Armenia: Expert Roster – EU GSP+ Compliance and International Treaty Monitoring

Location: EU GSP+ beneficiaries’ countries in 2016 (Armenia, Bolivia, Georgia, Cape Verde, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay and the Philippines), GSP+ applicants (Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka)

Expected duration of assignments: Short-term part-time and full-time consultancy assignments from October 2016 onwards (contingent on award)

Brief description of project: Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organisation registered in Berlin. DRI promotes political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies and the development of democratic institutions worldwide.

DRI has been invited to present a full proposal for the project, “Promoting Human and Labour Rights through GSP+”, within the EIDHR Global Call for Proposals 2015 Lot 2. The general objective of this project is that civil society and social partners become effective advocates and drivers ensuring that the countries included in the European Union’s (EU) Generalised System of Preferences (GSP+) meet their commitments to ratify and effectively implement core international conventions. The specific objectives of this project are to support and empower civil society/social partners in monitoring the relevant conventions under the GSP+ process (1), and to support the implementation and reforms necessary for GSP+ beneficiary countries to meet their commitments under the human rights and core labour standards UN/ILO conventions included in the GSP+ (2).
The timeframe of the proposed project is a three-year period from September 2016 to August 2019.

DRI is currently seeking senior international human and labour rights consultants with expertise in EU GSP+ processes to support the implementation of the project. Selected consultants will be included into the roster to be called for specific assignments in the course of the project.

Duties and responsibilities (indicative list):

• Provide advisory services to DRI’s staff and partners on the EU GSP+ processes, strategic planning, design, implementation and evaluation of regional and country project activities.
• Provide thematic expertise and recommendations for actions to address the GSP+ shortcomings listed in scorecards provided by the EU.
• Support the design of and contribute to global, regional and country events (workshops, trainings, national and regional forums) on EU GSP+.

The exact scope of work and the selection of experts for each of the assignments will be dictated by the specific Terms of Reference.

Qualifications& Experience
• University degree in Human Rights, International Law, Economics, or Social Sciences.
• At least 10 years of comparative and practical experience in human and/or labour rights work, with experience advising governments, civil society and the private sector on GSP+ processes and monitoring compliance with international human rights treaties.
• Demonstrated experience delivering capacity-building trainings for civil society and other GSP+ stakeholders on advocacy, outreach, and policy recommendations related to human rights and labour conventions.
• Familiarity with international human rights law, core international human rights instruments and their monitoring bodies.
• Profound knowledge of EU GSP+ processes, GSP+ requirements and core international conventions, including the recommendations by the relevant international monitoring bodies.
• Knowledge of the country-specific political contexts and legal systems would be an advantage.
• Excellent English language skills (spoken and written).
• Knowledge of languages in GSP+ countries (Spanish, Portuguese and/or Russian) would be an asset.