Republic of Moldova

National Consultant on Inter-Municipal Cooperation

Vacancy Number: Pr13/00297

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	24 Mar 2013, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	01 Apr 2013, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	05 Apr 2013
Reference to the project:	Joint Integrated Local Development Programme
Expected Duration of Assignment:	Estimated workload up to 160 days during 12 months
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted on-line by pressing “Apply on-line” link, no later than 24 March  2013. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: constantin.elisei@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:

Mr. Constantin Elisei.

constantin.elisei@undp.org

Background

The Government of Moldova explicitly acknowledges that decentralization represents an essential item on the reform agenda of the country. The goal is to provide quality services to women and men equitably - including the rights of persons from vulnerable groups - through building autonomous and democratic local governments, able to manage efficiently their responsibilities. Thus, on April 5, 2012 the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova adopted the National Decentralization Strategy that represents the main policy document in the field of local public administration and establishes the national mechanisms to ensure genuine local autonomy.

 Prior to Strategy’s approval, the Government has benefited from the support provided by the Joint Integrated Local Development Programme/JILDP implemented by UNDP and UN Women and funded by the Government of Sweden and UNDP. Given the stringent need to further advance with the implementation of the Decentralization Strategy, and building on the successful cooperation with the Joint Integrated Local Development Programme, the State Chancellery together with United Nations have designed a new Programme phase to support the implementation of the Decentralization Strategy at policy and local levels.

 The Overall Objective of the Programme is to support better and equitable service provision and sustainable local development, facilitated by the improved legal and institutional framework resulting from the implementation of the National Decentralization Strategy. The Immediate Objectives of the Programme are:

-To support the Government in improving the policy and legal framework as mandated by the National Decentralization Strategy to ensure local autonomy, availability of resources, and more effective local management for better and equitable service provision.

-To improve the capacity of Local Public Authorities/LPAs to deliver efficient, equitable and accessible local public services, to facilitate sustainable development and foster social inclusion.

The interventions at the local level (20 target communities) will aim at developing models of operational local governments - ‘champions of change’ - by providing support to implement changes in the operation and structure of local governments in line with the changes brought by the Decentralization strategy. JILDP will assist LPAs in improving their capacity and operations, will support target communities and their local authorities to provide quality public services to achieve sustainable economic and social development, in the main areas affected by the Decentralization strategy.

Innovative approaches, such as inter-municipal cooperation and other forms of partnerships, will be piloted to promote the territorial-administrative reform as stipulated in the Decentralization strategy and in the Government Action Plan. 10 clusters of municipalities will be assisted to pilot several forms of inter-municipal cooperation for common priority sectors and services, (e.g. education, social protection, environment and energy efficiency, water and sewerage, solid waste), around which clustering of municipalities will be encouraged. LPAs will be trained to develop partnerships: from planning and creating them, selecting the most appropriate model of cooperation to effectively managing and maintaining the selected public services. Moreover, the clusters of communities will be assisted in accessing regional development funds for better service provision and infrastructure upgrading.

Scope of work

The overall objective of the National Consultant in Inter-Municipal Cooperation (hereinafter Consultant) assignment is to provide substantive expert support in promoting and implementing Inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) in 10 clusters of municipalities throughout Moldova. More specifically, the Consultant will design and support the assessment of  IMC potential and impact; will consult Project Manager regarding IMC project proposals, selection and implementation; will design and support the implementation of a ‘capacity building package’ to enhance capacities of LPAs and service providers in IMC field.

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

• University Degree in Public Administration, Public Policy, Public Law, Economics or other relevant fields;

 Years of experience:

• Professional working experience (at least 5 years) with substantial recent work experience local development projects  with focus on service provision;
• Proven experience in  IMC training/expertise, initiation and practical implementation;
• Experience with activities related to institutional strengthening, results based management, and related tool development and application;
• Previous experience in development assistance or related work for a donor organization, consulting company, or NGO. Previous experience in working with UN agencies and international organizations is an asset.

 Competencies:

• Demonstrated   capacity   of   team-orientation   work,   excellent   planning   and organizational skills;
• Strong, research, communications and writing skills;
• Fluency in both oral and written English;
• Ability to achieve results and deadlines in a timely manner, maintaining a high standard throughout;
• Sensitivity and respect for human rights and gender equality;

Documents to be included

1. Proposal explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;

2. Financial proposal;

3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references, or dully filled Personal History Form P11

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 fee, taxes, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

The Consultant will travel periodically to the assigned projects to the program grantees when needed. The JILDP project will provide the Consultant with the transportation means prior to duly agreed fields trips.

 

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