Team Lead - Programme Specialist (Open to Tier 1 & Tier 2 Applicants)

UN News · Islamabad, Pakistan

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 academia both at federal and provincial levels.

TheTeam Lead /Programme Specialist will support the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) in the implementation and achievement of programme results, liaising closely with key government and rule of law counterparts at federal and provincial levels, donor agencies, UN agencies and other international organizations. TheTeam Lead /Programme Specialist will provide technical leadership and advisory support to government counterparts and rule of law, security and justice‑sector institutions and will supervise designated Rule of Law Programme personnel in accordance with the approved organigramme.

The incumbent will support the CTA in the strategic positioning of UNDP Rule of Law activities and provide policy and programme‑management advice on rule of law, security and justice‑sector issues. S/he will support donor coordination and resource‑mobilisation efforts, contribute to programme formulation, strategic direction and evaluation, and serve as a key technical focal point for major national and international stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities

The incumbent will report directly to the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA). S/he will provide day‑to‑day technical leadership and coordination for the Rule of Law Programme, support programme management and oversight, and provide substantive advice on rule of law, law enforcement, security‑sector and institutional reform.

The role entails supervision of designated programme personnel and short‑term consultants, in accordance with the approved organigramme and applicable UNDP policies and procedures. The incumbent will support the CTA in programme development, implementation, quality assurance and achievement of results.

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 technical leadership and advisory support on rule of law, law enforcement, security‑sector and institutional reform.

• Provide day‑to‑day technical leadership, coordination, and advisory support to ensure effective implementation of programme interventions relating to security‑sector and criminal justice reform, access to justice, and institutional strengthening


• Provide specialised technical advice to relevant institutions on institutional reform priorities affecting police, prosecution, prisons, probation and other security and criminal justice institutions, including institutional governance, operational effectiveness, accountability, coordination and service‑delivery systems.


• Lead and coordinate institutional assessments and diagnostics to identify systemic gaps and recommend tailored solutions.


• Provide technical guidance on strengthening investigation and prosecution practices, institutional coordination, fair‑trial safeguards, lawful and accountable service delivery, victim/survivor referral mechanisms and other priority criminal justice functions.


• Guide technical interventions aimed at strengthening citizen‑responsive, accessible, inclusive and gender‑sensitive law‑enforcement and security services, including institutional systems and practices that improve services for women and vulnerable populations.


• Offer technical guidance to provincial and federal justice institutions on case management, investigation standards, and fair trial guarantees.


• Assist in the rollout of case management systems, and integrated data platforms.


• Provide substantive oversight and coordination for interventions involving law‑enforcement and correctional institutions, ensuring coherence across institutional reform, capacity development, digital transformation, infrastructure and service‑delivery initiatives.


• Coordinate communication and sharing knowledge with other regional Rule of Law Programmes.


• Provide advice to CTA on scaling up and sustainability of the Rule of Law Programme.

Provide technical leadership for gender‑responsive institutional reform and women’s advancement across law‑enforcement, security and criminal justice institutions.

• Provide technical leadership and advice on integrating gender equality, non‑discrimination, accessibility and survivor‑centred approaches into law‑enforcement, security and criminal justice institutional reforms, policies, procedures and service‑delivery systems.


• Guide diagnostics and institutional analysis of barriers affecting the recruitment, retention, participation, leadership and career progression of women within police, prosecution, prisons, probation and other relevant institutions.


• Support development and implementation of evidence‑based institutional reform measures addressing gender‑responsive human‑resource policies, career progression pathways, safe and inclusive workplace standards and appropriate mechanisms for addressing harassment and discrimination.


• Provide substantive technical guidance on gender‑responsive and survivor‑centred institutional responses to gender‑based violence and other cases involving vulnerable groups, including victim identification, trauma‑informed approaches, referral pathways, confidentiality, informed consent and inter‑institutional coordination.


• Guide the integration of gender‑responsive approaches into law‑enforcement and security‑sector training systems, operational procedures, institutional policies, digital systems, facilities and service‑delivery models.


• Support professional development, mentorship, leadership and pipeline‑development approaches aimed at increasing the participation and advancement of women within law‑enforcement, prosecution, correctional and other relevant institutions.


• Coordinate on reforms involving the judiciary, ADR, legal profession and access‑to‑justice institutions to ensure coherent gender‑responsive programming while maintaining clear technical responsibilities.

Ensure programme management and oversight.

• Prepare annual and quarterly workplans aligned with programme outcomes, ensuring sequencing of interventions and resource allocation.


• Provide substantive and strategic support to the Rule of Law Programme, including supervision of programme team and several short‑term consultants.


• Facilitate and manage Rule of Law Programme activities, and measure performance and report on project results and outcomes for CTA to present to the Project Review Board (PRB) and other forums, ensure reporting to donors is timely and maintains required standards.


• Support the establishment and functioning of the Rule of Law team and manage the recruitment of team and local consultants, as well as identifying short‑term local experts as necessary.


• Coordinate and supervise the activities of the Rule of Law personnel , experts and consultants working as part oof the technical assistance team.


• Contribute toward Rule of Law work plans, progress reports, and terminal reports.


• Be responsible for the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical outputs, briefs and required documents, ensuring timely production and submission of outputs and reports by all members of the Rule of Law, contractors and partners.


• Support to organize PRB, donor coordination and project review meetings. Prepare background. documents, briefs, issues papers, and progress reports for the PRB meetings and for donor reporting. Follow‑up on the implementation of PRB decisions and recommendations.


• Support process for the selection of suppliers, contractors, and partners. Supervise procurement of goods and services including preparation of equipment specifications, Terms of Reference (TORs) and Request for Proposals (RFPs) according to approved UNDP procedures.


• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field‑level activities of the Rule of Law Programme.


• Supervise outsourced research and dissemination of research findings.


• Provide support to the Rule of Law Programme’s infrastructure development projects.