Result of Service

Under the overall supervision of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Section of UNODC, direct guidance from UNODC’s project team in Sint Maarten as well as in close collaboration with national counterparts and colleagues from the UNODC’s Regional Office for the Central America and the Caribbean (ROPAN), the consultant will be responsible for the following activities: A. Inception, coordination and reporting - Prepare a work plan outlining the design approach, production schedule, review process and deliverables tracker. - Participate in an inception meeting and regular online coordination meetings with UNODC, maintaining responsive communication throughout the assignment. - Provide brief progress updates at agreed intervals and promptly flag any issues that may affect the delivery schedule. - Submit a concise final report summarizing the work completed, deliverables produced, and recommendations for maintaining the design system. B. Visual concept, design system and reusable templates - Produce a concise visual style guide and a reusable design system for flashcards and reports. The system must define page/card grids, type hierarchy, color palette, icons and symbols and rules for consistent application. - Develop editable master templates for the flashcards and reports, designed to support efficient production, future updating and possible adaptation to additional formats. - Prepare a representative prototype package comprising at least 10 sample flashcards drawn from different types of operational content and sample report pages, including a cover, contents page, chapter opener, standard text page, table, call-out and annex page. Revise the prototypes until written approval is received before full-scale production begins. C. Design and production of SOP visual flashcards - Design 20 complete flashcard sets, comprising approximately 20 flashcards per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), i.e., around 400 flashcards in total. The flashcards will cover key operational areas such as use of force, dynamic security, prisoner transport, disciplinary procedures, emergency response, health screening, prisoner classification, rehabilitation programmes, sentence planning and prison records management, among other approved SOPs. - Translate the content into concise and visually sequenced cards and create coherent icons, diagrams and other visual illustrations needed to make the procedures understandable at a glance. Visuals must be professional, operationally credible, and appropriate to a correctional setting. - Ensure that each flashcard is clearly identified by SOP title, card number and sequence, and that the full set can be used independently or as part of a complete learning package. - Prepare flashcards for both print and digital use. Final outputs must include editable source files, a print-ready PDF package, and individual high-resolution image files. D. Formatting and visual enhancement of eight reports - Professionally format up to nine UNODC reports and operational documents, with a combined length of approximately 300 pages. At the time of drafting, these are expected to include: 1. Prison Operations Manual (POM) – approximately 60 pages 2. Handbook for Prison Visitors and Service Providers – approximately 10 pages 3. Function Book – approximately 40 pages 4. Prisoner Census and Roadmap – approximately 30 pages 5. Prison Staff Training Curriculum – approximately 50 pages 6. Staff Code of Conduct – approximately 20 pages 7. Prison House Rules – approximately 50 pages 8. Additional report 1 – approximately 20 pages 9. Additional report 2 – approximately 20 pages UNODC may adjust the priority or selection of individual documents during implementation to reflect operational needs, provided that the overall scope of work and approximate total page count remain similar. - Apply consistent covers, title and imprint pages, automated heading styles, tables of contents, chapter openers, headers and footers, page numbering, body text, lists, tables, charts, process diagrams, annexes, captions and cross-references. The layout should distinguish the purpose of each document while retaining a common visual identity across the package. - Provide, for each report, all editable source files in their native format (e.g. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator or similar programs), together with print-ready PDF versions.

