Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

UNDP’s Rule of Law Programme in Pakistan is working to strengthen the rule of law and to ensure equal access to justice and security services, particularly for women and marginalized groups across Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) including the merged districts (MDs), Balochistan, and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). In close collaboration with a range of government, rule of law and justice sector institutions, the overall Programme aims to enhance and sustain peace and stability for the longer- term in Pakistan.

The Programme activities and interventions therefore directly correspond with the government of Pakistan’s strategies and commitments to rule of law and justice reforms, as well as improving the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions to deliver accountable and affordable security and justice services to the public.

The Rule of Law Programme implementation is guided by the following four strategic objectives:

Policy, legal and regulatory frameworks strengthened to warrant people-centered, equitable, timely, affordable justice and security delivery to all people with an emphasis on women, marginalized and vulnerable groups, and digital technologies.
Capacity of justice and security stakeholders (duty bearers) enhanced to deliver inclusive, timely, and accessible services to all people with an emphasis on women and digital technologies.
Capacity of women, and the most vulnerable and marginalized (rights holders) strengthened to access referral pathways to justice and security.
Justice and security sector institutional facilities enhanced to deliver inclusive, timely, and accessible justice and security services, through women friendly and gender- responsive infrastructure development support with an emphasis on flood resilience and green energy.

Against this backdrop, UNDP actions and interventions are aimed at restoring public confidence and service delivery in the formal justice and rule of law sectors through a range of initiatives i.e. policy development and reform, fostering justice and security sector governance, as well as oversight and accountability at an institutional level with emphasis on inclusive and gender-responsive programming. The overall engagement strategy, therefore, involves both federal and local levels. The Programme is implemented in partnership with the Judiciary, Police, Prosecution, Prisons, Probation and Reclamation, Bar Associations, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and the academia both at federal and provincial levels.

The Project Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Specialist will provide technical support for the implementation and achievement of programme results related to judicial reform, access to justice and alternative dispute resolution. The Project Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Specialist will liaise closely with relevant government counterparts, judicial institutions, judicial academies, bar associations and other rule of law stakeholders at federal and provincial levels and provide technical advisory support within the areas of his/her responsibility.

The Project Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Specialist will provide technical advice and support for the design, implementation and monitoring of interventions related to judicial capacity development, case management, digital justice, judicial performance, ADR and mediation, and gender-responsive and survivor-centred justice. S/he will contribute to the formulation and implementation of relevant programme activities and promote institutional ownership, sustainability and alignment with national priorities and good practices.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Specialist will report directly to the Team Lead – Programme Specialist. The Specialist will provide specialized technical leadership, advice and oversight for judicial reform, access to justice, mediation and ADR interventions under the Rule of Law Programme.

The Project Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Specialist will support the design, implementation and quality assurance of interventions aimed at strengthening judicial institutions, judicial capacity development, case-flow management, judicial performance, digital justice, mediation and ADR mechanisms. The Specialist will also provide technical guidance on gender-responsive and survivor-centred judicial reform, including measures to improve the accessibility, fairness and responsiveness of justice services for women and vulnerable populations.

The Specialist will maintain effective technical engagement with High Courts, district judiciary, judicial academies, bar councils and associations, ADR and mediation institutions, relevant government departments and other justice-sector stakeholders. S/he will work in coordination with designated team members and partners to ensure coherence, complementarity and effective implementation of programme interventions

