Background

The Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) plays a fundamental role in Zimbabwe’s governance architecture by promoting transparency and accountability in the management and utilization of public resources across the country’s public sector institutions. The Office is established under section 309 subsection (1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013) Its mandate as outlined in subsection 2 of section 309 of the Constitution, inter alia, includes to audit the accounts, financial systems and financial management of all departments, institutions and agencies of government, all provincial and metropolitan councils, and all local authorities; at the request of the Government, to carry out special audits of the accounts of any statutory body or government-controlled entity.

In pursuance of its mandate, the OAG aims to deliver high quality audit services to stakeholders on the management of these public resources through financial, compliance, value for money audits and special audits. In line with the country’s policy pronouncement on the need to drive public sector reform for improved service delivery through the utilization of digital technologies and innovation (as espoused in the National Development Strategy 1 and Vision 2030), the Office of the Auditor General has taken the initiative to enhance its operational efficiencies and effectiveness by digitalization of some of its work flows to aid its work processes.

With support from UNDP, through financial resources from the Swedish National Audit Office (SNAO), the OAG seeks to engage the services of a qualified consultant to carry out a digitalization needs assessment study for the Office’s operations and processes and come up with a comprehensive needs assessment report of the required tools and infrastructure and roadmap for digitalization of the Office of the Auditor-General. 

Duties and Responsibilities

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The objectives of the consultancy are: 

  • To carry out an overall assessment on all the OAG’s operations and processes and identify activities and processes that require digitalisation and provide a comprehensive Assessment Report on the status of the ICT infrastructure including the gaps therein,
  • To provide a set of recommendations on the appropriate digitalisation solutions as well as the required ICT infrastructure and other processes,
  • To recommend the OAG activities and processes that require priority in the digitalisation,
  • To develop a roadmap to guide the OAG on the implementation of identified digitalisation solutions.

SCOPE OF WORK

With the support and guidance from the OAG Management and Functional teams as well as from UNDP, the identified Consultant is expected to: 

  • Carry out an evaluation exercise and document all current operations and business methods and processes of the OAG,
  • Identify organisational needs of the Office,
  • Identify gaps in the current OAG Zimbabwe operating systems and processes against audit firms and other SAIs in the region for the purposes of benchmarking and other trends,
  • Document and present the future “way of working” for OAG by using Business Process models,
  • Present a research report and present research findings to the Auditor-General and senior management.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

Under the general supervision and guidance from the Acting Deputy Auditor General Administration (A/DAG) the Consultant shall be required to provide the following key deliverables of the assignment:

  • Develop and submit an Inception Report, detailed work plan, and methodology (including an elaborate Gantt chart) with the anticipated timelines for undertaking the assignment,
  • Undertake a comprehensive digitalisation needs assessment study of the OAG work activities and processes and submit a report on the findings including the gaps thereof and proffer a set of recommendations,
  • Develop a business Process Model for current operations and business processes for the OAG,
  • To document and share with the OAG a report on the future “way of working” Business Process Model,
  • Provide a Final Needs Assessment Report/Requirements detailing the ICT infrastructure resources required for the related technical support issues,
  • Facilitate a Working Group meeting with the relevant Acting Deputy Auditor General to present the findings,
  • Final and End of Activity report.

 

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards,
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability,
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

  1. Judgement/Decision-making
  2. Strong technical skills and analytical capacities, sound judgment;
  3. Strong technical problem-solving skills;
  4. Ability to understand and establish priorities and work by objectives.

Teamwork

  • Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relationships with people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds;

Ability to work under stress and work overtime when required.

  • Excellent knowledge of the UN system and UN joint country programming processes (CCA/UNDAF),
  • Good knowledge and experience with the national development frameworks, especially Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) PRSP, SWAP, key legislation, etc.
  • Specialised technical knowledge, including in conducting external programme evaluations, data collection and analytical skills, mainstreaming the HRBA to programming and gender equality and women’s empowerment considerations, and transition contexts.
  • Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork and adept at working with people of diverse cultural and social backgrounds,
  • An understanding of and ability to abide by the core values of the United Nations.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology/systems, post graduate professional qualification in Computer Science/IT and any other relevant IT certifications such as CISA, CISM, CRISC. A Master’s Degree in Computer Science will be an added advantage. 

