Republic of Moldova

Consultant on parliamentary openness

Vacancy Number: Pr16/01294

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	16 May 2016, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	23 May 2016
Reference to the project:	Programme for Improving the Quality of Moldovan Democracy through Parliamentary Support
Expected Duration of Assignment:	up to 35 working days between May - August 2016
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button or at https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=65985 no later than 16 May 2016 Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: victoria.muntean@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

Ms. Victoria Muntean.

victoria.muntean@undp.org

Background

The “Improving the quality of Moldovan democracy through parliamentary and electoral support” Programme, Parliament Component, further on referred to as the Democracy Programme, aims to enhance parliamentary capacity in carrying out its core functions, thus contributing to viable democracy and open society in Moldova. The project adopts a comprehensive, long-term approach to parliamentary development including strengthening of the legislatures law-making, representation and oversight roles.

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union a democratic parliament is representative of the political will and social diversity of the population, and is effective in its legislative and oversight functions, at national and international level. Crucially, it is also transparent, accessible and accountable to the citizens that it represents.

The Declaration on Parliamentary Openness states the shared principles on the openness, transparency and accessibility of parliaments. Launched by a network of civil society organizations that monitor the work of parliament at the 2012 World e-Parliament conference, the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness is a call to parliaments and legislative assemblies for an increased commitment to transparency, openness and citizen engagement.

The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova being at the summit of institutional architecture should lead by example when it comes to transparency and openness towards the public. The Parliament as such is the single legislative authority of the State, which through its normative acts defines the social relations, establishes the rights of citizens and duties and responsibilities of public authorities.

However, in the light of the findings of the survey of CSOs and citizens, carried out as part of the project “Transparency, accountability and civic participation in the Black Sea Region”, Parliament of the Republic of Moldova should continue its efforts to improve transparency, accountability and civic participation. The results of the Barometer of Public Opinion (BPO) show that only 6% of citizens trust the three main institutions of the state — Parliament, Government, and Presidency.

In order to support the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova enhance its transparency, accessibility and accountability and to respond to citizen expectations, the Democracy Programme is seeking to hire a consultant on parliamentary transparency and accountability.

The support will be provided to assist the Parliament and local civil society organizations in agreeing a framework that contributes to Parliament becoming a more open institution, while ensuring transparency of its performance and active citizens’ engagement into legislative and oversight processes.

Scope of work

The consultant is expected to support the Informational-analytical Department of the Secretariat of the Parliament review its stakeholder analysis and mapping as well as assessment of the legal framework regulating Parliament’s transparency, accessibility and accountability. The consultant will offer strategic advice and will provide substantive input in designing the roadmap for achieving parliamentary openness.

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

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master degree or equivalent (5 year university degree) in political sciences, public administration, law, social sciences or other related fields.

Years of experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant working experience in comparative analysis, research, assessment related to institutional transparency and accountability, with focus on data accessibility and openness as well as Parliament’s engagement with civil society organizations;
• At least 3 years of proven experience in organizing, facilitating and conducting seminars, trainings and round tables with state institutions/agencies/organizations;
• Senior management level experience within a parliamentary administration, parliamentary practitioner or extensive experience as a parliamentarian will be a strong asset;
• Previous experience of providing support to Parliamentary Administrations, Committees and civil society organizations in a transition country context, including experience in conducting a capacity needs assessment and review of parliamentary transparency with focus on data accessibility and openness would be an advantage;
• Experience in former CIS countries will be an asset.

Competencies:

• Excellent drafting and analytical skills;
• Demonstrated strong understanding of parliamentary practices and procedures, as well as international best practices and standards;
• Proven knowledge parliamentary transparency and openness and related research and mechanisms available to parliament. Thorough understanding of practices that seek to engage civil society organizations in parliamentary processes (legislative, oversight and budget);
• Extensive knowledge and experience with public consultation tools and process;
• Proficiency in English, while knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is considered an advantage.

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.

Documents to be included

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

1. Brief methodology to describe the implementation of the assignment (maximum 5 pages)
2. 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);
3. Financial proposal (LUMP SUM) in USD, specifying in a total requested amount per day, number of days needed to complete the assignment, including all related costs, travel, phone calls etc. );
4. 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 will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including 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 case of unforeseeable travel for the business purpose, 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.

If required, the consultant will have to undertake three Missions to Moldova (tentatively) in the period between May – July 2016:

• Last week of May 2016
• Second week of June 2016
• First half of July 2016

 

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