Background

The Government of Liberia established in October 2007 the Governance Commission (GC) in recognition of the urgent need to achieve sustainable development through democratic governance and efficient and effective delivery of public goods and services by public sector institutions. This urgency largely stems from the protracted civil conflict of 1989 to 2003 which brought the Liberian State to near collapse and the destruction of its infrastructure and national and civil institutions. The mandate areas of the Governance Commission include: (1) Political and Legal Reforms; (2) Public Sector Reforms; (3) Civic Education; (4) National Identity and National Visioning; (5) National Integrity Systems; and (6) Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Publications.

For the public sector reforms, GC is mandated to formulate and develop appropriate policies to promote and ensure effective management of public ministries, agencies, commissioners and state-owned enterprises/public corporations and appropriate structures, operational procedures, as well as the recruitment, compensation and training of staff; ensure an accountable, equitable and transparent allocation and utilization of national resources; and ensure the development of a national public integrity system. Thus, the Government views the operation of accountable, effective and efficient public sector institutions as the core of good governance; public sector reforms should be reviewed with the context of governance reform. 

The public sector reform seeks to transform the public service from its lethargic past to one that is policy focused, performance-based and result-oriented. This is essential to facilitate the achievement of sustainable development and the goals and objectives of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Government is now undertaking a number of initiatives to rebuild the public institutions and strengthen their capacities for effective and efficient performance. Under the leadership of the Governance Reform Commission (GRC), the forerunner of GC, and assessment review of the mandates, functions and organization structures of nineteen (19) ministries and three (3) central management agencies have been conducted. The findings and recommendations of the review assessment have been presented to the President of the Republic of Liberia and her Cabinet and are being reviewed by the institutions concerned. In addition, GC has prepared a draft “National Public Sector Reform Policy Statement” for government approval. It is also being reviewed by the Cabinet.

The Governance Commission has been providing leadership in undertaking the public sector reform initiatives of the Government of Liberia. With the support of UNDP and other development partners, the Government has made significant progress in the formulation of public policies and programs designed to reform public institutions and establish new key institutions such as the Liberia Anti-corruption Commission and the envisioned Land Commission.

In pursuit of its general mandate, the Commission is currently responsible to lead an inter-ministerial and agency team consisting of all of the ministries, agencies and commissions whose deliverables have been programmed under the Sub-Governance Component of Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), Pillar II: Strengthening Governance and Rule of Law. Within the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Governance Sub-Component is mandated to pursue the following national goals:

Goal One - increase and enhance citizen participation in, and ownership of government policy formulation and implementation

Goal Two - Build Effective and Efficient Institutions by reforming the structure of government and culture of citizen participation

In order to achieve these two goals, the Commission is working collaboratively with national and international partners to undertake programs that will: (a) Undertake public sector reforms including civil service reforms, (b) Decentralize Political and Social Responsibilities; (c) Build a System of National Integrity; (d) Strengthen Civil Society Participation in Governance; (e) Address Gender Inequities; and (f) Review and Revise Existing Laws, as well as, amend or revise the Liberian Constitution.

OBJECTIVES OF PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM STRATEGY
 
1.       The overall objective of the consultancy assignment is to produce a Comprehensive Public Sector Reform Strategy which will be widely validated, working closely with the Public Sector Reform Mandate Area of the Governance Commission, the Civil Service Agency, the government ministries and other agencies, and the judicial and legislative sectors as it relates to their roles in the public service reform.
 
2.       As noted in the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the broad goal of public service reform “is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public institutions, to ensure their affordability and sustainability overtime, to improve the quality and enlarge the quantity of services delivered to citizens and develop capacity to carry out core government functions”. These core functions are policy and strategic planning, coordination of program interventions, monitoring and evaluation of sector programs results and impact, as well as, ensuring accountability.
 
3.       Major objectives of the public sector reform are to:

• Validate the role and core functions of government at both the central and lower levels;
• Build institutional capacity for policy formulation, analysis and implementation toward providing high quality policy advice to government; ensure coordination and monitoring and evaluation of public sector management;
• Strengthen the human resources development and management capacities of the public sector;
• Broaden power sharing among stakeholders and their wholesome participation in public decision-making;
• Provide access to high quality service at affordable cost;
• Promote ethical values and standards which will lead to a merit-based system and ensure transparency and accountability and create a corruption free public service; and
• Support actions that strengthen the administration of justice and capacity of the Legislature to perform its oversight and other duties and functions

4.        In order to address the issues and achieve its broad goals and objectives  indicated above, the Commission  needs an extension of the services of the current national consultant (9 months)  and an international consultant (6 months) to assist GC undertake the next (first) phase of the public sector reform program.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Review relevant documents and on-going initiatives and programs on governance reforms and particularly reforms in the public sector. These include the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Draft National Public Sector Reform Statement, Recommendations on the Mandates, Functions and Organization Structures of Ministries and Agencies, Civil Service Reform Strategy (CSRS), National Decentralization and Local Governance Strategy, National Capacity Development, and National Human Capacity Development Strategy.
• Work with the GC Public Sector Reform Division (Mandate Area)  to plan and organize a Stakeholders Forum for the Development of the Public Sector Reform Strategy.
• Plan and coordinate the inputs of other professionals within the mandate areas/divisions of GC and other stakeholders to the preparation of the Strategy document.
• Develop a zero draft strategy document that outlines the objectives and broad areas of the report and identifies key risks and mitigating factors.
• Develop a validation plan and process for key stakeholder sessions.
• Work with Governance Commission Public Sector Reform Mandate Area (GCPSRMA) to conduct the validation process and documentation of the results.
• Submit to the GC a Strategy document which takes into account the results of the validation sessions and incorporates the Civil Service Reform Strategy and the envisioned National Policy for Decentralization and Local Governance and Strategy.

The PSRS document should contain: 

1. A detailed description of the reform programs to allow for development of implementation plans;
2. Key performance indicators for each reform program;
3. A monitoring and evaluation plan and a risk management strategy;
4. Institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Strategy;
5. Indicative budgets; and
6. Resource mobilization strategy.

• Conduct working sessions with key stakeholders for the finalization of Strategy and to build knowledge and establish ownership of the reform process within the public sector. 
• Hold workshops for professional staff of GC, particularly the Public Sector Division, on major implementation issues and the incorporation of the programs into work plans.

Competencies

• Extensive experience in institutional capacity building;
• Computer literacy  and an excellent knowledge of the English language (both written and spoken) and excellent   communication and presentation skills
• Expertise in the development of reform strategies in the public sector
• Experience in organization and institutional development;

Required Skills and Experience