Senior Anti-Corruption Legislation Specialist

Contract

This is a IPSA-11 contract. This kind of contract is known as International Personnel Services Agreement. It is normally internationally recruited only. It usually requires 7 years of experience, depending on education. More about IPSA-11 contracts.

Background

Instructions to Applicants: Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.

A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Travel:

1. UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home upon completion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and excludes working from home arrangements.
2. Any travels related to official performance of duties will be covered by UNDP.

Office/Unit/Project Description

Strengthening accountability and tackling corruption are essential pre-requisites for Iraq's long-term stability, economic recovery, and development. Both Iraqi and regional Kurdish governments have recently initiated steps to drive an ambitious anticorruption agenda. However, significant gaps remain in legislative and strategic framework, investigation and adjudication, enforcement and recovery of stolen assets. Iraq adopted in March 2021 the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, but implementation measures are needed. UNDP in Iraq launched a project in May 2021 to support public partners at federal and the Kurdistan Regional Government to improve their capacity and legal framework to combat corruption and conduct commercial litigation.

The project titled “support to justice initiatives curbing corruption and promoting commercial dispute resolution” (hereinafter, Anti-Corruption & Arbitration Initiatives, ACAI) is funded by the European Union for a period of four years. The project works closely with the Prime Minister Office in Baghdad and supports directly the Commission of Integrity, the Higher Judicial Council and the Legal and Integrity Committees of the Council of Representatives. In Erbil, the project follows a similar mechanism of collaboration. Further, the project works with key civil society and investigative media organizations.

The project has the following specific outcomes: (1) Improved Legislative and Strategic Framework for Anti- Corruption Reforms; (2) The justice sector, lawyers and CoI are better equipped to process corruption offences due to (2.1) improved technical skills relevant for corruption investigation, prosecution, adjudication and (2.2) improved integrity rules of the justice sector; (3) Improved capacity and legal framework to conduct commercial litigation through (3.1) better legal framework and capacity building for arbitration and (3.2) further development of the commercial court; (4) Create a climate of support in Parliament for anti-corruption reforms; (5) Increased transparency and public accountability.

Institutional Arrangement

The Specialist shall report directly to the Project Manager, Anti-Corruption & Arbitration Initiatives (ACAI), to whom all deliverables should be provided within agreed timelines. The Specialist will closely work with a team of Specialists and management support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Project Manager, the Senior Anti-Corruption Legislation Specialist will provide legal research, identify legislative gaps, propose draft legislation, revise existing legislation in the anti-corruption sector, support the impact assessment of legislation and build the capacity to assess corruption risks in selected sectors. Specifically, the Specialist will undertake the following:

• Advise on the ToR, establish and lead an anti-corruption working group composed of representatives of key anticorruption institutions, convene bi-monthly meetings, invite experts and identify and prepare the agenda and material, advice on strategic sequencing of legislative tasks, with a focus on results & quick wins;
• Analyze Iraqi and Kurdish legal frameworks to fight corruption in line with international legal instruments and best international practice, identify gaps during the inception phase of the project, validate the identified gaps and proposed measures by key stakeholder of the project and ensure alignment with overall objectives of the project and donor requirements;
• Find innovative solution adapted to Iraq and Kurdistan that capture success in other countries and learn from failture in legislative design in other countries;
• Propose draft legislation (laws, instructions and standard operating procedures) when Iraqi and Kurdish legal frameworks lack adequate legal provisions including but not limited to whistleblower protection, witness protection, beneficial owernship, access to information, bribery of foreign public officials, bribery in the private sector etc.;
• Assess pending and proposed anti-corruption legislations using internationally established methodologies and checklists to determine their potential impact in fighting corruption in Iraq;
• Revise existing legislation in line with international legal instruments and best practice including but not limited to penal code, asset recovery, anti-money laundering, preventive measures etc.;
• Ensure consistency within anticorruption legal frameworks and with Iraqi and Kurdish legal systems;
• Ensure buy-in from state institutions for new legal provisions by providing advice and knowlege, taking part in advocacy efforts of the project, engaging other stakeholders such as civil society and the private sector;
• Support and serve as an internal adviser to UNDP and its development partners to adopt common positions on legislative initiatives and text including in consulting with other legislative and anticorruption experts;
• Support advocacy and information campaigns to members of Iraqi and Kurdish Parliaments related to anti-corruption legislation;
• Train and mentor public officials involved in periodically assessing anti-corruption legislation, ensure that at least two legislations are annually reviewed for their impact; develop tailored made training material for legislative impact assessment;
• Train and mentor public officials from federal and KRG Commissions of Integrity and where appropriate officials from sectoral ministries or institutions on corruption risk assessment, ensure that at least two corruption risk assessments are conducted by federal and regional institutions annually; develop tailored made training material for corruption risk assessment;
• Liaise and regularly consult with committees and units within federal and regional institutions involved in legislative work including but not limited to legal departments of the Commissions of integrity, the Higher Judicial Council, the Prime Ministry Advisory Committee and the KRG Prime Ministry Legal Consultation Centre.
• Track relevant bills through legislative process and ensure timely inclusion of anti-corruption provisions;
• Ensure learning, capture knowledge and lessons learned for UNDP and Iraqi institutions with an aim to infom future legislative drafting;
• Identify gaps in legal knowledge, research and analysis including areas that require external expertise;
• Support the communication unit with drafting material for publication on legislative issues; draft memoranda, talking points, and policy analysis aimed at publicly disseminating;
• Draft memorandums of understanding, agreements and other legal document limited to the project;
• Advise on ways to incorporate and apply HRB/ RBM/MDGs approaches in the provision of technical assistance and advisory support
• Support the management team on donor and internal UNDP reporting.

Competencies

UN CORE VALUES AND COMPETENCIES

Professionalism: Shows pride in work and achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients " and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; Identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Academic Education

• A master’s degree in law

Min. years of relevant Work experience

• A minimum of 7 years of experience that combines intellectual, innovative and highly technical leadership in legislative drafting.
• A minimum of 4 years of experience in anti-corruption.
• Extensive experience in rebuilding of governance, rule of law and justice in post-conflict countries.

Required skills and competencies

• High analytical skills oriented towards problem-solving
• Ability to engage in substantive legal and technical discussion with public officials
• Ability to train public officials on legal issues and legislative drafting
• The ability to model the UN's values and ethical standards, and to promote UNDP’s and the UN’s vision, mission, and strategic goals
• Sensitivity and adaptability to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age.

Desired additional skills and competencies

• Experience in teaching, training and mentoring on legal issues
• Skilled legal researcher with track record of published legal studies
• Excellent knowledge of criminal law
• Experience and knowledge of the Middle-East and preferably of Iraq
• Intimate knowledge of how judiciary and anti-corruption agencies work

Required Language(s) (at working level)

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Arabic is preferred.