UNDP Jobs - 50945- International Consultant to Deliver a 3 day Course

International Consultant to Deliver a 3 day Course on the International Experience Drafting the Legislative Acts

Location :

Home Based (9 days) and a Mission to Turkmenistan (6 days), TURKMENISTAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

06-Nov-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

A total of 15 working days with 6 working days in country

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

A total of 15 working days with 6 working days in country

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

In 2008 Turkmenistan started to create new legal framework for the governance of the country with adoption of the new Constitution that, among other things, created an elected, unicameral Parliament (Mejlis), consisting of 125 Members of Parliament (MPs), a Chairperson and a Deputy Chairperson and 5 (five) parliamentary committees (hereinafter “committees). The number of committees has expanded from 5 (five) to 8 (eight) by the decision of the Parliament in its session in January 20141. As defined in the Constitution and the Law on the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, one of the main functions of Mejlis is “Enacting laws, making amendments and additions to the Constitution and other laws, monitoring their implementation and their interpretation” (Article 63 of the Constitution of Turkmenistan). The above mentioned “law making” function being the main work of the Committees of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, the management of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan wishes to further strengthen capacity of its parliamentary committees through the consultations with the international consultant experienced in the work of parliamentary committees.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UNDP Project Manager, the international consultant shall be tasked to complete the following tasks, including:

To design and to deliver a 3 (three) day course on the “International experience of drafting the legislative acts”; and
To develop a “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”;
To develop a “Handbook for the methodology of law making for members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan” and to provide samples of similar publications/handbooks on the methodology of law making;
Produce the final report for the management of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan providing overall further recommendations related to the strengthening of the capacities of the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, including (as annexes);
The final proposed draft of the “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”;
The final proposed draft of the “Handbook for the methodology of law making for members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”.

Note 1 – expected contents of the Course, the Handbook and the Plan for capacity development – it is expected that while the course on the “International experience of drafting the legislative acts” shall present a thorough review of the theory, foundations and international experience and practice of parliamentary law making (to the extent possible in a 3-day course), the “Handbook for the methodology of law making” shall be in the form of a document on internal procedures in law making. The course will be attended by a large number of MPs and staff, while the handbook will be developed mostly in consultation with the staff of the committees.

The handbook shall not cover proposed capacity development in law making (rather it is a document on internal procedures in law making), while a consultant shall also advise on what further specific capacity development is needed in law making area (“Law making capacity development plan”).

Note 2 - Human Rights and Gender Mainstreaming in parliamentary work - In fulfilling the above mentioned tasks, the consultant shall, to the extent technically possible, bring examples of the international practice of application of principles of Human Rights and Gender Mainstreaming in parliamentary law-making, oversight and representation.

Key Outputs and Deliverables Expected:

Consultant is expected to deliver the following deliverables:

Preparation – Five (5) working days prior to the start of the field mission, the consultant shall provide to the UNDP Project Manager (in Russian language, if so requested), the following materials:

Methodology and preliminary programme of the seminar;
Final drafts of the hand-outs and presentation materials;
At least 3 (three) sample procedures for law making in parliaments in other countries (the choice of countries shall be proposed by the consultant at the application stage to be agreed upon by the Project Team and the Mejlis of Turkmenistan);
Preliminary draft (sample) of the “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”;
Preliminary draft (sample) of the “Handbook for the methodology of law making for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”.

Note 3 – Preparations of the drafts of the outline of the Course and the Handbook – there are plenty of good samples (even in Russian) of both the course and the handbook on law making, available on internet, which the consultant is free to use and he (she) does not have to develop those documents from scratch. The samples will be agreed upon between the consultant and the Project Manager.

Note 4 - Information for the mission preparation - To assist the consultant with the preparation for the assignment, the UNDP project staff will provide the consultant with the following documentation 10-15 (ten-fifteen) working days prior to the start of the assignment:

Project Document (English/Russian);
Constitution of Turkmenistan (English/Russian);
Law on the Mejlis of Turkmenistan (English/Russian);
Rules of Procedure of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan (Russian);
Training needs assessment report prepared by Jens Adser Sorensen (English/Russian);
Textbook on law making methodology as a suggested base for the training course (Russian);
The speech of the President of Turkmenistan to the Mejlis in January 2014 (English/Russian);

Note 5 - Additional information might be provided upon if requested and if such information is available, however it is the responsibility of the consultant to procure all other information, necessary for producing the required deliverables from the publicly available sources (internet) or to develop it based on his own experience in parliamentary work.

Taining course - the consultant shall conduct a training course on the methodology of law making (with the duration of minim of 3 (three) days (with the duration of 5.5-6 (five and a half or six hours of teaching), including 2 (two) coffee breaks of 15 minutes each and lunch break of 1 (one) hour. The number of participants in the seminar is expected to be circa 40-50 individuals;
Development of a the “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan” - based on his own work experience and through discussions with the staff of the committees of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, the consultant shall develop a “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan” covering, inter alia– future recommended trainings in law making methodology; and
Proposed measures for strengthening the organizational capacity of the committees, all with a view of strengthening the committees’ capacity in (a) law making, (b) oversight, (c) representation and (d) relations with the electorate;
Development of the “Handbook for the methodology of law making for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan” - the consultant shall develop and propose to the management of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan a draft “Handbook for the methodology of law making for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”. The draft shall correspond to the best known international practices in this field (as known to the consultant) and shall cover the full process from the preparation of the drafts of the laws all the way to their adoption, must describe main principles of the law making techniques and methodologies, a glossary and references to the materials that have been used.

