Emplois au PNUD - 55140- Consultant/Trainer in EU Law and Legal Approximati

Consultant/Trainer in EU Law and Legal Approximation

Lieu :

Strengthening the System of Parliamentary Democracy, GEORGIE

Type de contrat :

Individual Contract

Date de commencement :

Date limite de candidature :

06-Apr-15 (Minuit New York, États-Unis)

Niveau du poste :

International Consultant

Durée du contrat initial

Langues requises :

Anglais

Durée prévue de la mission :

Up to 50 days in April – November 2015

Le PNUD s’engage à recruter un personnel divers en termes de genre, de nationalité et de culture. Nous encourageons de même les personnes issues des minorités ethniques, des communautés autochtones ou handicapées à postuler. Toutes les candidatures seront traitées dans la plus stricte confidentialité. Le PNUD ne tolère pas l’exploitation et / ou les atteintes sexuelles, ni aucune forme de harcèlement, y compris le harcèlement sexuel, et / ou toutes formes de discrimination. Tous/tes les candidats/tes selectectionnes /ées devront ainsi se soumettre à de rigoureuses vérifications relatives aux références fournies ainsi qu’à leurs antécédents.

Historique

A new important milestone has been reached in terms of Georgia’s European integration – Georgia signed the Association Agreement (AA) including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) component with the European Union on 27 June 2014, in Brussels, followed with the ratification of the document by the Parliament of Georgia on 18 July 2014. While the signing of the AA/DCFTA opens up new prospects for Georgia, it also calls for the country’s strong commitment to reforms. More particularly, it sets forth a new framework for the political and economic relationship between the European Union and Georgia through intensification of legislative harmonization agenda.

The Georgian Government has already approved the EU-Georgia Association Agenda for 2014-2016 and the DCFTA Action Plan for 2014-2017. In this context, the role of the Parliament of Georgia is crucial to provide a qualified contribution into the process, particularly in terms of securing effective legal approximation process and overseeing Government’s progress in implementing AA/DCFTA obligations.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its project “Strengthening the System of Parliamentary Democracy in Georgia” is aimed at establishing the Georgian Parliament as a credible institution with an essentially greater role in national policy-making and European integration.

Activity 3.1 of the Project Document provides for a comprehensive capacity development support to the Committee on European Integration of the Parliament based upon a preliminary needs assessment. The support is provided through a variety of activities including intensive and interactive trainings courses for parliamentary staff, workshops, on-job consultancies, study visits to the EU Member States and other.

To support the Committees with the above, UNDP Project is announcing a tender to contract international consultant/trainer in EU Law and Legal Approximation.

Devoirs et responsabilités

The requested capacity development support is aimed at improving the overall functioning of the Committee on European Integration and the specific functioning of its staff members (around 15 persons) in order to carry out their tasks in the areas of legal approximation and government oversight. The proposed activities closely follow the Capacity Development Plan which has been elaborated based on the Needs Assessment Report of the Committee on European Integration – both documents prepared within the frames of the UNDP Project. The documents provide recommendations for the improvement of the Committee’s functioning and refer to necessary actions to upgrade staff practices, human resources and instruments for sustained information flow and outreach towards the EU institutions.

It is expected that as a result of the capacity development support, the role of the Parliament in the European integration process will be enhanced. More particularly, the professional skills of the Committee staff will be developed and translated into improved performance of their tasks, enabling the Committee to exercise its legal approximation and oversight function.

Under the overall supervision of the UNDP Project Manager and in close cooperation with the Committee on European Integration of the Parliament of Georgia, the Consultant/Trainer shall perform the following tasks and activities divided into seven different outputs:

Output1. Workshop for the Members of Parliament and the Staff on the implementation of the Association Agreement.

Duration: one day; Implementation period: April 2015

The aim of the workshop is to familiarize members of the Parliamentary Committees and their staff in a concise, yet detailed fashion, with obligations resting on Georgia and the law approximation effort that will be part of it. The aim is to familiarize the parliamentary representatives with obligations resting on Georgia and the law approximation effort that will be part of it. The briefing shall cover the following topics: (a) Association Agreement and obligation to approximate Georgian law with EU acquis, and (b) Dynamic approximation: impact on the Government and Parliament.

Output 2. General training on law approximation.

Duration: five days; Implementation period: April 2015

The above workshop (Output 1) shall be followed by the general training on law approximation. The objective of this training is to provide the staff of the Committee, particularly the lawyers, with fundamental skills necessary for law approximation effort. During the first part of the training the basics of law approximation shall be presented. This shall be followed by the second part devoted to practical exercises.

Output 3. Training on EU databases and Manual on EU information databases.

Duration: Training - two days, Manual development - 10 days;Implementation period: May-June 2015.

The aim of a two-day training is to provide a general overview and characteristics of EU-related information needed, for a variety of purposes, at the Georgian Parliament. This knowledge will be crucial to increase research capacities of the staff of the Committee as well as information services it is due to provide to the general public. During this training special attention should be given to practical exercises focusing on searching for EU legal information as well as the laws of EU Member States. The official website of the European Union shall be presented in detail, as well as the other major information sources.

