Background

NOTE

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Financial offer (for national consultants only in BAM) in a form of completed and Signed Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and availability - https://tinyurl.com/Offeror-Letter - Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability.docx - to be sent to e-mail ba.shared.hr@undp.org with Subject: Job ID 109722.
 

This Consultancy is expected to take place under the auspices of the Project for Improving Performance of Local Services (PIPLS) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, financed by Sweden and co-funded and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Project is a 3-year intervention in the domain of local governance. As part of the UNDP BiH’s Good Governance Sector’s portfolio, the PIPLS Project delivers targeted technical assistance to partner local authorities in improving their financial and asset management practices, as well as providing co-financing for the implementation of critical service delivery priorities. 

Over the past 15 years, primarily under the external pressure, as part of the overall public administration reform, efforts were made to establish a functional public procurement system in BiH, which would not only contribute to strengthening good governance and reduce corruption but would ultimately result in an increase of the quality of public services and achieving the "value for money". This is especially critical considering that the public sector in BiH annually spends close to 3 billion BAM for the procurement of goods, services and works. However, despite all these interventions, BiH is making little to no progress in instituting a public procurement system free from undue interference and influence, as attested by the most recent EU Country Report and SIGMA monitoring report for 2021. Public procurement, which represents a significant share of public spending and thus plays an important role for the private economy, continues to be managed on the base of overly complex procedures, which facilitate corruption.[1]Understaffing of the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) represents also a source of serious concern given the volume, variety and importance of the PPA functions, while the rising trend in the number of appeals submitted to the Procurement Review Body (PRB) requires strengthening of the PRB capacities.[2]

Given the aforementioned problems in the public procurement system in BiH and the fact that the previous Public Procurement Strategy expired in 2020, the PPA turned to UNDP with the request to provide technical assistance for the development of the new Public Procurement Strategy 2023-2027 (hereinafter: the Strategy), as there is a pressing need to systematically define key priority directions for the establishment of a more effective public procurement system in BiH, in line with the EU requirements within the accession process. The overall objective of the Strategy is to create a strategic framework for the public procurement for the period 2023-2027, focusing on six priority areas aligned with the EU public procurement strategic priorities:

a) professionalization of contracting authorities

b) introducing green and socially responsible procurement practices into the public procurement system,

c) further digitalisation of the public procurement processes,

d) increasing transparency, integrity and quality of the public procurement processes,

e) increasing joint and centralized procurement,

f) improving the access of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to procurement markets in BiH and other countries.

The overall purpose of the Consultancy is to provide technical support for the development of the Public Procurement Strategy 2023-2027 In this context, one Senior Expert for strenghtening transparency, integrity, legal protection and advanced public procurement mechanisms (the Senior Expert) will be engaged to provide expert and technical support in the process of development of the Public Procurement Strategy 2023-2027, fully harmonized with the strategic planning cycle and methodology prescribed by the relevant regulatory framework, as well in line with the relevant SIGMA "Toolkit for the preparation, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation of public administration reform and sector strategies"[3].For this purpose, the PPA appointed the Working group which will closely work with the Senior Expert on the development of the Strategy as well as be responsible for the design and organisation of the consultations processes with all the relevant stakeholders. The Senior Expert  will work in close cooperation with and under supervision of the Lead Expert on the development of the Public Procurement Strategy and under the overall supervision of the UNDP team.

[1] Bosnia and Herzegovina Report 2021 (europa.eu)

[2] Monitoring-Report-2021-Bosnia-and-Herzegovina (sigmaweb.org)

[3]  Toolkit for the preparation, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of public administration reform and sector strategies : Guidance for SIGMA partners | SIGMA Papers | OECD iLibrary (oecd-ilibrary.org)

Duties and Responsibilities

The Senior Expert is expected to contribute to the development of the Strategy, in line with the existing legal and methodological framework. He/she will also be responsible for designing, preparing and facilitating the consultative processes throughout the Strategy development, as well as providing substantive expert inputs related to efficiency, transparency, and integrity of public procurement practices and legal protection of contracting authorities and economic operators, as well as providing strategic guidance on introducing advanced public procurement mechanisms (such as centralized public procurement) and different tools, including digital, to fight corruption and malpractice in public procurement.

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

Task 1.1. Development of the situational analysis of the public procurement system in BiH

Within this task, the Senior Expert will, under the overall guidance of the Lead Expert and PPA Working group, provide inputs for the development of a a comprehensive situational analysis which will serve as a starting platform for the Strategy development process. The situational analysis will, as a minimum, entail a detailed overview of the current legal and institutional framework, including its weaknesses and challenges encountered in the implementation, as well as the organizational capacities of the PPA and Public Procurement Review Body (PRB). Furthermore, it will provide an impartial in-depth assessment of the current situation in relation to each of the defined six Strategy pillars. For each pillar the situational analysis will identify the key problems/challenges, along with its prioritization, in order to facilitate the next steps in the Strategy development process (setting of the strategic objectives and formulation of strategic programmes).

