Country Director – IBJ Myanmar

A Leader for IBJ-Myanmar Program

IBJ is looking for a full time Country Director for its Myanmar Program. This person will be a public voice of legal aid, the over-all manager of a complex access to justice project with 5 sites and 30+ employees, develop training for staff and the legal profession and build dialogues with justice sector actors.

About International Bridges to Justice

International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to ensuring the basic legal rights of ordinary people throughout the world, as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. IBJ works to guarantee all people the right to zealous and competent legal representation at the earliest possible time to prevent violations of their rights within the criminal justice system. A successful candidate would join a vibrant community of justice makers and advocates throughout the world. IBJ presently operates country programs in Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, Syria, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mexico. Since its founding, IBJ has trained over 30,000 lawyers and provided legal support to 400,000 vulnerable individuals worldwide.

About the IBJ Myanmar Access to Justice Project

Since 2017 IBJ has implemented 5 legal aid Justice Centres throughout Myanmar as part of the European Union-funded British Council MyJustice Initiative. The project goals in 2020- 21 are to:

1. Provide high-quality client-centred legal representation and advice to poor and marginalized individuals while also using appellate litigation to promote fair trial rights and substantive justice.
2. Enhance the capacity and commitment of lawyers in Myanmar to protect accused individuals, especially those from marginalized communities, from human rights abuses and unfair trial practices.
3. Increase communication and collaboration between lawyers and justice sector officials to lead to the adoption of rights-based legal reforms.
4. Advance the sustainability of IBJ-Myanmar Justice Centres by further investment in the capacity building of local leadership to allow for full nationalization by end of 2021.
   IBJ envisions a world where the basic legal rights of every person are respected in case of an arrest or judicial accusation, in particular: the right to competent legal representation, the right to be free from torture and cruel treatment, and the right to a fair trial. It’s a world where the institutionalization of fair and effective justice practices have eliminated the use of torture as the cheapest method of investigation. The Country Director must create a blueprint-workplan that moves strategically towards the realization of this vision in Myanmar.

In Phase 1 (April 2017 to December 2019) IBJ provided direct representation in criminal matters and general legal advice to over 3000 people, promoted improved lawyer effectiveness through regional trainings and communities of practice reaching hundreds of lawyers, and engaged justice actors through regional round tables and one on one advocacy meetings. IBJ has created, distributed and trained on the first Myanmar Criminal Defense Practice Manual. Lawyers have pioneered creative law-based strategies aimed at early release, fact-based defense lines, and a willingness to seek appellate remedies.

Phase 2 (January 2020 to December 2021) expands this work by increased focus on access to lawyers immediately post-arrest, factual investigation, use of sophisticated legal argument at trial and post-verdict, holistic representation, and prioritizing empowering our local staff to assume management and ownership of all in-country activities by the end of 2021.

See: https://www.facebook.com/IBJMyanmar/

Responsibilities:
The Country Director will need to be a strong confident voice for criminal legal aid, access to justice, and fair trial rights at the Union and regional/state levels. The Country Director will have over-all management responsibility for this large-scale access to justice project. The Country Director will lead and coordinate the country-wide operations. The Country Director will develop and implement ongoing legal trainings. The Country Director will lead all Myanmar staff to manage the project:

• Provide vision, develop and implement IBJ Myanmar’s overall program strategy in consultation with IBJ’s CEO and International Program Director and supported by senior Myanmar staff, such as the Senior Finance Manager, Senior Legal Advisor, Program Coordinator, and Justice Centre Senior Lawyers;

• Oversee the implementation of the programmatic work plan, analyzing and anticipating delays and challenges, and proposing adjustments to the International Program Director as required;

• Develop and implement IBJ Myanmar’s budget in consultation with international staff based in Geneva and supported by national staff such as the Senior Finance Manager;

• Lead the overall management of the program, including substantive and administrative matters, to ensure the effective, efficient and timely delivery of all activities and results. This includes overseeing local staff charged with legal service delivery, with contracting, and with hiring and other Human Resource matters;

• Develop and implement training and capacity-building activities to help the criminal defense lawyers deliver more effective legal aid and access to justice services to the poor;

• Ensure the existence and implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems and procedures that satisfy internal and external needs, including quarterly and annual reports;

• Represent IBJ to and engage with relevant parties in Myanmar including: donors; independent lawyer associations; the Office of the Attorney General, Union Legal Aid Board (ULAB), Ministry of Home Affairs; the Supreme Court of the Union of Myanmar; as well as international and national non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations working in the rule of law, access to justice, and justice education arenas;

• Analyze the Myanmar criminal justice system needs, including but not limited to legislative reform, training initiatives, programs to strengthen delivery of legal services to children, women and men, including minorities, and other reform strategies;

• And perhaps most importantly, lead by example to the IBJ-Myanmar team. Inspire a young team to build strong relationships, work together, take personal responsibility, develop as professionals and excel in the delivery of high-quality representation and making change in the justice system.

The following is desired for a successful candidate:

• A strong personal commitment to access to justice, non-discrimination, zealous criminal defense, and rule of law.

• A willingness to lead a diverse and independent staff with attention to issues of gender-equity, non-discrimination, and meaningful collaboration.

• A Law Degree (LLB, JD or equivalent);

• Legal aid and criminal defense experience, including criminal trial practice, for at least 10 years. Those with experience in immigration or other civil legal aid areas can also be considered providing the candidate demonstrates a strong personal commitment to criminal justice;

• Proven experience of operations planning and strategic planning, including Theory of Change;
• Excellent English language skills, both spoken and written;

• At least 10 years of experience in the area of program management and administration;

• Project and time-management skills – able to develop clear program plans and manage multiple activities at the same time, against set milestones;

• Experience in developing, amending and managing budgets, budget forecasts and financial reporting and grant compliance with donors;

• Human resource management experience;

• Capacity-building and interactive training experience;

• Experience in development work, including grant writing and fundraising;

• Experience in development of high-level partnerships and negotiation skills with the State and other sectors.
Conditions of the Position

The IBJ Myanmar Country Director will be based in Myanmar. The Country Director will be expected to travel regularly throughout the country and will be responsible for completing the following activities in all our project sites in Mandalay, Hpa-An, Taungoo, Taunggyi and Nay Pyi Taw. The initial contract will be for one year, with extensions being dependent on performance and available funding. Gross salary range for this position is between $6,000 and $8,000 per month commensurate with the experience.