Program Officer (Legal)

Winrock International - Hamro Samman Project

Details / requirements:

POSITION TITLE: Program Officer (Legal) (national position)

LOCATION: Kathmandu, Nepal, with travel to districts

REPORTS TO: Law and Governance Manager

CONTRACT LENGTH: 12 months

BACKGROUND:

Nepal is a source, transit, and destination country for sex, labor, and organ trafficking. A 2014 report estimates that 230,000 Nepalis are subject to slavery at any given time, and nearly 30 percent of the economically-active population is unemployed or underemployed.1 The Hamro Samman project is a five-year program generously supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development and the British people through the United Kingdom’s Department For International Development and implemented by Winrock International. It seeks to build the capacity of and facilitate coordination among the GON, civil society, and private sector to combat human trafficking in Nepal.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Program Officer (Legal) will support the Law and Governance Manager to oversee the work implemented by the project’s CSO legal partners and support to the formal justice system. The Program Officer (Legal) will work with the project partners and grantees to strengthen policy advocacy and the provision of legal services. The Program Officer (Legal) will have a deep understanding of Nepal’s legislation, HTTCA, FEA, Bonded Labor Act, Legal Aid Act and key drivers of trafficking and unsafe migration and an enthusiasm for driving the project forward to achieve meaningful and sustainable impact that reduces human trafficking. The Program Officer (Legal) will also have a deep understanding of the Constitution and the roles, responsibilities and authorities of various levels of government in the federal structure.

ESSENTIAL REPONSIBILITIES:

Program Monitoring and Advocacy and reporting:

  • Assist oversight of grants to legal organizations / hubs in technical monitoring, advocacy and outreach related to CTIP, ensuring that research informs advocacy around CTIP policy issues.
  • Responsible for reviewing monthly narrative and financial reports
  • Support work planning for project partners and ensuring timely implementation
  • Monitor partner’s project activities
  • Ensure technical quality of the work done by the legal partners,
  • Ensure compliance with the grant’s contract provisions.
  • Assist on strengthening CTIP legislative and policy framework.
  • Support Law and Governance Manager in legislative analysis, legislative drafting and policy recommendation and advocacy at the municipal, provincial and national level.
  • Assist in the development of a pro bono legal network for human trafficking and labor exploitation cases both within Nepal, the region and globally
  • Support trainings and engagement with formal justice actors including the Nepal Police Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau, the Office of the Attorney General, the Nepal Human Rights Commission, the Courts, Government Attorneys, Legal Aid Committees, complaints mechanisms within MOLESS and private lawyers.
  • Support the roll out of electronic case management systems with GON and CSO partners
  • Monitor number of TIP cases identified
  • Improve capacity and engagement of CSOs on CTIP advocacy
  • Support assessment of capacity of and strengthening of national and sub-national committees for controlling human trafficking prevent, protect and prosecute TIP
  • Support assessment of capacity of and strengthen government capacity at national and sub-national level to monitor and enforce policies related to labor recruitment and TIP
  • Respect client confidentiality at all times in line with organization’s confidentiality agreements and consent forms.
  • Reduce legal barriers for survivors to access to justice and increase prosecution.
  • Ensure accurate and timely completion of work.
  • Promote aims, principles, policies and interests of the organization and protect its integrity and reputation at all times.
  • Support initiatives to strengthen regional network and cooperation mechanism in support of national counter trafficking legislation in Nepal
  • Reviews, researches, interprets, and prepares both written and oral opinions on a wide variety of legal issues related to labor migration and human trafficking
  • Provide support to conduct strategic advocacy with the national level stakeholders, including the policy makers, media and civil society in labor migration and human trafficking.
  • Provide technical legal support to the partners to analyze law and policies as well as to design and carry out advocacy initiatives related to labor migration and human trafficking.

Team Collaboration

  • Work with team with a particular focus on connecting trafficking survivors and people at risk to legal information and services
  • Provide support and training to other staff and partners in legal protection, legal policy framework through workshops, orientations, seminars and meetings, where necessary.
  • Assist the legal partners and Winrock team’s work in legal policy development, strategic litigation to more effective prevention, protection ad prosecution.

External Liaison and Networking:

  • Develop and maintain liaison with government, civil society and private sector counterparts
  • Networking with likeminded organization, partners and forums.

Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: Masters degree in policy and governance, law, human rights, social justice, international development or other relevant field.

Technical: Minimum 3 years’ relevant experience on advocacy and policy. Must have significant technical knowledge about CTIP and/or foreign migration.

Experience:

  • Experience on CTIP issues, drivers and legislations HTTCA, FEA, and foreign labor migration.
  • Experience working with government, I/NGOs, CSOs working in CTIP.
  • Experience in technical monitoring, advocacy and outreach related to CTIP
  • Experience on compliance matrix.

Skills/Knowledge:

  • Knowledge on legal research, relevant legislation.
  • Technical experience or knowledge of prevailing laws on human trafficking, labor migration and related themes and keep track of the latest amendments and regulations of law.
  • Excellent panning and problem solving skills
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Nepali required
  • Good computer skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, other office package.

Core Competencies:

Professionalism: Deep technical knowledge of social, economic, and political context governing anti-trafficking and safe migration issues in Nepal and internationally. Proven experience designing and leading complex advocacy initiatives. Proven experience strengthening the organizational and technical capacity of civil society. Proven experience designing and overseeing targeted policy and action-oriented quantitative and qualitative research.

Planning & Organizing: Ability to plan work and manage conflicting priorities.

Communication: Excellent spoken and written communication skills, including the ability to liaise with technical staff and present information in a clear and concise style. Fluency in written in English and Nepali.

Teamwork: Good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Analytical skills: Ability to analyze information and solve problems with excellent attention to detail.

To apply, please submit your application by email, referencing in the subject line “Program Officer – (Legal)”, to HamroSammanJobs@winrock.org on or before August 23, 2019. Your application must include a cover letter and C.V. Hard copies of applications will not be accepted. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. No phone calls please.

Women, people with disabilities and those belonging to discriminated groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

All employees should adhere to USAID, DFID and Winrock International’s code of ethics, and specifically child safeguarding and trafficking in persons provisions covered in the project agreement.

Overview

Category Development and Project
Openings 1
Experience 3+ years
Education Please check vacancy details
Posted Date 09 Aug, 2019
Apply Before 23 Aug, 2019
City Kathmandu