Note 6 - To achieve the tasks “3” and “4” the consultant shall be accorded meetings with the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan. However, should such meetings not be accorded (or less meetings accorded than expected), the consultant shall develop the required deliverables “3” and “4” purely based on his own experience, without discussions with the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, i.e. shall develop “typical or sample or standard” “Handbook for the methodology of law making for members and staff of parliaments” and “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of parliaments”. The applicability of such “typical” proposals shall be decided upon by the management of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan independently from the results of the mission.

Final report – within 10-15 (ten-fifteen) working days upon the completion of the field mission, the consultant shall produce the final report for the management of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan with further recommendations related to the strengthening of the law making capacities of the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, and including - final versions of the “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan” and “Handbook for the methodology of law making for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”.

Deliverables and timeframe:

Preparation of the course program, materials for the training course, search and review of the best international samples for the “Handbook for the methodology of law making for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan” and for the “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”, Home based, 4 days;
Conduct the training course as per these TORs, Field work, 3 days;
Development of the drafts and proposals for the “Handbook for the methodology of law making for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan” and for the “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”, Field work, 3 days;
The final report for the management of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan with further recommendations related to the strengthening of the law making capacities of the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan, and including as Annexes - final versions of the “Law making capacity development plan for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan” and “Handbook for the methodology of law making for the members and staff of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan”,Home based, 5 days.

Note 7 - Since the contract is a lump sum against the deliverables and not for days spent, the number of days spent on deliverables “1” and “4” is indicative. The days of the mission to Turkmenistan (a total of 5-6 days) will need to be agreed upon by the UNDP Project Manager, currently planned for the 1st decade (01st – 10th) of December 2014.

Payment Conditions
This is a lump sum contract that should include all costs required to produce the above deliverables (including, without limitation, airfare, accommodation, per diems, printing materials, medical insurance, other expenses, etc.). The payment shall be released via a bank transfer in two installments - 40% (forty percent) 10 (ten) working days upon completion of the deliverables “1”, “2” and “3” and 60% (sixty percent) 10 (ten) working days upon completion of the deliverable “4”, from the table V “Deliverables and timeframe” and in all cases – upon timely submission of respective deliverables and their formal written acceptance by the UNDP Project Manager.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

Good knowledge of and experience working with national parliaments;
Excellent training, facilitation, presentation and communication skills;
Results driven, ability to work under pressure and to meet required deadlines;
Good understanding and practice of capacity development;
Diplomatic skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Graduate diploma in law, government administration or political science.

Experience:

At least 7 years of work experience related to work of parliamentary committees;
Detailed knowledge of work of parlianentary committees in other countries;
Proven experience in working on short-term parliamentary development projects;
Proven experience in delivering training courses to senior government officials.

Language:

Fluency in Russian language will be considered a strong asset for this assignment, while for applicants speaking fluent Russian, the knowledge of English is not mandatory.

The UNDP project staff reserves the right to test the candidate’s Russian language proficiency (via a Skype call).

Submission of applications

Note 8 - Interested candidates may contact the UNDP Project manager (N. Durdyklychev at nazarkuli.durdyklychev@undp.org), for further clarifications related to this assignment, which shall be accorded at the sole discretion of the UNDP Project manager, but shall not, whether oral or written, constitute a change or amendment to the nature, content or form of these Terms of reference.

Interested candidates shall provide the following information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable candidate for the assignment, clearly stating the candidate’s availability for the field mission to Turkmenistan in the first decade (01st to 10th) of December 2014. Candidates who are not available in the indicated period, can still apply clearly stating their availability for a mission to Turkmenistan until the end of the first quarter 2015;
Detailed CV in Word format, listing the educational and work experience related qualifications as well as a minimum 5 (five) reference persons;
Methodology of how the candidate intends to carry out the tasks detailed in the TORs;
Financial proposal: All applicants shall submit a detailed, carefully considered and justified financial statement based on a lump sum, but specifying (1) a daily fee for the consulting tasks and (2) other possible expenses (including per diems, accommodation, vaccinations, travel to and from the mission, etc.);
Filled P11 form with past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (can be downloaded http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc ).

Evaluation Criteria

Only the successful candidate shall be contacted by the UNDP Team.

The candidates shall be evaluated against a combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum score is 100. Out of the maximum score, the score for technical criteria is 70% (maximum 70 points), and for financial criteria 30% (maximum 30 points). Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

The technical evaluation (70% or max 70 points) will take into account the following as per the scoring:

Education background – 5 points;
Fluency in Russian language – 20 points;
Work experience in the parliamentary committees of other countries – 25 points;
The experience in preparig and delivering courses for the national parliaments – 25 points;

Additional requirements for recommended contractor:

UNDP may request a selected consultant to undergo a medical examination including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. Such medical examination is to be cleared by the UN physicians, and shall be paid by the consultant.