National Consultant (Capacity Building) for ACJC, Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Integrity Openness National (ACTION) Project

UNDP Global Mission Statement:

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP is on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP supports stabilization, State-building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIROA), the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the State, Ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and sub-national levels. UNDP has played a role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA), which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN system to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground.

Organizational context:

UNDP Afghanistan’s Governance for Peace (G4P) Programme Unit supports the Afghan Government in implementing its strategies for Governance, Rule of Law, developing its institutional capacity and providing services to the Afghan population. This includes supporting the implementation of the Afghanistan National Strategy for Combatting Corruption. 

Following the successful implementation of the Project Initiation Plan (PIP) for Anti-Corruption “Development Plan for a Nation-Wide Anti-Corruption Project”, implemented from January 2018 to June 2019, UNDP is now managing and delivering the Anti-Corruption, Transparency and Integrity Openness National (ACTION) Project. The ACTION project contributes directly to the targets of the broader Governance, Rule of Law and Human Security portfolio and works in close coordination with other projects in this pillar and other development actors.

ACTION programmatic engagement includes technical support to the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC). The ACJC has been established by Presidential Decree No. 53, dated 30 June 2016 in order to enhance the fight against major corruption crimes through achieving a more efficient way to expedite, integrate and co-ordinate detection, investigation, prosecution and implementation of court decisions. The jurisdiction of the ACJC is focused on the most serious crimes of corruption either by the amount involved or by the rank of the state official alleged offender. 

The ACJC is a joint centre which includes:

1. Major Crimes Taskforce – Reports to Ministry of Interior
2. General Prosecution Directorate – Reporting to Attorney General’s Office
3. Primary and Appeal Courts – Assigned by the Supreme Court 
4. Executive Directorate – Reports to the Attorney General’s Office

The ACTION Project overall objectives are:

1. Increased public trust in Rule of Law in Afghanistan, improved transparency, accountability and integrity, and better restoration of the social contract between the Afghan state and its citizens, especially vulnerable groups, including women;
2. Assist in the Restoration of the Afghan Social Contract: One of the main objectives of this project to facilitate collective action against corruption, and work towards a corruption-free environment. Corruption damages the social fabric and contributes to a vicious cycle of poverty and conflict. Raising awareness among all actors that everyone is collectively responsible for systemic corruption, and that everyone needs to work together to address it and creating options for collaborative engagement can contribute to a restoration of the social contract between citizen and state.
3. Improve Development Effectiveness: This project will also help to achieve the broader objective of tackling corruption to improve development effectiveness. Corruption within Rule of Law institutions affects reforms across the sector. Improvements to processes that improve transparency and accountability are likely to have additional positive effects, such as improved accessibility and affordability for citizens, but also less wastage of resources, and improved aid effectiveness for donors.

The ACTION Project includes the following output:

“The Anti-Corruption Justice Centre has improved technical and operational capacities to effectively adjudicate Corruption Cases”.

By the end of the project period, police, prosecutors and judges co-located at the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC) will receive measurable improvements to their technical capacities and ability to investigate violations. ACJC administrative and management staff will be better able to provide core office functions. In addition, by the end of this project, critical equipment and logistics gaps will have been filled, in support of sustainable long-term ACJC operations.

Between July 2019 and October 2019, a strategic need assessment of the ACJC was conducted to assist in increasing the capacity to investigate, prosecute, adjudicate and administrate cases under the jurisdiction of the ACJC. The need assessment identified criminal justice needs; administrative and logistics needs; security and infrastructure needs; communication needs; and policy and legislative needs. 

Organizational context of the position:

Under the overall supervision of the ACTION Project Manager and in consultation with Capacity Building Specialist of ACTION project, the National Consultant for capacity building of ACJC will be responsible to work directly with the Anti-corruption Justice Center (ACJC) on conducting the institutional capacity assessment and support implementation of the capacity building program.

