The formal courts in Bangladesh are slow, expensive and over burdened, with a backlog of around 3.8 million cases. This pushes most people to manage petty disputes through informal means, such as shalish. These informal solutions are often biased especially against women and minorities, they are not transparent and often ineffective as they lack enforcement powers. The Village Courts (VCs) were established by the Village Courts Ordinance, 1976 to allow petty disputes to be dealt with by Union Parishads, the lowest tier of local government in rural areas. The law was not fully implemented, later the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) enacted the Village Court Act, 2006 repealing the Village Court Ordinance, 1976. The Activating Village Courts in Bangladesh Project (AVCB) began in 2009 as a  pilot project aiming to activate VCs in 351 Union Parishads (UPs) between the Government of Bangladesh, the European Union, and UNDP Bangladesh. The positive results of the pilot led the GoB to scale-up the activation, and the second phase (AVCB-II) started in 2016, targeting a further 1,080 UPs. The tenure of AVCB-II was completed in June 2022 and a third and final phase has been approved by the GoB. The final phase will be implemented for five years (2022-2027) by the Local Government Divisions of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (MoLGRD&C).

The project will work across all UPs in Bangladesh, excluding CHT (amounting to 4,457 UPs) reflecting the GoB commitment for a national scale-up. It will have three components: first to activate Village Courts in 3,041 Union Parishads in Bangladesh; second to maintain the performance of the 1,416 courts activated under AVCB-I and AVCB-II; and third to ensure the Government has the capacity, resources and ownership to take over the management and oversight of VC services so that the project gains are sustained.

The project’s Overall Objective is: Increased Access to Justice and Social Harmony for People In Rural Areas of Bangladesh, Especially Women and Disadvantaged Groups.
Specific Objective/Outcome 1:  Duty bearers in Bangladesh provide sustainable, fair and effective resolution for minor disputes in rural areas
•    Output 1.1 Duty bearers at national and local levels have improved capacity to ensure Village Courts function fairly and effectively
•    Output 1.2  Legal and policy frameworks for Village Courts are reviewed and enhanced
•    Output 1.3  Duty bearers in Bangladesh have the resources capacity and ownership to manage and administer village courts after completion of project

Specific Objective/Outcome 2: People living in rural areas, especially women, the poor and other disadvantaged groups are empowered to access Village Courts to resolve minor disputes

•    Output 2.1 Local population  are aware of their local VC and understand  its role and functions
•    Output 2.2 Evidence and knowledge sharing on VC functioning enhanced.

There are 5 technical components in the proejct named Project Coordination, Capacity Development, Advocacy & Communication, Legal Review and Gender and Planning, M&E and Knowledge Management. Involving national institutions like NILG (National Institute of Local Government), BPATC (Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center), JATI (Judicial Administration Training Institute), BPA (Bangladesh Police Academy), etc. the project has a plan to build up the capacity of the institutional stakeholders on village courts. Besides, as a part of implementation strategy NGOs/CSOs are also included to help LGD for grassroots level capacity building, social mobilization and eventually activating village courts under the technical support and supervision of Project Management Unit.

•    Maintain liaison with relevant stakeholders & vendors
•    Keep records of all information related to project for documentation
•    Provide support for arranging meeting and ensuring all logistics
•    Provide administrative support to different units for the field level implementation

A.   Maintain liaison with relevant stakeholders & vendors 
•    Maintain liaison with all relevant stakeholders and project team members and take necessary action to fulfill the day-to-day requirement
•    Extend support to communicate with vendor over phone, checking the deliverable, processing bill
vouchers and spot checking if necessary;
•    Provide support to ensure logistics for field trip/events, security arrangements as per the need;
•    Closely work with Project Coordination Unit (PCU) and other concern unit  in managing day to day field based administrative, programmatic and events related works;
•    Prepare and update a list of stakeholders contract information.

B.   Keep records of all information related to project for documentation
•    Organize and maintain the periodical progress report of the project;
•    Maintain records of routine correspondence and general reference documents;
•    Organize data and information, and preserve project files and other relevant documents regularly;
•    Preserve the documentation (file, report, budget and other doc) including the meetings minutes regularly;
•    Maintain record of corporate mobile phone and modem SIM card of the project coordinating and   following up with Grameen Phone and CO Admin and also process payment
•    Assist Planning , M&E and Knowledge Management unit  in data entry.

C.   Provide support for arranging meeting and ensuring all logistics 
•    Assist PMU team in arranging project’s event, workshops and seminars maintaining event calendar, preparing database, checklist, venue visit, etc;
•    Attend meeting (different) and document the discussion for further reference;
•    Provide all kinds of logistics supports during organizing events
•    Prepare list of participants  with contract information

D.   Provide administrative support to different units for the field level implementation 
•    Provide supports for delivery of the required VC forms, materials, documents, parcels, letters, etc. according to the field’s requirement and demand following the proper channel;
•    Maintain and keep updated address and contact no. of the relevant stakeholders from central and local level;
•    Maintain data base on ejlash  and AACO’s recruitment status following the GO ;
•    Assist to get air ticket, VISA and other logistic preparation etc. for organizing official trip in  coordination with concerned staff from Operations team both internal and external and provide overall logistic and drafting support to the project and concerned ministry, as and when  required;
•    Provide the required administrative and programmatic support to  the District Managers for administrative and logistic requirements for smooth implementation;
•    Perform other relevant tasks that may emerge as an important in the interest of the project;
•    Accomplish the work assigned by the supervisor as and when required.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

The Project Assistant will report to the Project Coordination  Analyst and work under the overall guidance of his/her assigned official. S/he will also work in close coordination with the Project Coordination Unit/or other team member of the program component as assigned and also with District Manager at field level of the project and UNDP. S/he will be responsible to perform as supportive for concern team to ensure the smooth functioning of the project activities in the ground.

Administration& Operations   Documents and record management   Overall document(hard and electronic) management; registry and retention policy including storing and archiving
Registry & correspondence management   Ability to collect, resister, maintain and deliver mail and UNDP pouch; ability to manage archive.
Event management (including retreats, trainings and meetings)   Ability to manage events including venue identification, accommodation, logistics, catering, transportation and cash disbursement etc.
Ethics   UN Policy knowledge-ethics   Knowledge and understanding of the UN staff Regulations and rules and other policies relating to ethics and integrity.

Min. Education requirements:   Secondary Education is required.
University degree (Bachelor´s degree) in business, management or public administration (or relevant) will be given due consideration, but is not a requirement.

Min. years of relevant work experience:    Minimum 4 years (with Secondary Education) or  1 year (with Bachelor´s degree) of  relevant work experience in development field area such as providing support for project activities.

Required  skills    –    Experience in the usage of computers and skill in MS Office software packages including MS Word, MS Excel, Power Point, typing skills in Bangla and English is mandatory;

–   Experience of working with development projects under national or international organisation would be an added advantage;

Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section 
Working with development organizations or donor or INGOs or GoB projects is desirable.
Required Language(s)    Fluency in English and Bangla is required;