Background

NOTE: Signed Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and availability - https://www.ba.undp.org/content/dam/bosnia_and_herzegovina/docs/Operations/Jobs/Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx - Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability.docx - to be sent to e-mail ba.shared.hr@undp.org with Subject: Job ID 100188

The consultancy is planned under the umbrella of the Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) for Newly Elected Local Government Leaders (the Facility), an intervention co-funded by the Government of Sweden and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and administered by UNDP.

As part of the Project for Improving Performance of Local Services (PIPLS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), UNDP BiH’s Local Development Program, and the Rural and Regional Development Sector’s portfolio, the Facility aims to inject speed and purpose to the implementation of the newly elected local government leaders’ reform agenda through the provision of expert technical assistance across several priority sectors.  Working with newly elected mayors and legislatures, the Facility will offer specialized expert assistance across four principle thematic areas: digital governance, service delivery and infrastructure, financial management and local economic development.   
Following agreement with the City of Mostar authorities, and in line with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBIH) Development Planning Law and by-law on strategy preparation1, the Facility will support the design of the City of Mostar development strategy by 2027, taking into account the Framework on Sustainable Development Goals in BIH (SDG Framework) and the FBiH Development Strategy 2021-2027. 
The overall purpose of the consultancy is to provide technical support for the strategic planning process. The assistance is expected to result in both a newly-developed local strategy, fully harmonized with the strategic planning cycle and methodology prescribed by the relevant FBiH regulatory framework, as well as strengthened capacities of partner local government to plan, coordinate and execute strategic planning. This implies that the technical and training assistance must be strongly facilitative, inter-active and practical.
The City of Mostar will take the lead role in the process of strategic planning via establishment of the necessary strategic planning and expert bodies. An executive Strategic Planning Team, appointed by the City Mayor, will be placed in charge of coordinating the entire process. The Strategic Planning Team will include 5-10 experienced individuals, representatives of the city administration and external experts as needed, led by the coordinator designated by the City Mayor and advised by the Lead Expert. The Strategic Planning Team will be responsible for ensuring participation of all relevant stakeholders, inclusion of vulnerable groups and transparency of the process. In addition, aiming to ensure vertical and horizontal coordination and support to the entire planning process, the City of Mostar will establish a Development Board that will gather representatives of private sector, vulnerable groups, NGOs, etc. (15-30 individuals). The Development Board will discuss key methodological issues and provide guidance and support, via inclusion of key relevant stakeholders. The Development Board will discuss and approve specific segments of the strategy prior to public discussion.
Additionally, a broad consultative body, ensuring engagement and contribution by a wide scope of interested stakeholders, will be established in the form of a Partnership Group.  The group will engage in strategic planning but is also expected to be heavily involved with monitoring and overseeing the implementation process. 

In this context, as a part of Strategic Planning Team, a National Consultant for Strategic Planning for City of Mostar (the Consultant) will be engaged to provide technical support in the process of design of City of Mostar development strategy until 2027. The Consultant will work under the supervision, and in close cooperation with, the Lead Expert for Strategic Planning (The Lead Expert). 

Travel to Mostar is required.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant, together with the Lead Expert, is expected to contribute to the design of the Strategy via provision of methodological guidance, process facilitation, data analysis, as well as drafting and quality assuring relevant parts of the strategy document, in line with relevant legal and methodological frameworks. The Consultant will work under the supervision of the Lead Expert, and in cooperation with respective strategic planning bodies.

More specifically, the Consultant will be expected to perform the following tasks:

Task 1: Provide technical support in the process of strategic platform preparation

Based on best practices and the relevant methodology, the Consultant will support the preparation of the data analysis process so as to assess the current situation, key problems, development potentials, trends, and projections in the domain of economic and social development, and environmental protection. These will then be reflected in the draft socio-economic analysis, which will serve as the basis for the overall strategic planning process. In preparing specific parts of the socio-economic analysis, the Consultant will conduct at least two focus group meetings with relevant stakeholders and obtain qualitative data required for the analysis.

