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EU4MD/ 2 (two) national consultants in strategic planning for elaboration of the social-economic development Strategy of Ungheni region 2022-2030.

Vacancy Number: Pr22/02425

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	07 Apr 2022, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	14 Apr 2022, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Starting date:	26 Apr 2022
Reference to the project:	EU4Moldova: Focal regions
Expected Duration of Assignment:	April – June 2022 (the estimated amount of work is 13 working days for Team Leader and 11 working days for Consultant 2)
Submission Instructions: Description of the assignment:    2 (two) national consultants in strategic planning for elaboration of the social-economic development Strategy of Ungheni region 2022-2030 1 (one) National Consultant in strategic planning, Team Leader 1 (one) National Consultant in strategic planning, Consultant 2.   Project name: EU4Moldova: Focal Regions Programme (EU-funded)   Period of assignment/services: April – June 2022 (the estimated amount of work is 13 working days for Team Leader and 11 working days for Consultant 2) Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 7 April 2022. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: victoria.josan@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: Termeni de referinta Terms of Reference Anunț de procurare de consultanță individuală Individual Consultant Procurement Notice OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP CONFIRMING INTEREST AND AVAILABILITY FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTOR (IC) ASSIGNMENT Scrisoarea ofertantului catre PNUD confirmind interesul si disponibilitatea UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Ms. Victoria Josan.

Background

The EU4Moldova: Focal regions Programme (further Programme) is based on the European Commission Implementing Decision on the Annual Action Program 2018 in favour of the Republic of Moldova and is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme.

The overall objective of the five-year Programme is to strengthen the economic, territorial and social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova through smart, green, inclusive, sustainable and integrated socio-economic development as well as improving the standards of living of the citizens in the focal regions: Cahul and Ungheni.

To this end, this Programme will address the urban-rural divide and regional disparities, stimulate economic growth and job creation, refurbish and upgrade targeted social and technical infrastructure in selected focal regions (smaller towns and villages) while taking into account climate change and gender perspective in the activities of the Programme.

Specific objectives:

1. To strengthen transparency, accountability of local public authorities and people’s participation in local governance processes in the focal regions.
2. To improve citizens' access to quality public services and utilities in the pilot focal regions.
3. To create employment opportunities for men and women in the focal regions and improve the attractiveness of the pilot regions for investors and entrepreneurs.
4. To promote the smart specialization of the economy of the focal regions through the development of the clustering and value chain approach in key economic sectors.

The Program objectives will be achieved through measures targeted at: (i) capacity building to support the implementation and monitoring of local economic development plans; (ii) civil society engagement in local planning, governance processes and basic social service delivery; (iii) provision of investment funding in support of the creation and/or development of social and technical infrastructure which, combined with the outcomes from interventions (i) and (ii) above, will have an immediate, visible and tangible impact on employment creation, the standard of living of the population in the focal regions.

Scope of work

The EU4Moldova: focal regions Programme intends to contract 2 (two) national consultants experienced in strategic planning to offer consultancy, expertise and assistance to the Working Group of the Ungheni District Council in elaboration of the draft Socio-Economic Development Strategy of the Ungheni District for the period 2022-2030, including.

• Position 1: 1 (one) National Consultant in strategic planning, Team Leader;
• Position 2: 1 (one) National Consultant in strategic planning.

Important note 1: The potential candidates should clearly state in the Application Letter for which of the two positions they apply.

The candidates may apply for both positions and this should be clearly stipulated in the Application Letter, with the possibility to be selected only for 1 position.

The National Consultants shall work as a team, on the basis of the methodological approach and of a detailed action plan that shall be developed at the start of the activities, and which shall be agreed with the Local Working Group of the District Council and approved by the Programme.

The general objective of the National Consultants resides in offering assistance, organizing and performing a set of activities to elaborate the draft Socio-Economic Development Strategy of the Ungheni District for the period 2022-2030.

The new policy document will focus on the new paradigm of economic development aimed at increasing the economic competitiveness and attractiveness of the Ungheni district, increasing territorial, economic and social cohesion, attracting investment, capitalizing and developing physical, natural, financial, social and human capital to ensure an intelligent development of the district's localities.

