Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre - Human resources management -

1. Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre - Human resources management -

2. TI Board, Ex. Director ALAC Coordinator Legal Assistants Department Legal AdvisorsDepartment Auxiliary Department ALAC organization chart

3. Programme Coordinator The Program Coordinator has the following responsibilities: • coordinates ALAC activity; • provides the logistics necessary to ALAC functioning; • manages material and financial resources; • presents periodic reports; • mediates the divergences of opinion that may occur between the advisers regarding the monitored cases; • enforces disciplinary provisions;

4. Programme Coordinator • presents the public opinions of ALAC, within the limits of the mandate; • signs, along with the advisers, the case syntheses sent to the partners; • determines work hours and shift rotations for assistants; • determines the priorities and activities for the auxiliary department in order to ensure the running of activity in good condition; • coordinates thematic meetings of the advisers department; • coordinates weekly evaluation meetings • performs other organization activities of the centre.

5. Advising department The advisers department is comprised of 2 adviserswith the following responsibilities: • exclusive responsibility to decide, in thematic meetings, with a majority of opinions, viewpoints on ways to classify and solve cases; • receives from the assistance department the cases together with the complainant recording form, hereafter referred to as the assisted; • analyzes and proposes dismissal of cases or their acceptance for guidance and monitoring; • meet with the assisted if their case is accepted; • make a file for the case according to internal procedures;

6. Advising department • propose the redirection of cases to another adviser; • propose, draw and sign along with the center coordinator a referral letter for the partners; • guide the activity of the assistants team and offer them information and clarifications; • send the solutions and meeting schedules to the assistants team for them to communicate further on to the assisted; • write weekly evaluations of the assistants team and make proposals for improving their activity; • make improvement proposals for the center’s activities, for reviewing internal procedures and bringing up-to-date the software programs for documents management;

7. Assistance Department The assistants department is comprised of 3 volunteers with the following responsibilities: • receive complaints from petitioners and complete an “assisted” file; • analyze and decide if the facts mentioned by the assisted are or are not the object of the ALAC mandate; • forward to the advisers the cases submitted by the assisted; • answer phone calls and provide information regarding the center’s functioning hours, that of the advisers, and regarding the enlisting in the assistance program procedure;

8. Assistance Department • set-up meetings after consulting the advisers; • handle incoming and outgoing mail; • make proposals to improve the assistants department activity, to review internal procedures and to bring up-to-date the software programs for documents management; • make entries in the register and archive files; • other responsibilities needed to fulfill the job description.

9. Auxiliary Department The auxiliary department comprised of 3 positions with the following responsibilities: • keeps the center’s books (accounting) and presents the situation of ALAC resources and necessities to the ALAC coordinator; • maintains and brings up-to-date the soft necessary to document management; • maintains the technical base of the center; • supports logistically the center’s activity through translations, editing leaflets and organizing conferences and seminars; • other responsibilities necessary for successful operation of the Center.

10. Rules of ethics The personnel of the center have the obligation to respect the following rules of ethic conduct: • to behave in a polite and open manner with all persons who come in contact with the Center; • to not address the assisted with language that is trivial or insulting, even when such language was used by the assisted; • to not ask from the assisted anything for personal use; • to provide assistance in a professional and responsible manner; • to not bring any prejudice by their actions to the images of ALAC

11. Rules of ethics • to not make use, for their private interests, of the ALAC or TI BiH • to not make pronouncements in public regarding cases monitored by ALAC, or regarding the solutions given to them; • to respect confidentiality agreements; • to not present, in public, personal opinions on cases monitored by ALAC or on the solutions they were given; • to not promise a certain solution in the case, or discourage people from using the Center's services, but to present their situation objectively; • to not establish direct relations with the assisted, and to communicate letters and dates of appointment to them through the assistants only.

12. Rules of discipline The general rules of discipline are: • employees should respect in an equal manner all ALAC colleagues and avoid creation of conflict; • inside the ALAC building, smoking is restricted to the kitchen; • photocopies may be made for petitioners only, and phone calls are to be placed only if strictly necessary for the solution of the case; • employees should adhere to the Center’s normal work hours; • all materials and financial resources should be used in an efficient manner; • employees should wear identification badges; • disagreements between colleagues are solved through dialogue and mutual respect; • all personnel must have decent behavior and dress on the ALAC premises.

13. Constant improvement of human resources • Monthly evaluation should be done on basis of project objectives and performance • Additional training, building skills: improve database/writing skills, interview techniques, computer skills • Cooperation (legal advisors) with other NGOs/groups • Team building within ALACs: non-violent communication training, communication training, monthly meeting with psychologist

14. Risks: exhaustion, stress, chaos How to avoid stress: • Need to inform potential users immediately of the mandate of the centre and definition of corruption so that it is clear from the beginning whether the ALAC can help • Need to put time limit on phone calls, as only limited amount of useful new information can be gained after a certain time • Allocate staff and volunteers effectively, so that each person can “man” a specific area (interviews, calls, correspondence) • Ensure teamwork and clearly identify working times for each task • Schedule appointments and insist upon agreed terms of the appointments • Possibly develop new security measures (preventative

15. Risks: exhaustion, stress, chaos How to avoid chaos: • Clear definition of ALAC mandate necessary (as above) • Volunteers should not make final “decision” on whether a complaint or a case, but volunteers should be trained effectively on how to recognise the difference • Need to develop checklists for the different typologies of cases and clients so that in some cases centre can develop skills, mechanisms and approaches in that area • Need to train volunteers to recognise users who might be mentally unstable and/ or time wasters