Besides, the consultant/trainer shall prepare a user friendly manual on EU databases, which will be used during the training and also made available for the general public.

Output 4. Training on preparation of tables of concordance and compliance checking.

Duration: five days; Implementation period: June 2015

The training shall focus on technicalities of the law approximation process. Tables of concordance are indispensable tools for approximation as they allow assessment of gaps between the national legislation and EU acquis. Since the future task of the lawyers working for the Committee on European Integration is to conduct compatibility check of the legislation at the parliamentary stage of the legislative process, it is of vital importance that they are properly trained on the subject.

Output 5. Preparation of a Comprehensive Law Approximation Manual.

Duration: 20 days; Implementation period: July-October 2015.

The Consultant shall prepare a detailed law approximation manual which will be later used by the staff of the Committee and also made available to the governmental institutions. The manual shall cover topics such as: - law approximation (legal basis for approximation, general requirements and deadlines for approximation, etc.); - sources of EU Law and their implementation methods (primary and secondary law, general principles of EU law, approximation tools and techniques, etc.); - choice of the right legal instrument of approximation.

The Consultant shall present the manual to the Committee upon its completion.

Output 6. Training for the Parliament’s Public Relations Department on EU and EU integration-related issues.

Duration: two days; Implementation period: October 2015.

The Public Relations Department is the main communications unit of the Parliament. The Department ensures the transparency of parliamentary activities and promotes citizen engagement in legislative work. As the European integration is the primary foreign policy direction of Georgia, where the Parliament has its role to play, it is essential that the citizens are provided with accurate information on the on-going developments in this direction. Hence, the respective knowledge and capacities of the Department staff are paramount for reaching the above objective.

In view of this, the Consultant will be asked to deliver a two-day targeted training for the staff of the Public Relations Department (around 30 staff members). The training shall be divided into several sessions, covering topics such as: EU history and institutional overview, EU-Georgia partnership framework, communicating AA/DCFTA to the public (best tools and mechanisms to provide information, formulate messages, create accurate expectations, etc.).

Output 7. Revision and Update of the Committee Capacity Development Plan for 2016.

Duration: three days ; Implementation period: October-November 2015.

By the end of the capacity building activities, the Consultant will be asked to review the Committee Capacity Development Plan for 2016 and upgrade it to reflect the Committee’s needs and professional development gaps, considering the capacity development work already undertaken in 2015 and the challenges facing the Committee at that moment in terms of legal harmonization, government oversight and public outreach.

Indicative Timing (Tentative):

Output 1 and Output 2 in April 2015;
Output 3 and Output 4 in June 2015;
Output 5 and Output 6 in October 2015;
Output 7 in November 2015.

Deliverables:

Workshop for the Members and the Staff on the implementation of the Association Agreement;
General training on law approximation;
Training on EU databases and Manual on EU information databases;
Training on preparation of tables of concordance and compliance checking;
Preparation of a Comprehensive Law Approximation Manual;
Training for the Parliament’s Public Relations Department on EU and EU integration-related issues;
Revision and Update of the Committee Capacity Development Plan for 2016.

Evaluation:

Offerors will be evaluated against a combination of technical and financial criteria. Technical evaluation criterion is composed of a desk review and an interview. Offerors obtaining minimum 29 points as a result of the desk review will be short listed and invited for a written test. Offerors obtaining minimum 7 points for a written test will be short listed and invited for an interview. Offerors obtaining minimum of 15 points as a result of the interview (i.e. minimum of 51 points out of 70 obtainable in the technical criteria) will be considered qualified and requested to provide financial proposal for the assignment.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount.

Payment Modality:

The Consultant will be paid a lump sum in four installments upon successful completion of the deliverables according to the following scheme:

20% in April: Output 1 and Output 2 (Total of 6 training days; up to 8 days visit to Georgia);
35% in June: Output 3 and Output 4 (Total of 7 training days; up to 9 days visit to Georgia and total of 10 days for manual preparation - home-based);
35% in October: Output 5 and Output 6 (Total of 2 training days - up to 5 days visit to Georgia and total of 20 days for manual preparation and any other consultancy days (if needed);
10 % in November: Output 7 (Total of 3 days - home-based).

Compétences

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.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent intercultural, moderation, facilitation and negotiation skills;
Builds strong relationships with stakeholders, focuses on impact and result and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
Demonstrates strong oral communication skills;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education:

At least Master’s/LLM Degree in Law (minimum qualification criteria: 5 points).

Experience:

At least 10 years of working experience as an officer and/or consultant for the parliament/government at national and/or international level with the special focus on European affairs and EU integration (minimum qualification criteria: 7 points; more than 10 years - additional 3 points);
At least 7 years of experience in approximation of the domestic legislation with the EU acquis (minimum qualification criteria: 10 points; more than 7 years - additional 5 points);
At least 5 years’ working experience in delivering trainings/seminars on legal harmonization (minimum qualification criteria: 7 points; more than 5 years - additional 5points);
Working experience in the EU Member States of 2004, 2007 and/or 2013 accession wave is an asset;
Familiarity with Georgia’s EU integration agenda is an asset;
Knowledge of the role and functions of different government institutions, and specifically parliaments, in the process of EU integration.

Languages:

Fluency in English.