Based on the analysis, and in continuous cooperation with all relevant structures, the Consultant will conduct a SWOT analysis, and identify, and validate focuses and strategic goals, as stipulated in the relevant legal and methodological frameworks. 

Also, in preparing the relevant parts of the strategic platform document, the Consultant will closely work with the Lead Expert, the Strategic Planning Team, the Development Board, as well as the Partnership Group, to ensure that all relevant data is collected, feedback is obtained, and findings are validated before moving on to the next stage of the process. Once finalized, the draft strategic platform will be discussed in detail and validated at a workshop(s) with the Development Board and Partnership Group. It is important to note that the Consultant should guide and advise pre-drafting of all relevant key parts of the document and will be responsible for improving the document through overall quality assurance. This will take into account inputs by the Lead Expert, Coordinator, Strategic Planning Team, Development Board, Partnership Group and the PIPLS Project team. 

This Task is expected to be completed by October 2021 with an estimated level of effort of 10 days.

Task 2: Provide technical support to the design of programming part of the Strategy 

Within this task, the Consultant is expected to assist the Strategic Planning Team in defining priorities, measures and key projects for achieving development goals identified within the strategic platform phase, along with the relevant indicators. The task also entails drafting of relevant segments of the programming part of the Strategy based on inputs and validation by the Lead Expert, Coordinator, Strategic Planning Team, Development Board and PIPLS project team. 

Concretely, the support will include: 

• Expert inputs for definition of key development projects and measures, including indicators, indicative financial framework, and compatibility with relevant higher level strategic documents (e.g., SDGs Framework in BIH, FBIH Development Strategy). Focus will be placed on ensuring linkages and coherence between measures and projects with relevant priorities and goals. 
• Concrete expert inputs and drafting of relevant parts of the monitoring, evaluation, and reporting plan.

In this regard, the Consultant will closely coordinate and collaborate with the Lead Expert, the Coordinator, the Strategic Planning Team and the PIPLS Project team. 

It is envisaged that this task will be delivered in the period September 2021 – November 2021 and the level of effort will not exceed 10 expert days.

Organizational issues

In close cooperation with the Coordinator and the Strategic Planning Team and under the supervision of the Lead Expert, the Consultant will provide overall coordination and quality assurance of both process and products. 

All management and methodological issues will be closely coordinated and monitored by the PIPLS Project team. The organization and logistics of workshops delivery will be carried out by City of Mostar. 

The entire service will be delivered in the languages of BIH peoples.??

Deliverables/outputs

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling 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 favouritism; 
• Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment 

Functional competencies:

• Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, ability to work in a team
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities
• ?Excellent public speaking and presentation skills

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education

• University degree in public development studies, economics, political or social sciences or a a related field

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of progresive experience in local development, strategic planning and/or strategy implementation primarily at local/regional level, specifically in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Experience in delivery of technical assistance to public secror beneficiaries, preferably in the area of strategic planning, in line with the standardized development planning methodologies applied in BiH
• Experience in analysis, definition and implementation of local development policies, strategies or programmes, particulary relevant for the local/regional level
• Proven analytical skills and ability to conteptualise and write concisely and clearly
• Experience in facilitation and coaching of small groups of participants
• Experience in applying MiPRO and/or other relevant strategic planning methodlogy at local or higher levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Languages Requirements

• Fluency in languages of peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Other Requirements

• Certificate of successful completion of Training of Trainers Program for Preparation of Strategic Documents in FBiH organized jointly by the FBiH Agency for Civil Service, FBiH Institute for Development Programming and UNDP/ILDP. 

Longlisting/Shortlisting Criteria

Qualifications as stated in the ToR

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation

Individual  will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the candidate whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

• * Technical Criteria weight-70%
• * Financial Criteria weight- 30%

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

• Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work;
• Personal CV/P11, including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references.

Please scan all above mentioned documents and upload as one attachment only online through this website.

Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.