In Ukraine, UNDP operates in five programmatic areas of support: government capacities for crisis response and management; sustaining provision of public services; emergency works facilitating return and reconstruction; incomes, livelihoods and the private sector response; and civil society and maintenance of the social fabric.

The war in Ukraine has already resulted in significant loss of life; unprecedented displacement, internally and towards neighbouring countries; and devastating destruction of infrastructure. Eighteen years of socio-economic achievements in Ukraine are at risk. UNDP’s core engagement is to preserve development gains as fully as possible, and to return Ukraine to pathways towards achieving the SDGs as quickly as possible.

UNDP launched its Resilience Building and Recovery (RBR) framework for Ukraine on 11 April 2022 to immediately respond to the development and humanitarian challenges. The overall objective is to preserve development gains in Ukraine, mitigating risks of descent into a governance and service delivery crisis, embedding activities for recovery from the onset of the humanitarian effort, and facilitating a swift return to development pathways and processes for national attainment of the SDGs.

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is an integral part of UNDP’s offer via the RBR framework. The UN RPP has addressed priority needs in the east of Ukraine arising since the outbreak of the armed conflict in spring 2014. The Programme supports the economic recovery of war-torn communities, further accelerating the decentralization and health-care reforms in these regions, and strengthening community security and social cohesion in target communities. Although the UN RPP was initially designed to respond to and mitigate the causes and effects of the armed conflict in east of Ukraine, after the large-scale Russian invasion began on 24 February 2022, the Programme expanded its activities to the most war-affected oblasts of Ukraine, located primarily in the east and south of Ukraine.

Based on previous experience and to support the strengthened resilience and early recovery of war-affected communities in the selected target areas of Ukraine, UNDP and the European Union, a long-term partner (including for UNDP’s programme in the east), have in parallel launched the “EU4Recovery – Empowering Communities in Ukraine” (EU4Recovery) project, which will ensure a multiplier effect by further expanding key interventions mentioned above. EU4Recovery interventions are grouped under the following key objectives:

• Target communities have increased access to quality public services that respond to the needs of all population groups, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable.
• Community security is enhanced, and the social fabric is maintained in project target areas.

EU4Recovery is being implemented via an area-based approach, whereby the synergies to be extracted from a multi-sectoral approach have maximum impact on the lives of individuals at community level.

In response to UNDP’s identified priorities in support to strengthening of the rule of law and improving access to justice, UNDP Ukraine invites applications from highly qualified and experienced Ukrainian professionals for the post of Rule of Law and Access to Justice Analyst. In line with UNDP’s mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behaviour, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, the incumbent will contribute to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment throughout Project implementation.

 Duties and Responsibilities

The Rule of Law and Access to Justice Analyst will work under the direct supervision of the Rule of Law and Access to Justice Specialist, operational supervision of the Community Security and Social Cohesion Coordinator and overall guidance of the Community Security and Social Cohesion Specialist. S/he will be assisting and supporting the implementation of all rule of law and community security activities in target oblasts under the Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme.

The Rule of Law and Access to Justice Analyst will be responsible for:

• Contributing to the delivery of the specific activities envisaged in the Projects under Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme umbrella and under the EU4Recovery Project in the area of Rule of Law and Access to Justice;
• Engaging in partnership building with project stakeholders at national and sub-national sector (both civil society and governmental);
• Actively participate in implementing an area- and community-based approach by supporting the engagement with the justice service providers and with local authorities in close collaboration with the work implemented by the community mobilization team within selected local communities;
• Actively participate in the mainstreaming of protection of civilians, human rights, and upholding of rule of law issues into reform priorities, throughout Projects’ implementation and in cooperation with other teams under the IDRPB portfolio and other portfolios as appropriate.

