Background

Since 2003, the Government and the people of Iraq have embarked on a challenging transition in their history.  Indeed, Iraq has departed from the unitary centralistic state model to a federal structure that allows for more equitable and balanced growth. The government of Iraq realized that such challenging transition requires intensive efforts to reform out dated systems and procedures in the day-to-day government work, mainly in public sector. As a result of that, the government has adopted a Public Administration Reform road-map for the period of 2014 -2018.

One of the identified Implementation Strategies in this road-map, was the Modernization of Public Financial Management (PFM) which includes:

• Review the financial administration bill and accelerate its legislation to enable the adoption of modern principles in the preparation of state budget;
• Research current public budgeting approaches used in other countries and adopt the appropriate approach for Iraq accordingly.
• Adopt modern budgeting methodologies to address current and future needs for Iraq;
• Adopt advanced accounting methods;
• Adopt a mechanism that provides reliable monthly data to facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of public budget;
• Develop accountability systems and procedures for budget execution.

On the other hand, a need was identified to prioritize the capacity development of local governments in financial management and allocation in accordance with the needs of local communities, as well as updated service delivery tools and technology to enhance the integrity, transparency and accountability at local level. Such need is directly linked with the whole of government’s trend toward the decentralization approach in management and development of local communities.

Objectives/Purpose of the Assignment

UNDP is aiming to support the local government in Basra to enhance and modernize the PFM system in the governorate and transfer it from its existing structure to more efficient, transparent and modern structure through introducing a state-of-art-technology in this field. The objective of the assignment is to review and analysis the existing PFM system in the governorate and provide entry points for possible enhancement. This development intervention shall be made in close collaboration and coordination with the local bodies in the governorate.

In light of above, and pursuant to the preliminary objective of this assignment, the proposed intervention shall be started with series of consultative meetings and workshops with relevant local government entities and officials. It will also lead to identify current shortfalls, obstacles and challenges with the PFM system in the governorate that shall support proposing a framework of action and focused implementation strategy that would be concurrent with results reached from consultations.

Henceforth, the assignment will have the following specific objectives:

• Review the as-is situation of PFM practices and identify the shortfalls and obstacles related to that and identify local point/task force;
• Analyze the findings and related challenges that are incorporated with the required change to a modern PFM system;
• Consensually agree on a common vision and specific scope of PFM system reform within the local government and pinpoint required institutional and legal tools and frameworks;
• Research for possible solutions to enhance the existing system that significantly change it to efficient, modernized and highly beneficial automated system that assure reliable and consistent financial transactions and data follow and reporting.

Estimate the cost of required change that includes:

• The software solution application and its licenses (if applicable);
• Infrastructure for the introduced solution;
• Capacity building and training programmes for the cadre that shall operate the proposed PFM system as well as those staff who shall administrate the system;
• Operation, maintenance and security;
• Development, research and technical support;
• Propose and design a change management framework to move from existing PFM system to the proposed solution. It shall include the capacity building and training programmes. The framework also shall include also well-defined risk management strategy and achievement / performance indicators to be assessed during and after implementation for course correction and results assessment. The mentioned framework needs to be well coordinated with the local government and agreed upon.

Methodology

The assignment shall be implemented with the support of a combined team of consultant with extensive knowledge in Public Administration and Financial Reform in post-conflict or instable settings and UNDP staff.  The consultant shall be located in Basra so as to be able to provide the local knowledge and facilitate contacts in the undertaking of the revision and assessment work.

The product would consist in an assessment/proposal report to be developed based on primary and secondary data analysis.  The forecasted methodology to be used will be based on desk reviews that shall be combined with a primary data gathering mechanism, consisting of interviews, focus groups, workshops and so on, that would target and involve relevant governmental stakeholders.

Specific methodological approaches/steps include but are not limited to:

• Perform a thorough desk review of existing materials and documentation relevant to the PFM system in Iraq;
• Support in preparing an elaboration of the adopted methodology and develop concept notes for the consultative workshops and meetings to be conducted, as well as include a more elaborate list of issues to be studied/tackled;
• Perform field assignments that would comprise a series of fact finding and consultation meetings with concerned entities at the local level, as well as federal level represented by Ministry of Finance in Baghdad;
• Collect and process information and data for the development of the assessment/proposal report first draft, which will be discussed with UNDP and finalized in preparation for the Consultative workshop with the local government in Basra.

Support in performing Consultative workshops among national counterparts and key stakeholders to agree upon and finalize the change management visioning, forecasted indicators of performance/achievement and strategy guidelines, in addition to specific outcomes and outputs, the monitoring and evaluation structure and mechanisms, as well as the implementation processes and strategies, etc;

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the leadership and direct guidance of UNDP, the consultant will be required to undertake the following tasks in support of proposing reliable and beneficial PFM system solutions to Basra Governorate.

Task 1: Perform desk reviews and develop the consultative workshops and interviews guiding questionnaires.

