Republic of Moldova

International Consultant to develop Standard Operating Procedures and Code of Conduct for parliamentary constituency offices

Vacancy Number: Pr14/00662

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	14 Oct 2014, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	21 Oct 2014
Reference to the project:	Programme for Improving the Quality of Moldovan Democracy through Parliamentary Support
Expected Duration of Assignment:	30 working days through October-December 2014
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 14 October 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. This vacancy announcement is also published on http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=50222
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 Republic of Moldova is undergoing major transformation in almost all spheres of public life. A large number of reforms have been underway to promote modern, effective and transparent state institutions. The Parliament of Moldova, as a key element in the system of state governance, has been at the forefront of reforms in the last few years. 

According to the Rules of Procedure (RoP) of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Members of the Parliament (MPs) are expected to regularly meet with citizens. However, because Moldova is one electoral zone, MPs are not directly linked to a specific district or constituency. As a result, the MPs' link to voters is weak. The weak connection with citizens is also, in part, due to lack of adequate facilities for MPs to meet with voters. Information about the work of the Parliament and the MPs is limited and fails to reach many of the rural areas and towns where majority of Moldova’s population lives.

Based on a feasibility study, which was conducted in 2013 by a UNDP expert, the Parliament of Moldova decided to establish four Parliamentary Constituency and Information Offices (PCIOs) in Edinet, Orhei, Comrat and Leova. In September 2014 all the offices were officially opened. The offices will serve as a 'hub' for information and education on parliamentary and democracy issues and offer a space for decentralized committee meetings, public hearings or consultations. The offices have a potential to empower MPs in their legislative, oversight and representative roles by providing opportunity for citizens’ opinions and feedback to become relevant input for policy development and the review of legislation.

However, at the moment there are no uniform rules on how the PCIOs should be functioning. A set of clear and comprehensive rules for the PCIO staff needs to be developed on, inter alia, interaction with visitors, working with mass media, use of social media, communication with local authorities as well as dealing with the Parliament and MPs.

In this context, UNDP Democracy Programme is seeking to hire an international consultant to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Parliamentary Constituency and Information Offices in Moldova, a Code of conduct for PCIOs staff and a Handbook for MPs on Constituency Relations and Representation based on the experience of other national European parliaments.

Scope of work

The expected output for the international consultant’ assignment is to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Parliamentary Constituency and Information Offices in Moldova, a Code of conduct for PCIOs staff and a Handbook for MPs on Constituency Relations and Representation based on the experience of other national European parliaments. He/She will transfer knowledge and share experience about constituency relations in other countries. The International Consultant will also meet, coach and provide trainings to the staff from constituency offices on constituency relations and SOP’s implementation.

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

Requirements for experience

I.   Academic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Political Sciences, Public Administration, Law or related fields;

II.  Years of experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in establishing and/or running constituency offices for MPs;
• Experience of developing rules and procedures related to constituency offices will be an asset;
• Experience of coaching and conducting participatory trainings, workshops, and presentations on constituency relations;
• Proven experience in working with the international organizations (successful experience in working with UN agencies is an asset);
• A minimum of 2 years of working experience with Parliament in an European context and non-Westminster political system;

III.  Competencies:

• In-depth knowledge and understanding of the legislative process and techniques;
• Strong analytical and drafting skills;
• Excellent writing and oral communication;
• Leadership skills and ability to work with teams;
• Knowledge of UN system and UNDP;
• Fluency in English and Romanian;
• 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.

*) We reserve the right to reject incomplete applications.

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.

1 travel mission is envisaged under this assignment, with a minimum 15 working days in Moldova.

 

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