On its path toward European Union membership, Montenegro makes important steps. The negotiations on Accession to the EU were opened on 29th of June 2012, and so far Montenegro has completed screening process and successfully opened 18 and temporary closed 2 negotiation Chapters: 25 – Science and Research and 26 – Education and Culture. In terms of EU financial assistance, 235.7 million euros were allocated to Montenegro within the framework of Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) under the multi-annual financial perspective of EU for the period 2007-2013. And in new EU multi-annual financial framework for 2014-2020, the ongoing support is secured through new Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance - IPA II.

IPA II aims to provide coherent, strategic, efficient, sector wide support to improve the readiness of Montenegro for EU membership through enhancing economic and social development in Montenegro, underpinning a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth agenda in line with the Europe 2020 strategy and to align progressively with the Copenhagen criteria. Under this new framework, stronger cooperation and coordination among the institutions is required and the programming process should ensure coherence between the EU financial assistance and national resources supporting the implementation of the pre-accession strategy.

One of the most important strategic goals of Montenegro is also development of infrastructure. Having in mind limited resources, it is necessary to strategically allocate resources to the most significant infrastructural projects, which will have the impact on achievement of goals defined by the national policies and directly related to the socio-economic development of the country and thus contributing to the process of accession to the EU. Establishment of the Single Project Pipeline (SPP) is important aspect of prioritization of infrastructural projects and important factor for programming of IPA II.

The government of Montenegro has established National Investment Commission (NIC) chaired by the Prime Minister whose task is to prepare the list of SPP, based on the proposal of relevant ministries. This list should include all the infrastructure projects which are priorities both, on national and regional level. It will also serve as a basis for EC decisions on supporting specific projects in line with the country priorities. The National Investment Commission is supported by the Secretariat for development projects which is technical secretariat of the NIC.

The specific Methodology on selection and prioritization of infrastructure projects has been developed and there are four sector working groups for transport, energy, environment and one social sector covering justice, education and health.  The Sector working groups will identify projects on the sectoral level and fulfil relevant forms, in accordance with the developed methodology and submit it to the Secretariat for development Projects. This exercise should be completed by September 15th, 2015. The Secretariat, based on the list of sector working groups will develop single list of the relevant projects and conduct Gap Assessment of the Projects.

Once the Gap analysis is done, the Secretariat will submit the proposal of Single Project Pipeline to the NIC for review and adoption.

Having in mind, that this is the first time that Single Project Pipeline will be prepared on a country level, it is important to conduct comprehensive gap analysis in order to have projects which are mature and ready to be financed. In that regard there will be teams formed and consisted of engineers, lawyers, economists who will review the documentation prepared by the Sector working groups and assists Secretariat in preparation of the proposal of Single Project Pipeline.

Therefore Capacity Development Programme and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration through  project funded by EU (Project on strengthening capacities for programming and monitoring of IPA II in Montenegro), will provide support to the NIC and its Secretariat in development of proposal of Single Project Pipeline, engaging local consultants to conduct gap assessment.

Objective of the assignment: The objective of the assignment is to support NIC and its Technical Secretariat in development of proposal of Single Project Pipeline, engaging 5 local engineers to conduct gap assessment: Engineer for construction – 3 positions; Engineer for transport –  2 positions (one for roads and one for rail transportation).

Gap Assessment Analysis (GAP) Projects concerns the following:

• Project Identification (objectives, investment type);
• Technical readiness (Spatial Planning and technical documentation);
• Institutional readiness (institutional framework and capacity);
• Financial/Economic maturity (coverage of costs);
• Social/Environmental maturity (EIA, social/environmental impacts.

Job content and expected results: During his/her assignment, the consultant will have a number of meetings with the Secretariat for development projects, Sector working groups - representatives of relevant ministries and other relevant stakeholders involved in preparation of the SPP. Consultant will receive in advance relevant documents related to their engagement and tasks, including methodology for selection and prioritization of infrastructural projects, project’s identification forms, as well as other relevant documents.

The consultant will perform the following tasks and provide the following deliverables:

• Review and assess the documentation of projects listed within the project pipeline prepared by the relevant sectors;
• Conduct gap assessment (from the engineer perspective – conceptual design, project specification, feasibility study, environmental impact assessment, etc.) i.e. readiness and maturity of the project and submitted documentation in accordance with the national laws, rules, procedures and engineer standards;
• Conduct field visits of the locations for the selected  infrastructure projects, if needed;
• Prepare Gap assessment reports with comprehensive and concrete recommendations on fulfilling the identified gaps for the selected projects; Template of the report will be provided by the Secretariat;
• Support the Secretariat in time schedule for identifying dynamic for preparation and realization of the proposed and selected projects; Template of the time schedule will be provided by the Secretariat;
• In cooperation with the Secretariat, organize with the sector working groups and other relevant entities to clarify any disputable project related issue;
• Provide advisory support to the Secretariat in finalizing the proposal of SPP.

Timing and reporting: The consultant will work under direct supervision of CDP Programme Manager and in close cooperation with the Head of the Secretariat for development projects. At the end of engagement, the expert will provide short (up to 10 pages) report on his/her deliverables.

Time duration and travel: The assignment duration will be up to 20 days per consultant, within the period from September 28th – November 30th, 2015. The assignment may include field visits throughout Montenegro, which will be determined and approved by the UNDP Programme Manager during the assignment. The travel related costs will be covered by UNDP in line with the relevant rules and procedures.

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Excellent communication skills, facility in working with teams and capacity to compose clear and readable narrative reports.

Education:

• University Degree (in the sectors of transport, construction, energy, environment).

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience;
• Proven experience in developing/implementation of infrastructure projects and or technical documentation with the national institutions, both on central and/or local level;
• Knowledge of project assessment and on development of pre-feasibility and feasibility studies;
• Excellent knowledge of national laws, regulations and procedures related to various permits for the sectors which are subject of the ToR.

Languages:

• Excellent knowledge of English and Montenegrin knowledge.

Other skills:

• Working knowledge of PC-based word processing and e-mail technology.

Criteria for selection

Combined Scoring method will be used. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the inidividual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: (i) responsive, compliant, acceptable, and (ii) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

• Technical criteria weigth - 70% (Background and education 10%; Relevant previous experience 20%; Substantial knowledge/Required competencies 30%; Required language 10%);
• Financial criteria weight - 30%

Only offerors obtaining a minimum 490 points for technical criteria will be considered for the financial evaluation.

For more information on procurement methodology for Individual Contractors, please refer to Procurement Notice.

Application procedure:

Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications by September 22, 2015 by using the Apply now button. The application should contain a duly completed Personal History Form (P11) that can be downloaded from http://www.me.undp.org/content/montenegro/en/home/operations/jobs.html.

Only the short-listed applicants will be contacted and requested to submit a letter of interest including a price quotation indicating the lump sum (in EUR) requested for the work envisaged in the section "Description of Responsibilities".