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EU4MD/Two (2) Consultants on Inter Municipal Cooperation

Vacancy Number: Pr20/02052

Location:	Cahul Municipality and Ungheni Municipality
Application Deadline:	15 Jul 2020, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Application Extended deadline:	20 Jul 2020, 16:00 (GMT+2:00)
Type of Contract:	Individual Contract
Starting date:	31 Jul 2020
Reference to the project:	EU4Moldova: Focal regions
Expected Duration of Assignment:	July – December 2020
Submission Instructions: Proposals should be submitted online by pressing the "Apply Now" button no later than 15 July 2020. Requests for clarification only must be sent by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail: liliana.caterov@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 Terms of Reference RO Individual Consultant Procurement Notice Individual Consultant Procurement Notice RO Offeror's Letter to UNDP confirming interest and availability for the individual contractor (IC) assignment UNDP General Conditions of Individual Contract

Ms. Liliana Caterov.

Background

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

The overall objective of the five-year Programme is to strengthen the economic, territorial and social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova through facilitating smart, 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 some social and technical infrastructure in selected focal regions (smaller towns and villages) while taking into account a 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.

Specific context

More than half of the population of Ungheni and Cahul lives in rural areas, where the poverty rate is three times higher than in urban areas. Most people lack access to quality basic public services. Local authorities have only limited financial means and human resources. The low standard of public services has an adverse effect on health, education and local employment opportunities, and undermines trust in public institutions.

The local public administration plays the most important role in the organization and managing public services, given that they know the most closely the needs of citizens. Unfortunately, wide range of public services are present mostly at the city level and less at the level of rural communities.

The inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) for the localities from Cahul and Ungheni focal regions could be a tool for the joint provision, in conditions of quality and efficiency, of the local public services. In fact, by joining the efforts of two or more administrative-territorial units (ATU), it will be possible to ensure the necessary premises for the organization and financing of a quality public services, given that each ATU does not have the necessary power and resources to do so. This cooperation can be both formal and informal.

Obviously, inter-municipal cooperation is not an easy option. It can be complex and risky. Therefore, it requires careful preparation. But it also has the potential to offer significant benefits to all LPAs, both large and small.

The analysis of the areas of inter-municipal cooperation in Cahul and Ungheni focal regions will provide useful elements that will contribute to:

• Increasing the awareness and informing the local public administration authorities about the benefits offered by inter-municipal cooperation.
• Stimulating the cooperation between the administrative-territorial units for increasing the quality and efficiency of the local public services, provided jointly and / or the joint realization of qualitative and viable development projects of zonal / regional interest.
• Strengthen existing inter-community development initiatives.

Through the assistance that will be provided the most important for LPA is to understand the benefits that can be achieved through inter-municipal cooperation and how they can be obtained in a reasonable way. LPAs may choose to join forces with other LPAs if this would improve their efficiency.

From this perspective it is recommended to start discussion between local authorities on identification of possible public services that can be organized and delivered based on IMC principles, clarification of opportunities for initiation of common public services that can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their provision, identification of the best solutions for organizing in common provision of range of public services such as administrative, social and communal.

Scope of work

The overall objective of the consultancy services is to facilitate the process of identification and expand the public services from the urban area to the neighboring communities through IMC instruments for improving the efficiency of service delivery in the focal regions as a precondition for improvement the service infrastructure. In this context, the Program is seeking for two (2) National Consultants to perform the services in the two focal regions[1] Cahul and Ungheni.

Expected benefits:

The team of consultants, under the overall supervision of the Project Manager /Local Development, in close cooperation with Project Officer Public Services Development and Local Coordinators in focal regions, is expected to:

• Assess IMC potential and elaborate the Study on current development of the local public services in the focal regions and IMC opportunities;
• Prioritize the List of potential local public services viable for providing through IMC and potential for receiving financing and technical assistance from the UE4Moldova: Focal regions Programme;
• Organize and conduct formal and informal negotiations (meetings, workshops and bi- multi-lateral talks) with elected representatives, managers and staff, local businesses, NGOs, and citizens;
• Prepare the drafts MoU of initiation of IMC according to the selected options by the Joint Local Working Groups;
• Support local actors to conduct awareness campaign and support on promoting IMC;
• Support local actors in institutionalizations of IMC services.

