Republic of Moldova

National Consultant on Export Support Services

Vacancy Number: Pr15/00959

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	11 Jun 2015, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	25 Jun 2015
Reference to the project:	Support to Confidence Building Measures IV
Expected Duration of Assignment:	40 working days during June – December 2015
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 11 June 2015. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: victor.dragutan@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

Background

The Support to Confidence Building Measures Programme (SCBM Programme) is funded by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP Moldova. The overall objective of the Programme is to contribute to an environment of trust and cooperation across the Nistru/Dniestr River generating new perspectives on shared interests and a shared future by people from both banks of the river while responding to their pressing development needs.

The current phase of the Programme (2015-2018) represents a framework for engaging in development interventions across the security zone on both sides of the Nistru/Dniestr River, comprising a series of activities that will strengthen, regularize and intensify interaction between otherwise divided societies, aiming to establish this interaction as a norm. It looks to deal strategically with barriers to cooperation by building the trust towards such actions and broadening opportunities for engagement for a wide range of actors. Additionally, it provides support for improving critical community infrastructure.

Through its Business Development and Employment Opportunities component, the SCBM Programme aims to support the common interests of business actors from both banks, by facilitating their cross-river cooperation and their to the possibilities offered by Moldova’s deepening relationship with the EU. This component addresses comprehensively some of the key constraints faced by business and focuses heavily on creating sustainable cross-river partnerships.

Business to business interaction will be sustained through the facilitation of cooperation between business associations, supporting business cooperation networks, and building local capacities for export. Continuing the successful experience of previous phases of the programme, the business development services market will be further consolidated, by bolstering the capacities of local private actors, business associations and consultants to provide certified services enabling the local business to capitalize on the existing opportunities, including those offered by the DCFTA. Additionally, a culture of entrepreneurship will be promoted energetically in the region, focused mainly on enabling youth on both banks to become successful entrepreneurs.

Scope of work

The overall objective of this assignment for the National Consultant on Export Support Services (hereinafter Consultant) is to conduct an assessment of export support services available to SMEs on both banks of the Nistru river, identifying specific needs and providing recommendations on how to address them.

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

Requirements for experience

I.    Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced University degree or Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of experience in Business Administration, Economy, Public Administration, or other relevant fields.

II.   Years of experience:

• At least 3 years of professional working experience in the field of business development, export promotion, development of analytical reports in the socio-economic field, including programmes and projects;
• Previous experience in development assistance or related work for a donor organization, consulting company, or NGO;
• Proven familiarity with the Transnistrian region setting; knowledge and in-depth understanding of the working environment, its sensitivities, economic and political challenges, ability to build solid ground for joint work between the two sides are strongly desirable;
• Proven understanding or experience in working with foreign trade and DCFTA-related issues would constitute an advantage; 
• Previous experience in working with export support service providers is an asset.

III.  Competencies:

• Ability to analyze, plan, communicate effectively with stakeholders and present ideas clearly and effectively;
• Demonstrated interpersonal, communication, teamwork and diplomatic skills;
• Ability to enter new environments, adapt quickly and produce immediate results;
• Knowledge of Romanian, Russian and English is required;
• Computer literacy - competent user of Microsoft Office programs.

Documents to be included

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

1. Proposal:

(i) Letter of Interest explaining why he/she is the most suitable for the work

(ii) Provide a brief methodology on how he/she will approach and conduct the work

2. Financial proposal in USD;

3. P11 or Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and the contact details of at least 3 reference persons.

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 instalments 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

Travel outside duty station (Chisinau), other administrative costs, and logistical aspects will be arranged with the support of the SCBM team.

 

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.

 

Disclaimer In case of discrepancies between the text published on the website and the contents of the supporting documents, the provisions, instructions and conditions included in the supporting documents (published as Adobe Portable Document Format files) shall prevail. In case of discrepancies between the English version and the Romanian and/or Russian versions of text, documents or other content published on this webpage, the English version shall prevail.

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