Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Expert, Fighting corruption for Sustainable Development in Rwanda

Job Opening

• Organization: IDLO – International Development Law Organization
• Location: Kigali (Rwanda)
• Grade: Single Engagement Agreement – Consultancy
• Occupational Groups:
  • Legal – International Law
  • International Relations
• Closing Date: 2021-08-10

BACKGROUND

The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is implementing the project titled: “Fighting corruption for sustainable development in Rwanda”.

The project seeks to increase the trust of the Rwandan population in the public sector’s ability to fight corruption related crimes. The support provided to the Government of Rwanda should take into account the recent developments in the anti-corruption legal and institutional framework: (i) the enactment of the Organic Law 012/2018 of 04.04.2018, which established a dedicated chamber to hear cases of corruption and economic crimes in each of the 12 intermediate Courts; (ii) the anti-corruption policy was expanded with the adoption of Organic Law 58/2018 of 13.08.2018, which (amongst other things) added Article 19, aiming to encourage people to report corruption and to avoid taking bribes.

THE ASSIGNMENT

Objectives

To enhance the environment for reporting and successful prosecution of economic and corruption related crimes. The expert will work with the Judiciary, the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA), the Bar Association and the Private Sector to conduct a training needs assessment on capacity gaps hindering the effective reporting and successful prosecution of economic and corruption related offences.

Working with the Judiciary, the Expert will refine the Training Needs Assessments and identify critical areas of training for the Judges. The Expert will develop a training manual and content for the identified areas of Training and facilitate the training of at least 36 judges in the identified areas.

Using the Training manual developed, after the initial training, the expert will develop a TOT manual and carry out a TOT training for at least 12 Judges who shall be expected to continue with the training sessions.

The expert is also expected to develop a best practice assessment tool which will assist the Judiciary to monitor its obligations in compliance with international obligations in combating economic and corruption related offences. The expert is also expected to develop 4 discussion papers from the TNA conducted to aid private sector engagement with the Judiciary on issues inhibiting the reporting and prosecution of economic and corruption related offences. The discussion papers will provide recommendations for securing regularity of such engagements.

Deliverables

Under the supervision of the Regional Program Manager, Africa and with the support of 2 Research Assistants, the Expert is expected to produce the following deliverables:

1. a)     Conduct a training needs assessment on requisite knowledge for adjudication of economic and corruption related crimes. Target focus being the judges of the specialized chambers of the 12 intermediate courts and relevant officers from the NPPA. For this purpose, s/he will develop questionnaires, conduct interviews, conduct desk review, etc.
2. b)    Develop pre and post questionnaires to assess the participants knowledge and competences on adjudication of economic and corruption related crimes.
3. c)     Facilitate the validation of the TNA by the Judiciary, NPPA, and Private Sector and thereafter identifying priority focus areas for capacity development.
4. d)    Develop 2 training manuals on identified topical areas for capacity development on Economic and Corruption related offences (specific for the Judiciary and NPPA).
5. e)    Use the Training Manuals to organize and provide 2 training sessions to judges of the 12 intermediate courts and to Select officers from NPPA. The modules should provide participants with technical skills on adjudication of Economic and Corruption related offences as well as provide them with the opportunity to apply concretely the skills and support them in the development of jurisprudence in line with International best practice in the adjudication of Economic and Corruption related offences.
6. f)     Use the Training Manual to develop a TOT manual and conduct 2 TOT trainings to select judges and prosecutors. Providing the relevant training resources that will enable the participants to continue with such trainings.
7. g)    Submit a course report following both the Training and TOT, including an analysis of the participants knowledge post the training.
8. h)    Provide follow-up support and guidance to training participants through recommendation of institutions for continous professional development.
9. i)      Organize and facilitate two multi-stakeholder dialogues (at the beginning and close of contract period) between the Judiciary, NPPA, private sector representatives from the private sector federation on how corruption affects private sector and economic development, in order to identify the most pressing areas of concerns and develop shared solutions for action. This should be done in partnership with the Judiciary.
10. j)      Provide technical support to the communication department of the Judiciary, including for the development of a publication that can capture the findings of the multi-stakeholder dialogues. Support the department of communication of the Judiciary to develop Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials that capture the main findings of the multi-stakeholder dialogue and can be used to sensitize the private sector on anti-corruption best practices and legislation, especially on article 19 of Organic Law 58/2018 of 13.08.2018.
11. k)     Develop a best practice assessment tool for use by Judicial officers when reviewing jurisprudence from other Jurisdictions on Economic and Corruption related offences.
12. l)      Attend 3 consultative meetings with key stakeholders as needed.
13. m)  Perform related duties as requested in the context of adaptive/flexible project implementation.

