Terms of Reference
ALTRI Center, in co-operation with the “Justice for All” Coalition, has drafted a project proposal on “Enhance Citizen Access to Justice through Public Legal Education” in the framework of the project “The Civic Engagement for a Functional Judiciary System and Access to Justice in Albania”, financed by the European Union and implemented by Save the Children and the Centre of Integrated Legal Services and Practices.
In this framework ALTRI Center in cooperation with the Albanian “Justice for All” Coalition is looking for a Public Outreach Specialist.
Background
Public Legal Education (PLE) has been highly disregarded in the context of the many reiterations of the justice system changes that have taken place in Albania in the last 20 years. The report commissioned by the Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee on the Justice System Reform, in June 2015 highlights the following main concerns related to PLE:
- Activities that intend to provide PLE are conducted at random, are unplanned and disorganized.
- There is no national strategy on PLE and no state or municipal budget funds allocated to PLE.
- Even though several public institutions are mandated to provide or/and contribute to PLE, they have done nearly nothing to fulfill this mandate. No public institution has any plan or project to promote PLE.
- Until now, PLE has been provided primarily by non-profit organizations (NPOs) that operate in this area and with the support by international partners.
- PLE efforts have been poorly coordinated: no public or other institution has taken over the responsibility to promote, coordinate, or monitor PLE activities; there is no division of tasks related to PLE between public institutions and NPOs.
At the same time, the report highlights the great need for PLE in the context of the justice system reform that is unfolding in Albania since 2015. Among other things, this profound and extensive reform is a pre-requisite for the country’s progress in its quest to become a member of the European Union. The report concludes that:
- The level of basic legal knowledge among citizens in Albania is very low. This affects negatively the implementation of laws, family relationships, business transactions, public health, security, environment, etc.
- The body of laws in Albania is complex and constantly changing, so citizens and, sometimes, even legal professionals, are not updated on the legal provisions that affect their lives and their rights in multiple ways.
- Due to lack of knowledge or information about the legal framework, citizens feel disconnected from public and private institutions, and cannot exercise their rights.
- For the current justice system reform to succeed, citizens must be well informed on the new laws that will be approved and amended, as well as on the new justice system institutions that will be established, as part of the reform.
Based on the findings of the Analysis of Albania’s Juridical System report, in 2016, Albania’s National Assembly drafted the first ever National Strategy of Public Legal Education (NSPLE) and discussed this draft document with a number of relevant stakeholders, including the Coalition. These consultations revealed that: (i) no reliable PLE needs assessment was conducted prior to developing the draft NSPLE; and (ii) the draft NSPLE was not developed through a participatory process from the start, a process that should have included public, educational, nonprofit, and private sector institutions that are mandated to provide, currently provide, or are interested in providing PLE. As it stands, the draft NSPLE is a good start but a rather weak document suffering from major gaps, such as:
- Poor analysis of the current status of PLE in Albania and of the needs for such education;
- Lack of clearly defined and stated vision, goals, and strategic priorities for NSPLE;
- Gaps in identifying all public, private, educational, and nonprofit sector institutions that would be involved in implementing NSPLE;
- Fragmented and unclear definitions of actions, coordinating mechanisms, and timeline for implementing NSPLE;
- No provisions related to the monitoring and evaluation of NSPLE’s implementation;
- No analysis or estimation of the budget required to implement NSPLE;
- No Action Plan that would operationalize NSPLE’s implementation.
Goal and Expected Results
Through this consultancy, ALTRI and the Coalition aims to lead to an expanded and more efficient access to justices for all citizens, including those from disadvantaged groups by drafting a Strategy for Public Legal Education. Developing and introducing NSPLE as a solid, well-thought, and funded official document approved by the National Assembly, that is the highest decision-making body in Albania, will pave the way for implementing NSPLE thus enabling relevant public, nonprofit, educational, and private sector institutions to provide PLE to various social groups throughout Albania, including disadvantaged groups.
Responsibilities of The Public outreach Specialist
The Public Outreach Specialist will be in charge of communications and outreach; will prepare and post social media updates on project activities and prepare content for the public information campaign upon approval of NSPLE and NAP.
- Will be responsible for organizing the communication and outreach activities according to a visibility plan that will include: using of web site and social media pages and accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) of ALTRI and other Coalition members for publishing; the social media pages and accounts will be updated at least on a weekly basis; the public consultation events for NSPLE and NAP, as well as the project closing event will be livestreamed; media will be invited to cover all project-related public events; the Program Manager and experts that will work on this project will appear in TV and radio shows.
- Will also assist the Program Manager to collect project indicator data
- During the organization of the public consultations on the draft NSPLE the Public Outreach Specialist will: i weekly report the project activities through web site and social media pages and accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) of ALTRI and other Coalition members; ii.livestream these public consultations and advertise them widely through the network of Coalition members, so that interested citizens can follow them online; iii. invite traditional and new media journalists to cover the public consultations; iv. collect and report to Project Manager the project indicator data.
- During the consultation to develop NAP the duties will be to: update at least on a weekly basis with all activities and project results the social media pages and accounts; ii.focus group audio recording, activity photos, minutes and their publication on web site and social media pages; iii. collect and report to Project Manager the project indicator data.
- During the public consultations on draft NAP and finalize NAP the work of Public Outreach Specialist will consist on: i. weekly reporting of the project activities through web site and social media pages and accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) of ALTRI and other Coalition members; ii. livestreaming these public consultations events and advertise them widely through the network of Coalition members, so that interested citizens can follow them online; iii. inviting traditional and new media journalists to cover the public consultations events; iv. collect and report to Project Manager the project indicator data.
- The work of Public Outreach Specialist during trainings/workshops to institutions on implementing NSPLE and NAP will consist on: i. weekly reporting of the project activities through web site and social media pages and accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) of ALTRI and other Coalition members; ii. collect and report to Project Manager the project indicator data.
- During the public information campaign, the Public Outreach Specialist will be responsible for organizing the communication and outreach activities, including preparing and posting social media updates on project activities and preparing content for the public information campaign (facebook ads, posts on facebook, radio ad). She will also assist the Program Manager to collect project indicator data.
- During the Progress Review and Next Step Event, the Public Outreach Specialist will be responsible for: i. reporting through web site and social media pages and accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) of ALTRI and other Coalition members the Project Closing Event; ii. livestreaming the project closing event; iii. inviting media to cover the event and expert interviews related to the activity and the initiative; iv. collecting and processing project indicator data.
Requirements:
- University degree in a relevant field;
- At least 10 years of previous work experience;
- Experience in writing articles; blogges and journalism;
- Previous experience in working with social media;
- Excellent knowledges on online tools and social networks
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
- Excellent ability to work under pressure and to maintain deadlines;
- Excellent knowledge of English and Albanian language, and computer literacy.
Interested candidates should present their professional CV in English to qendra.altri@gmail.com by 21 December 2017.
Applicants may also submit their application in hard copy to the following address:
A.L.T.R.I Center
Street “Asim Zeneli”, Nr. 15
Tiranë, Shqipëri