Experience

  • Proven experience in Business Process reengineering, especially in External Audit Processes, Human Resources Management, Records and Library management, IT Operations, Finance and Communication among other relevant SAI business processes.
  • Proven record in developing a solution architecture and implementation of the same in  SAIs/Audit firms’ relevant business processes,
  • Experience in implementing solutions that harness emerging technologies, like Big Data, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in audit methodologies and audit automation,
  • At least ten (10) years of experience in developing, evaluating, and advising on IT systems for business operations. Thorough knowledge of process digitalisation, project management and ICT,
  • Performed at least (two)2 similar assignments with audit firms/ public sector that have been documented,
  • Experience in developing and evaluating business processes, portfolio management & information system needs for investments funds,
  • Excellent knowledge about public sector operations in Zimbabwe,
  • Excellent knowledge of Information Systems, ICT best Practices and current application development methodologies.

Language

  • Excellent written and spoken English.

Duration of Assignment, Deliverables and Reporting

  • The Consultant is expected to deliver on the assignment within 2 calendar months from the start of the project,
  • The Consultant is expected to produce deliverables outlined in this ToR within the agreed timeframe,
  • The Consultant shall be required to provide a periodic report on progress made, on a weekly basis, to the Acting Deputy Auditor General and to UNDP Project Focal Point.

Activities Days and Payment Schedule

  • All completed deliverables should be stored on a shared folder created and managed by the designated OAG Project Implementation Leader;
  • Deliverables should be shared with OAG and UNDP once drafts have been produced at every stage of the project;
  • The final presentation to the Auditor General and senior management should be done not later than on the last day of the project or any other time agreed between the consultant and OAG/UNDP but not later than two weeks from the date of completion of the assignment.Note that all payments to the IC are dependent on the satisfactory completion of deliverables.

Payment is linked to deliverables as per below;

  • Inception Report - 10%

  • Draft Needs Assessment Report plus a Business Process Model for current operations and business processes- 20%

  • The future “way of working” documented as a Business Process Model. Gaps Analysis Report based on current versus

    future “way of working- 20%,

  • Facilitate Working Group Meeting to present findings and a report on the recommendation of results and proposed business models- 20%

  • Needs Assessment Report and Final Activity Report- 30%

Proposal Instructions

Interested and qualified Consultants are required to submit proposals comprising the following:

  • A Technical proposal outlining the Consultant’s understanding of the consultancy requirements in line with the tenets of Audit Management (Financial Audits, Value for Money Audits, IT audits, Special Audits), Human Resources Management, Records and Library Management, Administration, IT Support, Finance, Training and Development, Procurement, Communication, and others,
  • Methodology and workplan for performing the assignment in line with the expected deliverables in this TORs,
  • Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments previously undertaken in the previous ten (10) years,
  • Registration and other relevant statutory documentation,
  • A Financial proposal clearly showing the budgeted cost for the work to be conducted by the Consultant under the scope of work above.

Application procedure:

Applicants are requested to upload copies of:

  • Latest CV highlighting the relevant experience;

  • Updated P11 Form template of which can be downloaded from this website http://www.sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.

  •  A detailed technical proposal on undertaking the tasks and evidence of previous work;
  • Financial proposal (All-inclusive daily fee): Interested individuals are kindly requested to submit an all-inclusive daily consultancy fee using the template which can be downloaded from: https://www.dropbox.com/s/789q1hvdrdgwqqc/PPG_Cons_Letter%20of%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx?dl=0

Please group all your documents (CV, P11, Technical Proposal, Financial Proposal and Certificates) into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Incomplete applications will not be given consideration.

Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the application
Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

Evaluation criteria:

The Consultant will be evaluated based on qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the ToR.  In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology:
 
Technical Criteria weight: 70%;
Financial Criteria weight: 30%;

The award of the contract shall be made to the 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 Terms of Reference.

“UNDP is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff, and equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Well qualified candidates, particularly women and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply.