UNDP Jobs - 73983- International Consultant to build institutional an

International Consultant to build institutional and training capacity of the Civil Service Academy of Turkmenistan on civil service and anti-corruption education

Location :

Home based with 3 missions to ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

20-Sep-2017

Application Deadline :

22-Aug-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

20.09.2017-31.12.2017

Languages Required :

Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

30 working days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Academy of Civil Service under the President of Turkmenistan was established in 2008 and started operating in March 2009. According to its Statute, the role of the Academy is to provide advanced training to the civil/public servants at both national and sub-national levels and improve their knowledge and skills. The Academy has until now trained over 500 civil/public servants and has organized its work about two and three months part-time courses and two year-long full-time course. The attendees are local and central government officials, although the central government officials are more widely represented. The Academy has also established good international links and started collaboration with the Academies in CIS countries.

The Academy has been collaborating with the UNDP almost since its establishment. In 2010 a project ‘Enhancing the System of Civil Service in Turkmenistan’ was implemented, and a number of international events was organized, such a conference in 2011 to examine the experience of other countries in the field of public sector reform, outsourcing and democratic governance. UNDP has also supported programs in e-governance and e-learning. In 2015, UNDP supported the Academy in developing its mission and vision. The mission of the Academy is outlined as “Supporting economic and social development of Turkmenistan through the knowledge sharing and advanced professional training of Turkmen civil and local servants and international twining and collaborative exchanges”. The vision of the Academy includes the ambition to offer postgraduate education (masters and possibly doctoral studies) and profile academy as a leading center of research that would support government decision-making and policy implementation, and is outlined as follows:

“The Civil Service Academy will be a Turkmenistan’s center of excellence – a national innovation hub – that offers excellent postgraduate education and training to the civil and local government servants and other stakeholders, and supports the national policy-making and development through conducting rigorous applied research and developing advanced professional practice in public governance and administration.”

In 2017, following anti-corruption and anti-bribery drive in Turkmenistan, the President of Turkmenistan instructed the Ministry of Education to introduce classes on the rules of conduct, etiquette, and the law and order into the curricula of the secondary schools, the higher educational establishments, and the Civil Service Academy. The Parliament has been working to amend or prepare new versions of the laws ‘On civil service,’ ‘On ethics and official conduct of civil servants,’ and ‘On combating corruption’.

In this regard, UNDP is planning to continue its support to the Civil Service Academy within the framework of the joint project and strengthening its institutional capacity to provide training and professional development programmes for civil servants of Turkmenistan. Specifically, UNDP is planning to engage an international expert to support the Civil Service Academy in improving its capacity amid the new tasks received from the Government of Turkmenistan with regard to anti-corruption education.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under supervision of the Project Specialist, the International Consultant (IC) will have the objective of providing international expertise to the Civil Service Academy of Turkmenistan in preparation of the mid-term strategy, improvement of existing and development of new curricular on the rules of conduct, etiquette, and the law, anti-corruption and training of the academia and students of the Civil Service Academy on anti-corruption and civil service. To achieve the objective, the International Consultant will carry out the following actions:

Action one: Review the background documents related to the functions of the Civil Service Academy, including UNDP recommendations on mission and vision, as well as laws on civil service, anti-corruption, etc;
Action two: Conduct consultations with the Civil Service Academy and other stakeholders, including Parliament and government institutions, including newly established Agency for Economic Crimes, the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, General Prosecutor Office, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education and others, to identify training and professional development needs with regard to anti-corruption;
Action three: Based on the desk review and consultations with the national counterparts, develop a mid-term strategy and action plan for the Civil Service Academy focusing on anti-corruption and civil service education;
Action four: Conduct a roundtable meeting with the engaged national counterparts to present the strategy of the Civil Service Academy and obtain the feedback;
Action five: Review the existing curricular on the rules of conduct, etiquette, law and anti-corruption and provide recommendations for improvement in line with the best international practices and/or develop new curricular;
Action six: Make a presentation for the academia and students of the Civil Service Academy of Turkmenistan to present the best international/regional practices in curricular development and contemporary trends in curricular of the Civil Service Academy;
Action seven: Facilitate organization of the regional workshop on civil service and anti-corruption to be held in November in Ashgabat and participate as a speaker;
Action eight: Conduct a lecture on civil service and anti-corruption for the academia and students of the Civil Service Academy.

Deliverables and timeframe:

Deliverable 1 prepared through actions 1-4 above:

Final draft of the mid-term strategy and action plan for the Civil Service Academy of Turkmenistan

Location: desk work + mission to Turkmenistan, Number of days: 10 days, including 5 days on mission.

Deliverable 2 prepared through actions 5-6 above:

Draft curricular on subjects related to anti-corruption, such as rules of conduct, etiquette, law and anti-corruption.

Location: Mission to Turkmenistan, Number of days: 10 days.

Deliverable 3 prepared through actions 7-8 above:

Participation as a speaker at the regional workshop on civil service and anti-corruption;
Lecture on civil service and anti-corruption.

Location: Mission to Turkmenistan, Number of days: 10 days.

Payment conditions:

This is an installment-based contract that should cover the costs of consultancy required to produce the above deliverables. The final schedule of payments will be agreed upon in the beginning of consultancy.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling 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 favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge of and extensive experience working with UN human rights mechanisms;
Excellent training, facilitation and communication skills;
Results driven, ability to work under pressure and to meet required deadlines;
Good understanding and practice of capacity development;
Cultural sensitivity;
Diplomatic skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced university degree in a relevant field, such as public administration, law or other related field.

Experience:

At least 7 years of working experience in the areas of civil service and anti-corruption;
Experience in building capacity of the public administration schools, including institutional and training capacity;
Training experience in the area of anti-corruption and civil service;
Knowledge and experience of work in the CIS or Central Asia is an advantage.

Language requirements:

Excellent written and spoken Russian; English is an asset.

Submission of applications:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

All experts applying for this position are required to provide:

Brief (1-2 pages) description of the methodology for the assignment;
Financial Proposal with the references to (1) the daily rate for the assignment and within the timing scale indicated in the present TOR, and (2) any other expenses (including transportation costs, accommodation costs, the possibility of vaccination and etc.). Template of the form can be found at: http://www.tm.undp.org/content/turkmenistan/en/home/operations/jobs. The UNDP will enter into an Individual Contract based on a lump sum amounts. The financial proposal shall represent a detailed, justified and “all inclusive” amount. In order to assist UNDP in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount, including: a daily fee for the tasks and an estimated duration as specified in this announcement, travel (to and from the missions), per diems, any other possible costs (including vaccinations, dwelling, communication etc.);
Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable candidate for the assignment;
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc.

Evaluation of proposals:

Individual Consultants will be evaluated based on the combined scoring methodology. When using this method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant and
Having received the highest score – out of 100 points

Out of the maximum score, the score for technical criteria equals 70% - maximum 100 points, and for financial criteria 30%.

The technical evaluation will take into account the following as per the scoring provided:

Education in the area of public administration and law – 20 pts;
Relevant working experience in building institutional and training capacity of civil service academia –25 pts;
Training experience – 15 pts;
Knowledge and experience of work in the CIS or Central Asia – 15 pts;
Fluency in Russian – 15 pts;
Knowledge of English – 10 pts.

Financial proposal – 30%.

Additional requirements for recommended contractor:

Recommended contractors aged 62 and older, and if the travel is required, shall undergo a full medical examination including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. The medical examination is to be cleared by the UN physicians, and shall be paid by the consultant.