Legal Expert Consultant on Wildlife and Forest Crime

Result of Service

Under the supervision of the Chief of the UNODC Global Programme for Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime and the UNODC Global Programme Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa, the Legal Expert Consultant is expected to carry out the following activities:

Develop the DRC National Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime: 
Conduct desk review and analyse available documents, data, and other relevant sources of information to identify national priorities and challenges; map relevant national actors and their roles in addressing wildlife and forest crime in DRC. 
Identify regional (e.g., ECOWAS) and continental strategies (e.g., African Union) to which the DRC Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime will contribute.
 Hold consultations (remotely) with key national counterparts to assess the collected information and identify priorities for the formulation of a DRC National Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime. 
Analyse all collected information from the desk review and national consultations, formulate an outline of a DRC National Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime.
 Share the outline of the National Strategy with UNODC and national stakeholders and collect inputs and comments.
 Finalize the first outline of the National Strategy for Wildlife and Forest Crime, incorporating inputs and comments received from UNODC and national counterparts.
 Draft the background section, the SWOT analysis, the Theory of Change and the M&E framework of the National Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime.
 Circulate the draft National Strategy with the key national and international stakeholders, substantive experts and UNODC.
 Lead a validation workshop with all relevant stakeholders on the strategy.
 Incorporate the input received by key stakeholders, substantive experts and UNODC in the relevant elements of the strategy.
 Finalize the relevant elements of the DRC National Strategy, incorporating inputs and comments received from UNODC, national counterparts and other stakeholders and substantive experts.
 Present the final strategy at a workshop organized by UNODC and the national counterparts.
 Develop a plan to mobilize funds for strategy implementation and create awareness raising materials on the strategy.

Develop the DRC Rapid Reference Guide: 
Conduct desk review and analyse available legislation and regulatory framework, jurisprudence, and other relevant sources of information on the legal framework and its implementation by investigators, investigating judges, and prosecutors. 
Liaise with relevant national counterparts (online and/or in person) to gather and analyze relevant regulatory and legal framework to be included in the RRG.
 Finalize the draft of the Rapid Reference Guide.
 Facilitate the validation workshop with national counterparts to review and validate the Rapid Reference Guide.
 Provide a plan for dissemination and the provision of relevant RRG training.

Expected tangible and measurable output(s)/deliverable(s):

The consultant is expected to carry out the following activities, in close collaboration with the GPWLFC team: 
Develop the DRC National Strategy on Combating Wildlife and Forest Crime
o A work plan for the development of a DRC Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime with a description of steps and required actions.
o Conduct desk review and submit preliminary outline of the DRC Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime for comments by UNODC and national stakeholders.
o Undertake virtual consultations with the national stakeholders and lead a workshop for the drafting of the National Strategy with key national stakeholders.
o Draft the relevant elements of the National Strategy (Background, Theory of Change, SWOT Analysis, M&E framework) and incorporate input from consultations and workshop; Circulate draft National Strategy for comments by substantive experts, UNODC and national stakeholders.
o Lead a validation workshop with all relevant stakeholders on the DRC National Strategy. Incorporates comments received from national counterparts, substantive experts and UNODC, as well as international best practices.
o Prepare and submit final draft of the DRC Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime.
o Present the final National Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime at a national workshop organized by UNODC in partnership with the national counterparts. Submit activity report and the database of collected documentation.
o Submit mission reports.
 Support the development of the DRC Rapid Reference Guide
o Conduct desk review and analyse available legislation and regulatory framework, jurisprudence, and other relevant sources of information on the legal framework and its implementation by investigating judges and prosecutors.
o Facilitate validation workshop to review and validate the RRG in collaboration with relevant national counterparts.
o Finalize the RRG.
o Provide a workplan to disseminate and provide training to relevant national authorities.
o Submit mission report.

Work Location

Home Based

Expected duration

February to August 2022

Duties and Responsibilities

UNODC is recruiting a Legal Expert Consultant to support the following activities in Central Africa: (i) to develop the National Strategy on Wildlife and Forest Crime for DRC; (ii) to develop the Rapid Reference Guides for Cameroon, Chad, DRC, CAR, and the Republic of Congo.

The consultancy is home-based, with frequent travel to relevant African countries.

Qualifications/special skills

Academic Qualifications: An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in the fields of law, criminology, public administration, political science, international relations or criminal justice, crime prevention and/or law enforcement is required. A first-level university degree, professional training with certification from a recognized law school, with specialization in criminal law, criminal justice, transnational organized crime and/or other related areas, in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience:  A minimum of 15 years of relevant progressively responsible professional experience in the field of criminal justice, including prosecution and legal reforms, preferable dealing with the environment/wildlife crime/transnational organized crime or related areas, is required.
 Experience in drafting analytical reports, including excellent drafting skills, is required.
 Experience working in West or Central African countries is required. 
Experience in drafting policy documents, such as national or regional strategies is desirable.
 Experience working against environmental crime is desirable. 
Experience working with the United Nations system is desirable
Language: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written French is required. Knowledge of another United Nations official language, is an advantage.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.