Throughout this assignment, the National Expert will, at all times be guided by these terms of reference and will be required to:

• Undertake IDLO’s online TOT course and security training.
• Employ participatory approaches working under the guidance of the IDLO Program and Research & Learning Teams in the development of methodology, tools, data collection, data analysis and reporting.
• Emphasize peer exchange and review, responding collaboratively to feedback and input.
• Adhere to and incorporate relevant international and national standards for conducting research ethically and to the highest standards of quality.
• Make available all data collection undertaken to IDLO’s Program Team in line with relevant methodological and privacy considerations.
• Undertake all data collection in line with relevant methodological, ethical and privacy considerations, making data available to the IDLO Program Team.
• Undertake duty travel to selected districts (subject to safety and security measures) for which DSA and transportation will be provided according to the standard of the donor and IDLO specifications.
• Produce (or supervise production of) high-quality translations into English as needed in support of the research objectives.
• Deliver written work in English that is of publishable quality and adopts the United Nations Editorial Manual footnote citation style, available online: [https://www.un.org/dgacm/en/content/editorial-manual].

Estimated timeframe

The Expert will be engaged for a period of 4 months starting from August 2021. Time is of the essence and agreed deadlines must be respected for full payment of the consultancy fees.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

The ideal candidate for this assignment possesses the following education, experience and competencies:

Education

• Postgraduate qualifications in Law, with specialization in either of the following fields; Criminal law, Financial Rules and Regulations, Public Finance Management Laws (proceeds of crime and anti-money laundering law).

Work experience

• At least 15 years of professional experience regarding the rule of law, anti-corruption and economic crimes in Africa (Rwanda).
• Substantive knowledge on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and International legal Instruments on Economic and Corruption related offences.
• Experience in conducting training, developing training manuals, particularly in the field of anti-corruption, access to justice and rule of law.
• Experience in developing gender responsive training needs assessments and curricula in similar fields.
• Experience in legal research, analysis and writing, conducting applied research projects, preferably using a mix of mutually reinforcing qualitative and quantitative research techniques.

Technical competencies

• Proven experience and knowledge of the legal and justice system in Rwanda.
• Proven experience and knowledge in the implementation of financial action task force recommendations.
• Experience designing and conducting surveys, interviews, focus group discussions and case file review is desirable.
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills.
• Familiarity with the social, political and economic context in Rwanda and/or the region/similar jurisdictions. Experience in more than one country context is a significant advantage.
• Demonstrable excellent skills and experience in oral and written communication, including analytical report writing, in both English and French. Fluency in Kinyarwanda would be an advantage.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Terms and conditions will be set according to the program implementation needs. Candidates should possess the ability to work and travel within Rwanda.

In the interest of making most effective use of resources, only the short-listed candidates will be contacted during the selection process.

Please note that the recruitment of this position is subject to the availability of funds.

DISCLAIMER AND CLOSING DATE

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of the work being performed by the Contractor assigned to this work. This may not be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities.

The Director-General of IDLO reserves the right to amend and change responsibilities or even to cancel the recruitment to meet business and organizational needs as necessary.

Application deadline is 10th of August 2021