Call for applications – environmental justice pool of experts (M/W) At Expertise France

Mission description

The justice system has a central role in fighting against climate change. In their support to developing countries, more and more international cooperation projects aim at reinforcing the environmental rule of law.

Expertise France is constituting a pool of experts with competences on all aspects of environmental justice and that could be mobilized on future projects.

For example, Expertise France could develop projects on the following topics (indicative list):

• Support in the legislative reforms to integrate the challenges of environmental protection, reinforce laws’ efficiency with the objective of alignment with international treaties and regulations; Support the development of laws and regulations relating to the environment (water, energy, biodiversity…);
• Share experience with actors of environmental justice and train them on technical aspects of environmental law;
• Promote access rights (to information, participation and justice);
• Promote whistle blower rights and support civil society organizations that aim at protecting the environment;
• Fight against environmental crimes; Support the police-justice collaboration in fighting against environmental crime;
• etc.

Types of expert missions

The experts could be invited to participate in different types of missions, at different steps of the project’s cycle:

Mission type 1: support project development

In the phase of developing Expertise France’s service offer, the experts could be invited to (indicative list):

• analyze the project’s context and identify beneficiaries’ needs: participate in exploratory missions, collect information, review documentation, produce analytical reports and concept notes, propose partnerships;
• support the drafting of EF’s offer taking into account the proposals and expectations of stakeholders:
  • identify objectives of the project, as well as relevant components and activities to address them;
  • develop tools to monitor and evaluate the project: theory of change, logical framework, including the identification of relevant indicators to measure the project’s impacts;
  • contribute to developing the project’s budget while ensuring coherence with the narrative offer and activities;
  • support in the identification of relevant experts for the implementation of activities.
• coordinate working sessions between EF and stakeholders;
• consolidate project documents involving all stakeholders.

Mission type 2: legal analysis and recommendations

During the implementation of a project by EF, the experts could be asked to (indicative list):

• conduct a diagnosis of the legal and regulatory framework of the country: interviews with stakeholders, documentary review, field visits, production of analytical reports involving comparative law.
• make recommendations and propose activities to answer to identified needs and assess the means for their implementation (assessment of needs in equipment, man-days, expert profiles, etc.).

Mission type 3: project activity implementation

During the implementation of a project by EF, the experts could be asked to (indicative list):

• implement activities (for example: design trainings for law professionals, train trainers, facilitate working groups, conduct an assessment of the framework…);
• prepare study visits: identify persons to meet, prepare an agenda, coordinate the study visit;
• conduct or participate in project evaluations in order to: identify the project’s strengths and weaknesses, assess the relevance, efficiency, impact and sustainability of the project under EF’s evaluation standards, appreciate the quality of the activities and the partnerships, formulate strategic recommendations;
• as team leader:
  • manage and monitor the implementation of the global strategy and the project’s coherence;
  • coordinate dialog with stakeholders (beneficiaries, partners, funders, etc.);
  • conduct the project’s monitoring, develop and update management tools (dashboards, indicator monitoring, etc.), identify risks and propose corrective measures, produce monitoring reports, capitalize on project’s activities, coordinate and produce the project’s narrative reports;
  • Coordinate the project’s human resources (project team, coordination of expertise missions, etc.);
  • Coordinate the implementation of activities and ensure their conformity with the project’s objectives and timeline.

Expected results

Deliverables will be detailed in the terms of reference to be developed for each specific mission and project.

Project or context description

Environmental emergency, a context with multiple international challenges at stake. In 2016, the Paris Climate Agreement recognized climate justice for the first time in international law with a perspective linking human rights to development and with social justice at the center of the fight against climate change. The five following years have nevertheless been the warmest on record. In August 2021, an extract of the 6^th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has again underlined the environmental emergency, foreseeing rapid temperature raises and confirming human responsibility in these changes.

Environmental harm is complex to prevent, sanction and repair. The implementation of environmental laws and regulations is confronted to complex interactions between environmental and financial stakes, the first being often perceived as an obstacle to social and economic development. The difficulty to conciliate environmental protection with other fundamental rights tends to reduce their acceptance and efficiency. Too often, environmental crimes enjoy impunity and the long justice timeframe pushes perpetrators to seek for profit despite the risk. Moreover, public administrations in charge of protecting the environment are often underfinanced in comparison to those in charge of natural resource exploitation.

Required profile

Skills:

• Master’s degree university diploma (public law, private law, civil or criminal law, European or international law, environmental law) or equivalent ;
• Good knowledge of environmental and climate justice;
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Excellent writing skills;
• Mastering of the pack office (work, excel, powerpoint).
• Fluency in English and another working language an asset.

Experiences :

• Over 4 years of experience in a sector of justice;
• Experience in the development or implementation of projects an asset;
• Experience in international projects an asset.