Republic of Moldova

International Consultant on capacity and training needs assessment of corruption prevention and analysis functions of the National Anticorruption Center

Vacancy Number: Pr15/01096

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	17 Sep 2015, 16:30 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	25 Sep 2015
Reference to the project:	Strengthening the corruption prevention and analysis functions of the National Anticorruption Center Project
Expected Duration of Assignment:	up to 32 working days during September – December 2015
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than September 17, 2015.  Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail olga.crivoliubic@undp.org. UNDP will respond by standard electronic mail and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants. This Vacancy Annoucement can be also viewed on : http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=59728
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

The National Anticorruption Centre of the Republic of Moldova is a central public administration institution. The Centre has the following responsibilities: prevention, investigation and counteraction of corruption and corruption related offences and crimes, as well as acts of corruptive behavior; carrying out anticorruption expertise of draft normative acts and other legislative initiatives presented in the Parliament, ensuring the assessment of corruption risks within public authorities through training and consultation, monitoring and analysis of data on corruption risks assessment and coordinating the development and implementation of integrity plans, integrity testing activities and establishing bi- and multilateral relations with similar agencies abroad.

NAC has a well-defined mandate for the prevention of corruption and is the institution responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the National Anticorruption Strategy (2011 - 2015). The Centre has the organizational, functional and operational independence granted by law and is independent in developing its work plan and in fulfilling its duties. The NAC is organizationally and institutionally qualified to lead on corruption prevention measures across the public sector and beyond.

The institution has managed to achieve particular results under its mandate – an increase in the imposition of sentences for corruption crimes, in the duration of sentencing to real jail time, in deprivation from the right to hold certain positions for public servants with the corrupted behaviors, and a significant increase of active corruption reporting by civil servants. NAC has visibly developed the collaboration with the civil society, achieved more transparency and openness, and pro-actively implements activities aiming at better informing the larger public on the consequences and costs of corruption, available tools for curbing, including reporting through a hotline and other means. In its public awareness activities NAC targets the young generation in particular. Though the improvements in the corruption prevention activity of NAC are visible and recognized and corruption prevention and analysis are priorities for NAC according to its Strategic Plan, the capacities of the institution in these areas are still underdeveloped for the effective implementation of the function as highlighted also in the 2014 NAC Annual Report. The Institutional development of the NAC has suffered from a series of re-organizations that have not allowed sufficient time to consolidate certain processes and operating procedures.

The project will address the capacity issue in the context of the need for a systemic effort towards corruption prevention by NAC, with a particular focus on the General Division for Preventing Corruption (GDPC) and Corruption Analysis Unit (CAU) of the Centre.

The General Division for Preventing Corruption (GDPC) carries out the mission to prevent corruption and to develop strategic policies with the aim to curb this phenomenon, and performs several core functions: assists other organizations in carrying out corruption risk assessments; performs the review of legislation in order to identify vulnerabilities that may facilitate corruption (anticorruption proofing), deals with awareness raising and training activities, performs integrity testing and develops cooperation between the Centre, similar structures abroad and international organizations. The Directorate has 40 officers. While measurable achievements can be traced in all the functions that are carried out, there is a visible need to step up in the promotion of socially oriented preventive measures: public awareness, including through education and application of innovative tools, public trust, and public demand and support. At the same time, it is necessary to intensify the process of increasing transparency in some areas which are of crucial importance for the fight against corruption, such as the public procurement, declarations of incomes and assets, incompatibilities and corruption risk assessment in public institutions (the implementation of integrity plans).[1]

The Corruption Analysis Unit is a structural subdivision within the central apparatus of the NAC established in 2013 as a result of the institutional reform, in view of consolidating the function that was scattered across various departments in the previous structure.  Currently it is comprising 10 staff members and is subordinated to the Director of the Centre. The mission of the division is to conduct multilateral analysis of the models, trends and criminal situation on corruption offences, corruption related offences, as well as on acts of corrupt behavior. The division performs strategic and operational analysis. CAU. Considering its novelty and the broadness of understanding of the corruptin phenomenon, the unit is in need of capacity development.

