International consultant to support the Police Forensic Centre in accreditation to ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

The UNDP project “Strengthening Efficiency and Access to Justice in Moldova” (A2J) is a multi-year institutional development project designed to contribute to an increased efficiency of justice services and to improved access to justice of men and women in Moldova, in particular from vulnerable and marginalized groups, through enhanced capacities of forensic institutions to provide qualitative justice services, strengthened capacities of the justice sector actors in the selected pilot areas to provide coordinated response to men’s and women’s justice needs and strengthened civil society able to claim the respect of rights and engage in a constructive dialogue with the justice chain actors. Project interventions will offer and encourage equal opportunity for the participation of men and women.

Although important efforts have been deployed at national level during the last years to advance the efficiency, transparency, fairness and accessibility of the justice sector, improvement is further required to ensure coherent coordination among law enforcement, security and justice institutions for effective administration of justice, so that men and women, particularly from marginalized or minority groups, are able to claim their rights and access justice effectively.

The national forensic institutions are an integral part of the justice system, as the expert opinions provided by these institutions are critical for the objective and evidence-based delivery of justice. The quality and accuracy of forensic investigations and examinations have an extensive impact on the quality of justice and affect the overall perception of users about the justice system. Despite their importance for the administration of justice, forensic institutions benefited from limited assistance and support in their modernization endeavours as compared to other justice chain actors.

The forensic institutions are also in need of further ISO certification to strengthen the institutional management, confirm compliance with internationally recognized quality standards and demonstrate that they operate competently and generate valid results, thereby promoting confidence in their work both nationally and around the world. Thus, the laboratories of the National Centre for Judicial Expertise (NCJE) and the Forensic Centre of the General Police Inspectorate (Police Forensic Centre) have already obtained accreditation in line with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard with UNDP’s support.

To ensure that Police Forensic Centre is operating in line with the internationally acknowledged requirements in the field of forensic examinations and are thus competent to produce reliable products and/or services, UNDP will support Police Forensic Centre in the process of accreditation in compliance with standard ISO/IEC 17020:2012.

In this regard, UNDP is seeking to hire an International Consultant to deliver analytical support to the Police Forensic Centre to provide guidance and advice on the forensic operations and areas of expertise recommended for accreditation to ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard, considering the Police Forensic Centre mandate and scope of work as well as international best practices and assess the readiness of the institution towards applying for international accreditation of its inspection activities in line with ISO/IEC 17020:2012.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objective is to provide advice to the Police Forensic Centre in the context of undertaking strategic decisions related to the scope of the international accreditation of its operations as inspection body conducting forensic examinations in line with ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard. The assignment shall focus on guidance and analytical support to the Police Forensic Centre management and Quality Assurance responsible personnel in assessing the Police Forensic Centre readiness for applying to ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard as well as most suitable area to be subjected to accreditation given the institution’s scope of work and mandate as well as international best practices. In undertaking the assignment, the consultant shall tackle the inspection activities related to Crime Scene Investigation, inspection in construction, inspection in auto accidents, but shall also ensure that international best practices in relation to accreditation of judicial expertise institutions as inspection bodies are transposed into the recommendations. The assignment shall be carried out in close cooperation with the Police Forensic Centre management and Quality Assurance responsible personnel and National UNDP Consultant.

In order to achieve the stated scope of work, the International Consultant shall perform the following tasks and activities:

1. Prepare the Inception Report and detailed work plan for the assignment;
2. Conduct review of inspection methodologies applied in Police Forensic Centre in connection to the 17020:2012 standard requirements;
3. Conduct a review of Police Forensic Centre regulations relevant for the international accreditation in line with ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard and propose amendments, where necessary;
4. Assess Police Forensic Centre policy documents in connection to international accreditation as inspection body in line with ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard and propose amendments, where necessary;
5. Carry out interviews and discussions with the Police Forensic Centre management and Quality Assurance responsible personnel as well as other stakeholders engaged in carrying out inspection activities associated with the Police Forensic Centre mandate and representatives of the national accreditation body;
6. Develop Brief Note on the most suitable areas to be subjected to accreditation in line with ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard in light of the Police Forensic Centre scope of work and mandate as well as international best practices and ensure participatory consultations on the proposed way forward;
7. Develop an Assessment Report covering the findings of the review of inspection methodologies applied in Police Forensic Centre, review and assessment of Police Forensic Centre regulations and policy documents, addressing the identified gaps and proposing recommendations for way forward in assuring the Police Forensic Centre readiness to accreditation in line with ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard depending on the most suitable areas to be subjected to accreditation in light of the institution’s scope of work and mandate as well as international best practices. Subsequently transpose the recommendations in an Action Plan towards accreditation of Police Forensic Centre to ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard which shall address up to three scenarios depending on the most suitable areas to be subjected to accreditation given the institution’s scope of work and mandate;
8. Conduct a training needs assessment, develop a plan for capacity building activities with a focus on international accreditation of inspection bodies.

Four physical missions (if travel arrangements will be feasible/allowed) may be considered only when it is confirmed to be safe for staff, Consultant, stakeholders and if such missions are possible within the assignment’s schedule. The exact duration and period of the missions shall be coordinated with UNDP. For purpose of estimation of services’ costs, the expected duration of the mission, could be up to five working days, depending on the scope.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Competencies

• Excellent understanding of the forensic expertise and procedures area demonstrated by previous professional experience;
• Excellent understanding of correlation of forensic examinations with ISO/IEC 17020:2012 requirements;
• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills demonstrated by previous assignments;
• Demonstrated interpersonal and diplomatic skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels and to present ideas clearly and effectively;
• Previous work with UNDP and/or other development partners will be an asset;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status

UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees are particularly encouraged to apply.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s degree (or 5 years university degree) in Forensics, Criminal Investigations, Police Studies, Law, or related fields of equivalent scope.

Work experience:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in implementation of management systems;
• At least 3 years of professional experience in working with the national forensic institutions
• Proven experience (at least 2 assignments of similar complexity) in supporting inspection bodies to obtain ISO/IEC 17020:2012 accreditation, including drafting relevant documents required for accreditation and post-accreditation assistance;
• Previous experience in working with/or within inspection bodies;
• Proven training/coaching experience (at least 2 assignments of similar complexity) in implementation of quality systems according to ISO/IEC17020 is an asset;

Language:

• Fluency in English. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is an asset.

Application instructions:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Offeror’s Letter confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor assignment with financial proposal (LUMP SUM) (in USD, specifying a total requested amount per working day, including all related costs, including daily fee, travel expenses and per diems - quoted in separate line items). The travel costs to Moldova shall be indicated separately and will be covered only if the travel will be allowed in the COVID-19 context. Financial proposal template included in Annex 2;
• Duly updated CV with at least 3 references;
• Proposal, explaining why he/she is most suitable for the assignment, including past experience in similar assignments, providing a brief information on above qualifications, and brief methodology on how he/she will approach and conduct the work.

Note:

For complete information about this vacancy including detailed tasks and responsibilities, full and detailed description of the evaluation procedure which will be applied please refer to the Terms of Reference, the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice as well as the UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract, published at the UNDP Moldova website, Jobs Section:

https://sc.undp.md/jobdetails/2422/