Background

1. Background

In the past five years, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and its government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has significantly grown its private industry sector.

The impetus for this came in part due to crude oil price fluctuations over the past ten years, and ongoing security and stability threats over the past five years. Global oil price fluctuations caused economic hardships in KRI and caused KRG to experience budget shortfalls, which revealed that primary reliance on only one industry and source of income – petroleum – would not be sufficient to ensure continued, stable economic growth for the KRI. The lack of a balanced field of industries was another contributor to economic hardships experienced in the KRI in recent years. The lack of a relatively large and stable local industrial base meant reliance on external goods and services, which can be problematic in the presence of security threats.

Having understood this, KRG has sought to transition from its previously closed and relatively controlled economy toward an open, liberal economic system. KRG feels there are strong opportunities for global private sector firms to operate and invest in the KRI. Furthermore, with an overall increase in per capita income in the KRI since 2000, there is also increased scope for local industry, and certainly more demand overall for goods and services in the local market.

Initial steps taken across the past several years have greatly increased industrial production in the KRI. For example, by 2016, the total number of active industrial plants in Kurdistan Region approached 3900, compared with only 694 prior to 2003. In particular, over 1870 licenses were issued between 2010 and 2016.

However, in this initial expansion, KRG has noted that some sectors have developed more strongly than others, and that there is scope to develop industries that can help fill out the supply chains that are currently filled externally. KRG’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoT&I) seeks to further encourage, develop, and support the private sector to grow in a more balanced way, and improve its production processes and commercial activities. The KRG Economic Reform Roadmap 2016 also recognized the importance of domestic and foreign direct investment (FDI) in contributing to the KRI private industry sector’s growth and employment - especially given the relative lack of capital, technical know-how, and technology in the Kurdistan region.

KRG seeks to ensure that there is availability of production inputs (i.e. raw materials, technology, human resources etc.) that are necessary for local production. It seeks also to foster competition between players in local markets to promote quality and price improvements that benefit consumers. KRG is focusing on multiple sectors in this regard, including Food Industries, Weaving and Textile Industries, Non-Metallic Mineral Industries, Metallic Industries, Non-Metallic Industries, Electrical Industries,?and Machinery and Equipment Industries.

To address these issues and to further help promote industrial growth in the KRI, KRG MoT&I is considering assessing the current status of the industry sector, revising its policies, and determining the specific strategic direction that needs to be undertaken to further develop the sector. It seeks to identify needed reforms to achieve that strategic direction - in terms of legislation, regulation, policies, strategies, institutional structure, process and procedures. KRG MoT&I seeks deeper expertise in the areas relevant to developing its industry, agriculture, and tourism sectors to conduct this kind of assessment. For support with this ambition, KRG MoT&I has approached the UNDP Funding Facility for Economic Reform – KRG (FFER-KRG) to provide them with the necessary technical assistance.

As an initial response, UNDP FFER-KRG is recruiting an Industrial Sector Development Specialist to support KRG MoT&I to undertake a thorough Industry Mapping process. This process will first thoroughly study the state of KRI’s industrial sector, policy and strategy. It will then assess the type(s) of rules, regulations, process and procedures that can be reformed or instituted to best help KRG industry sector grow and develop. Next, it will identify and set priorities for reform, and finally it will create an action plan with concrete timelines.

As part of a separate exercise also funded by the FFER-KRG, an Investment Policy Specialist will be recruited to provide necessary technical assistance to the KRG Board of Investment (KRG BOI) to assess the current state of investment in the KRI and recommend the  reforms that are required, in term of Laws, regulation, institutional responsibility, processes and investment licensing procedures, to further promote investment opportunities in KRI, and improve management of investment, promotional activities and incentive. The assignment will be in parallel to this exercise, and it is expected that the recruited consultants coordinate their activities to avoid duplications and ensure synergies are established.

The overall objectives of this assignment are to provide necessary technical assistance to KRG MoT&I to (1) assess the current state of KRI’s industry sector; (2) formulate a strategic direction and policy for Industry sector of the KRI; and (3) develop an industry sector growth and development plan that addresses legislative, regulatory, processes, procedures and support program reforms that are essential to promote growth and development of industry sector of the KRI.

Duties and Responsibilities

2. Scope of Work

During missions in KRI, the Specialist will be working in the office of the Director General of Industry at the KRG MoT&I, and will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Director General of Industry and KRG Ministry of Planning General Director of Capital Investment Budget as well as in coordination with the UNDP FFER-KRG Project Manager.

