UNDP Jobs - 76130- Expert for Comparative Study on Alternative Disput

Expert for Comparative Study on Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Civil Sector

Location :

Tbilisi, with 2 missions to Tbilisi, Georgia, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

18-Dec-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Up to 25 days during January - March 2018 (with two, each seven day field missions)

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

Over the last decade, Georgia has managed to achieve major improvements in the areas such as the fight against corruption, introduction of citizen-oriented, accessible public services and e-governance, gradually shaping a modern, unified, independent and career-based civil service.

In 2014, the Government of Georgia (GoG) has adopted a civil service reform concept which led to the passing of the Law on Civil Service that will come into force from January 2017. A broader Public Administration Reform Roadmap (PAR Roadmap) and accompanying Action Plan have also been operational since May 2015. PAR Roadmap states the six major policy areas for action: policy development and cooperation, human resource management, accountability, service delivery, public finance management, and local self-government.

The PAR Roadmap seeks to complement and incorporate other relevant guiding strategies, including Georgia 2020, the Basic Data and Directions of Georgia (BDD), the Civil Service Reform Concept and the Policy Planning System Reform Strategy 2015-17. The PAR Roadmap also plays a major role in supporting Georgia’s association with the European Union (EU) and is in line with UNDP Georgia’s Sustainable Development Goals 2016-2030, both of which are priorities for the GoG.

In 2016 UNDP has rolled out new, multi-year initiative, ”Support to Public Administration Reforms in Georgia,” which will address a complementary but distinct set of specific, predetermined needs in three crucial areas (Policy development and Cooperation; Civil Service and Human Resource Management and Service Delivery) within the PAR Reform Roadmap. The initiative intends to sustain, support and build key institutions and processes required for advancing the Public Administration Reform through offering consultancy, capacity building, technical assistance etc. Development of professional and modern civil service and public administration are decisive for ensuring the resilience of Georgia to internal and external shocks, and for achieving the country human development objectives by ensuring citizens’ access to their rights and services, as well as facilitating the development of better public policies.

One of the goals of the project is to support GoG in strengthening the capacity of the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) of Georgia, serving as of the key implementers and drivers of the Civil Service Reform (CSR), to better implement CSR through a range of initiatives, including the establishment and usage of alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

The new Law on Civil Service tasks CSB to analyse civil service related disputes and develop relevant recommendations to improve existing practice. However, traditional court litigation serves as a major instrument for managing these conflicts, which is far too time-consuming for addressing underlying problems in a timely manner, as well as excessively adversarial for cultivating a positive working environment in the civil service. Most governments and international organisations possess both formal and informal mechanisms for dispute resolution that can be utilized by civil servants – both managers and line workers – to shed light on disputes regarding applicable regulations or resolve disagreements before they reach litigation. In addition, provided that mediation and arbitration as alternative dispute resolution methods are deemed to be newly emerged and gradually developing means of dispute resolution in Georgia, existing practice in this regard might be successfully applied by civil sector officials confronted with increasing numbers of complex disputes.

Therefore, there is a clear need to develop a more diverse and sustainable system of civil service dispute resolution as part of an overall package of reforms designed to establish increasingly transparent, career-based and accountable civil service. As a first step towards the establishment of alternative dispute settlement mechanisms, the UNDP PAR project intends to build the capacity of CSB by providing consultancy support in conducting an in-depth analysis of civil service dispute resolution mechanisms effectively applied internationally, by means of engaging an international consultant.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of the international consultant is to provide an in-depth analysis of the best practices and experience in resolving disputes among civil servants from both, national and international contexts with a particular focus on existing alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

Under the direct supervision of the PAR Project Manager and in close cooperation with designated members of CSB, the international consultant is expected to carry out the following tasks and responsibilities:

Conduct a scoping exercise to study the existing framework of dispute resolution mechanism (including alternative methods) in civil sector of Georgia through interviewing key stakeholders and reviewing relevant normative acts;
Based on needs and challenges identified during the scoping exercise, select at least five countries and two international organisations whose experience in dispute resolution methods (including alternative methods) is relevant;
Closely cooperate with local consultant(s) conducting an analysis of the Georgian context in relation to existing practices of dispute resolution in civil service;
Elaborate a detailed overview of best practices of dispute resolution methods with a particular focus on alternative methods in civil sector of at least five countries as well as two international organisations. The research shall include a detailed overview of the relevant alternative dispute resolution system, types of mechanisms (formal and informal), settlement procedures, rights and responsibilities, related statistical information (number of disputes, settlement rate, etc.);
Develop specific recommendations on the best-suited models of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to be introduced in the Georgian civil service; Recommendations shall also address different types of disputes such as disputes related to employment terms; disputes related to compensation; disputes related to reparation;
To design the dispute resolution model (including the rules of procedure) which based on the research and findings is best-suited for the Georgian context;
To draft legislative amendments, if necessary.

Deliverables:

Scoping Report illustrating analysis of the basis of results of desk review and on structured interviews with the key stakeholders, as well as review of relevant statutory regulations. The Scoping Report shall contain recommendations on a scope and a list of at least five countries and two international organisations whose experience in alternative dispute resolution techniques is relevant for the Georgian context (February 2018);
A detailed review of best practices of civil service dispute resolution from at least five national contexts as well as two international organisations, including a detailed overview of the relevant alternative dispute resolution system, types of mechanisms (formal and informal), settlement procedures, rights and responsibilities, related statistical information (number of disputes, settlement rate, etc.) (February 2018);
Specific recommendations on the best-suited models (tools) for alternative dispute resolution in civil sector of Georgia; Recommendations shall also address different types of disputes such as disputes related to employment terms; disputes related to compensation; disputes related to reparation; (March 2018);
Workshop aimed to present an overview of international experience and illustration of suitable model(s), to be conducted in cooperation with local consultants (March 2018);
Legislative amendments, if necessary (March 2018);
Final report (March 2018).

Management Arrangements:

The work of the international consultant will be directly supervised by the PAR Project Manager under the overall supervision of the Democratic Governance Team Leader. The consultant will be directly responsible to, reporting to, seeking approval from, and obtaining a certificate of acceptance of outputs from the above-mentioned persons. In addition, the PAR project team will be responsible to share relevant documents, contact details and other necessary information with the service provider.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Understanding of the mandate and the role of UNDP would be an asset;
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.

Functional competencies:

Possesses knowledge and understanding of public administration system.
Strong and proven research and analytical skills;
Proven ability to deliver quality output working under tight deadlines;
Proven ability to coordinate with others and to work as part of a team;
Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills;
Ability to work independently and under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in social sciences, law or other relevant fields (minimum requirement: Master’s degree - 7 points; PHD – additional 3 points).

Experience:

At least four years of actual involvement in developing and/or improving (alternative) dispute resolution mechanism(s); experience in working with the public sector organization on the issue will be an asset (minimum requirement: 4 years - 12 points; more than 4 years – additional 3 points);
At least two research papers/articles related to conflict management in the workplace developed in the last five years Minimum Requirement: at least two research papers/articles – 8 points; more than two research papers - additional 2 points). Submitted applications must include the titles and dates of the research papers/articles (research papers/articles shall be provided by e-mail upon request);
At least three years of experience in working with government or international organizations (minimum requirement: 3 years - 8 points; more than 3 years – additional 2 points);
Experience in working with the public sector organization on the issue will be an asset (5 points).

Language Requirements:

Excellent English language skills (both written and oral).

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis method. Offerors will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30. Offerors that do not meet Minimum Qualification Criteria will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. The offerors who obtain minimum 35 points as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview. Offerors who pass 70% threshold, i.e. obtain minimum 14 points, as a result of the interview will be requested the financial proposal.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion): Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well. Technical criteria and financial proposals are summed up and the candidate obtaining maximum points out of maximum obtainable 100 points is selected for the position.

Payment modality and deliverables:

The payment schedule is given bellow and will be made upon satisfactory completion/submission and approval of the deliverables by the supervisor:

The International consultant is expected to provide the following deliverables:

Scoping Report illustrating analysis of the basis of results of desk review and on structured interviews with the key stakeholders, as well as review of relevant statutory regulations. The Scoping Report shall contain recommendations on a scope and a list of at least five countries and two international organisations whose experience in alternative dispute resolution techniques is relevant for the Georgian context (February 2018);

Upon submission of the deliverable 1 - 20 % of the whole consultancy will be paid

A detailed review of best practices of civil service dispute resolution from at least five national contexts as well as two international organisations, including a detailed overview of the relevant alternative dispute resolution system, types of mechanisms (formal and informal), settlement procedures, rights and responsibilities, related statistical information (number of disputes, settlement rate, etc.) (February 2018);

Upon submission of the deliverable 2- 30 % of the whole consultancy will be paid

Specific recommendations on the best-suited models (tools) for alternative dispute resolution in civil sector of Georgia; Recommendations shall also address different types of disputes such as disputes related to employment terms; disputes related to compensation; disputes related to reparation; (March 2018);

Upon submission of the deliverable 3- 35 % of the whole consultancy will be paid

Workshop aimed to present an overview of international experience and illustration of suitable model(s), to be conducted in cooperation with local consultants (March 2018);
Legislative amendments, if necessary (March 2018);
Final report (March 2018).

Upon submission of the deliverable 4, 5 and 6 - 15 % of the whole consultancy will be paid