Jobs and tenders

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background

Penal Reform International (PRI) is an international non-governmental organisation working to promote fair, effective and proportionate responses to criminal justice challenges worldwide. Through its Africa Office, PRI is implementing a project to advance a just, peaceful, and inclusive society in which people can access justice and thrive. 

As part of this project, PRI seeks to engage an individual consultant to deliver practical entrepreneurship and business skills training to selected women in prison, with a focus on preparing them for economic independence and successful reintegration following release. 

Rationale

Women in conflict with the law frequently experience overlapping disadvantages, including poverty, limited educational and employment opportunities, underemployment and exposure to violence. These circumstances can shape their pathways into the criminal justice system and create additional barriers to reintegration after imprisonment. 

Rehabilitation is the central purpose of imprisonment. It equips people with the skills and support needed to return to their communities and reduces the likelihood of re-offending. Although the Uganda Prisons Service provides rehabilitation programmes, opportunities available to women remain uneven and constrained by limited resources, and restricted access to relevant learning opportunities. Additionally, existing programmes may not adequately reflect women’s needs or the realities of local labour markets. 

From the above background, PRI wishes to support selected women to develop the knowledge and confidence needed to pursue sustainable income-generating activities and strengthen their social and economic reintegration. 

Objective

To equip selected women in prison with practical entrepreneurship, financial management and related life skills that can support viable livelihoods and reintegration into their communities following release. 

Scope of Work 

The consultant will be expected to: 

• Develop a concise training guide and course materials suited to participants with varying levels of literacy and prior business experience. 

• Deliver participatory entrepreneurship training including on  how to identify feasible small-business opportunities; starting and managing a business; budgeting and saving; basic bookkeeping and financial management; marketing and customer relations; and building and maintaining useful social and business networks and how to use the digital space and software. 

• Guide participants who successfully complete the course to prepare simple, realistic business plans appropriate to their circumstances and anticipated resources. 

• Provide practical information on relevant community-based financial services, business advisory services and potential mentorship opportunities. 

• Facilitate the award of certificates of completion to participants who meet the agreed course requirements. 

• Provide follow-up business advice, where feasible and agreed with PRI, to participants who establish enterprises after release. 

• Prepare periodic reports documenting the training delivered, participant engagement and achievements, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations for future programming. 

Expected eliverables

• An inception package comprising a proposed work plan, course outline and draft training guide. 

• Completed entrepreneurship and business skills training, with appropriate training records and participant feedback. 

• Simple business plans developed with participants who successfully complete the training. 

• A final assignment report, including the final training guide, activities undertaken, key achievements, challenges and recommendations. 

• A brief record of any post-release follow-up advisory support undertaken, subject to the scope and arrangements agreed with PRI. 

 Consultant Qualifications

• A degree in business, entrepreneurship or a related field. 

• At least five years of relevant experience delivering small-business or entrepreneurship training. Working with marginalized individuals and groups is an added advantage. 

• Demonstrated ability to facilitate practical, participatory training and communicate complex concepts in accessible language. 

• Experience training participants with limited literacy or formal education will be an added advantage. 

• Sensitivity to the needs, dignity, confidentiality and circumstances of women in custodial settings. 

Submission Requirements 

Interested individual consultants are invited to submit a concept note outlining their proposed training methodology, work plan and financial proposal to africaoffice@penalreform.org by 5:00pm on the 18th of November 2026 .  

The proposal should demonstrate how the training will be practical, inclusive and responsive to the needs of women preparing for release. 

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Background

Penal Reform International (PRI), with financial support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda, is implementing the project “Promoting Justice for Peaceful Thriving Communities in Uganda”. The project seeks to advance equitable access to justice for marginalised communities through gender-responsive legal assistance, rehabilitation support, contributing to restored rights and dignity, stronger social cohesion and peaceful, inclusive communities. 

A central component is addressing systemic barriers preventing indigent women in conflict with the law from accessing timely, affordable and effective legal representation. PRI seeks to engage a qualified law firm to provide sustained, gender-responsive legal representation to 400 indigent female defendants detained in Iganga, Tororo, Mbale, Soroti and Moroto prisons. 

Justification

Poverty, gender inequality and limited access to legal representation continue to undermine women’s access to justice in Uganda, particularly in rural and underserved communities. For many women, contact with the criminal justice system is closely linked to economic deprivation, discriminatory social norms, gender-based violence, limited control over productive resources and dependence on precarious informal livelihoods. These intersecting vulnerabilities are often compounded by an inability to afford competent legal representation, exposing indigent female defendants to prolonged pre-trial detention, procedural injustices and disproportionate custodial sentences. 

Without effective legal assistance, women may be unable to challenge unlawful or unnecessary detention, contest criminal charges or present relevant mitigating circumstances before the courts. They may also enter plea agreements without fully understanding their legal rights or the consequences of their decisions. These challenges are especially significant in rural communities, where geographical barriers, limited availability of legal aid services and the cost of legal representation further restrict access to justice for indigent female defendants. Addressing these barriers requires sustained, competent and gender-responsive legal representation that extends beyond isolated court appearances to meaningful legal assistance throughout the relevant judicial process. Effective legal representation is fundamental to safeguarding constitutional rights, ensuring fair trial guarantees and preventing arbitrary or unnecessary detention.  

Against this background, PRI seeks to engage a qualified law firm to provide comprehensive legal representation to 400 indigent female defendants across five prisons in Eastern and North-Eastern Uganda: Iganga, Tororo, Mbale, Soroti and Moroto.  

General objective

To enhance access to justice and protection of fair trial rights for 400 indigent female defendants in five districts through timely, effective and gender-responsive legal representation before competent courts. 

Specific objectives

• Provide sustained, individualised legal representation to 400 indigent female defendants across the five prisons.
• Facilitate timely access to appropriate legal remedies and legally available non-custodial measures.
• Identify and address procedural and substantive barriers contributing to prolonged pre-trial detention and unnecessary imprisonment for women defendants.
• Ensure relevant gender-specific circumstances and mitigating factors are documented and presented before courts.

Scope of assignment

The firm shall provide representation in the five target prisons: Iganga, Tororo, Mbale and Soroti (Eastern Uganda), and Moroto (North-Eastern Uganda). 

Deliverables

• Inception report and work plan including staffing, methodology, and a risk mitigation plan. 

• 400 female beneficiaries are supported to understand and exercise their fair trial rights. 

• Quarterly progress reports including disaggregated evidence on case progress, relevant court orders secured, rulings and judgements. 

• Final report including case outcomes, pending cases and lessons learned.

  
  Note: The firm will assess the quality, timeliness and completeness of representation. 

Required qualifications and experience

• Law firm duly registered and authorised to practice in Uganda, with advocates holding valid practicing certificates.
• Demonstrated criminal litigation and legal aid experience.
• Experience representing indigent or vulnerable defendants.
• Knowledge of Uganda’s criminal justice system, and relevant human rights standards.
• Operational capacity for regular visits and court appearances across all five locations.
• Experience in prison-based legal aid and women’s rights is an advantage.

Submission Requirements 

Interested law firms should submit a technical proposal together with a financial proposal to  africaoffice@penalreform.org  

Bids must be sent to the email address below by 6:00 pm on the 18th November 2026.  

LATE BIDS SHALL BE REJECTED