It is expected that the Specialist will prepare an initial baseline report through desk review of relevant documents (Ministry of Trade and Industry Law ref (10) of 2010, Iraqi Industrial Investment Law for the Private and Mixed Sectors No. 25 of 1991, Iraqi Industrial Investment Law for the Private and Mixed Sectors No. 20 of 1998, KRG MOT&I Policy Instruction and Licensing Plan for Private Sector Industrial Plant 2018, KRG Vision 2020, KRG Economic Reform Roadmap 2016, Investment Law ref 4 of 2006) that will serve as the basis for more in-depth consultations during an in-person mission to the KRI.  This baseline report should explain thoroughly the current status of the industry sector, key challenges and vulnerabilities of the sector, and provide a consultation plan for the upcoming mission.

The Specialist will then undertake a mission to consult with all the relevant ministries, non-government entities, and private sector stakeholders as per the consultation plan to conduct the required reviews and assessments highlighted in the in the scope of work to further analyze the sector.

Based on their research and the in-person consultations, the Specialist will (1) formulate a proposed strategic direction and policies to develop the industry sector of the KRI, and (2) develop an industry sector growth and development plan that addresses legislative, regulatory, procedural, and promotional program reforms that are essential to promote growth and development of industry sector of the KRI.

The Specialist shall then present, through workshop and individual meetings, the industrial development plan draft report to stakeholders during a subsequent mission to take comments and reach consensus. Finally, the Specialist will, based on consultations with government entities, non-government entities and private sector help finalize the Industry growth and Development roadmap for the KRI.

Key duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Provide a comprehensive snapshot of KRG non-oil industrial sectors by key variables such as level of FDI investment, number of licenses, growth in export, growth in domestic demand, etc. grouped under a typology that delineates the following areas of industrial enterprises:service sector (tourism, health, education), housing and construction, financial (banking, insurance), agriculture and food processing, communication and transport, manufacturing (metals and mining, steel, paper, rubber, plastics), and technology.

• Formulate a proposed KRG Industrial Leadership and Acceleration Strategy to be tested during this exercise, comprising rationale for prioritization of key sectors (for instance, based on level of FDI, existence of mineral deposits, skilled labor, and other natural and comparative market advantages)

• Assess the overall legal framework governing private industry, identify any existing legal gaps and conflicting policies that act as barriers and disincentives to growth, and make recommendations as appropriate on updating the private industry legislative framework in line with international best practices to promote growth and encourage further development and diversification of the sector; assess labor implications of strategic sectors proposed for prioritization – what is needed and what is available, this should be done for the prioritized sectors proposed in the Industrial Leadership and Acceleration Strategy first. This activity needs to be coordinated with FFER-KRG Investment Policy Specialist, who will be recruited in parallel to this assignment, to avoid duplication and ensure the work is complementing each other.

• Organize a stakeholder consensus building workshop involving representatives of key industrial sectors to present the Industrial Leadership and Acceleration Strategy and its rationale, elicit opinions and seek consensus on what should be priority sectors for promotion.The Board of Investment should participate to inform which sectors are receiving or likely to receive incentives.The workshop should aim to align prioritized sectors with sectors that are likely to receive incentives.

• Assess the industry sector’s institutional framework, analyse its effectiveness, identify any capacity building and institutional strengthening needs, and make recommendations on procedures that can support the sector and private industry overall;

• Assess how the various industry sector development measures are coordinated across agencies and different layers of administration (sectoral approaches), identify any challenges and capacity gaps, and make policy recommendations to improve facilitation of industry sector development;

• Assess existing industrial zone plans and provide recommendations on how to improve the plan in conjunction with the new strategic direction for the sector;

• Assess and recommend appropriate measures for monitoring industrial growth, business establishment, and follow-up in KRI, including capacity building for collecting and publishing statistics on these areas;

• Review current public-private sector dialogue initiatives, analyse their effectiveness and recommend the most appropriate formal mechanisms and channels for effective government- industry dialogue on helping the industry sector grow, develop, and diversify;

• Analyze and evaluate the current situation at KRG MoT&I regarding data availability and software programmes in place;

• Identify all relevant needs to establish a functional industry information system/database, including, but not limited to, the type of software system that is required and the type of indicators/data that can be collected;

• Propose appropriate methods to enhance the process of systematic and automatic data collection, data dissemination, and define the role and responsibilities of all relevant actors in the process;

• Assess the quality control system that is in place at KRG MoT&I and provide recommendations on how to improve the system to meet the new challenges.

