Republic of Moldova

National Consultant to support strategic planning within the National Centre for Judicial Expertise (A2J Project)

Vacancy Number: Pr20/02121

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	26 Nov 2020, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	01 Dec 2020
Reference to the project:	Strengthening Efficiency and Access to Justice in Moldova
Expected Duration of Assignment:	December 2020 – December 2021 (up to 90 days)
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Online" button, no later than 26 November 2020 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 OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR (IC) ASSIGNMENT UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Ms. Victoria Muntean.

victoria.muntean@undp.org

Background

The UNDP project “Strengthening Efficiency and Access to Justice in Moldova” (A2J) is a multi-year institutional development project designed to contribute to an increased efficiency of justice services and to improved access to justice of men and women in Moldova, in particular from vulnerable and marginalized groups, through enhanced capacities of forensic institutions to provide qualitative justice services, strengthened capacities of the justice sector actors in the selected pilot areas to provide coordinated response to men’s and women’s justice needs and strengthened civil society able to claim the respect of rights and engage in a constructive dialogue with the justice chain actors. Project interventions will offer and encourage equal opportunity for the participation of men and women.

Although important efforts have been deployed at national level during the last years to advance the efficiency, transparency, fairness and accessibility of the justice sector, improvement is further required to ensure coherent coordination among law enforcement, security and justice institutions for effective administration of justice, so that men and women, particularly from marginalized or minority groups, are able to claim their rights and access justice effectively.

The national forensic institutions are an integral part of the justice system, as the expert opinions provided by these institutions are critical for the objective and evidence-based delivery of justice. The quality and accuracy of forensic investigations and examinations have an extensive impact on the quality of justice and affect the overall perception of users about the justice system. Despite their importance for the administration of justice, forensic institutions benefited from limited assistance and support in their modernization endeavours as compared to other justice chain actors.

To foster the existing forensic infrastructure and assure its compliance with the international quality standards, as well as equip national forensic institutions with relevant capacities and tools for an efficient and evidence-based performance, A2J Project works towards strengthening  the coordination between the national forensic institutions and building the necessary administrative and human capacities of the later.

In this context, during the A2J Project Inception Phase, UNDP engaged with the three forensic institutions, National Centre for Judicial Expertise (NCJE) and the Forensic Centre of the General Police Inspectorate (Police Forensic Centre) and the Centre for Legal Medicine (CLM), to assess the institutional development needs and conduct the baseline analysis of institutional capacities for implementation of Results-Based Management (RBM) which will inform subsequent interventions in the identified key areas aiming at building stronger and more efficient public institutions.

As part of the assessment, the key dimensions of the organizational management system  have been reviewed, as follows: strategy - whether the institution has a formalized strategy, which allows for the establishment of a clear mission and vision, well-defined and realistic desired results; structure – whether the organizational structure is clear, easy to apply and relations of subordination and cooperation are established rationally; systems- does the institution have  policies, internal procedures and functional practices, applied by senior and mid-level management, with which ensure that staff achieve the desired results; shared values – which are the core values promoted by the institution, which strengthen the organizational culture and professional ethics at work: style -the style of leadership adopted; staff -  the employees and their general capabilities, skills - the actual skills and competencies of the organization's employees. A participatory SWOT analysis was also conducted.

The findings of the analyses indicate the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, as well as the gaps in the assessed dimensions, which once addressed would enhance institutional efficiency, promote results-based management and strategic planning within the forensic institutions, improve interinstitutional cooperation and performance.

To ensure continuity of the institutional development efforts of the three national forensic institutions in line with the recommendations of the analysis, the A2J Project is seeking to hire a national consultant to support the NCJE in implementation of the findings of the assessment related institutional development and strategic planning.

