Legal Framework and Administration Specialist

Deadline: 1/8/2020

Introduction
The purpose of the Iraq Governance and Performance Accountability (IGPA) project is to advance effective, accountable, and transparent governance in Iraq. This USAID effort, implemented by DAI, works with the Government of Iraq (GOI) at all levels to better respond to citizen needs by supporting reform initiatives and Iraqi change agents on inclusive governance and public-sector transparency, accountability, and economy. “Reform initiatives” includes support to improve service delivery functions, public financial management, and open government initiatives. IGPA supports the GOI and the citizens of Iraq in forming partnerships and collaborative efforts to solve problems jointly. IGPA has four (4) objectives:

1. Enhance GOI service delivery capacity

2. Improve public financial management

3. Strengthen monitoring and oversight of service delivery and public expenditure

4. Support Iraqi change agents (cross-cutting objective) IGPA also supports the fulfillment of the US Government’s commitment toward decentralization as a means toward achieving the above objectives, particularly the enhancement of the responsiveness of public services to citizens’ needs and the improvement of transparency and accountability in the use of public resources.

Background
To strengthen service delivery in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), IGPA/Takamul will build the capacity of the Erbil Gender Unit to implement gender mainstreaming throughout provincial-level governance. The purpose of gender mainstreaming is to ensure that policy-making and legislative work address gender inequalities and have greater relevance for society through considering the differing needs and roles of male and female citizens.

The IGPA project previously worked with the Erbil Governor’s Office (GO) to establish a Gender Unit within the GO to support gender-inclusive policy development and to ensure gender mainstreaming. As the unit develops its mission and capacity, it will become more functional by assuming additional responsibilities. To assist the functionality of the Gender Unit, IGPA has designed several technical assistance interventions aimed at building the capacity of the unit staff. Primary among these activities is to build their capacity in areas of the legal framework. The purpose of this activity is to assist the Erbil Gender Unit to build its capacity in public
administration, particularly the legal and policy context.
 

Objective:

The Specialist will train the Gender Unit staff to understand how the overall policy environment sets the context for their work - particularly the national legal framework and international obligations related to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The objective is to strengthen the capacity of the Gender Unit so that staff can understand and apply policy and legal frameworks to advance communications (i.e., advocacy) and planning.
 

The objective will be achieved using a two-fold approach including:

1. Train the Gender Unit staff on conventions, laws, policy of the government, administration, and legal boundaries that are relevant to their Roles and Responsibilities

2. Support the Gender Unit staff to apply this understanding to advocate, plan and evaluate government activities and their differential impact on women and men.

Specific Tasks of the Consultancy
The estimated level of effort (LOE) to complete the following tasks is 40 days. Specific tasks required
to achieve the above objectives include:
 

Task 1: Review and familiarize with the relevant administrative and legal framework and prepare an action plan including detailed action steps and timelines aligned with the timelines mentioned in this SOW.
 

Task 2: Train the staff on international conventions, laws, policy of the government, administration and legal boundaries with focus on how to advance, monitor and evaluate the governorate’s progress on gender mainstreaming and gender equality.
 

Task 3: Work with the Gender Unit to tailor the internal manual/management document(s) to ensure they include all appropriate governmental regulations, (the GU will use that document as a reliable reference in order to have a clear picture of the timeline for the appropriate time for any interventions
 

Task 4: Work with the Gender Unit to develop two separate frameworks to help apply gender mainstreaming themes in key departments in Erbil Governorate

Task 5: Submit final report in English and Kurdish

III. Deliverable Timeframe
The table below summarizes expected deliverable for each task with the time frame. The STTA is responsible for submitting each deliverable in the format and
language/s specified in the table. The STTA shall submit the list of deliverables for each task within three working days from the task completion or on a specific
date agreed with objective lead at the beginning of each task. E&I coordinator will be the point of contact from Takamul project with the STTA.
The STTA needs to be aware that the KRI Regional Equity and Inclusion (E&I) Coordinator, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) staff and other project staff members
can attend any event or meeting or training mentioned in this scope of work with or without prior notice to the Gender Mainstreaming Consultant. Also, USAID
might send field monitors to attend any activity/training/meeting/workshop mentioned in this SoW.

IV. Required Qualifications

• Extensive experience in policy and legal issues, KRI laws and regulations, international conventions, local policy, administration.

• Understanding of governance issues and knowledge of the civil service in KRI

• Knowledge of international and national legal and policy framework related to women’s rights, violence against women and girls, social inclusion, equality and empowerment

• Experience of training or lecturing in legal and policy frameworks with a focus on gender issues Experience of designing accessible materials for trainings

• Bachelor’s degree

• At least 3 years of experience in law, international conventions

• Writing and speaking skills in Kurdish with adequate communication skills in English

Skills:

• Familiar with adult and group learning concepts Excellent training and mentoring skills

• Drafting of learning materials for adult learners

• Ability to work with civil servants to develop plans Computer skills in MS office package

• Effective communication and facilitation skills with persuasive abilities. Excellent writing report skills.

V. General Statement

The legal issues specialist will be based primarily in the IGPA project office in Erbil and the office of the GU in Erbil governorate with the possibility of traveling to provinces within KRI. Under this SoW, IGPA/Takamul project will be responsible to cover all other indirect implementation costs including: Air and ground transportation, lodging, per-diem, and phone communications.