Consultant

About the IIJ:
The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) is an organisation located in Malta with a mission to deliver innovative and sustainable capacity-building through the implementation of counter-terrorism-related, rule of law-based good practices developed by the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and other international and regional fora.

Since its inauguration in 2014, the IIJ has trained more than 7000 criminal justice practitioners through its interactive capacity-building workshops – in Malta and abroad – that enhance the competencies of parliamentarians, judges, prosecutors, police, prison, and other criminal justice practitioners to address terrorism and related transnational criminal activities within a rule of law framework. The IIJ delivers capacity-building training tailored to the needs of the regions it serves, including North, West and East Africa; the Middle East; and select engagement in the Balkans, and Central, South and Southeast Asia. For more information on the IIJ, please visit the IIJ’s website www.theiij.org

Background:
In 2015, IIJ launched its Global Central Authorities Initiative (GCAI) to support partner nations in reinforcing their central authorities and strengthening their international judicial cooperation. Since then, the IIJ has worked with a wide range of countries – including in East Africa — and has published The IIJ Good Practices for Central Authorities, which build upon Good Practice 9 of the GCTF’s Rabat Memorandum and promote United Nations Security Council Resolutions relevant to international judicial cooperation (such as Resolutions 2322 and 2396).

The Canadian-funded project Building Strong Procedural Mechanisms for Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) aims to build upon past programs implemented under the IIJ’s GCAI and seeks to increase cross-border sharing of information and standardize procedures for issuing and processing MLA and extradition requests in both Kenya and Somalia and between the two countries. The project envisions five activities – three of which have already been implemented by May 2023.

The final two project activities consist of:

Activity 4: National consultation for Somali Stakeholders on Building Strong Procedural Mechanisms for Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition, 30 May – 1 June 2023, Nairobi

This activity will gather key criminal justice practitioners and justice reform professionals from Somalia who will continue the discussions started in February 2023 at the IIJ National Workshop for Somali Stakeholders on Building Strong Procedural Mechanisms for Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition. Participants will be invited to discuss the details of the road map prepared in February 2023, including the Taskforce on MLA and extradition’s mandate and activities and initial preparations for a draft law on MLA.

Activity 5: Regional workshop for Kenyan and Somali practitioners on MLA and extradtion, Nairobi, July 2023 (exact dates TBD)

This activity will conclude the project and gather criminal justice practitioners and justice reform professionals from both Kenya and Somalia. Participants will have the opportunity present the progress made in strengthening their MLA and extradition mechanisms during the course of the project. More importantly, the regional workshop will allow participants from both countries to meet and develop the necessary networks which could lead to close cooperation in the fight against terrorism and organized crime in the future.

The IIJ thus seeks a Consultant to contribute to the implementation of these two project activities.

Key Tasks and Deliverables:

The Consultant will work under the overall guidance of the IIJ Executive Secretary, and under the direct supervision of the IIJ Director of Programmes, and in close coordination with an IIJ Programme Manager.

The Consultant services will entail the following tasks within the associated timeframes provided:

1. Assist the IIJ Programme Manager in the final preparations for Activity 4, including but not limited to: review agenda, coordinate the remote interventions of external speakers at the programme; review the draft post-activity questionnaire to be shared with participants; prepare the security checklist for travel to Nairobi; review inputs for the project’s communications strategy (web release and tweets on the activity); prepare the required research and documents for the smooth implementation of the activity (3 days);
2. Attend Activity 4 in Nairobi and provide the following support during the programme: liaise and brief participants with speaking roles; in coordination with the IIJ Programmatic Unit Director, moderate sessions; support the IIJ Programmatic Unit Director in the conduct of the programme; coordinate with the Programme Assistant on logistical issues (3 days);
3. Prepare the After-Action Report for Activity 4, following the IIJ report template (2 days);
4. Lead the organizational and substantive preparations for Activity 5, including but not limited to: prepare the agenda for the activity; with the support of the Programme Assistant and in consultation with local partners, identify, invite and ensure the participation of high- and mid-levels criminal justice practitioners and professionals to the activity; identify external speakers and coordinate on the modalities of their participation in the activity; review presentations sent by speakers; prepare any necessary background material for the implementation of the activity; prepare the security checklist for travel to Nairobi; review the draft post-activity questionnaire to be shared with participants; prepare and/or review inputs for the project’s communications strategy (web release and tweets on the activity). (20 days)
5. Attend Activity 5 and provide the following support during the activity: liaise and brief participants with speaking roles; in coordination with the IIJ Programmatic Unit Director, moderate sessions at the programme; support the IIJ Programmatic Unit Director in the conduct of the programme; coordinate with the Programme Assistant on logistical issues; facilitate communications-related activities (3 days);
6. Prepare the After-Action Report for Activity 5, following the IIJ report template (2 days);
7. Prepare, in coordination with the IIJ Monitoring and Evaluation Manager and the IIJ Financial Officer, a donor report for Activity 5 (it could be an Annual or Final report—tbc), following the template provided by the donor (4 days).

CONSULTANT PROFILE

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, social work or a relevant discipline.

• A minimum of 3 years of relevant experience, with progressive responsibility, in organizing and planning activities focusing on international law and rule of law issues, including on counter-terrorism and international judicial cooperation. Good substantive understanding of above-mentioned topics is an asset.

• Experience in the implementation of programmatic activities focusing on international law, rule of law, counter-terrorism and/or international judicial cooperation.

• Experience in drafting activity and donor reports.

• Excellent organisational and coordination skills (including with external partners), and proven prioritisation skills;

• Good drafting, conceptual thinking and analytical skills;

• Efficient in observing deadlines and achieving results in accordance with qualitative and quantitative parameters.

• Ability to work with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Applications:

All interested applicants meeting the qualifications below are invited to submit a cover letter and
CV to the IIJ Executive Secretariat at hr@theiij.org and trann@theiij.org with “Consultant PM_2023” in the subject line.