Background

Purpose

To support the Office for IT and eGovernment (ITE) and Human Resource Management Office (HRMS) by providing technical expertise in the field of technical supervision of software design and implementation during the realization of the Human Resource Management Information System-HRMIS development, primarily related to supervision of the HRMIS implementation methodology, quality of technical documentation and quality assurance.

Objective

To support the Government of Serbia in Human Resource Management Information System-HRMIS development and deployment and thus contributing to public administration reform.

Background information

The public administration reform has continually been the focus of the Serbian Government’s engagement and in particular since the adoption of the Public Administration Reform Strategy in the Republic of Serbia in 2014. Within the reform special attention has been attributed to the civil service reform. Notably, constant efforts have been made towards the establishment of a merit-based system for human resources management.

The Action Plan for Implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2018-20201, has foreseen a replacement of the existing registry of civil servants with a new HRM IS - Human Resources Management Information System (section 2.2, point 5), which will support and automate tasks in a way to integrate different government registers and to cover the entire area of human resource operations related to civil servants.

The Government of Serbia established the Office for IT and eGovernment (ITE office), directly accountable to the Prime Minister, to be, together with the Ministry of public administration and local self-government, the backbone for the digitalization and eGovernment development within the Public Administration Reform. Office bears jurisdictions in the area of digitalization and eGovernment intended to meet future user-centric and service-oriented public administration reform agenda by being a common “Managed Services Provider” for all ICT services needed by the public administration bodies.

The HRMS - Human Resources Management Service of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, has conducted the analysis and reviewed the possibilities for electronic data exchange with all relevant participants in the human resources management process taking into account the Law on State Administration, the Law on eGovernment, the Law on General Administrative Procedure5, the Labor Law, the Law on Labor Records, the Law on Electronic Document, electronic identification and trusted services in electronic commerce, as well as the features of the Serbian electronic system for trusted data exchange among government bodies (“eZUP” system).

As a result of the analysis, as well as of the obligations defined in the amendments to the Law on Civil Servants of December 2018, the technical specification for the HRM IS was developed. Approximately eighty-five central type state administration organizations and institutions will use the HRMIS. Design of HRMIS started in February 2020, and currently there is a need to supervise last phase of the HRMIS development and deployment, i.e. testing of developed functionalities and testing of non-functional criteria aiming to validate the quality of the software product HRMIS. 

To support the Office for IT and eGovernment and Human Resource Management Office and staff in the technical supervision of the HRMIS development, more precisely the Senior consultant will provide technical expertise related to project implementation methodology and technical documentation, and testing of the HRMIS software.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

More specifically, under the overall direction and supervision of the Portfolio Manager and a close cooperation with the Beneficiary (HRMS, Office for IT and eGovernment), the Consultant shall:

• Conduct analysis of the documentation for the development of HRMIS, primarily related to software functionalities and project implementation methodology, but also including non-functional aspects (security, performance, responsiveness, usability, etc.);
• Provide comments and advise on the improvement of final phase of the Project implementation according to terms and deliverables;
• Support Beneficiary staff in successful Project implementation during final phase of the Project: testing of software product, technical documentation, quality assurance and closure of the Project;
• Support Beneficiary staff in responding to the potential requests for clarification or disputes during Project realization, deriving from the area of consultants’ expertise;
• Participate in the process of User Acceptance Testing (UAT), in accordance to milestones defined in Contract and Project plan (i.e. final Project UAT). Consultants’ involvement in the UAT process shall ensure that testing and closure phase comprises verification of full compliance of the deliverables with the good engineering principles and contractual obligations, and improved audit and control mechanisms of the Project.

Deliverables and timelines

The following deliverables are required from the Consultant:

All the deliverables have to be prepared in Serbian language or in English language and be quality reviewed, approved and accepted by UNDP Portfolio Manager. All the comments have to be addressed in satisfactory manner and submit the deliverables to UNDP for final clearance.

Competencies

• Good analytical, communication and writing skills;
• Good time management skills;
• Ability to work in a team;
• Demonstrates sensitivity to cultural and gender diversity and equity in his/her daily work and personal behaviour;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism;
• Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

The Consultant selected to undertake the assignment must fulfil the following minimal requirements:

Education

• University degree in Electrical Engineering and/or Computer Science;
• Advanced University Degree would be considered as a strong asset (MSc, Ph.D.).

