UNDP Jobs - 75061- Local Consultant for Policy Coordination

Local Consultant for Policy Coordination

Location :

Podgorica, MONTENEGRO

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

10-Nov-2017

Application Deadline :

16-Oct-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

November 2017 - October 2019

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

23 months

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 new Montenegrin government elected in October 2016 reconfirmed the country’s reform focus on measures required to secure Montenegro’s entry to the European Union. Lending weight to this goal, a new Ministry of European Affairs (MEA) was established and set up from the core of former staff in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. This Ministry is mandated to realize commitments of the European agenda in the country and reaffirm the role of Montenegro as a reliable and credible partner in the on-going process of accession to the EU and leader in the field of European integration in the region. Due to the necessity to respond to the EU requirements and establish mid-term strategic planning system in Montenegro, Government empowered the Ministry to be involved in the process of strategic alignment and monitoring of the process of planning and implementation. Thus, Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies was created with the purpose to lead the process of public policy planning.

Establishing of the Ministry and Directorate provides new opportunities and prospects, but also challenges, especially in the institutional and administrative capacity of the state administration to meet expectations. In these circumstances, the complexity of the process of setting up strategic planning system and ensuring quality control of the strategic documents, calls for the setup of competent and strong team of experts to contribute to both processes. Since both Ministry of European Affairs and the Directorate are newly established, with new roles and responsibilities taken from the central level, there is a need to strengthen capacities and to plan imminent future new employments.

The Ministry represents a central coordinating institution for the process of the accession to the EU including accession negotiations and management and programming of IPA funds, as well as strategic planning when it comes to the public policies. Staff assigned to the new MEA have responsibility for and experience to date in anchoring negotiations with the EU not only in establishing the preconditions for opening the remaining negotiating chapters, but the requirements for continuous alignment of the national legislation with the EU acquis and establishing benchmarks and key criteria for the closure of the negotiation chapters. Furthermore, the Ministry has a new role assigned to carry out activities aimed at establishing and developing the system for coordination and monitoring of the alignment of strategic documents establishing public policies with other national strategic documents and/or EU acquis, in coordination with other line ministries.

The project “Strengthening capacities of the Ministry of European Affairs” is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by UNDP in partnership with the MEA. The project started on October 1, 2017 and it will be implemented over the next two years. The general objective of this action is to assist, advise and support EU accession negotiations through strengthening the capacities of the MEA in responding to the demands of the new phases of accession especially in areas of policy planning and coordination.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment: The objective of the assignment is to strengthen capacities of the Ministry of European Affairs and its Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies, through engagement of the local consultant. Additionally, the consultant will support the implementation of the project „Strengthening capacities of the Ministry of European Affairs “.

Job content:

Under the supervision of the UNDP Project Manager and Director General of the Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies in the MEA, the local consultant will perform the following tasks:

Coordination in drafting the Guidelines for the preparation of the strategic acts which are defining public policies;
Providing information to all relevant ministries regarding the use of new methodology for preparation of strategic acts stemming from the Guidelines;
Analysis of strategic acts proposals and their alignment with the agreed principles, legal framework for drafting, alignment and monitoring the implementation of the strategic documents and the Guidelines;
Coordination of the database development of strategic acts per public policy sectors, as well as updating its content;
Active participation in public debates regarding strategic acts defining public policies;
Monitor developments in key EU policy areas shaping the most important strategic directions of EU policies;
Communication with all institutions in order to provide assistance in preparing education and training programs for strategic planning focal points in all ministries, as well as in organizing relevant trainings and conferences;
Provide support in the implementation of all activities planned in the project „ Strengthening capacities of the Ministry of European Affairs“, and ensure transparent and excellent communication with direct project partners and other stakeholders;
Prepare monthly reports on implemented activities;
Perform other relevant tasks upon request of the UNDP Project Manager and Director General of the Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies in the Ministry of European Affairs.

The expected results: It is expected from the consultant to coordinate and deliver above mentioned tasks, in order to strengthen capacities of the Ministry of European Affairs and its Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies and support the implementation of the project „ Strengthening capacities of the Ministry of European Affairs “.

Timing and reporting: The local consultant will be engaged in the period from November 2017 until October 2019. The consultant will be placed at the premises of the Ministry of European Affairs, and he/she will work during the working hours of the Ministry. The local consultant will work under direct supervision of UNDP Project Manager and Director General of the Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies in the Ministry of European Affairs. He/she will be obligated to provide monthly reports on their deliverables during the assignment.

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP/MEA;
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;
Excellent communication skills, facility in working with teams and capacity to compose clear and readable narrative reports;
Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills;
Excellent organizational and time management skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree, preferably in social sciences; advanced degree would be considered as an asset;
Academic orientation towards policy planning would be considered as an asset.

Experience:

Minimum two years of working experience in the relevant field;
Experience in drafting strategic planning documents or policy planning papers is considered an important asset;
Experience in text analysis in general, as well as analysis of strategic planning documents or policy planning papers is an asset;
Experience of working within the EU accession processes is an asset;
Interest in major EU policy developments is an asset.

Languages:

Fluency in Montenegrin language;
Excellent command of spoken and written English language.

Other:

Computer literacy.

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 weight - 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 October 16, 2017 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. Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file.

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".