For the current assignment,

• The National Consultant 1 will have the role of Team leader and will plan and coordinate the whole Team's activity and will be responsible for presentation and overall quality of all the deliverables under this assignment in line with the agreed timeframe and methodology.
• The National Consultant 2 will assist the Team leader in carrying out all assistance activities and will cover issues related to the public consultation of the draft Strategy.

In addition to the tasks, activities mentioned further the Consultant 1 Team leader, will be responsible for coordination and consistency of produced reports, including:

• Set up the work plan and the methodology for the Team, in consultation with and assisted by the Consultant 2.
• Distribute the tasks among the Team.
• Ensure cooperation and coordination with Working Group of Ungheni District Council.
• Ensure quality, structure & content of products to be developed.
• Coordinate and participate in the process of consultation with the Programme, key partners, relevant stakeholders, to collect and consider their feedback and recommendations for improvement.
• Develop, with the contribution of second Consultant the Progress and Final Reports on the activities and outputs of assignment.

Requirements for experience

The following qualification criteria shall be applied in selecting the Consultants:

Academic qualifications:

• University degree in public administration, management, economics, political science, sociology or other relevant fields. Master’s degree studies would be an advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of practical experience in the fields related to local development (strategic planning, local public administration, working with public authorities and institutions (proof: list of the last 3 contracts in which the Consultant was involved in the last 5 years and his/her role in them should be presented with the application package).
• Experience in elaboration (strategic planning) of at least 3 local development policy documents (development strategies, programs, plans) (proof: list of local development policy documents, indicating the district/municipality/community, year of elaboration and link to the documents or documents itself (electronic version in .pdf format) must be presented together with the application package).
• Experience in facilitation, mentorship, training provision and moderation of public events (discussion, consultations) in the field of strategic planning and local development (proof: list of the last 3 facilitated events / trainings should be presented with the application package).
• The relevant experience in strategic planning at the district level or regional level shall be an advantage (proof: the last strategy elaborated for a district or region shall be presented with the application package).
• Previous experience of collaboration with the UN agencies and/or international organizations and/or development projects/programs funded by the European Union/donor organization shall be an advantage.

Competences:

• Proven capacities of teamwork, excellent abilities of planning and organization.
• Interpersonal skills of decision making, initiative and creativity.
• Ability to analyze, plan, efficiently communicate, organize and fulfill the planned results, adapt to various environments (cultural, economic, political and social).
• Ability to attain results and meet the deadlines, maintaining high quality standards.
• Knowledge and skills in MS Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of the current context and the planning and development trends at national, regional, local, cross-border levels.
• Knowledge of the tools, mechanisms in the field of strategic planning.

• Fluent knowledge of Romanian and Russian. Knowledge of English would be an advantage.

United Nations Development Programme in Moldova promotes the diversity of the labor force. Women, people of disabilities, LGBT, Roma and other ethnical, linguistic or religious minorities, people living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens with legal right to work in the Republic of Moldova are encouraged to apply.

Documents to be included

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

1.Proposal explaining how applicant responds to each of the qualification requirements and why he/she is the most suitable for the work. The candidates may apply for one or for both of these positions (Consultant 1 and/or Consultant 2), which will be clearly stipulated in the application letter.

2.CV including records on past experience in similar projects/assignments and concrete outputs obtained.

3.Referring to experience requirement, the following evidence must be presented together with the application package:

a) list of the last 3 contracts in which the Consultant was involved in the last 5 years and his/her role in them

b) list of local development policy documents, indicating the district/municipality/community, year of elaboration and link to the documents or documents itself (electronic version in .pdf format)

c) list of the last 3 facilitated events/trainings

d) the last strategy elaborated for a district or region

4.Financial proposal - in USD, specifying a total lump sum amount and the number of anticipated working days, incorporated in the Offeror’s Letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) assignment.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount. The payment for services will be made post factum on a lump-sum deliverables basis, as per contract, after the work has been accepted by the Programme Manager. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of offers, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including fee per day, mobile phone costs, number of anticipated working days, etc.).