Work Location

Home-based

Expected duration

01 October 2026 – 31 May 2027 78 working days

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), established in 1997 and headquartered in Vienna, is the lead United Nations entity supporting Member States in combating illicit drugs, transnational organized crime, corruption and terrorism, while strengthening justice and rule-of-law institutions. Through a global network of 54 regional and country offices, including the Regional Office for Central America and the Caribbean (ROPAN) based in Panama City, UNODC has been active in the Caribbean region for more than 15 years, providing technical assistance on crime prevention, criminal justice reform, prison management and social reintegration. UNODC’s work on prison and penal reform is grounded in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules) and the United Nations Model Strategies on Reducing Reoffending (the Kyoto Model Strategies). Its approach focuses on three interrelated objectives: reducing the unnecessary use of imprisonment, improving prison management and conditions of detention, and strengthening rehabilitation and reintegration systems. This aligns with the UN System Common Position on Incarceration (2021), which calls for addressing over-incarceration, promoting non-custodial measures, and ensuring that prisons uphold human dignity, safety and rehabilitation as core principles. In Sint Maarten, the penitentiary system has faced longstanding and well-documented challenges, including deteriorated and unsafe infrastructure, chronic understaffing, overcrowding, and limited access to education, vocational training, work opportunities and other social programmes. These issues have been repeatedly highlighted by international oversight bodies, including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and other human rights mechanisms, which have raised concerns about conditions of detention, safety, and compliance with international standards. The Government of Sint Maarten has acknowledged these challenges and has made a clear and public commitment to comprehensive reform. This commitment is embodied in the multi-year Detention Sector Reform Programme (DSRP), led by the Ministry of Justice with financial support from the Government of the Netherlands. The DSRP seeks to modernize the detention system, strengthen governance and accountability, and ensure compliance with international norms, particularly the Nelson Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules. The programme consists of two complementary pillars: an infrastructure component, led by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which is constructing a modern correctional facility based on contemporary safety, security and rehabilitation principles; and a human and institutional component, led by UNODC, which strengthens prison management systems, professionalizes the correctional workforce, expands reintegration programmes and develops the transition plan to safely and effectively move from the current facility to the newly built one. Within this framework, UNODC is supporting the development of a comprehensive and modern rehabilitation and reintegration system for Sint Maarten’s correctional sector. This includes expanding access to education and vocational training, establishing prison industries, strengthening family and community engagement, supporting post-release pathways, and integrating sustainability-oriented skills programmes. These efforts are central to creating a safe, humane and rehabilitation-focused environment and will play a critical role in ensuring an effective transition to the new facility while supporting Sint Maarten’s long-term efforts to build a modern correctional system aligned with international standards. The consultant will provide graphic design, information design and editorial layout services to support the production of operational and knowledge products under the DSRP in Sint Maarten. The assignment covers the development of visual flashcards based on approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the professional formatting of technical reports and operational documents for print and digital use. The consultant will develop a consistent visual identity across all deliverables, in line with applicable United Nations and UNODC branding requirements and adapted to the local operational context. The consultant will transform substantive content provided by UNODC into clear, accessible and publication-ready materials through graphic design, layout, illustration, and final production. As the assignment involves documents relating to prison operations and other sensitive matters, the consultant shall maintain strict confidentiality throughout and after the completion of the assignment and shall handle all information in accordance with applicable United Nations confidentiality requirements. To facilitate the secure exchange of documents and communications, the consultant will be assigned a United Nations email account for the duration of the consultancy.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in graphic design, visual communication, information design, editorial design, digital media, fine arts or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in the aforementioned fields in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying work experience, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. At least seven years of progressively responsible professional experience in graphic design, visual communication, information design, or editorial design is required. Work experience designing and formatting policy documents, manuals, technical publications, reports and other institutional publications for comparable public-sector entities is required. Work experience producing visually consistent, multi-document publication packages is required, supported by a strong portfolio showcasing high-quality editorial design, publication layout and the presentation of complex technical content. Demonstrated knowledge of editorial production, print and digital publishing, typography, accessibility, file preparation and production-ready outputs is required. Experience producing materials related to criminal justice, prison, public administration, security, governance or another technical policy field is desirable. Experience working with the United Nations, another international organization, a government institution or a comparable public-sector client, including familiarity with institutional branding and multi-stage review processes, is desirable. Excellent project management, organizational and communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple deliverables and meet deadlines, are required.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in oral and written English, with excellent drafting and communication skills, is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations 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.

International Consultant (Graphic Designer – Sint Maarten)