The scope of work for this assignment is as follow:

• Support the institutional capacity assessment of ACJC;
• Implement the recommendations mentioned in the capacity building plan to achieve the targeted milestones in close coordination with National Training Coordinator, Executive Directorate Attorney Office & Project Manager.
• Ensure efficient data and evidence collection from the trainings conducted for the project’s reports i.e. number of participants aggregated by gender, level of training and etc.;
• Take active part in and document the trainings in order to identify possible risks or gaps and areas of improvements.
• Organize the meetings, focus group discussion, individual interviews to prepare the need assessment and training plan for the ACJC in close coordination & communication with National Training Coordinator & Executive Director Attorney Office.
• Cooperate with the National Training Coordinator in designing and preparing layout for short-term, medium-term and long-term training programs in accordance to the capacity building plan.
• Support the National Training Coordinator in preparation and drafting proposals/ Concept notes for all planned trainings.
• Cooperate the National Training Coordinator in Identifying specific capacity building requirements, gaps, and skills needed for the different stakeholders.
• Revise the Capacity Building Plan & Action Plan in close consultation with National Training Coordinator, Project Manager and Executive Directorate Attorney Office as and when required.
• Draft a curriculum/TOR to facilitate training with incorporation ACJC’s goals with close consultation of Executive Directorate Attorney Office, Project Manager & Training Coordinator.
• Provide support to the international consultants in arranging meetings with the senior management of the ACJC.
• Assist the international consultant in organizing meetings with national counterparts, through simultaneous oral and written translations; 
• Support in the development and review of training materials.
• Work with the ACJC Executive office on data collection
• Draft training report and other related reports as required;
• Complete related tasks as requested by the Project Manager and Training coordinator.

Required Skills:

• 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;
• Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Deliverables and Schedule of Payments:

Payment Modality: 

Payments under the contract shall be delivery based and be made on receipt of the specific milestone reports indicated above, and including a timesheet according to UNDP procurement formats for individual contractors. Upon receipt of final comments on the last report and successful completion of all deliverables, the consultant shall submit a final report for formal acceptance by UNDP at which point the final payment shall be released.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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:

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP. 

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Ability to apply development theory to the specific country context to identify creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations.

Management and Leadership:

• 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;
• Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Academic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in law, Social science, International relations, political science, economics, business or public administration or any other related field is required;
• Master degree in law, social science, international relations, political science, economics, business or public administration or any other related fields is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Pashtu or Dari is required.

Working Arrangements

Institutional Arrangements:

• The consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and  National training coordinator and in close collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Project team.
• UNDP will provide office space and internet access, logistical support, transport and security, applicable to UNDP national personnel. The consultant however is expected to bring his/her own laptop and mobile phone and meet local communication costs (UNDP will provide a local pre-paid SIM card). Costs to arrange meetings, workshops.

Duration of the Work:

The total duration of the consultancy will be a maximum of five months (with maximum 80 working days), starting  Aug 2021.

Duty Station:

The consultant will work Kabul in the UNDP Office and embedded in the ACJC office. The consultant will follow the working hours and weekends as applicable to UNDP staff. Consultant’s movement for meetings and consultations shall be coordinated by the UNDP office. The consultant is at all times required to observe UNDP security rules and regulations.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

• Professional Fees – The Consultant shall propose a daily fee which should be inclusive of his/her professional fee, local communication and transportation costs. The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is five months (with maximum 80 working days).
• The total professional fee shall be converted into a lump sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the abovementioned schedule of payment.

UNDP reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory if work/outputs is incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines.

Evaluation Method and Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

• Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual 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 solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight 70%
* Financial Criteria weight 30%

Technical Criteria 70 Marks

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Qualification and Experience [evaluation of CVs for shortlisting]: 30 points

• Relevant education (10 points)
• Experience relevant to the assignment (25 points)
• Previous experience with UNDP Rule of Law and Human Security, and or Governance Projects (5 points).
• Interview: 35 points

Financial Evaluation (30%):

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where
p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated
y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal
µ = price of the lowest priced proposal
z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested national Consultant must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
  • Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;

All materials developed will remain the copyright of UNDP Afghanistan.  UNDP Afghanistan will be free to adapt and modify them in the future.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

• Annex 1 – IC Contract Template (for information);
• Annex 2 –  Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (to be completed at later stage upon request by UNDP);
• Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions (for information);
• Annex 4 – RLA Template (if consultant wishes to be recruited through an employer) – (for information).

Note: Incomplete application will result in automatic disqualification of candidate.