Republic of Moldova

National Consultant for development of a brief Study on options regarding remittances in Moldova

Vacancy Number: Pr12/00242

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	11 Dec 2012, 17:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	23 Dec 2012, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	21 Dec 2012
Reference to the project:	Mainstreaming Migration into National Development Strategies Project
Expected Duration of Assignment:	25 working days, during December 2012 – March 2013
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button or by email to vacancies-moldova@undp.org, no later than 11 December 2012. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: alexandru.mocanu@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 References Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Mr. Alexandru Mocanu.

Background

Recently,Moldovaapproved its National Development Strategy “Moldova 2020” which approaches migration from the point of view of human capital return and retention and the development of a new economic growth model. The current level of remittances reflects mostly the subsistence-oriented spending of migrant families inMoldova, while actual savings are made abroad. Thus the pool of resources available for lending/investment will increase if migrants become confident in the business climate and remit more and invest. The Moldova 2020 strategy aims at stimulating capital formation by removal of the binding constraints in doing business/investing remittances and at creating more opportunities at home to retain the labour force and reach the target to reduce youth emigration to 10% by 2020.

The Joint Pilot Programme “Mainstreaming of Migration into Development in Moldova” (MOMID) is devised to facilitate harnessing the benefits from inter-linkages between migration and development and mitigating negative consequences by putting forward a National Migration Mainstreaming Proposal based on a comprehensive assessment of the migration management framework and policy coherence in Moldova. It shall afford a systematic and comprehensive whole-of-government approach to mainstreaming of migration into development planning in line with the National Development Strategy “Moldova 2020” and orient future policy coordination and action on migration and development. To fulfill this objective, series of inter-related consultation, capacity development, and awareness-raising activities have been envisaged, among which the present consultancy on the use of remittances.

Scope of work

A National Consultant (hereinafter: “Consultant”) is sought to develop a brief assessment/feasibility analysis (hereinafter: “Study”) with the view to (1) update the previous studies in the area of concern, and (2) explore currently available options in light of recent developments and international experience regarding use of remittances and savings abroad for the purpose of development in Moldova and (3) provide concrete recommendations on relevant applicable instruments in the Moldovan context. Options proposed for consideration may include but not be limited to: life insurance schemes, non-state pensions, investment funds, Diaspora bonds, real-estate purchasing/mortgage schemes backed by remittances flows as collateral, etc.

In this respect, the Consultant’s tasks will include, but will be not limited to, the following tasks:

-          Carrying-out of a comprehensive desk review to get acquainted with the results of previous studies undertaken in Moldova so far, as well as analyzing other available resources on the topic, printed or electronic, such as:  best practices, reports, methodologies, legislative and policy documents, international standards and guidelines, statistical survey data etc.; As a result, the Consultant is expected to propose a draft structure of the Study and discuss it with the Programme Team;

-          Conducting bilateral interviews with the relevant in-country stakeholders with the view to discuss ideas and options for the use of remittances and migrants’ savings, and their respective relevance and appropriateness. Potential stakeholders to be consulted include the State Chancellery, Ministry of Economy, Organization of Small and Medium Enterprises, National Bank of Moldova, Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family, UNCT, as well as relevant actors within Civil Society, including Diaspora representatives, Think-tanks, Academia and private sector;

-          Developing a brief Study not exceeding 30 pages of text on options for using remittances and migrants’ savings abroad for the benefit of migrants and overall development inMoldova. The Study should reflect the situation of migrants’ financial resources used and changes therein over the past years; provide an overview of the still relevant findings of the previous policy recommendations put forward in Moldova so far, and explore available options drawn from consultant’s own entry points other country’s best practices and based on bilateral consultations with the in-country stakeholders. The Study may be drafted in Romanian language.

-          Submit the draft Study to IOM / UNDP / UN WOMEN, factor in feedback, and present and validate the respective Study in a multi-stakeholder technical meeting, in view of gathering participants’ feedback and advocating for implementation of the Study recommendations.

-          Factoring in the feedbacks collected during the validation meeting into a Final version of the Study and submitting it to the Programme Team. 

Requirements for experience

1. Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in Economics, Business or other relevant field.
• Other formal education relevant for the assignment;

2. Years of experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in execution of assessments, evaluations, analytical reports, preferably in the fields of economy, public administration, development and/or migration. Experience of working with public national authorities in the area of strategic planning and sector development policies will be a strong asset.
• Relevant experience in the area of migration, community development, and social development is desirable;

3. Competencies:

• Profound understanding of the implications of remittances in general and inMoldovaspecifically;
• Proven experience in drafting strategic documents and analytical studies/reports in an accurate and concise manner;
• Good analytical, organizational, and facilitation skills;
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Romanian, good command of Russian (deliverables and drafts thereof may be provided in Romanian)
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use the office technology equipment and IT tools.

4. Personal Qualities and other requirements:

• Good interpersonal skills, solid judgment/decision making, initiative and creativity;
• Cultural and gender sensitivity; 

Documents to be included

Interested individuals must submit, besides a cover letter explaining how applicants respond to each of the qualification requirements and why he/she is the most suitable for the work, the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Personal information (as a detailed CV or as a Personal History Form/P11) including records on past experience in similar projects/assignments and concrete outputs obtained, and at least 3 references;

 

2. Technical Proposal: Provide a brief (max. 2 pages) methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work, incl. the stakeholders envisaged to be consulted;

 

3. Financial proposal (in USD), specifying a total lump sum amount and a breakdown per working days and other related expenses.  

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 all related costs e.g. fees, phone calls, etc.) and the number of anticipated working days. 

 

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