Senior Rule of Law / Institutional Development Advisor
Location: Quito, Ecuador (with in-country travel)
Clearance: U.S. Government Moderate Risk Public Trust (MRPT / Tier 2), anticipated
Status: Contingent upon contract award
Position Overview
RMGS, Inc. is currently recruiting a Senior Rule of Law / Institutional Development Advisor in Quito, Ecuador, with in-country travel required, and is contingent upon contract award.
Roles and Responsibilities
• Provide senior legal and institutional development advice to ensure program activities, measures, SOPs, tools, and information systems comply with Ecuadorian constitutional, criminal-procedure, administrative, and data-protection laws and applicable international standards.
• Lead the development and implementation of the program’s institutional-strengthening and institutionalization strategy to promote sustainable host-nation ownership and ensure capabilities endure beyond the period of performance.
• Conduct legal and institutional assessments to identify gaps, risks, and opportunities affecting judicial security and institutional protection within Ecuador’s justice sector.
• Advise Ecuadorian justice-sector counterparts on legal-framework compliance, institutional reform, policy development, and implementation of sustainable procedures and practices.
• Support the development, review, and institutionalization of policies, procedures, SOPs, guidance, and other program products to ensure consistency with Ecuadorian law and institutional authorities.
• Provide technical advice on the legal and institutional implications of judicial security initiatives, including information management, data protection, interagency coordination, and protection-related processes.
• Support interagency coordination among the Judicial Council (Consejo de la Judicatura), National Police, Fiscalía, and other relevant Ecuadorian institutions.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen institutional authorities, roles, responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms among justice-sector stakeholders.
• Advise program leadership on legal, regulatory, and institutional risks that may affect program implementation, sustainability, or achievement of program objectives.
• Contribute to assessments, work plans, technical reports, briefings, training activities, and other program deliverables related to rule of law and institutional development.
• Support engagement with U.S. Government stakeholders, Ecuadorian government counterparts, and other partners on rule-of-law reform, institutional development, and sustainability objectives.
• Promote host-nation ownership and ensure program interventions are designed to be practical, legally sustainable, and integrated into existing Ecuadorian institutional structures.
• Monitor developments in Ecuadorian law, justice-sector policy, and institutional structures that may affect program activities and provide timely recommendations to program leadership.
Required Qualifications and Experience
• Law degree from an accredited institution.
• Minimum of 8–10 years of professional experience supporting rule-of-law, justice-sector reform, institutional development, or related legal reform initiatives.
• Demonstrated professional experience in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
• Professional working proficiency in Spanish.
• Demonstrated understanding of legal and institutional frameworks relevant to justice-sector reform and rule-of-law programming.
• Experience providing legal, policy, or institutional advice to government or justice-sector institutions.
• Ability to analyze complex legal and institutional issues and translate findings into practical recommendations, policies, procedures, and implementation strategies.
• Ability to obtain a U.S. Government Moderate Risk Public Trust (MRPT / Tier 2) determination.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with senior government officials, international development partners, and multidisciplinary teams in complex international environments.
Preferred Qualifications
• Ecuadorian legal-system experience or demonstrated experience working with Ecuadorian justice-sector institutions.
• Experience working within the Andean region.
• Prior experience supporting U.S. Government-funded rule-of-law or justice-sector reform programs, particularly Department of State/INL or USAID programs.
• Experience supporting judicial security, justice-sector institutional protection, or related security-sector reform initiatives.
• Knowledge of Ecuadorian constitutional, criminal-procedure, administrative, and/or data-protection law.
• Experience developing and institutionalizing SOPs, policies, governance frameworks, or other mechanisms designed to sustain institutional capacity.
• Experience facilitating interagency coordination among judicial, prosecutorial, law-enforcement, and other government institutions.
• Experience working with international donors, implementing partners, or technical assistance programs focused on rule of law and institutional reform.
