Judiciary Finance and Budget Expert, Promoting Rule of Law

Management Systems International (MSI), a Tetra Tech Company, is a Washington, D.C. metro area management consultancy with a 40-year history of delivering results for our clients. Our expertise is in the fields of monitoring and evaluation; democracy and governance; peace and stability; rule of law and accountability; education; gender and inclusion; strategic communications; and leadership and organizational development. MSI has implemented projects in 90 countries around the world such as Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria and Ukraine, and works domestically. We support clients ranging from the U.S. Government (e.g., the U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Departments of State and Labor, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation) to large bilateral and multilateral donors (e.g., the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program). We also work with national and local governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, foundations and universities. For more information, please visit our website at www.msiworldwide.com.

Project Summary:

The Promoting Rule of Law Activity (PROLA) is a five-year activity funded by USAID/ Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This activity helps the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (GDRC) fight corruption and promote equal and equitable access to Justice in DRC to improve public perception and trust of the judiciary by 1) increasing transparency, accountability, and integrity in the Justice system to promote equal and equitable Justice and support the DRC’s anti-corruption efforts; 2) empowering civil society to demand GDRC commitment to judicial independence and contribute to judicial reform; and 3) increasing equal and equitable access to Justice for all. USAID/PROLA intends to support the Supreme Council of the Judiciary (CSM) in budgetary matters as part of the implementation of its first objective. The CSM is the governing body of the Judiciary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, responsible for representing the state and ensuring individual freedoms and fundamental rights of citizens, as well as administering justice nationwide on behalf of the Congolese people. However, in recent years, the Judiciary has not engaged in participatory budgeting, resulting in budget forecasts that inadequately address the real needs of courts and tribunals, leading to suboptimal functioning and hindering the Judiciary's ability to fulfill its role and maintain independence. To address these gaps, PROLA/USAID is seeking a Short-Term Judiciary Finance and Budget Expert to provide technical support to the CSM in budget planning, management, and oversight to enhance transparency, accountability, and integrity within the DRC Judiciary.

**Please note: Only Congolese citizens are eligible for this position**

Position Summary:

The Judiciary Finance and Budget Expert will work under the supervision of the Permanent Secretary of the CSM, and in close collaboration with the Finance and Budget Officer at the CSM Permanent Secretariat and the PROLA Expert in Judicial Reform and Institutional Capacity Building Specialist. The Expert will contribute to capacity building for CSM officials, and all stakeholders involved in the programming, management, and monitoring of the judiciary budget. This includes procedures for budget preparation, implementation, and expenditure, as well as proper data collection at the Courts and Tribunals level to meet Judiciary operational needs. Capacity building efforts will also encompass maintaining simplified budgetary accounting in alignment with the sectoral justice reform policy and ongoing public finance reforms in the DRC.

Responsibilities:

• Provide technical support to the Supreme Council of the Judiciary in the programming, management, and monitoring of the judiciary’s budget.
• Produce a budget model tool for local courts using a participatory and bottom-up approach.
• Analyze the budget needs of the judiciary and produce a review of the budgets historically requested and allocated to the judiciary.
• Review and analyze the budget design, request, and allocation processes of the Judiciary.
• Provide the courts with recommendations on how to improve their budget processes based on the analyses.
• Review the budget management mechanisms and those for emergency expenditure procedures.
• Provide support to the CSM to effectively advocate their needs, explain their budget priorities, and understand the budget review and approval system, with a particular focus on supporting interactions with Parliament, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Budget.
• Strengthen and consolidate budget monitoring/control within the Judiciary.
• Analyze the mechanisms for budgetary and financial reporting.
• Provide training and/or capacity-building sessions on budget formulation, management, and monitoring to key actors in the budgetary process in pilot courts, tribunals, and offices.
• Design and provide coaching sessions on financial compliance with court staff in pilot courts, tribunals, and offices.
• Provide close coaching to pilot courts, tribunals, and offices regarding credit allocations (budgetary) in strict compliance with budgetary orthodoxy.
• Design at least three training courses for court staff on areas of need, possibly including budget advocacy, budget analysis, and compliance procedures, following analysis of budget processes and staff needs.
• Provide coaching in pilot courts, tribunals, and offices on budgetary accounting, such as maintenance of accounts, organization, and retention of supporting documents, etc.
• Analyze current budget processes and support CSM to incorporate gender-sensitive budgeting practices to budget designs and requests.
• Perform any other needs as may be identified by the Chief of Party.