Scope of work

The expected output for the national consultant’s  assignment is to provide support to the NCJE in building within the organisation’s strategic and results based planning capacities and skills as well as facilitate the process of drafting the institution’s  Activity plan for 2021, developing the Strategic Planning Document for the period 2022 - 2024 including the priorities towards institutional development, based on the findings and recommendations of the Report on the institutional development needs assessment. It is expected that the consultant will apply in his/her work best practices and methodological tools required in line with the national legislation, applying the results-based management approach, ensuring active engagement of management and staffers throughout the process. Additionally, the consultant shall provide coaching of management and delegated staffers in the context of elaboration strategic documents. The assignment shall be carried out in close cooperation with the management of the NCJE.

In order to achieve the stated objective, the consultant will have the following:

1. Prepare a detailed work plan and inception report describing the methodology and approach to be applied for this assignment;
2. Undertake a comprehensive desk review of the relevant legal framework, policies and regulations related to the institution’s roles and responsibilities, as well as strategic planning documentation of national forensic institutions from EU Member States. As part of the review the consultant shall also analyse the findings of the Report on the institutional development needs assessment development with the A2J Project, the strategic documents approved by the institutions;
3. Conduct informative interviews and consultation meetings with stakeholders within the NCJE, to identify the results in implementation of the Reform measures of the NCJE and associated Action Plan and establish the expectations for the future institutional development of the NCJE. It is expected that both higher management, heads of subdivisions and personnel will be engaged in discussions;
4. Organise and facilitate the 2020 institutional activity review and 2021 planning session. It is expected that both higher management and heads of subdivisions will be engaged in the activity;
5. Contribute to development, applying the results-based planning principles and in a participatory manner, the NCJE Activity Plan for 2021;
6. Develop in close cooperation with the NCJE management and delegated staffers the Strategic Planning Document for the period 2022 - 2024 including the priorities towards institutional development, addressing the findings and recommendations of the Report on the institutional development needs assessment;
7. Organise and facilitate consultations with the NCJE management and staffers to present and validate the Activity Plan for 2021 and Strategic Planning Document for the period 2022 - 2024;
8. Work with the NCJE management and staffers to enhance their knowledge and skills on strategic planning techniques and tools, results-based planning principles, monitoring and evaluation techniques and tools, through regular training, coaching and consultancy;
9. Provide change implementation advice based on the recommendations of the Report on the institutional development needs assessment;
10. Develop and provide monthly activity reports describing briefly the progress in conducting the assignment and developing the deliverables connected to the consultancy.

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

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree (or 5 years university degree) in Law, Public Administration, Finance, Business Administration or similar disciplines.

Experience and knowledge:

• At least 7 years of working experience in the field of public administration, strategic planning, public policy analysis, monitoring and implementation or change management within an organization/institution;
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in coordinating and managing strategic planning and evaluation processes of policy documents;
• Experience with using a range of quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis techniques to assess capacities at individual, institutional, sector and policy level;
• Previous proven experience in conducting participatory trainings, workshops, and presentations;
• Experience in the Human Rights Based Approach mainstreaming, and international human rights standards would be an asset;
• Experience in working with UN agencies is an asset.

Competencies:

• Knowledge of Moldovan civil service system specifics will be a strong asset;
• Knowledge of the National Internal Control Standards in the public sector (Standardele naţionale de control intern în sectorul public);
• In-depth knowledge in strategic planning, development and evaluation of policy documents;
• Ability to analyse, plan, communicate effectively orally and in writing, draft reports, organize and meet expected results, provide strategic advice in her/his area of expertise, adapt to different environments (cultural, economic, political and social);
• Organisational and communication skills, capacity for teamwork, mediation of conflict situations;
• Fluency in Romanian. Knowledge of Russian and/or English is an asset.

Personal qualities:

Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations 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:

• Offeror's Letter confirming Interest and Availability;
• Proposal (Motivation Letter): explaining why they are the most suitable for the work including previous experience in similar Projects (please provide brief information on each of the above qualifications, item by item);
• Financial proposal (in USD, specifying a total requested amount per working day, including all related costs, e.g. fees, phone calls etc.);
• Duly completed and signed Personal History Form (P11) or 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 fees, taxes, travel costs, accommodation costs, communication, and number of anticipated working days.

 

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