This would include but would not be limited to:

• Review and analyze existing PFM system in the governorate and any related documentation, reports at local and federal levels as well as other relevant resources that are available with the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad and also the World Bank reports related to PFM system in Iraq;
• Identify the shortfalls and obstacles of existing system and analyze the findings and related challenges that are incorporated with the required change to a modern PFM system. This shall include, but not limited to conduct a relationship mapping of processes, especially the disbursement process;
• Prepare guiding questionnaires for interviews and consultation meetings;
• Lead the implementation of the consultative workshops with guidance from UNDP.

Task 2: Fine-tune PFM change envisioning and devise specific intervention represented by proposing reliable and modern solution with consideration of the following:

• Verify the possibility of adoption of any proposed solution by the governorate without conflicting with the federal government, including the Ministry of Finance;
• Build consensus and national ownership of envisioned change strategy and pinpoint required legislative and procedural requirements to be undertaken by the local government. This shall include, but not limited to identifying the legal framework that can govern the proposed solution, so that the implementation goes smoothly in an environment where all legal and administrative elements are tackled properly;
• Ensure that indicators and milestones of impact at the Output, Purpose and Goal levels are measurable and updated, and verify assumptions.

Task 3: Research and propose feasible solutions to enhance the existing system by transferring it to an automated system that assure reliable and consistent financial transactions and data follow and reporting. This shall include supporting the governorate in the negotiation process with software companies on the identified system(s) that can be provided and customized to serve the purpose of improving the PFM processes.

This task shall also include estimating the cost of required change that cover:

• The cost of software solution application and its licenses (if applicable);
• The cost of required infrastructure for the introduced solution;
• The cost of capacity building and training programmes for the cadre that shall operate the proposed PFM system;
• The cost of operation, maintenance and security;
• The cost of development, research and technical support.

Task 4: Propose and design a change management framework to move from existing PFM system to the proposed solution, which shall include, but not limited to:

• Capacity building and training programmes for the relevant employees to enable them using the adopted software solution effectively;
• well-defined risk management strategy;
• achievement / performance indicators to be assessed during and after implementation.

Task 5: Prepare a detailed work plan for the implementation, including the required timeframe and sequence of activities. This shall include identification of implementing partners based on the consultative process performed and pinpoint them within the work-plan and also include the final wrap up report.

Anticipated Deliverables by the Consultant

The following are expected to be delivered against the stated tasks:

• Methodological guidelines and concept notes for national consultations (meetings and workshops);
• At least 20 consultation meetings (at local and federal levels) and 3 workshops are conducted;
• Facts finding report that includes, but not limited to, identified shortfalls and obstacles of existing system and relationship mapping of disbursement processes, in addition to briefing and preliminary conclusions of the consultative meetings/workshops with national counterparts and involved partners;
• Recommendation report on feasible alternatives that can be adopted by the governorate to change existing PFM system with efficient and effective system that can enhance the disbursement processes significantly;
• Terms of Reference for purchasing a reliable software solution;
• Cost estimate for proposed software and all change requirement;
• Brief report on negotiation process with software companies before and after the bidding process that shall be conducted by the governorate;
• Terms of Reference is completed and shared with LG and UNDP for review and feedback;
• Cost estimate is finalized;
• Brief report on negotiation process is completed;
• Capacity building and development programme including all related curriculums and guiding principles;
• Change management report tackling risks and performance indicators;
• Plan of actions report;
• Final assignment report.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Focuses on impact and results and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors, at the senior levels;
• Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Oral and written communication skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines;
• Ability to develop innovative solutions – encourage and contribute creative solutions to address challenging situations;
• Proven track record in undertaking complex and comprehensive field assessments, including national consultations;
• Proven ability to coordination with a team of international organizations and senior national stakeholders;
• High level of communication (verbal and written) and interpersonal skills and working effectively within a multi-cultural environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master degree or Equivalent in Public Financial Management or Public business administration, Finance, Accounting, Certified Public Accountant, or other related fields.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in public administration systems and/or public financial management, preferably within the Iraqi system;
• Proven experience in process re-engineering, preferable with public financial processes and software.

Language:

• Arabic and English language are must.

Important Notices:

• Application documents are published on the following link:  http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=22274;
• Applicants should complete and sign the required documents and send the scanned copies to the email
• IC1.undp.iq@undp.org by the deadline (It is a MUST to indicate the Procurement Notice Number “IRQ10/IC-
• 056/15” in the e-mail subject box);
• Any email received after deadline due to any technical problem in sending or receiving servers may be rejected;
• Applications with any missing documents or non-UNDP format may NOT be considered for evaluation;
• Applicants need to use Adobe reader, MS Word, zipping software (WinRAR) to be able to use and view the documents for this procurement notice.

Only applications submitted to the email address IC1.undp.iq@undp.org will be considered.

Any request for clarification must be sent to the following e-mail address: sherali.toshmurodov@undp.org

The Procurement Unit will respond to all queries (if any) without identifying the source of inquiry. Answers will be published on the link mentioned above.

Applications without all the required documents may be not considered.

Each email should be less than 5 MB; emails over this size will not be received to the above mentioned account.

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.