Republic of Moldova

International Consultant to conduct a feasibility study on E-voting for CEC Moldova

Vacancy Number: Pr16/01224

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	02 Mar 2016, 10:00 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	21 Mar 2016
Reference to the project:	Programme for Improving the Quality of Moldovan Democracy through Electoral Support
Expected Duration of Assignment:	March – July 2016 (with three missions to Moldova)
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" or at  http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=64005 button no later than 02 March 2016 Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: sergiu.galitchi@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.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Ms. Eva Bounegru.

eva.bounegru@undp.org

Background

UNDP Moldova Democracy Programme/Elections (further referred as Programme) is a multi-year institutional development programme that supports the strategic development of the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova (CEC) with the aim to strengthen the capacity of electoral administration to deliver professional, transparent and efficient electoral processes. Overarching goal of the Programme is to improve the democracy in Moldova through modernization of the electoral processes. This objective is to be reached through support in development of the national electoral strategic and legal framework conducive to organisation of the elections using official data and modern IT tools.

In May 2008 the Parliament of Moldova approved the Law No. 101 on the State Automated Informational System “Elections” (SAISE). Long term objective of the SAISE is to achieve full automatization of elections in Moldova. This includes development of the possibility for citizens to vote in any polling station, possibility to vote through electronic voting machines (e.g. using an electronic pen, scanner or other electronic reading device) and/or possibility to vote via Internet (using identification devices that can read electronic documents).

According to the Law No. 101, the electronic voting (further referred as E-voting) system is to be developed, tested and piloted by Moldovan authorities by 2018 Parliamentary elections. In this regard, CEC is currently planning to develop an action plan and a roadmap for E-voting system implementation in Moldova, including costs analysis.

Thus, the Programme has agreed to support CEC with conducting a feasibility study on E-voting system and its viability in Moldova.

Scope of work

The Programme is looking to contract an experienced international consultant (hereinafter called “Consultant”) to develop a study on E-voting in order to assess the feasibility of developing and implementing such a system in the Republic of Moldova, using examples from other European countries with similar electoral systems.

The study will seek to identify the operational, legal, privacy and technical considerations associated with the development of an E-voting system and to recommend short and long term strategies for implementing the system.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference.

Requirements for experience

Academic background:

• Master degree in Public Administration, Law, ICT or other related field;

Work experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant working experience in elections management or advisory functions at senior level in the European and/or CIS regions;
• At least 3 years of experience in analysis, advising and/or implementation of E-voting in proportional electoral systems;
• Prior experience in conducting feasibility studies on introduction of E-voting in election management will be considered as an asset;
• Experience in working with election management bodies, Parliament, Government and/or international organizations, including UN agencies will be an asset;

Competencies:

• Demonstrated interpersonal and diplomatic skills, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with all stakeholders and to present ideas clearly and effectively;
• Excellent research and analytical skills;
• Demonstrated strong understanding of international electoral processes and principles;
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of advanced elections related technologies;
• Proven proficiency in English. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is an asset.

Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Documents to be included

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for the work including past experience in similar Projects (please provide brief information on each of the above qualifications, item by item);
2. Financial proposal (LUMP SUM) in USD, specifying in the total requested amount per day, number of days needed to complete the assignment, including all related costs, travel, phone calls etc. );
3. Duly completed P 11 form, personal CV and at least 3 references.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). 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, 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.

 

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