3. Expected outputs and deliverables:

1. Baseline Report based on desk review

2. Consultations Report of in-person consultation findings with public and private stakeholders

3. Draft Industry Growth and Development Roadmap that addresses legislative, regulatory, procedural, and promotional program reforms that are essential to promote growth and development of industry in KRI

4. Conduct Consensus Workshop to discuss and help reach consensus on the proposed roadmap.

5. Final Roadmap based on the outcomes/discussions of the workshop and any other consultation meetings conducted.

6. Finalized Terms of Reference (ToRs) for necessary consultancies to implement the proposed roadmap

    

4. Time and Method of payment

The price proposal should be an “all-inclusive” lump sum fixed rate.

• The financial proposal should be broken down to Consultancy fee, Flight Cost, Per Diem, Communication, etc. as per provided table; and

• An IC Time Sheet must be submitted by the Specialist, duly approved by the FFER-KRG Project Manager, which shall serve as the basis for the payment of fees

• The Specialist’s deliverables must be approved by the FFER-KRG project manager, and payment will be based on the submitted deliverables as outlined in section 3 and submission of certification of payment.

   

5. Institutional Arrangement:

The Specialist will report to FFER-KRG project manager. The specialist will be working at KRG BOI during the missions to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Erbil and expected to bring their own computer and telephone and any other required technological solutions.

The consultant will submit monthly activity reports, describing the progress/achievements against the tasks described above as well as the final report at the end of the assignment. Payment is made against combined deliverables (as per the payment schedule provided below) upon approval of the FFER-KRG project manager.  

6. Travel Plan:

The Specialist shall be paid up to UNDP per diem rate, currently US$163.00, for each night on mission. The specialist is expected to include the total cost of mission (Per Diem, Flight Ticket, travel cost and communication) in the financial proposal.

7. Contract Duration:

The assignment is for 70 WDs over 6 months, starting from the date that work assigned to specialist officially by FFER-KRG Project Manager.  The Specialist is expected to start in September 2019.

Competencies

Competencies Required:

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;

• High analytical skills oriented towards problem-solve;

• Leadership and self-management;

• Focus on results and respond positively to feedback;

• Consistently approach work with energy and a positive attitude;

• Demonstrate openness for approaches to manage complexity;

• Team spirit and excellent interpersonal skills;

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;

• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP and the UN; and

• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications and Requirements: 

The Specialist will require the following qualifications, experience, competencies and language skills. Only applicants who meet these criteria will be short-listed and will be contacted.

A. Education and Professional Qualifications Required:

• An advanced degree in the area of Industrialization and structural transformation, industrial clusters development and diversification, commercially oriented development studies, or related disciplines.

B. Experience Required:

• Minimum of 7 years of relevant work experience in advisory services in an international or national organization, with exposure to a range of successful industrial development programmes.

• < >, minimum of 7 years of experience in policy advice, industrial research, and coordination of major industrial development programmes or development corridors, preferably in a developing country, with demonstrated success. 

  Understanding of formulation of national plans, sector strategies and regional industrial economic models would be an advantage.

• Familiarity with bureaucratic requirements in a national and/or regional government ministry, as well as exposures to coordination of development programmes, will be an advantage.

C. Languages Required:

• Fluent in English written and oral and Knowledge of Arabic/Kurdish is a distinct asset.

The contractor shall submit a price proposal as below:

• Daily Fee – The contractor shall propose a daily fee, which should be inclusive of his professional fee, local communication cost and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract is 70 working days.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

1. Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant 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%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical Criteria – Maximum 70 points

Technical Proposal (30 marks)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (20 marks) – Explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach.
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• Work Plan (10 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan.

Qualification and Experience (40 marks) [evaluation of CV]:

• General Qualification (20 marks);
  • Education 15 marks
  • Language 5 Marks
• Experience relevant to the assignment (20 marks);
  • Minimum of 7 years of relevant work experience in advisory services in an international or national organization, with exposure to a range of successful industrial development programmes (15 Marks).

Alternatively, minimum of 7 years of experience in policy advice, industrial research, and coordination of major industrial development programmes or development corridors, preferably in a developing country, with demonstrated success (15 Marks). 

• Understanding of formulation of national plans, sector strategies and regional industrial economic models would be an advantage (5 Marks). 

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested international  individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• Duly accomplished Confirmation of Interest and Submission of Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment

Financial proposal, as per template provided in UNDP jobsite (Annex II)https://www.iq.undp.org/content/iraq/en/home/operations/jobs.html  ;

• Incomplete proposals may not be considered