The USAID Rule of Law Program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is designed to strengthen the rule of law in Georgia by building the independence and effectiveness of justice sector institutions, enhancing access to justice for all segments of society, and increasing citizen and institutional oversight of justice sector institutions. The Program seeks to hire a local expert to assist the Legal Aid Service (LAS) in adapting various questionnaires for children and persons with psychosocial needs.

Background

One of the objectives of the Rule of Law Program is to improve access to justice for all in Georgia, by working with the LAS, a state-funded largest legal aid provider in Georgia, and CSOs delivering free legal assistance to socially vulnerable groups. The LAS provides legal assistance to beneficiaries through its bureaus and consultation centers across Georgia and due to its continuously increasing mandate, covers a wide range of areas of law and beneficiaries. To ensure the high quality of the provided services, the LAS has a performance appraisal system. One of the important components of the appraisal system is to inform the client about his/her rights and to agree on the case strategy, for which the client is given:

1. Terms of Service document, providing information about the grounds involving the lawyer in the case, type of assistance, principles on the role of the lawyer, communication with the client, personal data processing, service quality control, and the client’s responsibilities and obligations.
2. Beneficiary communication questionnaire, where agreement on the case strategy and other important issues, such as what was explained to the client, agreed upon, informed, and delivered, are recorded.
3. Beneficiary satisfaction questionnaire, which is filled out through the interview with the client to assess the quality of the provided services of the lawyer/consultant.

These questionnaires need to be adapted for children and persons with psychosocial needs, who are represented under the LAS mandate. The Program will support the LAS in this process and will secure expert assistance to adapt the questionnaires. This input will make the service more effective and inclusive.

Proposed Approach:

The Program seeks to hire a local expert to adapt: (1) beneficiary communication questionnaires, (2) terms of service and (3) beneficiary satisfaction questionnaires for children and persons with psychosocial needs. The expert will work closely with LAS to identify their needs in this regard and reflect them in the questionnaires.

Timeline

The consultancy period will be October-November, 2024.

The estimated level of effort will be up to 7 working days, including 1 day for working meetings with relevant representatives of the LAS, 5 days for working on adapting the questionnaires, and 1 day for getting feedback and finalizing the questionnaires.

Reporting

The Expert will work closely with the LAS, in close consultation with Mariam Gaiparashvili, Legal Aid Advisor, and report to Mariam Gaiparashvili, Legal Aid Advisor, and Giorgi Chkheidze, Chief of Party.

Deliverables

The Expert will provide the following deliverables:

1. Adapted beneficiary communication questionnaires in criminal law proceedings;
2. Adapted beneficiary communication questionnaires in civil/administrative law proceedings;
3. Adapted communication questionnaires for beneficiaries of legal consultations;
4. Adapted terms of service;
5. Adapted beneficiary satisfaction questionnaires.

Requirement and Eligibility*

Qualifications and experience:

1. University degree in psychology or other relevant fields.
2. At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in a relevant field. 
3. Experience in developing similar materials.
4. Familiarity with the work of the LAS.
5. Excellent communication and presentation skills.
6. Computer literacy (Internet, Microsoft Office programs, etc.).

To apply, potential candidate(s) need to present:

1. Cover Letter, addressing the criteria above.
2. CV, with a detailed list of qualifications.
3. Cost proposal, including the proposed gross daily rate in USD (expert honorarium only).

*Applications will be reviewed based on the above-provided Requirement and Eligibility criteria.

The Program retains the right to select any or none of the applications. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

The application must be submitted in English. The application should be e-mailed to info.rolp@ewmi.org Please include the following text in the subject line: Local Expert to Assist LAS in Adapting Questionnaires.

The deadline for application submissions is midnight, September 24, 2024 (Georgia time).