Work experience

• 10 years of professional experience in management of software design and implementation;
• Good knowledge of project management methodologies and project documentation preparation;
• Experience in preparing project-technical documentation related to projects implemented/funded by UNDP and/or IFC/World Bank and/or EU would be considered as a strong asset;
• Experience in academic research in the areas of risk management and ICT (with published articles/research papers in reputable sources related to risk management and ICT) would be considered as a strong asset;
• Proven knowledge of Serbian human resource management system in government bodies (primarily: Law on civil servants and by-laws, Law on information security and by-laws, Law on personal data protection and by-laws), legislative framework and standards;
• Strong working knowledge of software design, business analysis and project management;
• Full computer literacy, including MS Office and CAD tools.

Language

• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English and Serbian.

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS.

Application Procedure:

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their applications via UNDP Web site: UNDP in Serbia under section “Jobs” no later than 25th July 2021.

Application should include: 

• CV in English language containing date of birth, contact information (home address, phone number, e-mail) and timeline of work experience (including description of duties).  
• Offeror’s Letter (only PDF format will be accepted) confirming Interest and availability for the Individual Contractor (IC) Assignment. Can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.undp.org.rs/download/ic/Confirmation.docx. The Offeror’s Letter shall include financial proposal specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement with a breakdown of costs.
• Cover Letter – explaining why you are the most suitable for the work should be included in the CV.

In order to apply please merge above listed documents into a single PDF file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.

Shortlisted applicants will be requested to submit copies of Diploma(s) and relevant certificates as proof of the consultant’s qualification and experience.

Any request for clarification must be sent by standard electronic communication to the e-mail vacancy.rs@undp.org. The procuring UNDP entity will respond by standard electronic mail and will send response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all consultants.

Financial Proposal:

• Lump sum contracts

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Travel

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

Evaluation

Additional Information:

• An Individual Contract (IC) will be applicable for individual consultants applying in their own capacity. If the applicant is employed by any legal entity, an IC will be issued upon the submission of a consent letter from the employer acknowledging the engagement with UNDP. Prior to submitting their offer, the applicants should get familiar with General Conditions for Individual Contractors which be found at: https://rs.undp.org/content/dam/serbia/downloads/General%20Conditions%20for%20Individual%20Contracts.pdf.
• A Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) will be applicable for applicants employed by any legal entity. A template of RLA with General Terms and Conditions can be found at: http://www.rs.undp.org/download/RLA%20with%20General%20Terms%20and%20Conditions.doc. . In the case of engagement of Civil servants under an IC contract modality a no-objection letter should be provided by the Government entity. The ‘no-objection’ letter must also state that the employer formally certifies that their employees are allowed to receive short-term consultancy assignment from another entity without being on “leave-without-pay” status (if applicable), and include any conditions and restrictions on granting such permission, if any. If the previous is not applicable ‘leave-without-pay’ confirmation should be submitted.

Engagement of Government Officials and Employees

• Government Officials or Employees are civil servants of UN Member States.  As such, if they will be engaged by UNDP under an IC which they will be signing in their individual capacity (i.e., engagement is not done through RLA signed by their Government employer), the following conditions must be met prior to the award of contract:

(i)       A “No-objection” letter in respect of the individual is received from the Government employing him/her, and

(ii)     The individual must provide an official documentation from his/her employer formally certifying his or her status as being on “official leave without pay” for the duration of the IC.

• The above requirements are also applicable to Government-owned and controlled enterprises and well as other semi/partially or fully owned Government entities, whether or not the Government ownership is of majority or minority status.  

UNDP recognizes the possibility that there are situations when the Government entity employing the individual that UNDP wishes to engage is one that allows its employees to receive external short-term consultancy assignments (including but not limited to research institutions, state-owned colleges/universities, etc.), whereby a status of “on-leave-without-pay” is not required.  Under such circumstance, the individual entering into an IC with UNDP must still provide a “No-objection” letter from the Government employing him/her.  The “no objection” letter required under (i) above must also state that the employer formally certifies that their employees are allowed to receive short-term consultancy assignment from another entity without being on “leave-without-pay” status and include any conditions and restrictions on granting such permission, if any.  The said document may be obtained by, and put on record of, UNDP, in lieu of the document (ii) listed above.