Republic of Moldova

National Consultant for Project Formulation in the area of inclusive economic empowerment of micro-regions of the Republic of Moldova, with expertise in economic development and business support

Vacancy Number: Pr18/01745

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	05 Aug 2018, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	13 Aug 2018, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	15 Aug 2018
Reference to the project:
Expected Duration of Assignment:	15 August -15 December 2018 (expected workload - up to 20 working days each)
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted no later than 5 August 2018. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: olesea.cazacu@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: Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Terms of Reference Offeror's Letter confirming Interest and Availability Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

As recognized by the European Joint Development Cooperation Strategy, living conditions in towns and rural areas remain a large problem and Moldova increasingly needs new engines for socio-economic development that would combine economic expansion with social inclusion and cohesion. There is a strong need to enhance job opportunities that are attractive for women and young people to find work locally. Social and economic transformation of the small towns and rural areas is also needed to enhance trust between citizens, local state officials, to revive prospects for the future and attract potential domestic and foreign investors.

In this context, in line with the Moldovan Government priorities, the initiation of a complex programme on inclusive economic empowerment of micro-regions of the Republic of Moldova is under consideration by the European Commission, to be implemented by UNDP Moldova, with a potential budget of about EUR 23 500 000.

The Programme aims to support micro-regions within the existing Development Regions, which have been identified as potential growth poles and which already possess local socio-economic development strategies targeted at the revitalisation of the urban centre and its surrounding areas.

The overall objective of the programme is strengthening the economic, territorial and social cohesion and improving the standards of living of the citizens in two pilot micro- regions in the Republic of Moldova: Ungheni and Cahul. To this end, the programme will create the political, economic and social conditions, which will enhance women’s and men’s ability to gain better living conditions and employment in the selected pilot micro-regions. Establishing transparency, accessibility and responsiveness in the local governance system and building partnerships between local governments, civil society and community action groups will help to restore trust, promote hope amongst the local communities and empower local citizens. Refurbishing and upgrading the technical and social infrastructure will support the regions efforts to attract the foreign and local investment necessary for the creation of sustainable employment. Support will also be provided to stimulate economic activities and investments, strengthen business support services and job creation.

The programme objective will be achieved through measures targeted at: (i) Capacity building to support the implementation and monitoring of local economic development plans; (ii) civil society engagement in local planning, governance processes and basic social service delivery; (iii) provision of investment funding in support of the creation and/or development of social and technical infrastructure which, combined with the outcomes from interventions (i) and (ii) above, will have an immediate, visible and tangible impact on employment creation, the standard of living of the population in the pilot micro-regions.

This programme is in line with the objectives of the 2017-2020 Single Support Framework (SSF) for Moldova, the EU – Moldova Association Agenda for 2017-2019 and the European Union – Moldova Association Agreement. It will also support the implementation of the Eastern Partnership's 20 Deliverables by 2020.  The proposed activities will also support the implementation of the priorities identified in European Joint Development Cooperation Strategy (Joint Programming Document), the Republic of Moldova’s National Regional Development Strategy 2016-2020, National Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy 2014-2020 and other relevant sector strategies and their corresponding Action Plans.

Scope of work

UNDP seeks two highly qualified National Consultants, one in the area of public administration and urban planning and another – on economic development and business support (the Consultants hereinafter) who will contribute jointly under the leadership of an International Consultant to the design of a programmatic intervention having the goal to strengthen the economic, territorial and social cohesion and improve the standards of living of the citizens in two pilot micro-regions in the Republic of Moldova: Ungheni and Cahul.

The final objective of this contract is therefore to contribute according to the specific expertise of each Consultant to the Description of Action (Project Document) following the EU model. 

The Consultants will provide inputs to the overall Project Document, and contribute directly to description of intervention strategy for the following the specific objectives from the Description of Action:

National Consultant in the area of public administration and urban planning:

• Objective 1: To strengthen transparency, accountability of local public authorities and citizen participation in local governance processes in the pilot micro-regions,
• Objective 2: To improve citizens' access to quality public services and utilities in the pilot micro-regions,

National Consultant on economic development and business support:

• Objective 3: To create employment opportunities for men and women in the pilot micro-regions and improve the attractiveness of the pilot regions for investors and entrepreneurs,
• Objective 4: To promote the smart specialization of the economy of the pilot micro regions through the development of the clustering and value chain approach in key economic sectors.

 

Accordingly, the Consultants will provide support to the International Consultant to:

• Perform a desk review of background documentation related to the field of work, including studies and evaluation reports, knowledge products, laws and bylaws and other background materials;
• Assess and map previous and ongoing interventions implemented by UNDP and other development actors with specific focus on local and regional development. Undertake a mission to Moldova to liaise with relevant stakeholders, such as the Government, EU Delegation to Moldova, UNDP, local public authorities, other development agencies and civil society organizations to ensure a broad stakeholder engagement in the design of the project to ensure transparency and ownership of major groups interested in the results and conclusions of the project;
• Analyze the scope for potential synergies for the proposed project with other current interventions/projects/programmes within UNDP and beyond;
• Review the approved EU Action Fiche which describes expected results and activities;
• Draft the Description of Action (to be part of the agreement between UNDP and the EU) and align it with the approved EU Action Fiche;
• Contribute to the development of the requested components of the Description of Action, as described in the deliverable table below;
• Provide inputs to the finalization of the Description of Action, addressing all comments received from UNDP and partners;
• Perform other duties relevant to the project formulation process jointly agreed with UNDP.

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

Requirements for experience

Education:

• University degree in Economics, Management, Business Administration, and/or other relevant fields. A relevant multi-disciplinary background is considered useful.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of professional working experience in the field of rural business development, local economic development, including design and management of programmes and projects;
• Experience of work with pilot initiatives in the area of social entrepreneurship; providing support to the creation and functioning of business linkages, such as clusters and/or value chain development (I.e. smart specialisation);
• Experience in providing support to local and regional authorities in the elaboration of Local Socio-Economic Development Strategy (LSEDS) and Local Economic Development Plans (LEDP)as well as anti-corruption plans, by using EU, international and local best practices;
• Experience in providing support to strengthen business development services, platforms for business cooperation, marketing, export and brand promotion;
• Previous work experience in the field of "green economy" and use of innovative tools in urban planning will be considered an advantage
• Previous work experience with legal frameworks, decentralization policy in developing countries or transition economies (knowledge of Moldova’s legal frameworks and policies will be an advantage);
• Previous experience in development assistance or related work for a donor organization, consulting company, or NGO;
• Previous work experience with EU programmes and tools on smart specialization (programme design, implementation or evaluation) will be an advantage;
• Experienced in mainstreaming of HRBA and gender equality in programming
• Ability to use ICT as a tool and resource. Excellent knowledge of MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint.

Language Requirements:

• Proficiency in both written and oral Romanian and English; Working knowledge of Russian will be an asset

Competencies:

• Ability to work in close collaboration with a group of national and international experts, to meet strict deadlines and plan the work according to priorities;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Strong analytical, presentation, and writing skills;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

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. Financial proposal;
2. Offeror's Letter confirming Interest and Availability
3. Personal CV/P11 including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal will specify the lump sum, consisting of daily fee, travel expenses and per diems quoted in separate line items. Payments will be made to the Individual Consultant based on the number of days worked.

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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