Republic of Moldova

International Consultant/ Adviser on Strategic Planning

Vacancy Number: Pr14/00596

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	17 Aug 2014, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	08 Sep 2014
Reference to the project:	Programme for Improving the Quality of Moldovan Democracy through Parliamentary Support
Expected Duration of Assignment:	25 working days through September – November, 2014
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 17 August 2014. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: sergiu.galitchi@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. Important notice The applicant who has the statute of Government Official / Public Servant, prior to appointment will be asked to submit the following documentation: a no-objection letter in respect of the applicant received from the government, and; the applicant is certified in writing by the government to be on official leave without pay for the duration of the Individual Contract. A retired government official is not considered in this case a government official, and as such, may be contracted. This vacancy was placed at: http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=48295
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Personal History Form (P11) UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Contacts:

Mr. Sergiu Galitchi.

sergiu.galitchi@undp.org

Background

The elections of July 2009 resulted in a new political majority in the Parliament. A coalition of three parties, called Alliance for European Integration, was established. The new coalition started with the implementation of an agenda for further approximation of Moldova to the European Union. As the Parliament has an important role in the approximation process, the new Speaker requested UNDP’s support for strengthening the Parliament’s capacities for promoting the EU integration Agenda.

A Functional Review and Institutional Capacity Assessment was conducted by UNDP Parliamentary project in 2010. The report was the basis for the formulation of the first Strategic Development Plan (SDP) and new institutional structure of the Secretariat. The Strategic Development Plan helped the Parliament articulate its vision and strategic priorities.

Relevant restructuring and realignment of functions has been implemented. Additional human and financial resources were allocated to ICT, research, communications, legal approximation and human resources units, lack of which previously had negative impact on the implementation of the main functions of the Parliament. A new unit on strategic planning and internal audit was established. As a result, for the first time MPs were allowed to hire personal assistants, who provide them with secretarial and research support.

The formulation of the Strategic Development Plan took place with full involvement of the Parliament, through a working group chaired by the Secretary General, in which senior management of the Secretariat participated. Before the working group started its work, 43 Parliament staff members, including the Secretary General and heads of departments, were trained on strategic and financial planning.

From summer 2009 until March 2012 the Parliament was not able to elect the President of the country, which resulted in political uncertainty and possibility of early parliamentary elections. Finally, in March 2012 a new President was elected with the necessary majority of 61 votes in the Parliament. After this political deadlock was resolved, the Permanent Bureau approved the Strategic Development Plan of the Parliament Secretariat for 2012-2014.

During the last two years the Parliament of Moldova has been very active in developing its organizational setup in order to improve the legislative process and be able to react promptly to changing priorities. In this regard, important internal regulations and policies were approved, document flows optimized and capacities of Parliament secretariat staff increased. Updated job descriptions were developed and approved for all the parliamentary staff. A new system for performance evaluation of staff was developed and the implementation started from autumn 2013.

As 2014 is the last year of SDP’s implementation, a thorough assessment of achieved results and progress needs to be undertaken. The results and lessons learned need to be incorporated into the new SDP for 2015-2018. In this context, UNDP is seeking to hire an international adviser who will assist the Parliament of Moldova in the process of development of a new SDP for 2015-2018. The process should be based on international best practices and methodological tools and conducted in inclusive manner involving staff of the Parliament. The adviser will also coach the parliamentary staff on strategic planning, before the SDP’s elaboration starts and during the process.

Scope of work

The expected output for the International Consultant’s assignment is to provide support to the development of the Strategic Development Plan by building on the results achieved in the framework of the current SDP. He/She will transfer knowledge and share experience about the development of strategic development plans in other countries. The International Consultant will also meet, coach and provide trainings to senior parliamentary staff on strategic planning techniques and tools with a view to help create ownership of the process. The assignment shall be carried out in close cooperation with the Secretary General of the Parliament and with the Strategic planning and internal audit unit of the Parliament of Moldova.

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

Requirements for experience

I.    Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Political Sciences, Public Administration, International development or related fields; Bachelor’s degree combined with 9 years of relevant professional experience in advising/implementing/developing strategic development plans would be considered as the equivalent to the Master’s Degree;

II.  Years of experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of relevant professional experience in advising/implementing/developing strategic development plans;
• Working experience in the field of democratic governance, public administration, development, including participatory strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation;
• Experience in developing Strategic Development Plans and/or other relevant strategic policy documents;
• Experience of coaching and conducting participatory trainings, workshops, and presentations on strategic planning;
• Experience in working with Parliament, Government and/or international organizations (successful experience in working with UN agencies is an asset);

III. Competencies:

• Sound knowledge about results-based management (especially results-oriented planning, monitoring and evaluation);
• Extensive research and analytical skills;
• Excellent writing and oral communication;
• Facilitation and management skills;
• Leadership skills and ability to work with teams;
• Knowledge of UN system and UNDP;
• Availability to work during the indicated /approved period;
• Fluency in English. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian will be an asset;
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools.

Documents to be included

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for the work including past experience in similar Projects (please provide brief information on each of the above qualifications, item by item);
2. Financial proposal (in USD, specifying a total requested amount per day, including all related costs, e.g. fees, per diems, travel costs, phone calls etc. );
3. Dully completed and signed P11 Form, 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 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 case of unforeseeable travel for the business purpose, 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.

Up to two travel missions are envisaged under this assignment, with a minimum 20 working days in Moldova.

 

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