Since that initiation phase of the Inter-municipal cooperation between administrative-territorial units (especially urban-rural ones), when is needed to identify potential IMC services, to set up common understanding of benefits of cooperation, common interests of joint provision of local public service, etc., is a complex one, this activity has to be performed by a team of consultants. One responsible for legal and institutional aspects and another responsible for operational issues.

For current assignment,

• The Consultant on legal and institutional IMC issues/Team leader will coordinate the whole team’ activity, and will be responsible for aspects related to the legal and institutional analysis of process of identification of potential IMC services, preparation of all needed agreements, MoUs, drafts decisions and other juridical documents.
• The Consultant on management of IMC local public service will oversee financial, operational management, technical aspects that should be take into consideration within the extension of the public services from urban areas in rural communities using IMC approach and instruments.

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

[1] The term of ‘focal region’ is used to define the broader economic area of Cahul and Ungheni municipalities, including the adjacent rural communities (will be defined in the process).

Requirements for experience

Position 1: Consultant on legal and institutional IMC issues /Team-leader

Academic Qualifications:

• University degree in law, public administration, economics, sociology, or other relevant field.

Years of experience:

• At least 5 years of practical experience in the fields related to Inter Municipal Cooperation (law, local public administration, working with public and/or private actors);
• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience of having worked with the relevant multi-stakeholder (evidence: list of relevant institutions the Consultant has been cooperating with, including the topic and year).;
• Experience of working with UN agencies and/or international organizations, and/or European/donor funded development projects/programmes will be considered a strong asset.
• Relevant expertise in at least 2 implemented or on-going projects in the field of IMC, will be considered a strong asset.

Competencies:

• Knowledge and skills of MS Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
• Fluency in Romanian and Russian. Knowledge of English will be considered an asset.

Personal Qualities and other requirements:

• Demonstrated capacity of team-orientation work, excellent planning and organizational skills;
• Good interpersonal skills, solid judgment/decision making, initiative and creativity;
• Ability to analyse, plan, communicate effectively organize and meet expected results;
• Ability to achieve results and deadlines in a timely manner, maintaining a high standard throughout;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

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.

Position 2: Consultant on management of local IMC public services

Academic Qualifications:

• University Degree in law, public administration, public services organization and delivery, or other relevant field.

Years of experience:

• At least 5 years of practical experience in the fields related to Inter Municipal Cooperation and Management of Public Service (working with public and/or private actors);
• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience of having worked with the relevant multi-stakeholder (evidence: list of relevant institutions the Consultant has been cooperating with, including the topic and year);
• Experience of working with UN agencies and/or international organizations, and/or European/donor funded development projects/programmes will be considered a strong asset.
• Relevant expertise in at least 2 implemented or on-going projects in the field of institutional reorganization of municipal enterprises, will be considered a strong asset.

Competencies:

• Knowledge and skills of MS Office, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint;
• Fluency in Romanian and Russian. Knowledge of English will be considered an asset.

Personal Qualities and other requirements:

• Demonstrated capacity of team-orientation work, excellent planning and organizational skills;
• Good interpersonal skills, solid judgment/decision making, initiative and creativity;
• Ability to analyse, plan, communicate effectively organize and meet expected results;
• Ability to achieve results and deadlines in a timely manner, maintaining a high standard throughout;
• Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

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.

Documents to be included

Interested individuals 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;
2. CV including records on past experience in similar projects/assignments and concrete outputs obtained;
3. Evidence/list of relevant institutions the Consultant has been cooperating with, including the topic and year.
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.).

Travel

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.

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.