorsed by the designated client staff for approval & certification of payment by our clients Inclusive Politics Portfolio Manager.

• Masterns Degree in Law, International Affairs, Public Policy, Public Administration, Communication, Social Studies Conflict Resolution or related field.

• At least 10 years of experience working with state bodies & civil society in the area of legal drafting & institutional building, as a Senior Advisor.

• Experience in working with the parliaments is a significant advantage.

• Experience of working in post conflict & crisis settings, with dynamically changing conditions on the ground.

• Knowledge & experience in Sharia is a significant advantage.

• Experience in provision of high level policy advise.

• Experience in legislative development processes in developing country contexts would be an asset.

• Proven working experience with Somali federal & FMS institutions.

• Fluent in written & spoken Somali & English is required.

• Fluency is Arabic is desired

• Communication & problem solving.

• Teamwork.

• Capacity development / training.

• Analytical skills.

This role has no team management responsibility.

• Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply for this role.

• There are a total of 3 locations for this assignment, i.e., home based with 2 field missions. The number of days allocated for each of the 3 locations including home based work are as follows 15 days Garowe, 15 days in Dhusamareb, 15 days in Kismayo. The 2 mission locations will be determined by the selected indivduals home base