Specifically, s/he will perform the following tasks:

Contribute to the delivery of specific activities envisaged in the area of Rule of Law and Access to Justice

• Participate in development of the detailed project activity plans together with the Rule of Law and Access to Justice Specialist, and provide inputs to development of Project Annual Work Plans;
• intake a proactive approach to project implementation, including drafting of relevant Project documents (memos, briefs, talking points, meeting debriefs, minutes), and other reporting requirements in the area of rule of law and access to justice;
• Support national institutions to develop and implement action plans which strengthen access to justice;
• Collect and issue updates on activities in the rule of law and access to justice area (assisting in research activities, processing statistical data, drafting conclusions and recommendations) including drafting changes in legislation and national or sub-national strategies or action plans;
• Participate in monitoring and reporting on the developments in rule of law and access to justice trends and activities by key stakeholders, including both state and non-state actors;
• Prepare regular updates (written and verbal) on Project progress in meeting Rule of Law and Access to Justice targets, including challenges and lessons learned for supervisors;
• Support of monitoring of the key interventions of the Project particularly for vulnerable groups such as IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons), children, the elderly, and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV);
• Draft inputs for regular Project reports to the donor and M&E activities.

Engage in partnerships building with Project stakeholders and partners:

• As guided by the Rule of Law and Access to Justice Specialist, engage in close coordination and cooperation with other UN agencies working in the sphere of Rule of Law and Access to Justice (including but not limited to UN Women, UNFPA, FAO);
• Liaise with Project partners and facilitate communication on Project-related activities including organizing joint thematic learning and networking events;
• Support and participate in local coordination and engagement meetings with stakeholders on issues relating to rule of law and access to justice;
  • Develop and maintain close working relationships with local civil society and community groups to facilitate project implementation;
• Participate in monitoring and reporting on rule of law and access to justice issues locally, and identify emerging trends using project mapping and other available data.

Actively participate in implementing an area- and community-based approach:

• Assist civil society and community groups to develop skills to actively engage in advocating for and providing services in the area of access to justice and to the rule of law, including planning and implementing joint activities;
• Participate in implementation of the Project small-grants (including specialized grants) facility by assessing proposals, nurturing networks, as well as identify issues, risks, priorities, and opportunities that support the implementation of grant activities;
• Assist in overseeing the work of beneficiaries of Small Grants Facility and ensure quality of outputs in keeping with grants applications.

Mainstreaming of protection of civilians, human rights, and upholding of rule of law issues throughout project implementation:

• Collaborate with the Rule of Law and Access to Justice Specialist in the revision of Project documents, including reports, as well as Country Office strategic frameworks from a rule of law perspective;
• Support Project and UNDP Ukraine fundraising efforts by providing expertise, as guided, on issues related to the rule of law, access to justice, protection of civilians;
• Under the guidance of the Rule of Law and Access to Justice Specialist, engage within UNDP Communities of Practice to share the UNDP Ukraine experience and learn from global best practices;

The incumbent will perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Project and the Organization.

Competencies

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, international relations, political sciences or other related fields is required.
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Relevant work experience, at national or international level, in the field of access to justice, justice services provision or advisory, law enforcement (pre-trial investigation), rule of law or related area would be an asset.
• Alternatively, if in possession of Bachelor’s degree, minimum 2 years of such relevant experience is required.
• Familiarity or previous experience working with national/regional/local law enforcement (investigation) or justice institutions would be a strong asset
• Demonstrable knowledge of international and national human rights framework is highly desirable (please submit certificates of any learning experience)
• Previous experience in supporting the collection/analysis of international best practices and standards regarding rule of law and justice service delivery would be desirable
• Previous experience in implementation of community-based development initiatives and/or experience of working with civil society organizations would be desirable
• Previous experience with a multilateral or international technical assistance or development organization would be a strong asset

Language:

• Fluency in English, the UN language of the duty station, is required
• Fluency in Ukrainian is required for local staff
• Knowledge of another UN language is desirableThis is a national position. Only Ukrainian nationals are eligible to apply.

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