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams and projects in multidisciplinary teams to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Provide specialized technical leadership and advice on judicial reform and access to justice.
- Lead the technical design, planning and implementation of interventions related to judicial reform, judicial capacity development, access to justice, judicial performance and people-centred justice services.
- Provide specialized technical and policy advice to relevant justice-sector institutions on judicial reform priorities, institutional development, procedural improvements and access-to-justice initiatives.
- Support judicial institutions in reviewing and strengthening policies, procedures, institutional arrangements, operational frameworks and practices aimed at improving the efficiency, accessibility, quality and responsiveness of justice services.
- Provide technical inputs to institutional needs assessments, analytical studies, policy documents, strategies, guidelines, standard operating procedures and other technical products related to judicial reform and access to justice.
- Ensure that judicial interventions incorporate people-centred, gender-responsive and inclusive approaches, with particular consideration for women and vulnerable populations.
- Promote the application of relevant national frameworks, international standards, evidence and good practices in the design and implementation of judicial reform interventions.
Provide technical oversight for judicial capacity development, case-flow management and judicial performance improvement.
- Provide technical guidance for strengthening provincial judicial academies, including institutional needs assessments, curriculum modernization and initiatives aimed at strengthening judicial learning and professional development.
- Support the development of training modules, curricula and learning materials relating to case management, gender-sensitive and survivor-centred justice, protection of vulnerable groups, ADR, mediation and other priority areas, in coordination with designated team members.
- Provide substantive technical guidance to High Courts and relevant judicial institutions in strengthening and operationalizing case-flow management systems and associated procedures and protocols.
- Support institutional efforts to strengthen judicial efficiency, reduce case backlog and improve court administration through evidence-based and data-informed approaches.
- Provide substantive judicial inputs into assessments and reforms relating to virtual courts, e-Courts and other technology-enabled justice services, in coordination with designated team members.
- Support the development and institutionalization of judicial practice tools, including bench books, sentencing guidelines and judicial performance-monitoring frameworks.
- Promote institutional ownership and sustainability of judicial reform initiatives through consultation, capacity development and integration of supported systems and practices into existing institutional arrangements.
Lead technical support for mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
- Provide specialized technical leadership for ADR and mediation interventions, including court-annexed mediation, Dispute Resolution Councils and other appropriate formal and community-based dispute-resolution mechanisms.
- Support relevant institutions in assessing existing ADR mechanisms, identifying institutional and operational gaps and developing approaches for their strengthening, expansion and institutionalization.
- Support the strengthening and expansion of ADR mechanisms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in accordance with programme priorities and relevant institutional frameworks.
- Provide technical guidance for capacity development of judges, mediators, lawyers and other relevant actors on mediation and ADR.
- Promote accessible, inclusive, gender-responsive and people-centred ADR services and support measures to improve the quality and consistency of mediation and dispute-resolution practices.
- Provide technical oversight and institutional coordination for the design and implementation of relevant ADR and DRC assignments and service contracts, ensuring coherence with broader Rule of Law programming and institutional priorities.
Lead technical support for gender-responsive judicial reform, survivor-centred justice and women’s advancement across judicial, ADR and access-to-justice institutions.
- Provide specialized technical advice on integrating gender equality, non-discrimination, accessibility and survivor-centred approaches into judicial policies, procedures, court administration, service-delivery models and institutional reform initiatives.
- Provide specialized technical inputs on the judicial, ADR and access-to-justice dimensions of cross-sectoral protocols, referral pathways and institutional responses, ensuring survivor-centred procedures, confidentiality, informed consent, safety, non-discrimination and clearly defined institutional roles.
- Support the development, review, harmonization and institutionalization of gender-sensitive justice policies, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), referral frameworks and implementation tools, with particular attention to courts, judicial institutions, ADR mechanisms and legal-service providers.
- Provide substantive technical inputs to multi-institutional training and orientation initiatives on gender-sensitive and survivor-centred justice responses, in coordination with designated team members.
- Promote gender-responsive approaches within judicial training curricula, bench books, sentencing guidance, case-flow management, virtual and digital justice services, and judicial performance frameworks.
- Provide technical guidance to strengthen the accessibility, safety, fairness and responsiveness of mediation and ADR mechanisms for women and vulnerable groups, including appropriate safeguards and referral arrangements.
- Lead technical support for diagnostics, institutional dialogue and reform measures aimed at strengthening the participation, professional development, leadership and enabling environment for women within the judiciary, ADR institutions and legal profession.
- Facilitate dialogue and knowledge exchange with judicial institutions, bar councils and associations, judicial academies and other relevant stakeholders to promote gender-responsive judicial practice and institutional ownership of gender-related reforms.
Strengthen institutional coordination and partnerships for judicial reform and access to justice and cross-sectoral case coordination.
- Establish and maintain effective technical working relationships with High Courts, district judiciary, judicial academies, bar councils and associations, ADR and mediation institutions, government departments and other relevant justice-sector stakeholders.
- Facilitate technical consultations, policy dialogue and institutional coordination relating to judicial reform, ADR, access to justice and improved justice-service delivery.
- Provide technical support to provincial and district justice coordination mechanisms and promote effective follow-up, knowledge exchange and institutionalization of coordination practices.
- Support effective coordination between judicial institutions and other criminal justice and service-delivery institutions, including police, prosecution, prisons, and relevant referral-service providers, particularly where coordinated institutional action is required to improve case handling, access to justice and protection of women and vulnerable groups.
- Coordinate with designated team members and relevant partners to ensure complementarity, coherence and effective implementation of programme interventions.
Ensure technical quality assurance, knowledge management and results-based implementation of judicial and ADR interventions.
- Review technical proposals, terms of reference, methodologies, reports, guidelines, training materials and other substantive deliverables related to judicial and ADR interventions to ensure technical quality and consistency with programme priorities.
- Provide substantive input to workplans, progress reports, donor reports, briefing notes, concept notes and other programme documentation relating to judicial reform and ADR.
- Support monitoring of relevant programme results, including gender-disaggregated evidence and indicators relating to access to justice, ADR utilization and satisfaction, digital justice, gender-responsive justice and institutional performance.
- Identify implementation challenges, emerging opportunities and lessons and recommend appropriate technical adjustments and course correction.
- Capture and disseminate lessons learned, promising practices and knowledge generated through judicial reform, mediation and ADR interventions.
- Support preparation and technical oversight of consultants and service providers engaged for specialized, time-bound assignments, including preparation or review of TORs and quality assurance of technical deliverables.
The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The Rule of Law Programme is placed within the Democratic Governance Unit of the UNDP Country Office in Pakistan, and the Specialist will work under the supervision of the Team Lead – Programme Specialist and coordinate with designated team members and relevant Country Office colleagues.

