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National Consultant on Strategic Planning (SPGM).

Vacancy Number: Pr19/01892

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	30 Sep 2019, 16:30 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	02 Oct 2019, 16:30 (GMT+2:00)
Starting date:	04 Oct 2019
Reference to the project:	Strengthening Parliamentary Governance/Parliament II
Expected Duration of Assignment:	October – December 2019 (up to 25 days)
Supporting Documents: Terms of Reference Individual Consultant Procurement Notice OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR (IC) ASSIGNMENT UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Background

The UNDP project “Strengthening Parliamentary Governance in Moldova” (SPGM) is a multi-year institutional development project designed to address the main needs of the Parliament of Moldova in the areas of legislation making, oversight and representation during the on-going process of domestic reform spurred by closer relations with the EU. The project is also assisting in making the Parliament’s legislative activity more open, transparent and participatory through establishing tools and mechanisms for the engagement with the Civil Society, professional associations and general public. Project interventions will offer and encourage equal opportunity for male and female participation.

During the last ten years, the Secretariat of the Moldovan Parliament has undergone several restructuring processes following the findings and recommendations of the 2010 and 2016 Functional and Institutional Analyses^[1],carried out with the support of UNDP Moldova.  The restructuring processes aimed at improving the efficiency of the institution and ensuring that the structure of the legislature’s secretariat reflects an even distribution of functions, which would allow efficient and effective carrying of the Parliament’s key roles.

Following the recommendations of the above noted analyses, Parliament initiated systematic strategic planning activities and as result in 2011 was developed the first Strategic Development Plan (SDP) 2011 – 2015, followed by the Strategic Development Program of the PRM Secretariat of Moldova for (SDP) 2017 – 2019[2].

In line with the institution’s strategic development goals, the Parliament worked towards modernising the support services available to MPs, making the activity of the standing committees more effective, and introducing new ICT services to ensure transparency of the legislature.

As the current PRM Secretariat SDP is approaching its termination, Parliament is preparing to engage in an assessment exercise to review the progress in achieving the set priorities, asses the results obtained during the SDP implementation and set the objectives for the following years.

In this context, the SPGM project is seeking to hire a national consultant to support the PRM Secretariat in developing the SDP for the period 2020 – 2022.

[1]https://www.undp.org/content/dam/moldova/docs/Publications/Report_Functional%20Analyses%20of%20Secretariat%20of%20Parliament%202016.pdf

[2] http://parlament.md/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=PFba6419bdE%3d&tabid=212&language=ro-RO

Scope of work

The expected output for the national consultant’s assignment is to provide support in developing PRM Secretariat Strategic Development Programme for the period 2020 – 2022, building on the results achieved in the framework of the current SDP and applying the results-based planning principles. It is expected that the consultant will apply in his/her work best practices and methodological tools required in line with the national legislation, applying the results-based management approach, ensuring active engagement of parliamentary staffers throughout the process. Additionally, the consultant shall provide coaching of delegated the parliamentary staffers on strategic planning as part of the SDP’s elaboration. The assignment shall be carried out in close cooperation with the Assistance and Strategic Development Division of the Parliament of Moldova.

In order to achieve the stated objective, the consultant will have the following responsibilities:

• Prepare a detailed work plan and inception report describing the methodology and approach to be applied for this assignment.
• Undertake a comprehensive desk review of the relevant legal framework, policies and regulations related to the Parliament’s roles and responsibilities. As part of the review the consultant shall also analyse the strategic documents approved by the PRM.
• Conduct informative interviews and consultation meetings with stakeholders within the PRM to identify the results of the SDP for 2017-2019 and expectations for the new Programme. It is expected that both MPs and parliamentary staffers will be engaged in discussions.;
• Develop a briefing note describing the progress made by the institution in implementing the SDP for 2017-2019 and the assessment of the overall impact of the document. The note shall also cover the current and prospect needs of the Parliament Secretariat and address the medium and short-term objectives and priorities of the institution.
• Develop in close coordination with the delegated parliamentary staffers the draft PRM Secretariat Strategic Development Programme for the period 2020 – 2022;
• Conduct at least two validation meetings with the Parliament’s management and key staffers engaged in implementation of the institution’s strategic development priorities;
• Conduct a one-day workshop for parliamentary staffers on strategic planning techniques and tools in relation to development of strategic planning documents;
• Develop a final report identifying the challenges encountered by the Parliament Secretariat in the process of implementation of the SDP for 2017-2019, providing findings and recommendations, in line with best practices applied in national parliaments, for carrying out the strategic planning processes within the institution.

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

Requirements for experience

The contractor’s performance will be evaluated against the following criteria: timeliness, professionality, proactiveness, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered. Any person applying for this Bid shall have a certain profile in terms of qualifications, skills and special professional experience required to carry out the assignment. The candidates shall have the following relevant skills, qualifications and experience:

Academic qualifications

• Master’s Degree (or 5 years university degree) in Political Science, Law, Public Administration or similar disciplines.

Years of experience

• At least 7 years of working experience in the field of public administration, strategic planning, public policy analysis, monitoring and implementation or change management within a public organization;
• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in coordinating and managing strategic planning and evaluation processes of policy documents;
• Experience of advisory work on parliamentary or government development is a strong advantage;
• Experience in conducting participatory trainings, workshops, and presentations will represent an asset
• Experience in working with UN agencies is an asset

 Competencies

• Knowledge of Moldovan civil service system specifics will be a strong asset;
• Demonstrated tracked record of strategic planning and policy analysis;
• In-depth knowledge in strategic planning, development and evaluation of policy documents;
• Ability to analyse, plan, communicate effectively orally and in writing, draft reports, organize and meet expected results, provide strategic advice in her/his area of expertise, adapt to different environments (cultural, economic, political and social);
• Ability to mentor staff and facilitate learning by doing;
• Organisational and communication skills, capacity for teamwork, mediation of conflict situations;
• Fluency in Romanian. Knowledge of Russian and/or English is an asset;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Documents to be included

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

• A Letter of Intent, comprising mandatorily the following data:

-Explanations of the motivation to apply for the respective position;

-Detailed information on criteria that allow the Applicant to considered him/herself the best for performing the assignment;

-Brief description of the most relevant draft policy documents, research/analysis developed independently or jointly with other experts (submission of previous deliverables will be an advantage).

• Methodology for carrying out the assignment and structure of deliverables, that should contain:

-A brief methodology of the applicant vision on carrying out the assignment and structure of deliverables;

-Explain why they are the most suitable for the work including experience in similar assignments and the relation to the above-required qualifications.

• Financial proposal (in USD), specifying a fee per day and total requested amount including all related costs, e.g. fees, per diems, travel costs (if inquired), phone calls etc.;
• Duly filled in and signed Personal History Form (P11), and at least 2 letters of reference from previous beneficiaries confirming successful completion of services which he/she was contracted.

Financial proposal

• Lump sum contracts – please delete once the mechanism has been selected

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 fees, taxes, travel costs, accommodation costs, communication, 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.