Project Manager - Access to Justice
Deadline for application: 21 January 2013
The mission of the Mental Disability Advocacy Center is to advance the rights of children and adults with intellectual disabilities or psycho-social disabilities. We achieve this through three organisational objectives:
• Creating a body of progressive jurisprudence
• Instigating law reform
• Empowering people with disabilities and promoting participatory politics
MDAC is currently recruiting a Project Manager for a two year project on access to justice for children with intellectual disabilities and children with psycho-social disabilities.
Project information
One of MDAC’s six human rights goals is access to justice. MDAC has been given a grant of 1 million EUR from the European Commission to carry out a two-year project entitled 'Access to Justice for Children with Mental Disabilities'. The purpose of the Project Manager - Access to Justice is to manage this project, which addresses access to information, legal representation and assistance (e.g. intermediaries or interpreters), participation of children with mental disabilities in all stages of the legal process, protection of children with mental disabilities in judicial proceedings, privacy issues and training for judiciary and other relevant professionals by:
• Developing a methodology for data gathering on access to justice for children with mental disabilities across the EU.
• Developing standards for access to justice for children with mental disabilities (in relation to protection of privacy, child participation, accessible information about access to justice options, legal assistance, legal representation, protective measures and special assistance) based on relevant research evidence and best available practice across the EU.
• Developing training and educational materials on access to justice for children with mental disabilities. These packages will be designed to be of relevance and potential use to professional bodies (including the judiciary and the police) and to universities.
• Undertaking advocacy actions to ensure that the methodology, the standards and the training materials are disseminated to and considered by policy-makers and civil society in all Member States, and at the EU level.
The project partnership includes ten university and NGO partners active in the fields of access to justice and/or work with people with mental disabilities in various Member States. The project is supported by an expert panel comprised of people with mental disabilities, their carers and experts from different fields.
Programme management
Under the supervision of the Research and Monitoring Director (who acts as project director), the post-holder:
• Manages all aspects of the project.
• Ensures that project objectives are met and project activities are carried out in exact compliance with MDAC’s contractual obligations.
• Develops and works to a strict timetable of actions.
• Ensures smooth internal communication to all project participants, including a monthly project newsletter.
• Holds to account and supervises project participants in all project activities ensuring strict contractual compliance.
• Ensures budgetary compliance in close collaboration with the Finance and Administration Director.
• Develops project participant knowledge and skills.
• Represents MDAC as required at project meetings and related conferences.
• Ensures project learning feeds into MDAC’s overall programming and strategic planning.
• Reports accurately and in detail on work achieved and planned.
• Ensures that risks are planned for, identified early, discussed with senior management, acted upon and documented.
• Participates in the development of the organisation, including fundraising.
• Carries out any other tasks reasonably required by the supervisor.
Qualifications
Essential
• Post-graduate qualification in a social sciences discipline, law, or policy fields
Desirable
• Management qualification
• Qualitative research qualification
Skills and experience
Essential
• Highly advanced written English language skills
• Minimum three years of relevant work experience in the field of children’s rights and/or the rights of people with disabilities and/or access to justice including at least four of the following areas:
- Developing secondary, desk research methodologies
- Conducting primary qualitative research
- Carrying out participatory action research
- Supervising other people carrying out research
- Editing the work of non-English speakers up to publication standard
- Managing projects using project management software
- Drafting policy briefs and other human rights advocacy submissions
- Reporting to the European Commission or other major funding body
• Interviewing children with disabilities
• Dealing with research ethics bodies
• Turning research findings into advocacy materials
• Ability to communicate in a European language other than English
Personal attributes and skills
The ideal person will have the following attributes and skills:
• Commitment to MDAC’s mission, vision and organisational values
• Willingness to be based in Budapest and to travel occasionally
• Commitment to engage in dialogue with a variety of stakeholders
• Demonstrated analytical skills
• Strategic thinking and someone and ability to seek links between people and themes
• Quick learning ability
• Multi-tasking
• Outstanding writing skills
• Well-developed sense of when to bring matters to the attention of others
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills (on the phone, electronic communication)
• Ability to deal with ambiguous external environments and a high-paced working environment
Conditions
This position is based in MDAC’s headquarters in central Budapest, Hungary. Applicants must be citizens of a European Union Member State. The contract will be indefinite by law, but MDAC only intends to have the post-holder in place for the project duration. The contract is subject to a three-month probationary period. The contract will be governed by Hungarian labour law. The post-holder will be paid a fixed amount in Hungarian forints and must pay Hungarian taxes, social security and other statutory contributions.
MDAC is an equal employment opportunity employer and aims to ensure that all prospective and actual employees and consultants are treated equally, irrespective of actual or perceived disability, age, nationality (apart from in employing citizens of EU countries where specified), race or ethnicity, religious belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or other status protected by law. People with disabilities, including mental health service users and survivors of psychiatry, are encouraged to apply. MDAC has in place a reasonable accommodation policy for people with disabilities.
How to apply
Applicants should send the following documents to JoinTheTeam@mdac.info (kindly mention 'Access to justice' in the subject bar:
1. A letter of interest (up to 800 words) addressed to the Executive Director. The letter should detail how the applicant is an ideal match for this post and should specifically refer to the job description and person specification.
2. A full CV (specifying citizenship).
3. An unedited English language writing sample.
4. The names of two referees who may be contacted after the first round of interviews.
If any of the above is missing, the applicant will be automatically rejected. If candidates wish to discuss this opportunity with MDAC staff they should do so by emailing mdac@mdac.info and addressing their enquiry to Rea Maglajlic, Research and Monitoring Director.
The deadline for applications is 5pm CET, Monday 21 January 2013. The first round telephone interviews (including a written test via e-mail) will take place in the week of 28 January. Face-to-face interviews will take place in the week of 4 February. The selected candidate will start employment on Monday 1 April 2013.
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