Job Description
Mission and objectives
UNDP works with the Government and people of Pakistan to develop local solutions to development challenges. In an evolving development context, we support Pakistan’s efforts to build a more equitable, prosperous, peaceful and resilient society, and to achieve its SDGs and COP25 targets. UNDP promotes transformational change by fostering strategic partnerships with national counterparts in the federal, provincial and regional governments, civil society, the private sector and the local and international community. UNDP supports transformational change by providing technical assistance focusing on developing capacity within national and local authorities, providing solutions with strong monitoring and evaluation tools, and delivering programmes with maximum efficiency, transparency and accountability. UNDP’s ultimate goal is to improve the lives of the people of Pakistan through keeping people out of poverty; governance for peaceful, just and inclusive societies; crisis prevention and increased resilience; nature-based solutions for development; clean affordable energy; and women's empowerment and gender equality.
Context
UNDP works to improve the lives of vulnerable communities, with the overarching objective of preventing loss of development gains, promoting human rights, and finding sustainable pathways to development. UNDP projects under the democratic governance portfolio aims to strengthen state institutions, support democratic development and the rule of law, ensure crisis prevention, support policy development, and integrate gender equality into all areas of work. UNDP works to support the human rights ecosystem by strengthening human rights institutions to promote and protect human rights for all. This UNV assignment is part of UNDP Pakistan’s Decentralization, Human Rights and Local Governance (DHL) project. The DHL project is a multi-sector project aimed at strengthening rights-based development, community stabilization, gender equality, and social inclusion across all regions and provinces of Pakistan. The core objective of the project is to ensure inclusive and equitable service delivery by providing technical assistance and capacity development support to relevant federal ministries, provincial line departments, statutory bodies, civil society, and private sector organizations. A key aim is to support the creation of an enabling environment for accelerated access to rights, people-centered justice, and people-centered security. The project focuses on institution building while connecting with vulnerable and at-risk communities to build trust between rights holders and duty bearers for inclusive, expeditious, and transparent access to rights and services. Under its Business & Human Rights programme, UNDP-DHL has since 2018 supported the advancement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in Pakistan, with the aim of ensuring human rights and gender equality across all forms of business activity. This includes technical assistance to the Government of Pakistan at federal and provincial levels for the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP-BHR). UNDP-DHL also engages government entities, regulators, and the private sector for the uptake of human rights due diligence (HRDD) as a key best practice to respect human rights across Pakistani value chains. Finally, the project supports NHRIs, civil society, workers, and human rights defenders to increase access to remedy for rights-holders and promote accountability when business activity leads to human rights violations. The incumbent UNV will be stationed at the KP Ombudsperson Head Office in Peshawar and support its pro bono legal services to women complainants and people from marginalised communities as part of the legal, policy, and redressal mandate of the Ombudsperson.
Task description
Support Ombudsperson in hearings and drafting gender sensitive judgments and support activities of Ombudsperson office under its legal and policy mandate • Provide the required legal support to the Ombudsperson and Registrar office during hearings. • Advise Pro Bono Lawyers Desk in the file review in the preliminary hearing of the case before lodging the complaint with the Ombudsperson for Protection of Women against Harassment at the Workplace, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Enforcement of Women Property Rights Act, 2019. • Provide comprehensive summary of legal proceedings for finalizing the cases. • Assist the Ombudsperson about the jurisdiction in cases of women’s property rights with the reference to Land Revenue Act and other Civil Laws. • Maintain a record related to her/his scope of work. • Liaise with other staff of Ombudsperson for Protection of Women against Harassment at the Workplace, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa maintaining legal files, steps need to be taken to ensure timely execution of the decided cases. • Participate in the Law Department consultative meetings as a Technical Advisor Legal to assist in legal amendments and Service Rules for the Ombudsperson employees. • As representative of Ombudsperson office support alignment of NAP-BHR implementation, monitoring, and reporting with GSP+ compliance Conduct research on the decision of superior courts (Peshawar High Benches) with the relevance of appeal U/S 8 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2019 the province. • Conduct desk review of cases decided by the Peshawar High Court and Benches such as Swat Dar-ul-Qaza, Abbottabad, D-I-Khan and Bannu. • Conduct high-quality research and analysis of complaints filed from the Merged Districts in terms of accessibility, institutional gaps and impact of available services. • Support Ombudsperson office in daily Order Sheets as part of proceedings and legal directions to facilitate women complainants. • Prepare weekly updates of the cases to ensure timely redressal of grievances of women complainants as guided by the Ombudsperson. Monitor database for updated information available to assess the trends of cases filed under both jurisdictions and institutional framework under the legal framework. • Ensuring daily entry of new cases filed under both jurisdictions, closed cases and information received about Standing Inquiry Committees. • Work closely with the Legal Desk to collect information cases of Gender Based Violence report to Ombudsperson office in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. • Support the Ombudsperson office in preparing updates about cases documented in the database for the quarterly meetings of the ICRM. Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing and advocacy relevant to women rights in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. • Plan and organize events, including press conferences, briefings, trainings, report launches, public forums related to human rights issues etc. • Participate in knowledge networks and consultations with international organizations and CSOs • Collaborate with relevant partners, stakeholders, and UNDP to raise awareness, engage in policy dialogues, and advocate for meaningful change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Eligibility criteria
Age;18 - 80
Required experience;7 years
Nationality;Candidate must be a national or legal resident of the country of assignment.
Assignment requirements
Relevant experience;2 years
Languages;English, Level: Working knowledge, Required
Required education level;Bachelor degree or equivalent in Law (LLB or JD)
Competencies and values
• Accountability • Adaptability and flexibility • Creativity • Judgement • Planning and organising • Professionalism • Self-management
Skills and experience
National and/or international level as a lawyer, in legal research, litigation, or legal advocacy especially in context of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Area(s) of expertise;Legal affairs
Living conditions and remarks;As this is a national UNV assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. UNV Field Unit will help you open a Pak rupee bank account with Standard Chartered Bank or any other local bank at your duty station.
Inclusivity statement;United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
How to Apply: click the below link to apply online for this position and upload current and updated Resume prior to the deadline for this role: https://app.unv.org/opportunities/1784457887914240?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=impactpool