Research Team – Local Consortium on Access to Justice

Research Team – Local Consortium on Access to Justice

Research Team to conduct research in the following districts – Mutasa, Umzingwane, Hurungwe – Local Consortium on Access to Justice
Deadline: 16 August 2019

Contract: Part Time
Project Background: Assessment of the informal justice systems in Zimbabwe

One of the challenges identified in the Spotlight Initiative Country Programme Document as a barrier to accessing justice by women and children survivors of SGBV/HP is the co-existence of the dual legal system in Zimbabwe. The co-existence of the formal and informal justice delivery systems, with emphasis on investments being done in the less responsive formal system, has posed enormous challenges for women and girls. A recent mapping of citizens’ perception on the justice system showed that 44.9% of the respondents indicated that they rely on the informal justice system to resolve their disputes (Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs/UNDP, Citizen Perception Mapping of the Justice Delivery System in Zimbabwe 2017) This was based on a sample of 1083 respondents drawn from rural and urban areas and compromised of 50% males and 50% females. The study revealed that within the informal justice system, family mediation is the most utilized justice system, followed by the village assembly and negotiation. Given the above therefore, the Country Programme will seek to address gaps and the gender blinds spots in the implementation of the law by investing in the formal and informal justice systems and the linkage between the two in the continuum of SGBV/HP/SRHR responsive justice delivery. The conducting of an assessment of the informal and tradition justice system is the first step in this process

Job Specification
A local consortium on Access to justice with support from the Spotlight Initiative seeks to recruit a Research Team to conduct research in the following districts – Mutasa, Umzingwane, Hurungwe. The successful team will contribute to leading a research in 3 districts in Zimbabwe to assess the efficacy of the informal justice system in addressing gender based violence. This will include conceptualizing, designing, and leading the research programme, supervising field work, data analysis and the compilation of findings into an academic publication.

Responsibilities
Research team comprises: A legal expert, Gender expert and Social scientists with expertise in anthropology, or social norms

The incumbent will be expected to conceptualise, design, manage and lead research project emphasis on high quality evidence-based research; To support the promotion of collaborative, large-scale, and inter-disciplinary research project with the involvement of national and international researchers (including playing a mentoring role staff and research fellows); To participate in a platform for dialogue among scholars, institutional leaders and policy-makers to address the complexities of the informal justice system in addressing gender based violence; To undertake research and publish at an advanced level; The incumbent will work n collaboration and under supervision of the Programme Coordinator masters who will provide overall guidance and leadership to the research project.

Minimum Requirements of Researchers
PhD or Masters Degree; with international standing and familiarity with current trends in gender, gender based violence, socio-legal environment in the Zimbabwean context; Substantial research experience and publication track record in peer-refereed journals or scholarly books; PhD/ Masters with evidence of independent and innovative research experience and track record, including scholarly publications; Experience in gender, development; participatory research methodologies; policy engagement, or strong potential to perform in these areas; Evidence of ability to work with teams; and evidence of successful fundraising; Expertise and experience in innovation and research design in gender and or access to justice; Substantial experience in working with SPSS and Nvivo Packages; including supervision of research fellows; Incumbent must be available to conduct field work in rural areas; Being attached with an Academic Institution will be an added advantage.

To apply
Interested applicants should forward a one-page cover letter and detailed CV to [email protected] with the relevant position and district of choice as the subject heading. Only shortlisted candidates will receive a response.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer