UNDP Jobs - 64881- International Consultant on Parliamentary Oversigh

International Consultant on Parliamentary Oversight

Location :

Chisinau, MOLDOVA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

11-Apr-2016

Application Deadline :

01-Apr-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

April - August 2016 (with three missions to Moldova)

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

The “Improving the quality of Moldovan democracy through parliamentary and electoral support” Programme, Parliament Component, further on referred to as the Democracy Programme, aims to enhance parliamentary capacity in carrying out its core functions, thus contributing to viable democracy and open society in Moldova. The project adopts a comprehensive, long-term approach to parliamentary development including strengthening of the legislature law-making, representation and oversight roles.

In accordance with the constitutional rules, Parliament is the highest representative body of the people and is the sole legislative authority in the state. The parliamentary oversight function is one of the cornerstones of democracy. According to Inter-Parliamentary Union, parliamentary oversight is defined as ‘review, monitoring and oversight of government and public institutions, including implementation of policies and laws’. Oversight is a means for holding the executive accountable for its actions and for ensuring that it implements policies in an effective manner.

However, to enable the Parliament to effectively and efficiently exercise its oversight and legislative functions, it is important that the legal framework offers sufficient legal basis and adequate tools and mechanisms to do that. The Parliament of Moldova’s Rules of Procedure (RoP) and other regulations defining functions and competencies of parliamentary committees need to be adjusted to meet the present need for a comprehensive parliamentary oversight. Currently, parliamentary oversight of the government and other public authorities is limited and does not fully utilize opportunities for enhanced coordination between the Government’s agenda and the work of the Parliament. Additionally, the Parliamentary Committees that carry out the detailed scrutiny of draft legislation, oversight of government activities and ensure interaction with the public and external actors, shall have sufficient capacities to carry out their role.

In order to support the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova enhance its oversight role, the Democracy Programme is seeking to hire an international consultant on parliamentary oversight to support the work of selected parliamentary standing committees. The support will be provided in the context of parliamentary committee’s role to control and eliminate excesses of authority beyond the mandate provided by laws by the government and other public institutions, as well as ensure that government policies and actions, with focus on budgetary cycle, are both efficient and commensurate with the needs of the public. Special attention will be put to improve Parliament’s interaction with Court of Accounts when it comes to strengthening oversight capacities of the Parliament vis-à-vis management of public finances and auditing.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives

International consultant is expected to conduct an assessment of the legal framework regulating Parliament’s oversight role, offer strategic advice on its further development, and provide substantive input and design effective instruments aiming to enhance parliamentary oversight in the Republic of Moldova.

Expected results:

Selected Standing Committees’ (especially legal affairs and budget committees’) oversight and parliamentary practices related to budgetary oversight are improved based on Consultant’s advice on experiences and good practices from other parliaments;
Standing Committees’ secretaries are better able to conduct their work effectively in accordance with international best practice;
A plan for continuous development of the committee capacities and practices is designed.

In order to achieve the stated objective, the Consultant will have the following responsibilities:

Prepare a detailed work plan to be applied for respective assignment;
Assess the existing oversight practices within the Committees, focusing on the legislative and budget committees, and provide recommendations for enhancing the oversight role;
Provide support to the standing committees, with a particular focus on the Committee on Economy, Budget and Finance (CEBF), in carrying out budgetary oversight by means of enhancing the capacities of the members and staff and developing relevant documentation;
Provide guidance and analytical support to the Parliament to enhance the role and functioning of the parliamentary inquiry mechanism;
Based on the findings of the desk review and subsequent assessment of existing regulations and practices, develop a draft handbook for committees on the methods of implementing effective oversight;
Propose a Plan for continuous development of the parliamentary committees’ capacities and practices on parliamentary oversight;
Undertake three Missions to Moldova during the period of April – July 2016:

1st mission: last week of April.

2nd mission: second half of May.

3rd mission: last week of June - first week of July.

Institutional arrangements

The consultant will work under the guidance of the UNDP Parliamentary Specialist for substantive aspects of the assignment, and under the direct supervision of the Senior Project Officer – for administrative aspects. The consultant will report to the Parliament appointed representative and the Parliamentary Specialist of UNDP Democracy Programme.

The consultant will work closely with the Parliament’s senior management and Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Budget and Finance and Committee on Legal Affairs and Immunities.

All communications and documentation related to the assignment will be in English. Before submission of the deliverables, the consultant will discuss the draft documents with the parties involved (i.e. Parliament, UNDP and other stakeholders) so that final products reflect their comments.

The timeframe for the work of consultant is tentatively planned through April - August 2016. The Parliament will provide consultant with working space, access to Internet, a printer and a telephone line.

Financial arrangements: Payment will be disbursed in two instalments upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UNDP Parliamentary Specialist and UNDP Programme Manager in cooperation with the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Budget and Finance and Committee on Legal Affairs and Immunities, that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

The detailed Terms of Reference and Procurement Notice can be found http://www.undp.md/jobs/current_jobs/

Competencies

Excellent drafting and analytical skills;
Previous experience providing support to parliamentary committees in a transition country context, including experience in conducting a capacity needs assessment and review of parliamentary committee system with focus on oversight role;
Proven knowledge budgetary and oversight tools, public accounts’ oversight and related research and mechanisms available to parliament. Thorough understanding of the oversight of public spending;
Extensive knowledge and experience with public consultation tools and process and public hearings.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master degree or equivalent in social and/or political sciences, public and/or business administration, law, management, economics or related discipline.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years of relevant working experience in the area of parliamentary oversight, including budget oversight;
At least 3 years of proven experience in organizing, facilitating and conducting seminars, trainings and round tables with state institutions/agencies/organizations;
Experience within a parliamentary administration (in senior positions, such as: head of department, senior advisor etc.), or extensive experience as a parliamentarian will be a strong asset;
Experience of working in former CIS countries will be an asset.

Language:

Proficiency in English.
Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is considered an advantage.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposal:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Proposal: explaining why they are the most suitable for the work including past experience in similar Projects (please provide brief information on each of the above qualifications, item by item);
Financial proposal (LUMP SUM) in USD, specifying in a total requested amount per day, number of days needed to complete the assignment, including all related costs, travel, phone calls etc. );
Duly completed P 11 form, personal CV and at least 3 references.

Evaluation:

Initially, individual consultants will be short-listed based on the following minimum qualification criteria:

Master degree or equivalent in social and/or political sciences, public and/or business administration, law, management, economics or related discipline.
A minimum of 7 years of relevant working experience in the area of parliamentary oversight, including budget oversight;
At least 3 years of proven experience in organizing, facilitating and conducting seminars, trainings and round tables with state institutions/agencies/organizations.

The short-listed individual consultants will be further evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;
Technical Criteria weight – 60% (300 pts);
Financial Criteria weight – 40% (200 pts).

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 210 points would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical evaluation scoring:

Master degree or equivalent in social and/or political sciences, public and/or business administration, law, management, economics or related discipline - maximum 15 points;
A minimum of 7 years of relevant working experience in the area of parliamentary oversight, including budget oversight - maximum? 50 points;
At least 3 years of proven experience in organizing, facilitating and conducting seminars, trainings and round tables with state institutions/agencies/organizations - maximum? 40 points;
Experience within a parliamentary administration (in senior positions, such as: head of department, senior advisor etc.), or extensive experience as a parliamentarian will be a strong asset - maximum 15 points;
Experience of working in former CIS countries will be an asset maximum 15 points;
Interview - maximum 165 points.

Proven commitment to the core values of the United Nations, in particular, respecting differences of culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, language, age, HIV status, disability, and sexual orientation, or other status.

UNDP Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.