Capacity Assessment Manual for National Human Rights Institutions • provide for each position within the structure a clear job description, the competencies required for the position on the basis of that job description, and selection criteria for appointment to the position • develop, as a matter of urgency where it does not exist, a personnel policy and a standard set of terms and conditions, including formal salary scales and ranges, for all staff • ensure equal opportunities for women and other persons from historically disadvantaged groups to enter employment with the NHRI and to be treated with equality at all levels of the organisation • identify the staff training and development required for the NHRI as a whole, to ensure that the NHRI has the necessary range of knowledge, skills and abilities to implement its mandate and its strategic plan, and allocate an appropriate annual budget for staff development • require that each staff member has an individual, personal training and development plan to identify and address the NHRI’s needs and priorities • implement an annual cycle of individual staff performance appraisal to be conducted by each staff member’s immediate supervisor and the individual staff member • introduce and implement a scheme of staff incentives (financial and non-monetary) to encourage excellence in performance, through a fair, transparent and performance based procedure in a system of regular performance appraisal of all staff. 4.5. STRENGTHENING KNOWLEDGE AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT NHRIs require staff with expertise and experience in international human rights law, the domestic human rights situation and ways to increase the promotion and protection of human rights. Increasing this expertise among the staff and making use of the expertise are important challenges for NHRIs in building their capacity. All CAs of NHRIs have identified this as a CD priority. CD strategies and actions have also been recommended to build technical and functional capacities and skill sets of the staff. For technical capacities, these include: • recognising human rights issues that are objectively significant, without regard to political sensitivity, including human rights issues relating to gender • analysis and regular monitoring of the activities of the government in relation to compliance with international and national human rights standards • evidence and fact based research and data collection, with analysis for reliability and relevance to human rights issues and with gender sensitivity • knowledge of international human rights law, with a good analysis of the relevant domestic law • transparent and efficient complaints handling and database management. For functional human rights capacities, the response strategies recommended to some NHRIs concern: • strengthening internal planning, management, budgeting, and implementation • developing programs for Training of Trainers, including the development of training manuals, methodologies and materials to ensure consistently high standards of training, and introducing a system for evaluation and follow up of every training course delivered through participant questionnaires at the conclusion of each course and 12 months after each course • providing language skills training in English, to better understand the processes and procedures of the international human rights system, and in local languages, to become more responsive to the needs of local groups. Chapter 4: From capacity challenges to strategies and actions | 47