UNDP Moldova

EU4MD/ One (1) National Consultant for capacity building of LPAs in Cahul focal region in project management, monitoring and evaluation.

Vacancy Number: Pr22/02570

Location:	Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline:	13 Sep 2022, 16:00 (GMT+3:00)
Application Extended deadline:	20 Sep 2022, 16:00 (GMT+3:00)
Application Extended deadline:	27 Sep 2022, 16:00 (GMT+3:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	18 Oct 2022
Reference to the project:	EU4Moldova: Focal regions
Expected Duration of Assignment:	October - December 2022 (estimated volume up to 30 working days)
Submission Instructions: Description of the assignment: One (1) National Consultant for capacity building of LPAs in Cahul focal region in project management, monitoring and evaluation Project name: EU4Moldova: Focal Regions Programme (EU-funded) Period of assignment/services: October - December 2022 (estimated volume up to 30 working days) Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 13 September 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

Contacts:

Ms. Victoria Josan.

victoria.josan@undp.org

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:

To strengthen transparency, accountability of local public authorities and people’s participation in local governance processes in the focal regions.
To improve citizens' access to quality public services and utilities in the pilot focal regions.
To create employment opportunities for men and women in the focal regions and improve the attractiveness of the pilot regions for investors and entrepreneurs.
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.

Specific context

In September - October 2021, thirty hours of training in project writing and management were organized and conducted in Cahul region with the support of the EU4Moldova: Focal Regions Programme. The training courses were addressed to representatives of local public authorities and had the purpose to strengthen the capacities of LPA representatives in writing funding applications to attract financial resources from external funds. A total of 30 participants took part in the training courses. The training topics covered: (i) general aspects of project writing and management; (ii) what is a project and what it is not; (iii) what is a project proposal; (iv) what are the stages of the project writing process; (v) how to fill in a funding application; (vi) what are the best methods applicable in the project writing process; (vii) planning actions, results, sustainability of projects; (viii) Logical Framework Matrix; (ix) project budget; (x) useful tips and concrete examples of project proposals, etc. The training courses had a great impact, for example, the local public authorities of Cahul district submitted 31 project proposals for funding under the "European Village" Programme launched in March this year, ranking second by the number of projects submitted. Cahul district was surpassed only by Ialoveni district, which submitted with 2 more applications than Cahul district. Out of 31 project proposals submitted by LPAs from Cahul district, 23 projects were selected for funding and implementation.

In project management practice, once the project is approved and funding is secured, the most important phase of the project - Implementation, is carried out. Project implementation is actually carrying out what is planned in the project proposal using the financial resources planned in the budget. The biggest management challenges in the implementation phase are: (i) team building and human resources management; (ii) organisation and coordination of implementation; (iii) making optimal decisions in real time; (iv) maintaining contacts with partners; (v) meeting the objectives and purpose of the project; (vi) managing risks and any unforeseen challenges/situations that may arise; (vii) monitoring and evaluation.

Project implementation also involves: (i) organising tendering procedures; (ii) concluding works/services contracts, procurement of goods and works. Proper and integral management of the project budget is another major challenge for LPAs in implementing externally funded projects. Continuous monitoring of the activities under implementation as well as regular and final evaluation of the project implementation are also important. Under these conditions, tools and techniques are needed for good project implementation, including: (i) skills, knowledge and abilities; (ii) formal or informal organisational procedures, useful during project execution; (iii) experience, partnership relationships and a lot of flexibility to develop new capacities.

These aspects were requested to be developed by LPA representatives from Cahul focal region, therefore, through this assignment, the Programme aims to contribute the capacity building activities in the field of project implementation management, monitoring and evaluation.

Scope of work

EU4Moldova: Focal Regions Programme seeks to contract 1 (one) qualified and experienced National Consultant to provide training and consultancy services for capacity building of representatives of local public authorities in Cahul focal region in the field of externally funded projects’ implementation management, monitoring, and evaluation.

1 (one) National Consultant specialised in project implementation, management, monitoring, and evaluation will work individually, based on the methodology to be developed at the beginning of the activities and approved by the Programme.

The overall objective of the consultancy is to conceptualize, organize and conduct a training course (5 sessions) that will contribute to the capacity development of representatives of local public authorities from Cahul focal region in the field of project implementation management, monitoring and evaluation.

For the current assignment, the National Consultant will:

Develop the methodology and work plan for the organisation of the training;
Ensure an innovative approach to assigned tasks;
Coordinate in advance the activities with the Programme, in particular regarding the interaction with stakeholders to plan and validate activities and outputs, collect and consider their recommendations for improvement;
Perform tasks to a high standard of training and consultancy;
Draft activity reports, conclusions and recommendations for similar actions organised by the Programme.

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

Requirements for experience

Academic Qualifications:

University degree in public administration, management, law, economics, sociology or other related fields. A Master's degree is considered an advantage.

Years of experience:

At least 5 years of practical experience in writing and managing local development projects (strategic planning, participatory monitoring and evaluation of local development strategies, local public administration).
At least 3 contracts similar to this contract in terms of scope and tasks addressed (proof: the list of the last 3 contracts in which the Consultant was involved in the last 5 years and the role therein must be submitted with the application package).
Experience in facilitating training sessions and delivering consultancy and support services in the field of project writing and management (proof: the list of last 3 facilitated trainings must be submitted with the application package).
Relevant experience in implementing local development projects (proof: the list of the last 3 projects implemented must be submitted with the application package, indicating project title, period, budget, applicant).
Previous experience of working with UN agencies and/or international organisations, and/or EU/donor funded development projects/programmes would be an advantage.

Competencies:

Demonstrated teamwork skills, excellent planning and organizational skills.
Interpersonal, decision-making, initiative and creativity skills.
Ability to analyse, plan, communicate effectively, organise and deliver expected results, adapt to different environments (cultural, economic, political and social).
Ability to achieve results and deadlines on time while maintaining high quality standards.
MS Office knowledge and command, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
Fluent knowledge of Romanian and Russian. Knowledge of English would be an advantage.

The United Nations Development Programme in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women and men, persons with different types of disabilities, LGBT, Roma and other ethnic, linguistic 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. Please specify in your CV if you belong to any of the group(s) under-represented[1] in the UN Moldova and/or the area of assignment.

Documents to be included

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

Proposal explaining how applicant responds to each of the qualification requirements and why he/she is the most suitable for the work.
CV including records on past experience in similar projects/assignments and concrete outputs obtained.
Referring to experience requirement indicated in point 3 above, the following evidence must be presented together with the application package:

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

b) the list of last 3 facilitated trainings in the field of project writing and management;

c) list of the last 3 local development projects.

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, transportation costs, etc.).

Travel

This contract is an activity that has to be done remotely (from office/home) with the possibility of making trips to the territory (at least 7 trips to Cahul mun.), taking into consideration the epidemiological conditions. All the costs for the eventual trips to and from contract location (Cahul) shall be the responsibility of the consultant, thus the transportation costs shall be included in the consolidated financial offer.

The expenses relating to ensuring the hygienic-sanitary conditions (if the meetings take place with physical presence (masks, gloves, disinfectant) shall be covered by the organizers and Programme.

Individual contractor who is over 62 years of age will be required, prior to contract signature, to undergo full medical examination and obtain medical clearance from an UN-approved doctor or his/her own preferred physician. The medical examination shall be issued and submitted to UNDP Moldova upon request.

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