Successful implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) provides a better opportunity for the Revitalized Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) to carry out reforms skilfully, structurally, systematically, symbiotically and synthetically in financial public institutions. This will necessitate a fact-finding assessment of the capacity and technological facilities of public servants in the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoFP) to allow the effective and efficient delivery of peace dividends to positively impact for welfare of over 12.58 million people of South Sudan. The Aid Information Management System (AIMS) is needed to provide early support to leverage partnerships during the transitional period with a concentration on the delivery capacity of Change Agents (CAs) mentored by Special Skills Expert (SSE) in IT and data. This will include the complete assessment of AIMS and the provision of recommendations to redress the fundamentals of public finance management with a focus on the  contribution of aid or grants to macroeconomic stability based on the collected and managed data by AIMS Coordination Department of the MoFP.

The objective of the Governance and Economic Management Support Project (GEMS) of UNDP is to support the effective implementation of the R-ARCSS and improve economic management by:

• Strengthening the capacity of key national institutions for effective and accountable implementation of the R-ARCSS.
• Bolstering key economic governance and accountability functions with attention on Chapter IV of the R-ARCSS.
• Establishing a consistent and structured platform for advancing policy dialogue and mutual accountability on implementation of the R-ARCSS, and
• Providing a platform for south-south cooperation and for development partners to bring their expertise and experiences to bear on the implementation of the R-ARCSS priorities.

The core objective of contracting a Special Skills Expert (SSE) for the Aid Coordination Department of Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoFP) is to conduct a focused assessment of IT capacity, the findings of which will guide development of locally managed software for administration of aid or grants with effective reforms of public financial sector and training of Change Agents for:

Improved economic management capacity for delivering professionally on Chapter IV and related provisions of R-ARCSS, applying Public Finance Management (PFM) for aid and grants in accordance with law, policies and regulations. This will be based on standardised data on all development partner aid operations in South Sudan, focusing on the following:

• Collection and presentation of timely, standardised and comprehensive information on aid activities, enabling a comprehensive view of all aid resources in the country.
• Facilitation, tracking, monitoring and evaluation of external assistance and related activities in the finances of the economy and National Development Strategy (NDS).
• Promoting more effective coordination between government and donors, including the fast-tracking of COVID19 funding and humanitarian emergency responses.
• Reduce the duplication of efforts and transaction costs associated with data collection.
• Standardise data to focus planning, budgeting and reporting cycles between development partners, government institutions and non-governmental organizations.

This core objective relates to the design of activities for supporting government institutions at national level to operate cohesively, integrally and technically with transparency, accountability, participation and inclusivity. It will be measured by the quality of the provision of services in line with legal principles, regulatory frameworks, operational policies, public service code of ethics, resources utilization, equitable wealth sharing and devolution of benefits. The Aid Coordination Department of MoFP is key for coordinating all these with links to the Presidency, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (PMDAs) of the RTGoNU.

COMPETENCIES

• Demonstrated comprehensive skilful, knowledge and competence in information technology and strategic communication with efficiency and accountability.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

• Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
• Delivers verbal/written information in a timely, clear, organized and easily understood manner, and
• Strong communication skills and the ability to listen and take direction and leadership from others.

Required Academic Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• Degree in systems development and database, or equivalent 

Experience:

• At least 5 years experiences on developing systems.
• Adequate knowledge on donor funded project and its financial implications 
• Experiences on government financial systems and systems integration.
• Adequate Knowledge on donors’ activities in the Republic of South Sudan.

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required;

Application Procedure:

The application package containing the following (to be uploaded as one file):

• A cover letter with a brief description of why the Offer considers her/himself the most suitable for the assignment;
• Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects and specifying the relevant assignment period (from/to), as well as the email and telephone contacts of at least three (3) professional references;
• Two pages to describe the methodology to respond to the TOR (understanding of the project requirements).

Note: The above documents need to be scanned in one file and uploaded to the online application as one document.

Shortlisted candidates (ONLY) will be requested to submit a Financial Proposal.

• The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7-hours working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month).
• The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract.
• In the case of unforeseeable travel requested by UNDP, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between UNDP and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed. In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.
• If the Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP.

The Financial Proposal is to be emailed as per the instruction in the separate email that will be sent to shortlisted candidates.

Evaluation Process:

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical Evaluation - Total 70% (700 points):

• Criteria 1: Professional working experience in relevant fields related to information technology and strategic communication, particularly within the UN: Weight = 10%; Maximum Points: 100;
• Criteria 2: Proven technical experience working in ICT: Weight = 15%; Maximum Points: 150;
• Criteria 3: Demonstrated experience working in knowledge management: Weight = 10%; Maximum Points: 100;
• Criteria 4: Proven relevant work experience and knowledge of corporate social networking-based platforms/tools, and experience in managing web-based platforms: Weight = 7%; Maximum Points: 70;
• Criteria 5: Experience organizing and managing events and workshops: Weight = 7%; Maximum Points: 70; and
• Criteria 6:  Proven experience to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate information collection and monitor own work plan;
• : Weight = 21%; Maximum Points: 210.

Having reviewed applications received, UNDP will award the top candidates with highest scores. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation - Total 30% (30 points)

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award:

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Institutional Arrangement:

The consultant will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the Undersecretary MoFP and GEMS Project Manager; and will be responsible for the fulfilment of the deliverables as specified above.

Payment Modality:

• Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.
• The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hours working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

Annex 1 - IC Contract Template

Annex 2 - IC General Terms and Conditions

Annex 3 - RLA Template

Any request for clarification must be sent by email to cpu.bids@undp.org 

The UNDP Central Procurement Unit will respond by email and will send written copies of the response, including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry, to all applicants.