National Consultant: Criminal Justice Expert for Review and Strategic Planning of Kenya's Justice System at United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Specific Tasks to be performed by the consultant:

• The consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Head of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme UNODC ROEA, direct supervision of the Programme Manager in coordination with the Programme officer and work closely with the NCAJ Secretariat in performing the following substantive duties and responsibilities. The scope of work will cover the full project cycle, from assessment to implementation support, and will focus on delivering the following tasks:
• Develop an inception report, including methodology, data collection tools and workplan. This shall be informed by the inception meeting that provides stakeholder recommendations and input submitted for consideration. 
• Develop a detailed situational analysis to feature the following tasks: i. Analyse the status of implementation of the 2017 Criminal Justice Sector Audit recommendations: To achieve this, the task will entail broad participation of all justice sector agencies and collecting and analysing relevant data that identifies inter-disciplinary (social, legal and socio-legal) and inter-sectoral policy issues. It will further include a meta-analysis of policy documents developed by various agencies and development partners in the criminal justice sector.
• Investigate emerging issues in the criminal justice sector and identifying shortcomings as well as making recommendations for implementation. Some of the emerging issues include but are not limited to:
• A review of the existing regulatory framework (laws, practices and procedures) applied at all levels of the criminal justice process and system e.g. bail and sentencing practices; remand and appeal inmates, self-representing litigants and persons requiring further consideration (vulnerable groups etc.);
• A review of emerging issues relating to evidence and criminal procedure, and their impact on the finalisation of criminal cases; including issues relating to digital evidence.
• A review of current practices on non-custodial measures and corrective sanctions, post penal supervision and their impact on
• A review of current practices and procedures relating to active case management and case-flow management including the role of information technology and the methodologies relating to data collection.
• A review of current practices or processes relating to the co-ordination and co-operation across the whole of the criminal justice sector, especially between Independent Offices, Ministries, Departments, and agencies; including the use of information technology and the methodologies relating to data collection.
• A review of the existing budget, human and other resources used in the criminal justice processes, including the roles and responsibilities of the various role-players and the relationship between the various role players; including how the impact efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice process
• A review of the overcrowding of prisons and the causes thereof, including the impact of bail and sentencing practices and laws, and awaiting trial prisoners, overcrowding of prisons, This should cover, among others, compliance with constitutional and other domestic laws, including new jurisprudence, national policy frameworks, and other human rights instruments. It should also cover Regional and International legal and normative frameworks including the various UNODC Standard Minimum Rules and guidance documents for the criminal justice system.
• Drawing from (1) and (2) above, prepare a strategic Action Plan on priority reform areas in the Criminal Justice Sector informed by the situational analysis above and covering:
• An appropriate theory of change for Kenya’s Criminal justice sector that captures transformation of the CJS into a modernised and responsive system, through integrated interventions that are institutionally aligned.
• Thematic areas or Key result areas for Kenya’s Criminal justice sector
• For each KRA identified in (a) above, identify and list strategic objectives
• For each strategic objective, identify and list priority programs and activities that will transform Kenya’s CJS. v. A detailed implementation matrix

Qualifications/special skills

• An advanced university (Master or equivalent) degree in law, criminology, public administration or policy, governance or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.
• A minimum of five years of experience in institutional policy analysis, research and reforms, strategic planning, multi-institutional or sectoral assessments and analysis, institutional audits and governance assessments is required.
• Strong knowledge of Kenya’s criminal justice system and its intersectionality with applicable regional and international legal and normative frameworks, experiences and good practices. Experience in international or multi-national assignments is desirable.
• Understanding of the NCAJ mandate and functionality, as well as its nexus with national priorities on good governance, enhancement of the rule of law, and sustainable development is desirable.
• Experience working with the United Nations, or a similar international organization, is desirable.