Legal Policy Adviser

Job Description

Position Title: Legal Policy Adviser

Duration: Fixed, commencing on a date to be agreed to December 2024

Reports To: Deputy Team Leader- ASIPJ

Location: Honiara, Solomon Islands

Program Background

The Australia Solomon Islands Partnership for Justice (ASIPJ) continues Australia’s long-running support to the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) justice sector. Its goal is to work closely with SIG to enable justice agencies to maintain delivery of their existing, core activities while clearly identifying and engaging with fundamental problems and critical issues affecting their ability to contribute to stability and offer access to justice for citizens.

ASIPJ will be delivered through four key outcome areas: i). improving core service delivery capacity; ii). enhancing capacity for justice sector management and leadership; iii). enhancing collaboration with state and non-state actors to improve access to justice, and iv). increased sensitivity and responsiveness to those vulnerable to family and sexual violence. ASIPJ is a four-year program (2022-2025) with an option to extend to eight years.

ASIPJ aspires to be locally led, problem-oriented and learning driven. It will be pragmatic, practical, and adaptable, and will mainstream gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI). Deloitte is the Managing Contractor, leading an exciting coalition for change that includes Adam Smith International, providing the Operations Hub; Ninti One, for its Indigenous expertise; and The University of Queensland, to support critical research and knowledge generation.

Role Dimensions

The Legal Policy Adviser will:

• Provide ongoing technical advisory support to counterparts in the LPU, SILRC and MPNSCS.
• Assist in the development and implementation of mentoring plans for key counterparts, focusing on technical and soft skills.
• Engage with other ASIPJ personnel and external actors to support ASIPJ objectives.

Overview

The Legal Policy Adviser will work across three SIG bodies: the Legal Policy Unit (LPU) of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA); the Solomon Islands’ Law Reform Commission (SILRC); and the Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services (MPNSCS).

The Legal Policy Adviser will mentor and build the capacity of Solomon Islands Government counterparts working within the LPU, the SILRC and the MPNSCS. While the engagements across the three organisations will vary, the common and primary role of the adviser will be to provide assistance and advice to counterparts which supports the development of clear and informed legal policy. In pursuit of this, the adviser may be required to help counterparts with legislative review tasks and preparing legislative drafting instructions. They may also be called upon to provide accurate and timely legal policy advice to their counterparts and other SIG officials. While the adviser’s key engagements will relate to legal policy development, it is anticipated that they will also be involved in strengthening the organisational and institutional capacity of the institutions they work with, particularly the LPU and the SILRC.

Summary of Key Competencies and Responsibilities

The Legal Policy Adviser will work closely with: the Chief Legal Policy Officer of the LPU: the Chairman of the SILRC; the Deputy Secretary, Policy and Planning, and the Director, Policy and Planning, of MPNSCS. In collaboration with these four SIG officers, the adviser will determine key legal policy priorities for each organisation and assist with advancing these. The adviser will also help to foster collaboration and information sharing pertaining to legal policy development across the LPU, the SILRC and MPNSCS.

While the adviser will work across the three organisations discussed, they will be located in the LPU and it is expected that they will spend the majority of their time working with the staff of the LPU. The adviser will need to be highly cognisant of the need to balance their workload to ensure that they are able to work effectively across the three offices.

The Legal Policy Adviser will provide technical advisory support to counterparts in the LPU, SILRC and MPNSCS on:

• Planning and conducting legal policy research and stakeholder consultations;
• Preparing briefings and providing accurate, informed and impartial advice to Members of Parliament, Cabinet members, Permanent Secretaries and other SIG stakeholders;
• Undertaking legislative reviews and analyses, and drafting key policy documents, including consultation papers, reports, information papers, cabinet submisisons, white papers and the like;
• Preparing clear and accurate drafting instructions for select legislation for the Legislative Drafting Division (LDD) of the Attorney-General’s Chambers;
• Overall guidance and support to SIG legislation and policy implementation processes.

As concerns the adviser’s engagement with MPNSCS, their key focus is likley to be working with counterparts on legislative amendments/reforms to the Police Act 2013 and the Correctional Services Act 2007.

Working with ASIPJ’s Professional Development Adviser and Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) Adviser, the Legal Policy Adviser will assist with the development and implementation of mentoring and training/capacity building plans for key counterparts, including:

• Developing inclusive, participatory and self-needs assessments with key counterparts, including identification of key professional targets and requisite skills and learning needed to achieve them;
• Developing and delivering technical and soft skills capacity building and trainings based on identified needs among key counterparts, including means to measure effectiveness.

