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 100189.

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 preparation[1], 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, one national Lead Expert for City of Mostar Strategy Planning (the Lead Expert) will be engaged to provide expert and technical support in the process of design of City of Mostar development strategy until 2027. The Lead Expert will work with a National Consultant for Strategic Planning as part of a team.

[1] FBiH Official Gazette 74/19

Duties and Responsibilities

The Lead Expert is expected to contribute to the design of the Strategy via the provision of methodological guidance, overall process facilitation, data analysis, re-drafting and quality assuring of relevant parts of the Strategy, in line with the existing legal and methodological framework. The process of strategic platform preparation and design of the programming section of the Strategy will be supported by the National Consultant for Strategic Planning (The Consultant). The Lead Expert will work in close cooperation with the Consultant, respective strategic planning bodies and under the supervision of PIPLS project team.

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

Task 1: Facilitate strategic planning process and guide the Strategic Planning Team

Based on relevant legal provisions and best practices in the development area, the Lead Expert will be responsible for guiding the Strategic Planning Team and facilitating the entire strategic planning process via provision of advice and inputs to the coordinator, in order to comply with the relevant by-law and methodology for development of strategic documents.

In line with the methodological approach and PIPLS project team instructions, the Lead Expert will serve as the main focal point for the Strategic Planning Team, including experts from the City administration and other externally engaged consultants that may be brought in (in areas such are economic development, environmental protection and social development). The Lead Expert will provide direct guidance to the team, aiming to ensure efficient and effective planning process and the highest possible quality of the final strategy document.

In close cooperation with the Coordinator, the Lead Expert will lead the Strategic Planning Team (including regular meetings preparation, action planning, tasking, etc.) and co-facilitate the required number of meetings and workshops. This will include but will not be limited to:

• Introductory meeting,
• Workshop on data compilation and analysis,
• Workshop on identifying focuses, setting strategic objectives and vision,
• Validation of strategic platform with the City of Mostar Development Board and Partnership Group,
• Workshop on setting priorities, identifying measures, key strategic projects and indicative financial framework,
• Workshop on monitoring, reporting and evaluation,
• Validation of programming part of the strategy with the City of Mostar Development Board and Partnership Group,
• Workshop for finalization of strategy document,
• Validation of draft strategy document with the City of Mostar Development Board and Partnership Group.

The Lead Expert may be requested to support communication of strategy content with the decision makers and the general public, to include participating in high level meetings and media events.

It is envisaged that this task will be delivered in the period July 2021 – December 2021 and the level of effort will not exceed 15 days.

Task 2: Compile inputs, draft/re-draft strategy document and provide quality assurance

Based on inputs by City of Mostar representatives/externally engaged experts, the Lead Expert will compile inputs and prepare the draft strategy document. It is important to note that the Lead Expert will be ultimately responsible for the overall drafting and/or re-drafting of the strategy document, improving parts of the document, as needed, and providing overall quality assurance, based on inputs by the Strategic Planning Team, Development Board members as well as the Partnership Group and PIPLS Project Team.

The Lead Expert is required to ensure coherence of the overall strategic document, as well as vertical linkages with the higher-level strategic documents and the Sustainable Development Goals Framework in BIH, and will provide guidance and advice in defining priorities, measures, key projects and indicative financial framework for achieving strategic development goals identified within the strategic platform phase, including setting relevant indicators.

It is envisaged that this task will be delivered in the period July 2021 – December 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 overall supervision of the PIPLS Project team, the Lead Expert will be responsible for the overall coordination and quality assurance of the process and products from the viewpoint of content.

The Strategic Planning Team members will facilitate the planning process and ensure adequate quality of specific sectoral segments of the document, while the Lead Expert will be responsible for compiling the inputs and ensuring overall coherence and quality of the strategy document. The Strategic Planning Team members will be required to closely work together, agree on practical modalities of work, division of responsibilities as well as coordination and communication channels.

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 the 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 related field;

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of progressive experience in local development, strategic planning and/or strategy implementation primarily at local/regional, specifically in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• Experience in delivery of technical assistance to public sector 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 skillys and ability to coceptualise and write concisely and clearly;
• Experience in facilitation and coaching of small groups of participants;
• Experience in applying MiPRO and/or other relvant strategic planning methodology at local or higher leves 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 Stratefic Documents in FBiH organized jointly by the FBiH Agency for Civil Service, FBiH Institute for Development Pogramming 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 including past experience in similar projects;

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.