Mission description

The Short-Term National Expert on Environmental Justice will be responsible for the implementation of Project activities directed to Montenegrin justice institutions (Component 1) in relation to the organisation of the CEJ Convergence Regional Roundtable on Climate and Environmental Justice scheduled on 18-19 November 2026 in Shkodra, Albania, with the participation of national environmental and justice stakeholders from the three beneficiary countries (MNE, NMK, ALB).  
He/she will work under the direct management of the Team Leader (‘TL’) to:
•    Contribute with the Montenegrin part of the content to the organisation and delivery of the Regional Roundtable on Environmental Justice; 
•    Liaise with Montenegrin justice institutions and stakeholders and ensure their involvement in the Regional Roundtable process;
•    Organise activities related to Montenegro in the framework of the Regional Roundtable, activate, facilitate, coordinate and animate the meetings of three thematic Working Groups (WG) tasked to elaborate draft documents and structured presentation of environmental crime cases to be presented at the Regional Roundtable, in collaboration with the TL, the International Key Expert (IKE) in Environmental Justice and the Financial and Administrative Officer (‘FAO’);
•    Report to TL on conducted activities and ensure their quality and timeliness with reference to the workplan and agreed WG calendar of meetings; 
•    Perform other duties related to the Project such as detailed in purchase orders. 

In particular, the Short-Term National Expert will be directly contributing to:
•    Component 1 Access to environmental justice

This component is working on improving access to environmental justice in the 3 countries of the Western Balkans: Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro. The work of the expert would be to directly contribute to the implementation of the following activities in Montenegro:
•    Activity 1.1 Improving common understanding, coordination and governance of justice in the field of environment. 
•    The work will consist in drawing lessons from the needs assessment and the National Workshop of June 2025 and contribute to the preparations and delivering of the findings and recommendations to Justice stakeholders, during the Regional Roundtable;
•    Sub-activity 1.1.2 Organization of a regional roundtable on environmental justice (AL, NMK, MNE)
•    Task 1.1.2.1 Preparation of the Regional Roundtable on environmental justice
-     Activate WGs, confirm composition, focal points and meeting schedules
-    Facilitate, coordinate and guide the work of three thematic WG: i) Judiciary and Environmental Crime/Litigation; ii)Prosecution and Law Enforcement; iii) Policymaking, with the support of TL and IKE. 
-    Plan, facilitate, coordinate and moderate the WGs meetings with three meetings for each thematic WG, to prepare the Regional Roundtable; 
-    Support Regional Mission to MNE in preparation of the Regional Roundtable.
•    Task 1.1.2.2 Contributing to delivering of the Regional Roundtable.
•    Task 1.1.2.3 Contributing to Reporting the Regional Roundtable
•    The expert will report to the TL and work in close coordination with the IKE and the project/EF team in Tirana and Paris.
•    The expert will act as the project's direct counterpart for the Regional Roundtable related activities with relevant Montenegrin beneficiary institutions.

Specific Technical Responsibilities
•    Map and engage relevant institutions and other stakeholders in the preparatory process and participation in the Regional Roundtable and the three thematic WGs, including identifying relevant institutional representatives and focal points. 
•    Provide Montenegro-specific legal and institutional inputs to support the IKE and International Experts in the: 
-    analysis of the legal and institutional frameworks across the four jurisdictions;
-    review of national legislation, progress reports on Chapter 27, 23 and 24; EIA practice and Aarhus Convention; implementation  
-    analysis of national requirements arising from Directive (EU) 2024/1203 on environmental crime. 
•    Support IKE and International Experts in benchmarking and comparative analysis, including the identification of relevant national practices and existing SOPs, and their alignment with EU requirements and regional approaches. 
•    Contribute to the development of Regional Roundtable technical outputs, including: 
-    the SOP template matrix, covering national and regional procedures; 
-    the structural outline and key provisions of the Draft Regional Cooperation Agreement on environmental justice enforcement; 
-    draft harmonised SOP models; 
-    the environmental crime case presentation template/model; 
-    the Draft Declaration of Intent on Regional Cooperation on Environmental Justice Enforcement. 
•    Provide technical and advisory support to the IKE and International Experts in preparing, reviewing and refining draft outputs, ensuring that Montenegro-specific considerations, institutional arrangements and legal requirements are appropriately reflected. 
•    Facilitate consultation and validation with Montenegrin institutions represented in the WGs and support the incorporation of their technical comments into the draft outputs. 
•    Ensure timely sharing of relevant technical information and developments with the IKE and TL, and promptly flag any issues that may affect implementation, stakeholder engagement, resources, timelines or the quality and coherence of outputs.

Working Groups Activity Planning and Coordination
•    Work jointly with the Project team to plan, sequence, facilitate, coordinate and moderate the meetings of the three thematic WGs as per the agreed calendar;
•    Provide the WGs with the technical inputs and guidance required to develop the draft documents to be presented at the Regional Roundtable;
•    Collaborate closely with the IKE to design, prepare and refine the draft documents, manage thematic interdependencies, avoid duplication and ensure consistent and coherent support across the thematic WGs;
•    Share draft SOP materials and proposed structure with WG for review, facilitate discussion and collect their feedback on priority topics and applicability of proposed SOP solutions;
•    Support WGs in defining country priorities, thematic sessions and relevant case studies to be presented at the Regional Roundtable.
•    In close coordination with IKE and TL, support the WGs in preparing and finalising  the draft regional declaration of intent / regional cooperation instrument.
•    Support MNE institutions represented in the WGs in reviewing, validating and endorsing the draft documents prepared by the WGs (SOPs models, declaration of Intent on regional cooperation on environmental justice enforcement). 

Expertise Mobilisation and Quality Assurance
•    Prepare or review WG calendar of meetings, agendas, draft documents for review;
•    Brief, guide and technically coordinate WGs members, in close cooperation with the Team Leader and IKE;
•    Contribute to the capitalisation of lessons learned and good practices.

Monitoring, Reporting and Learning
•    Monitor the technical progress of WG proceedings and their contribution to the Regional Roundtable preparation, in coordination with IKE and TL;
•    Support beneficiary institutions in collecting, analysing and interpreting the data required to monitor institutional performance and project results;
•    Draft thematic contributions to project reports;
•    Identify lessons learned, transferable practices and emerging needs and contribute to their dissemination and use in future programming.

Stakeholder Coordination and Institutional Representation
•    Develop and maintain close working relations with relevant beneficiary institutions and counterparts represented in the WGs, ensuring that project support remains aligned with their current and emerging needs;
•    Coordinate with the French Embassy, European Union Delegation, other implementing agencies, international partners and donors, alongside or on behalf of the TL when requested, to promote complementarity, synergies and the exchange of information;
•    Represent Expertise France and the project, alongside or on behalf of the TL when requested, in technical meetings and in the dialog with national institutions;
•    Work closely with the WGs members, the institutions represented and the project team to ensure effective preparation, implementation and follow-up of the Regional Roundtable;
•    Contribute to the visibility and communication of Regional Roundtable related activities and results, in coordination with the CEJ Project team and in compliance with EF and AFD visibility requirements.

Other Tasks
•    Ensure compliance with Expertise France rules and procedures, including requirements relating to professional conduct, conflicts of interest, fraud and corruption prevention, data protection and security;
•    Perform any other project-related tasks requested by the Team Leader.