"Improved Public Service Delivery and Enhanced Governance in Rural Uzbekistan" is a joint project of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), funded by the European Union. The overall goal of the project is to improve the quality of life of vulnerable sectors of the population in rural areas – such as women, youth and children, the elderly and people with disabilities – by enhancing their access to public services, and the quality of their provision. Equally, the project aims to strengthen citizen participation in the decision-making processes at the local level and increase their access to information, effectively increasing the transparency of the local governance system.

In 2020 according to annual work plan IPSD prepared several analytical reports and policy papers, drafts of legislative acts in local governance.

• One analytical report was prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) based on the results of a functional analysis of district khokimiyats (local executive authority) in 5 pilot districts of the country - Bakhmal, Dehkanabad, Sariosiyo, Khavast districts and Nurafshon city. The report determined that the main drawbacks in provision of public services by district khokimiyats are linked to their corporate culture, which is not oriented towards providing public services to the population and businesses according to their needs. As local government policies are driven more and more by the logic of decentralization and taking into account the experience of the EU countries, it is proposed to implement a conceptually new and improved organizational structure of the khokimiyats.
• The lack of accountability of khokimiyats to citizens and their representative bodies (elected councils) strengthens their power and discretion at the local level. The dramatically increasing number of regulations mentioning khokimiyats also provides them additional functions in many areas of activity. Due to the lack of accountability links and clarity in the division of power, excessive authority has been concentrated in the hands of the executive branch (primarily khokimiyats), which results in excessive influence of khokimiyats in all aspects of life of the territories. Therefore, in order to increase accountability and legitimacy of khokims of regions, districts and cities, it is proposed that they become elected public positions and appropriate changes are made to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Local Government" and other relevant legislative acts.
• Widespread establishment of Public Advisory Councils in Uzbekistan started in 2018 after a respective Presidential resolution. Although the PAC under the regional khokimiyats were widely established, there was not much available evidence on their activity. Their bi-annual reports or minutes of the meetings could not be found in khokimiyats’ web-sites, and no recollection of conducting public hearings. The draft decisions of khokimiyats are seldom submitted for public discussion before they are adopted. Mechanisms and principles of studying the public opinion prior to important decisions have not been developed.
• The introduction of KPI based systems to increase the accountability of local governments creates opportunities building modern mechanisms to improve performance productivity and efficiency, as well as a more rational distribution of duties, capital resources and their effective use. The IPSD report suggests the following 4 groups of indicators to assess the effectiveness of local governments in Uzbekistan: (1) Official statistics; (2) Indicators of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); (3) Appeals of the population and entrepreneurs; (4) Independent Survey Results. These indicators should be consistent with the areas of activity of deputy khokims.
• For the first time in Uzbekistan there were established permanent secretariats of local Councils of People's Deputies, in all districts. IPSD helped to prepare and adopt a Resolution of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan (KQ-161–IV from 17.12.2020) on approval of standard documents of Local Councils of People's Deputies. At the same time, in the legislation of Uzbekistan there is no clear division of functions and powers of the representative and executive branches of local authorities. As a result, the accountability of the executive branch to the representative branch is only formal. The executive branch dominates all other branches of authority in matters of decision-making on vital issues of regional development. There is a need to develop new legislative acts to increase the transparency of activities of local Councils of people's deputies, and to foster the knowledge and skills of deputies of local councils.

In this regard, the project is planning to hire an International Consultant on Local governance, who will support the IPSD team by providing strategic guidance regarding the implementation of all the initiatives related to local governance and public service delivery at the local level.

Under overall guidance of the Project Manager and the Programme Coordinator as well as direct supervision of the Task Manager on Local governance, the International Consultant will perform the following duties and responsibilities.

A. General tasks.

1. Provide policy advice to IPSD team in the sphere of enhancement of local governance and improvement of local government institutions in the public service delivery;
2. Support IPSD team in the development of publications, information materials and analytical articles on local governance and decentralization in the international mass media (journals, newspapers, Internet, etc.);
3. Provide support in the development of case studies to be used during the trainings for the government agencies and khokimiyats staff;
4. Provide expertise to the analytical and other reports on local governance, decentralization, digitalization, etc. produced within the project;
5. Provide support in other related subjects if requested.