Competencies

Please refer to the competency framework site for the entire list of competencies and further explanations.

Core Competencies

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

2030 Agenda: Peace

Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights
- Criminal justice Systems
Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights
- Customary and Informal justice

Business Direction & Strategy

Systems Thinking
- Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Management

Rule of Law Security and Human Rights
- Legal Aid and Legal Empowerment
Partnerships Management
- Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
Project Management
- Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals
Communication
- Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.

Required Skills and Experience

Min. Education requirements

Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Law, Judicial Studies, Governance, Criminology, Development Studies or a closely related field is required, or
A first-level university degree (bachelor's degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience, will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Min. years of relevant work experience

Minimum of five (5)years (with master's degree) or seven (7) years (with bachelor's degree) of relevant professional experience in judicial reform, access to justice, alternative dispute resolution, justice-sector governance or related areas is required.

Required Skills

Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems, and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.

Desired Skills

Experience working with judicial institutions, courts, judicial academies, bar councils or associations, ADR institutions or other justice-sector stakeholders is desired.
Experience providing technical advice and supporting institutional reforms, policy development, procedures or capacity-development initiatives in the justice sector is desired.
Experience in developing or reviewing judicial policies, SOPs, training curricula or similar technical products is desired.
Experience with court-annexed mediation, community dispute resolution or other formal or informal ADR mechanisms is highly desirable.
Experience and knowledge of digital justice, e-Courts, virtual courts and technology-enabled approaches to judicial administration would be an advantage.
Demonstrated experience and knowledge of gender-responsive, survivor-centred and people-centred justice programming, including approaches to addressing barriers faced by women and vulnerable groups, is desired.
Previous work experience with UNDP, UN agencies or international organizations will be an added advantage.
Experience supporting institutional strengthening of judicial academies or professional training institutions is an asset.

Required Language(s)

Fluency in English and Urdu is required.

Professional Certificates

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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Project Judicial and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Specialist (Open to Internal and External Applicants)