Strengthening the corruption prevention and analysis functions of the National Anticorruption Center (NAC) project implemented by UNDP in partnership with the NAC and funded by the Government of Norway aiming at enhancing the corruption prevention and analysis functions of the NAC, intends to engage an international consultant that working in a team with a national consultant will carry out the capacity and training needs assessment of the General Division for Preventing Corruption (GDPC) and Corruption Analysis Unit (CAU) of the NAC using the UNDP Methodology for Assessing the Capacities of Anti-Corruption Agencies to Perform Preventive Functions[2] and based on the conducted analysis of the capacity assets and gaps, will design a comprehensive capacity building programme.

Scope of work

The main objective of the assignment is to develop an effective and comprehensive Capacity Development and Training Plan for the NAC corruption prevention and analysis units.

The consultant will apply UNDP Methodology for Assessing the Capacities of Anti-Corruption Agencies to Perform Preventive Functions.  The assignment will consist of two missions.  The first mission (tentatively scheduled to take place on 5 – 16 October 2015) will involve the review of relevant background documents, materials, and reports prior to and during the mission, focus group discussions involving officials and staff members, and in-depth interview with key officials and heads of units.  It may also include interviews and/or focus group discussions with key external partners to discuss possible solutions based on their familiarity and knowledge of the NAC.  A functional and skills assessment questionnaire will also be rolled out to identify critical success factors as well as learning needs for various positions in the units.  The second mission, which will be undertaken at least two weeks after the first mission, will involve the presentation of the capacity assessment report, its validation, and discussion of the recommendations for the capacity development/ training plan. The capacity development/training plan will be submitted to the NAC after the second mission. The international consultant will work in a team with a national consultant.

Requirements for experience

1. Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in Law, International Public Law, International Relations or other relevant field or Bachelor’s Degree in Law, International Public Law, International Relations or other relevant field combined with minimum 7 years of experience in the area of assignment

2. Years and sphere of experience:

• At least 5 years of  professional experience in consultancy in the area of capacity development and proven experience in the anticorruption field;

3. Competencies:

• Proven extensive knowledge on the phenomenon of corruption, efficient mechanisms for its combating and prevention; Past experience in working with anticorruption agencies will be an asset;
• Knowledge and practical experience with the UNDP Methodology for Assessing the Capacities of Anti-Corruption Agencies to Perform Preventive Functions;

• Extensive demonstrated experience in drafting capacity development/training plans for civil servants, including related performance indicators; experience in implementing similar assignments in the newer EU Member or Candidate States will be an asset ;
• Effective communication and strong analytical skills;
• Previous successful experience of working with UN agencies is an advantage; 
• Knowledge of English; knowledge of Romanian or Russian languages will be an asset;

4. Personal qualities:

• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations; in particular, is respectful of differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status;
• Responsibility;
• Flexibility;
• Punctuality.

Documents to be included

1. Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for this position and providing examples reflecting the competencies for each of the qualification requirements (particularly providing details on the previously implemented similar projects and assignments and previous experience in the fields related to this consultancy as described in the terms of reference);
2. Financial proposal: in (USD, specifying a total lump sum amount and the number of anticipated working days);
3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and the contact details of at least 3 reference persons.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. Payment will be made upon the successful completion of the tasks assigned and submission of the assessment report.  Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee, taxes, communication costs, travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel

 

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

 In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

 Two trips to Moldova are required under this assignment. Please consult TOR for details.

 

Disclaimer In case of discrepancies between the text published on the website and the contents of the supporting documents, the provisions, instructions and conditions included in the supporting documents (published as Adobe Portable Document Format files) shall prevail. In case of discrepancies between the English version and the Romanian and/or Russian versions of text, documents or other content published on this webpage, the English version shall prevail.

Notice UNDP, as a matter of practice, does not charge any application, processing or training fee at any stage of the recruitment process. If you have any questions as to vacancy announcements you may have received, please refer to this website. UNDP is currently aware of fictitious vacancy announcements that are being circulated through the internet, the purpose of which is to get people to register for a training and send in a fee. If you believe that you have received such a notice, please forward it, and any other related information you have received, to scamalert@undp.org. Since logos, emblems, names and addresses can be easily copied or reproduced, you are advised to take particular care in applying for vacancies, including undertaking all appropriate measures to protect against the unauthorised use of any personal information you may have provided as a result of the scam.