Legislative Drafter - 2 posts

Reference: PG/KEN/0354  
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Duration: 1 year
Closing date: 25 April 2014 

Assignment requirements

The Office of the Attorney-General and the Kenya Law Reform Commission are seeking 2 experienced Legislative Drafters.  They are also required to have training experience so that their expertise can be passed on to local and national drafting staff.

Project purpose

The purpose of this project is to strengthen the capacity of the Attorney General's Office and the Kenya Law Reform Commission with regard to drafting legislation required to implement provisions of the new constitution of the Republic of Kenya. The experts will work closely with the Office of the Attorney-General, the Kenya Law Reform Commission and in-house drafters in both offices to harmonise existing laws with the new constitution and strengthen drafting capacity within Kenya.  

Duties summary

In collaboration with in-house drafters, the experts are expected to:

• Draft amendments to existing laws in order to harmonize laws with the new constitution
• Undertake assessment of drafting capacity within the Attorney General’s Office, the Law Reform Commission and other relevant agencies and make recommendations for long term sustainable measures to address gaps
• Develop and implement training and mentoring programme for drafters in AGO and LRC and other relevant agencies
• Advise Government Ministries and departments on legislative and other legal matters within their area of expertise
• Assist in research on technical matters that need further investigation

These activities will be expected to produce:

• Laws and regulations necessary to comply with the constitution and international obligations drafted;
• Staff of the Attorney General’s Office, Law Reform Commission and other relevant agencies trained in legislative drafting;
• Government Ministries and Departments better advised with regard to legislation in specialised fields.

Qualifications and experience

• At least 15 years’ experience in legislative drafting acquired within commonwealth jurisdictions, particularly in constitutional matters.
• Experience in providing professional advice concerning legislative drafting on constitutional, human rights or other public law issues, at senior level.
• Experience in development and delivery of capacity building programmes and mentoring in the field of legislative drafting.
• Strong communication, writing and IT skills.
• Ability to establish priorities, and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work.
• Good inter-personal skills, ability to work in a consultative and collaborative manner.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relationships in a political environment.
• Demonstrate leadership in drafting matters.

How to apply

The position is open only to nationals from Commonwealth member countries.

To apply, please provide:

• A detailed CV with a covering letter, including names and contact details of three referees.
• Referees provided should include your current or most recent/last employer. If your current/last employment has been for less than 2 years, you should also include a previous employer. Referees should not be related to you and should be able to give an assessment of your professional abilities as well as your character. We will not take up references until after any qualified offer has been made. 
• An indication of your earliest availability for the assignment, or period of notice required, in the event of an offer.
• A completed Personal History Form (PHF) (PDF) which is available for download with the Skill Codes Booklet (PDF)

Further information

How to apply (PDF)
Terms of reference (PDF)
Terms and conditions of service (PDF)
Personal history form (PDF)
Skills codes booklet (PDF)

Applications should be sent via email to:  j.lek@commonwealth.int

Mr James Lek
Human Resources Division
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX
UK