ABA ROLI Court Case Management Consultant, CAR (consultant)

Job Description

ABA ROLI has operated in the Central African Republic since January 2015, and implements programs that support access to justice, promote responsive governance, and improve the abilities of Central African justice actors. The Central African Ministry of Justice and its development partners are working to build the capacity of the Central African Judiciary to better meet the justice needs of communities across CAR. In addition to enhancing training and instituting increased oversight, the Central African judiciary, with support from the US Department of State INL, will undertake an assessment of case management and evidence control procedures, with the ultimate goal of introducing a uniform method for improved case processing.

Job Summary

ABA ROLI seeks a Court Case Management Consultant to support measures to improve case and evidence management within the Central African court system, with the purpose of improving efficiency, increasing transparency and supporting effective court oversight. The consultant will develop and gain approval for significant revisions to current court procedures and will produce standardized processes that are applicable for multiple court levels and jurisdictions, both within Bangui and in the prefectures. Because of existing systems, these processes will be fully paper-based, not computer-based.

The consultant will oversee an assessment phase, which will collect information to enable the consultant to inform and guide the development of improved case and evidence management procedures and systems that will likely be piloted in the High Court of Bangui. Lessons learned from initial implementation will inform roll-out to additional jurisdictions in the second year of the program. The consultant will engage with stakeholders to ensure the relevancy, context appropriateness, and acceptance of the new structure and will seek to promote the systems adoption. This individual must be able to lead and evaluate the capacity of courts to adapt change in a development environment.

This is a short-term assignment and the consultant will report directly to the Country Director, Richard Malengule, or his designee.

Principle Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of ABA ROLI’s Bangui-based Country Director, and in coordination with the Case and Evidence Management Project Director, the BPR Consultant will:

• Develop a project specific methodology for conducting a process engineering assessment for Central African courts that supports all activities and project deliverables;
• Document and assess court processes, filing and data flows, based on current practice and track these against formal procedures established by or for the courts;
• Work with Judicial counterparts to solicit input and develop a change management plan;
• Develop process reengineering recommendations to optimize processing, filing and data flow based on project objectives and parameters;
• Conduct time and motion assessment both as baseline and within a set of approved pilot processes for case management;
• Develop content for manuals or users’ guides for approved pilot processes for case management;
• Develop project specific documentation standards and templates;
• Maintain key stakeholder support and gain approval for revised processes;
• Engage with counterparts in a consultative fashion;
• Ensure a sustainable and context appropriate result with nationwide applicability.

Qualifications

• B.A. in business, public administration, criminal justice, information systems management, records management, or related field is required. Extensive experience or at least 10 years of experience in Court Administration, with direct, comprehensive experience in government sector process mapping and related guidelines and policy development may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• This position requires excellent oral and written communication skills in French and English, and the ability to effectively communicate with judges, court staff, and the public. Demonstrated interpersonal skills, including an ability to work well with high-level government officials is desirable.
• Preferred requirements include a good working knowledge of process mapping tools and software, good working knowledge of court procedures, court rules, and relevant statutes; experience with relational databases; the ability to interpret legislation, rules, administrative orders, and policies and procedures; and demonstrated experience in court or government office process, file and records systems review.
• Experience working in a multi-cultural environment, preferably in Africa, and the ability to thrive in a challenging political environment is desirable.
• Knowledge of the justice sector, legal system and socio-political context of the Central African Republic is beneficial.

Deliverables

• Project specific methodology for evaluating change in courts on a court by court basis
• Documentation report on current court processes, including baselines, at all court levels
• Revised court processes and structures developed; Stakeholder approval of revised processes obtained
• Instruct court staff on revised processes and support development of training methodology
• Plan for turnover of methodology and relevant materials to stakeholders
• Document strategy for continued process reform after the completion of the current project
• Contribute to the training program and implementation strategy of the current project

This is a short-term assignment, and the consultant will report directly to the Country Director, Richard Malengule, or his designee.

To apply, please send your CV and cover letter to Claire.Duguid@americanbar.org by July 10th, 2017.

For more information on this program please visit: https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/where_we_work/africa/central-african-republic.html

About the Organization

ABA ROLI is a non-profit program that implements legal reform programs in more than 50 countries around the world. ABA ROLI has nearly 500 professional staff working abroad and in its Washington, D.C. office. ABA ROLI’s host country partners include judges, lawyers, bar associations, law schools, court administrators, legislatures, ministries of justice and a wide array of civil society organizations, including human rights groups.

For more information about what we do at ABA ROLI please visit: https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/about.html