Republic of Moldova

International consultant for the mid-term review of the International Electoral Assistance provided through 2008-2012 to the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova

Vacancy Number: Pr13/00344

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	22 Jul 2013, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	01 Aug 2013
Reference to the project:	Democracy Programme: Parliamentary Development and Electoral Support
Expected Duration of Assignment:	7 weeks
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Online" no later than 22 July 2013 Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: beatricia.revenco@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. Qualified women are encouraged to apply. Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Terms of Reference for the Review (Annex 3) Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

The Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova (hereinafter called CEC) is a permanent and independent state body, managing the electoral process in Moldova, consisting of nine members. One member is appointed by the President of Moldova, the other 8 members are appointed by Parliament, considering the principle of the proportional representation of elected majority and its opposition. The CEC is assisted and supported by an Apparatus (secretariat).

The aim of the Electoral Support to Moldova (ESM) Project was to support the CEC in designing and delivering electoral services that can increase citizens’ trust in the electoral system and in electoral outcomes.  In 2008-2010 ESM provided technical assistance to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) and other stakeholders (NGOs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the former Parliamentary Commission on amendment of the Electoral Code); 2011 and 2012 the Project focused on CEC only.

The ESM Project was during its first years financed by the European Union, the Moldovan Government, the UN Trust Fund for Electoral Assistance and UNDP and implemented by UNDP. The activities related to Out of Country Voting component were coordinated and financed by ESM Project and implemented by the International Organization for Migration.

In June 2012 a new Project, Improving the Quality of Moldovan Democracy through electoral and parliamentary support (‘the Democracy Programme’) commenced, combing support to both the CEC and the Parliament of Moldova. The programme focuses on strengthening the institutional capacity of the CEC, entrenching gender and human rights considerations in the formal political process, further development of an enabling environment for the delivery of modern and inclusive electoral services. The electoral component of the Democracy Programme is funded by the Government of Sweden.

USAID

Starting June 2008, International Foundation for Electoral Support (IFES) has been assisting CEC, through an elections administration component of the Strengthening Democratic Political Activism (SDPA) program. IFES was designed to strengthen electoral administration and transparency ahead of the 2009 parliamentary elections. Since 2010, USAID assistance through the Moldovan Electoral Administration Capacity Development Programme focused on support of appropriate authorities and institutions in Moldova in their effort to configure an efficient system for voter registration; building of administrative, operational, management and professional capacity of election bodies at local level; foster of public trust in electoral processes; promotion and supporting reform in financing political parties. The activities of the programme were expected to address the long-term capacity challenges of election administration to contribute as a result to sustainably transparent, efficient and democratic electoral process.

Other actors

At various times, especially in response to the electoral events of 2009 (2 parliamentary elections within 4 months), other international actors supported the CEC. The most notable of these actors were the Council of Europe, IOM, OSCE-ODIHR and the OSCE Mission to Moldova. 

Scope of work

The Programme intends to contract an International Consultant  to join the team of three consultants (two international and one national) assigned to provide a holistic, impartial and trustworthy review of the electoral assistance in accordance with the Terms of Reference for the review (Annex 3).

The International Consultant will contribute to the overall quality and timely submission by the review team, of the Review Report to UNDP.

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

Requirements for experience

I. Academic Qualifications:

• Masters degree in Law, Public Administration, International development or related fields; Bachelor and at least 7 years of relevant experience will be also acceptable.

II. Years of experience:

• At least 7 years of work experience in the field of democratic governance, public administration, development, including participatory planning, monitoring and evaluation;
• Previous regional work experience in related areas;

III. Competencies:

• Sound knowledge about results-based management (especially results-oriented monitoring and evaluation);
• Familiarity with the political, economic and social situation in the Republic of Moldova.
• Ability to analyse, plan, manage diversity of views, adapt to different environments (cultural, economic, political and social);

Fluency in English; knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian would be an advantage

Documents to be included

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

 1. Proposal:

(i) Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;

(ii) Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable);

 2. Financial proposal;

 3. Personal CV including past experience in similar projects, the duly filled Personal History Form (P11) 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 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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