Three Social Workers to Support the Commission of Reduction of Sentences

Country: Lebanon Organization: UN Development Programme Closing date: 10 Aug 2026 • VA No.: UNDP/LBN/VA26/130 • Position Title: National Consultant - Three Social Workers to Support the Commission of Reduction of Sentences • Duty Station: Home-based, with attendance at meetings at the Commission of Reduction of Sentences' headquarters and visits to prisons as required to assess inmates. • Duration: 4 months (without exceeding 5 working days per month) • Vacancy Date of Issue: 03 August 2026 • Vacancy Closure Date: 10 August 2026 • National or International consultancy: National consultancy To review the full Terms of Reference (TOR), please follow link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tgq75Nlk0osLdxjGjYs3c6kwHu8006n9/view?usp=drive_link Background UNDP has been actively supporting efforts to alleviate prison overcrowding and enhance access to justice through various initiatives. In Lebanon, Law No. 463/2002 established a framework for sentence reduction and entrusted this task to the Sentence Reduction Commission. Each of the two sub-commissions consists of a judge appointed by the Minister of Justice, the head of the prison's central directorate, a medical doctor specialized in psychiatry, and a social worker, with both specialists designated by the Minister of Justice. The director of the relevant prison or facility serves as an ad hoc member, depending on the case under review. To address the increasing workload, the Minister of Justice also appointed an additional social worker to support both sub-commissions. However, the Commission's operations have been quasi-paralyzed for over two years due to a lack of support for the medical doctors and social workers, who are essential for providing the necessary assessments for each case. This has hindered the Commission's ability to fulfill its critical role in addressing prison overcrowding. In this context, and as part of its ongoing commitment to improving access to justice, UNDP seeks to recruit three (3) Social Workers to support the Commission in processing the cases of prisoners seeking sentence reduction, with each Social Worker covering different governorates according to the Commission's geographic distribution of files. Scope of work, responsibilities and description of the proposed analytical work Under the overall guidance of the project's Chief Technical Advisor or Project Officer, and in close coordination with the Commission of Reduction of Sentences, the Social Workers will support the Commission across the different governorates, according to the Commission's geographic distribution of files, by assessing prisoners' psycho-social condition to inform sentence-reduction decisions. To achieve this objective, the Consultants are expected to: Assess prisoners' files from a psycho-social perspective. Draft and submit scientific reports to the Commission to inform its sentence-reduction decisions. Provide the necessary scientific opinion regarding the reduction of a prisoner's sentence based on their psycho-social condition. Provide expert opinion during deliberations on the impact and relevance of psycho-social factors in specific cases. Collaborate with the Commission on any other required tasks. Expected outputs and deliverables The Consultants are expected to complete the tasks and activities described above and submit bi-monthly progress reports. Each Social Worker must assess a minimum of 20 cases every two months. The reports shall describe progress in assessing inmates' cases and provide disaggregation by type of case, gender, age, geographic location, and nationality. Institutional arrangements The work is expected to start upon contract signature. The Consultant will work under the overall guidance of the designated UNDP focal point, in close coordination with the Commission of Reduction of Sentences and its President. The Consultant will rely on their own means of communication and transportation. Transportation and communication costs should be included in the Consultant's financial offer. All title rights, copyrights, and other rights in any material produced under the Terms of Reference will be vested exclusively in UNDP. Any public mention or appearance related to the activity must acknowledge UNDP's ownership and be coordinated with and approved by UNDP. In the event of any delay, the Consultant shall inform UNDP promptly so that decisions and remedial action may be taken. Delays affecting collaborative work or the timely delivery of outputs may lead to termination of the contract. UNDP reserves the right to commission additional inputs, reviews, or revisions as needed to ensure the quality and relevance of the work. Duration of work The assigned duration for this consultancy is four (4) months, without exceeding five (5) working days per month. The assignment is expected to commence on 2 September 2026 and be completed by 2 January 2027. Duty station The consultancy shall be home-based, with attendance at meetings at the Commission of Reduction of Sentences' headquarters and visits to prisons as required to assess inmates. STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Education • A bachelor's degree in Social Work, Social Science, Psychology, or any related field. Experience • At least five (5) years of professional experience in the psycho-social field, as a Social Worker or in a related field. Language • Knowledge of Arabic is required. Knowledge of English and/or French is desirable. The Personnel will be covered with Health insurance and Personal accident insurance; the fees shall be deducted from personnel's monthly payment. How to apply To apply for this position, please choose one of the two options below: • Link to Apply: https://jobs.my-soc.org/apply/20260803124607/7WOAmvNpqbyXDB3zScJoIujZf • Send your CV with a cover letter to jobs@starsorbit.org. Please write (UNDP/LBN/VA26/130) in the subject of the email. TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO APPLY • A CV or P11 Form including three (3) references must be submitted online in PDF format together with the applicant's Education Graduation Certificate. • Applications must be submitted in English only. • Clear dates of experience must be indicated for each position (Month/Year). • If the candidate is currently employed by a government institution, they must be able to provide an unpaid leave of absence for the duration of the consultancy. • Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. • By submitting an application, the candidate confirms that they have read the Terms of Reference for this position and acknowledges that any false, incorrect, or incomplete information may lead to disqualification from the recruitment process.