In this context, the Senior Expert will collaborate on the development of the situational analysis in line with the guidance and methodological framework provided by the Lead Expert. Specifically, the Senior Expert will provide substantive inputs related to advancing efficiency, transparency, and integrity of public procurement practices and legal protection of contracting authorities and economic operators, as well as providing strategic guidance on introducing advanced public procurement mechanisms (such as centralized public procurement) and different tools, including digital, to fight corruption and malpractice in public procurement.

Upon endorsement of the draft situational analysis by UNDP and the PPA Working group, the Senior Expert will participate in the consultative event at which the draft situational analysis will be presented to all the relevant stakeholders. Upon received comments from the relevant stakeholders, the Senior Expert will, if needed, provide inputs for the finalisation of the situational analysis and send it to the Lead Expert.

The estimated level of effort for this task is 5 expert days.

 

Task 1.2. Development of the key strategic objectives and strategic programmes

The Senior Expert will, under the guidance of the Lead Expert, contribute to the development of the key strategic objectives and strategic programmes. This will entail participating in at least three interactive workshops with the PPA Working group and providing expert inputs regarding transparency, integrity, legal protection and advanced public procurement mechanisms.

Furthermore, upon internally agreeing on the draft for this section with the PPA Working Group, Senior Expert is expected to participate in the consultative event to present and discuss the identified key strategic objectives and programmes with respective indicators with the relevant key stakeholders Upon conducted consultations and received inputs the Senior Expert will, if needed, provide inputs for the finalisation of the strategic objectives section and send it to the Lead Expert for review and approval.

The estimated level of effort for this task is 5 expert days.

Task 1.3. Development of the Action plan

Once the strategy objectives have been agreed and indicators and targets set, as the next step the Lead Expert will be responsible for leading the development of an action plan, namely the specific actions that are to be implemented or executed in order to meet the defined objectives and achieve the set targets.  Actions will be a tangible activity or set of activities and measures which are directly linked to the use of inputs (human, financial or material resources), in order to produce certain pre-defined deliverables or to reach specific policy goals. Furthermore, they will clearly set out the responsible implementing institutions and the timeline for its implementation. Each action should also be supported by resources for its delivery and calculating the costs of the necessary resources will be fundamental to its definition.

The action plan will be prepared in the form of a table reflecting the core policy elements of the Public Procurement strategy (i.e. the various levels of objectives, programmes and their respective indicators) and including all the information needed for efficient implementation, monitoring and reporting, clearly linked to the objectives it is intended to support. This will include as a minimum: · a description of the actions · the deadline(s) for implementation; · the required financial and human resources for implementation and sources of funding · responsibility for implementation in terms of the entities/units in charge and any other institutions contributing to the implementation · output or process-level indicators for each action.

In this regard, the Senior Expert is expected, under the overall guidance of the Lead Expert, to provide expert inputs for the development of the action plan through participation in at least two iterative meetings/workshops with the PPA Working group. Particularly, the Senior Expert will propose key actions and suggestions regarding the above-mentioned thematic areas (transparency, integrity, legal protection, advanced public procurement mechanisms). Furthermore, the Senior Expert is expected to participate in the consultations organised with all the key relevant stakeholders at which the draft action plan will be presented and discussed. Upon feedback received through the consultative process, the Senior Expert will, if needed, provide inputs for the finalisation of the Action Plan and send it to the Lead Expert for review and approval.

The estimated level of effort for this task is 6 expert days.
 

1.4. Provision of inputs for the development of the Strategy and Action plan

Within this task, the Senior Expert will, as requested by the Lead Expert, provide inputs needed for the compilation of the first Strategy draft and Action plan which will be submitted to SIGMA for comments. Upon obtaining comments the Senior Expert will, under the overall guidance of the Lead Expert, revise pertinent sections of the draft Strategy and Action plan and submit them to the Lead Expert. In this process the Senior Expert will, if needed, participate in the meetings with SIGMA and the PPA to discuss or clarify eventual dilemmas and/or concerns.

The estimated level of effort for this task is 4 expert days.
 

Organizational issues

In close cooperation with the PPA Working group and under the overall supervision of the UNDP 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 PPA Working group and Senior Experts will facilitate the strategic planning process and ensure adequate quality of specific sectoral segments of the document, while the Lead Expert will be responsible for compiling all the experts' inputs and ensuring overall coherence and quality of the Strategy document.

All management and methodological issues will be closely coordinated and monitored by the PPA and UNDP project team. The organization and logistics for the consultations with the stakeholders (preparation of an agenda, sending out invitations, keeping track of participants, etc.) will be carried out by the PPA Working group. UNDP will cover the costs for the organisation of consultative events. Possible locations for the consultations are Sarajevo, Mostar and Banja Luka.

The Senior Expert is expected to spend at least 8 days in the country.

The entire service will be delivered in the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period November 2022-July 2023.

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 Law, Economics, Public Administration, or other relevant disciplines

Experience

• Minimum 10 (ten) years of work experience in public procurement reform, out of which at least 5 (five) years of work experience in strengthening transparency, integrity, and legal protection in public procurement processes, aligned with the EU policies, preferably from an EU country,
• Extensive experience as facilitator and moderator of consultative events and provision of consultancy services to public sector institutions,
• Desired experience in the development of strategic documents in the area of public procurement.

Languages Requirements

• Excellent knowledge of English and good working knowledge of official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

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
• Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct 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.