UNDP Jobs - 16484- Consultant: Expert (Public Finance)

Consultant: Expert (Public Finance) - Free Access to Information and Personal Data Protection

Location :

Belgrade, SERBIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

31-May-2010

Application Deadline :

23-May-10 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

On call assignments in the period June 2010 - December 2011

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

Purpose

The purpose of the national/international consultancy is to provide expertise and support to Commissioner's office in:
capacity development of office staff and public entities including trainings
policy advice and support to analysis of relevant legislation including harmonization with EU standards (acquis)
communication/outreach and advocacy
mentoring and coaching of staff in identified areas
enhancement of international co-operation, exchange of knowledge and networking
advice in improving internal and external work processes and procedures

Objective

The objective is to improve the capacity of the Office of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection in implementation of Freedom of Information Act and Personal Data Protection Act.

Background Information

The Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms in Public Finance project is funded by the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and implemented by the UNDP Serbia.

The project will last 24 months with four main outputs:

Output 1 – Upgrading and enhancing transparency the Public Procurement System The activities under this output will: support Public Procurement Office (PPO) in implementation of Public Procurement Law and upgrade and monitoring of Public Procurement System. The activities are aimed at supporting PPO in process of certification of civil servants for PP (provision of the new PP law), strengthening regional ties between PP authorities in SE Europe, upgrading PP on local level (3 pilot municipalities) through provision of professional services and training of municipal staff, PPO outreach to purchasing entities and private sector, independent monitoring of PP system performance by Transparency Serbia (4 rounds of surveys) with support of UNDP Global Capacity Development Centre for Public Procurement in Copenhagen, and Feasibility study for introduction and promotion of CSR into PP by laws.

Output 2 – Efficient Implementation of laws[1] within competency of office of within competency of office of Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data protection enabled;
The activities under this output will: support Commissioner's office in training and continuous coaching of the responsible national institutions in implementation of above mentioned laws, capacity development actions for Commisioner's office staff, strengtening regional ties between sister institutions in SE Europe, outreach and communication of Commissioner's office and providing policy advice to Commissioner's office in identified areas, strengthening ties with parliament.

Output 3 –State Audit Institution capacity to produce audit reports enhanced;
This output will provide training and coaching/ mentoring for SAI staff in identified areas based on assessment, assisting SAI in developing communication strategy, strengtening regional ties between sisters' institutions in SE Europe policy advice and support to SAI in process of certification of auditors.

Output 4 – CSO and media capacity developed to actively participate in control and monitoring of use of public funds.
Activities under this component envisages extensive capacity development actions for media (target groups are younger journalist from interior of Serbia and Belgrade) and CSOs dealing with anti-corruption/public finance. These will be followed by the call for proposals for grants aimed at supporting initiatives for greater transparency of use of public funds on local level

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[1] Freedom of Information Act adopted ( 2004); Personal Data Protection Act (2008)

Duties and Responsibilities

UNDP Serbia invites applications from qualified international and national experts in order to establish a roster of consultants to work on various consultancy assignments in Serbia in the framework of the above mentioned Programme, output 2. The specific tasks and outputs for each consultancy will be defined in separate ToRs.
All outputs provided by the consultant will be reviewed and approved in terms of quality and validity by UNDP Programme Manager and national counterpart ( Commissioner's Office).

Competencies

Functional competencies:

At least one of the following skills should be presented:

Expertise in capacity development, trainings, including development of training curricula, coaching, mentoring, lecturing, policy development, legislation drafting, institutional development, programming, comparative and other research, peer review, negotiations with public or private stakeholders, monitoring and evaluation, preparing or editing of articles, books, research papers, toolkits, guides, manuals, methodologies, analytical documents, policy papers and notes, project documents, baseline studies, desk reviews, comparative studies.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

University degree in fields relevant to the assignment; Advanced degree (Master or PhD) in relevant field is preferable, but is not required;

Work experience

A minimum of 5 years of experience in initiatives related to the following areas: free access to information, personal data protection, public finance, anticorruption, administrative law, public administration reform, harmonization with EU standards (acquis), audit, procurement and regulatory issues, public relations, media, journalism and communications
Experience in the international development project implementation and monitoring would be an asset;
Existence of published and developed knowledge products such as books, articles, research papers, toolkits, guides, methodologies, analytic documents, policy papers and notes, project documents, baseline studies, desk reviews, comparative studies etc would be an asset

Languages:

Fluency in either English and/or Serbian
Computer skills\
IT literacy

Application Procedure:

The following are steps for on-line application:

Submit the application through the UNDP Serbia Jobs website: http://www.undp.org.rs/?event=public.jobs
Upload completed and signed Personal History Form (P.11) in the required resume field. The P.11 form can be downloaded from: http://www.undp.org.rs/download/P11_SC_SSA.doc);
The short-listed candidates, only, would be requested to submit a letter of interest including a price quotation for the tasks envisaged in the ToR.

Additional Information:

Special Service Agreement (SSA) will be applicable for individual consultants applying in their own capacity. If the applicant is employed by any legal entity, the SSA would be issued upon submission of a Consent letter from the employer acknowledging the engagement with the UNDP. A template of the SSA with General Terms and Conditions can be found on: http://www.undp.org.rs/download/SSA_Contract%20with%20General%20Terms%20and%20Conditions.doc
Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) will be applicable for applicants employed by any legal entity that cannot provide a Consent letter from the employer for engagement with the UNDP. A template RLA with General Terms and Conditions can be found on: http://www.undp.org.rs/download/RLA%20with%20General%20Terms%20and%20Conditions.doc
In the case of engagement of Civil servants under SSA contract modality, a Letter of release and unpaid leave by the Government entity is required.

Important information to applicants:

Please note that during the selection process it is envisaged to select a number of candidates for the roster of candidates. These candidates will be contracted when needed during the project duration.