The Legal Policy Adviser will engage with ASIPJ and external actors to support the achievement of ASIPJ objectives, including:

• Working with ASIPJ’s Communications Adviser to strengthen the capacity of the LPU, the SILRC and the MJLA to enhance awareness and understanding amongst target audiences of the role of, and the processes involved in, legal policy development;
• Working with ASIPJ’s GEDSI Adviser to support counterparts in implementing relevant recommendations from ‘Step-by-Step’, the justice sector’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Strategy’, and the 2021 review of the Family Protection Act;
• Working with the LDD Adviser, including on efforts to improve the quality of drafting instructions being submitted by ministries to the LDD;
• Working with ASIPJ’s MERL Adviser on the identification, collation and presentation of relevant data, particularly for the purposes of meeting ASIPJ’s reporting obligations to DFAT;
• Supporting collaboration with external consultants/stakeholders, volunteers and donors involved with, or engaged by, the LPU, the SILRC and/or the MPNSCS.

Other

The Legal Policy Adviser may be asked to undertake other duties by the ASIPJ Team Leader and/or Deputy Team Leader; the Permanent Secretaries, MJLA and MPNSCS; the Chief Legal Policy Officer of the LPU; and the Chairman of the SILRC.

The Legal Policy Adviser may be required to contribute to ASIPJ activities and outcomes as directed by the Team Leader or Deputy Team Leader, ASIPJ, and as agreed with the adviser.

Reporting and Performance Management

Day to day supervision of the Legal Policy Adviser will be undertaken by the Permanent Secretaries of the MJLA and MPNSCS. The Deputy Team Leader, ASIPJ, will monitor performance and delivery of program deliverables in accordance with this TOR and with the adviser’s annual workplan.

Selection Criteria

Qualifications

Tertiary qualifications in law with post-graduate qualifications being desirable.

Key Skills, experience, and personal qualities

• Significant experience in the provision of legal policy advice to government.
• Proven experience in the management and implementation of complex legal projects, including undertaking stakeholder consultation processes with people from varied professional, cultural and language backgrounds.
• Proven ability to conduct policy and legislative reviews and provide clear and concise advice, analysis and research for a senior government audience.
• Experience in preparing legislative drafting instructions.
• Demonstrated mentoring and/or training/capacity building experience on legal policy and/or related issues.
• Sound personal professional and ethical standards and strong interpersonal skills, with an ability to communicate with a wide variety of stakeholders including cross-culturally and remotely.
• Understanding of the Solomon Islands and/or the Melanesian development context will be an advantage, as too will Tok Pisin, Bislama or Pijin language skills.

COVID-19

ASIPJ team members need to adhere to SIG COVID-19 policy requirements for the purposes of entry into government offices. This includes being double vaccinated.

How to apply

Please submit your application before 23 December 2022, 11:59pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) to: hr.asipj@asipj.com.sb

Please use the following title: Application for Legal Policy Adviser, ASIPJ Program

Applications should include a cover letter of no more than two pages addressing the position selection criteria, a CV of no more than four pages and the contact details of two professional referees.

ASIPJ is committed to building a diverse team. Applications from Solomon Islanders, citizens of other Pacific island states or indigenous Australians are strongly encouraged, even where you do not meet all of the stated criteria.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, we encourage you to reach out to ASIPJ HR Team via hr.asipj@asipj.com.sb or call ASIPJ Office +677 26530.

Note: Shortlisted candidates will not be contacted until the second half of January 2023.

About the Organization

Adam Smith International is a global advisory company that works locally to transform lives by making economies stronger, societies safer, and governments more effective. We work on behalf of governments, foundations and companies that share our ambition to take on the big challenges facing the world. They come to us to develop strategies and to design, deliver and evaluate programmes that, in turn, stimulate growth, stability and good governance.

For nearly three decades in almost 100 countries, we have been working in partnership with governments, the private sector and civil society in countries at all stages of development.

Our core team of staff and technical experts, in multiple offices around the world, ensures the quality of delivery and high ethical standards that we and our clients require. We bring together a global network of specialist experts, who contribute their experience and know-how, where and when it is needed.

ASI is owned and operated by its employees. We are committed to corporate integrity and a triple bottom line of social, environmental and financial performance.