B. Specific tasks.

I. Strategic guidance and technical advice for the improvement of the legal framework for local governance in Uzbekistan.

1. Prepare and present a policy paper for improvement in the medium term of the local governance framework, based on analysis of the current situation, legislation and functioning of bodies of local representatives and executive powers in Uzbekistan and the most relevant practices in EU countries (policy paper).
2. Review draft legislative acts produced within the project and participate in the discussions of new legal drafts on local governance and draft proposals to improve the drafts of legislative acts (proposals).

Organize a seminar on the topic of decentralization in local governance (seminar in Uzbekistan/online if COVID-19 restrictions).?

II. Strategic guidance and technical advice for the preparation of manuals/guidebooks and for organizing training for local government officials.

1. Identify, evaluate and recommend European manuals/guidebooks on the following topics: results-based management, strategic planning, human resource management, participatory budgeting, public oversight relevant for the context of Uzbekistan (evaluation report).
2. Based on the above selected guidebooks, assist the IPSD team in developing manuals and guidebooks on the selected topics for local government in Uzbekistan (revision of manuals).
3. Organize one training on new public management models for key officials in pilot khokimiyats and other regions (training in Uzbekistan/online if COVID-19 restrictions).

III. Strategic guidance and technical advice in interaction between local government authorities and civil society.

1. Review best EU practices on interaction between local government authorities and civil society (report).
2. Elaborate requirements and support the development of the Concept note  of an on-line platform for civic engagement and public participation to address significant issues related to socio-economic development in the pilot regions, as well as to strengthen the dialogue between khokimiyats and citizens (Concept note).
3. Generate proposals on formation and development of Public Advisory Councils comprising representatives of civil society, business community, NGOs, experts and others on a voluntary basis in pilot regions (proposals).

IV. Strategic guidance and technical assistance for local public service delivery to vulnerable people, including women.

1. Review EU experience in local public service delivery for vulnerable people, including women (report).
2. Prepare presentation and learning materials regarding EU experience in local public service delivery for vulnerable people, including women (materials for training).

Organize a seminar on local public service delivery for vulnerable people, including women for the staff of PSA, pilot khokimiyats and other relevant government bodies (seminar in Uzbekistan/online if COVID-19 restrictions).

• Excellent analytical and interpersonal skills including oral and written communication.
• Demonstrated programme management skills including results-based orientation, preparation of work plans, monitoring and evaluation and leading cross-cultural teams.
• Previous experience in performing a similar role in UNDP would be an advantage.

Academic Qualifications:

• Master's degree or equivalent in Governance, Public Administration, Economics, Social Sciences, Management, Law or related fields.

Experience:

• At least 15 years of relevant professional experience performing a similar technical assistance role on Local governance and relevant issues.
• Experience working at the government and international organizations.
• Experience on conduction trainings on local government issues.
• Experience in preparation of manual/guideline or similar materials.
• Experience in coordination or preparation analytical reports and/or proposals for legislative acts.
• Previous work in Uzbekistan or other post-soviet republics is an asset

Language requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken Russian and English.
• Knowledge in Uzbek is an asset.

Others: 

• Excellent analytical and interpersonal skills including oral and written communication.
• Demonstrated programme management skills including results-based orientation, preparation of work plans, monitoring and evaluation and leading cross-cultural teams.
• Previous experience in performing a similar role in UNDP would be an advantage.

Interview:

For shortlisted candidates a competency-based interview will be arranged online.

UNDP is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified female candidates, people with disabilities, and minorities are highly encouraged to apply. UNDP Gender Balance in Management Policy promotes achievement of gender balance among its staff at all levels.

Application Process:

Interested candidates need to apply online by clicking “Apply Now” button and upload requested documents (Technical Proposal/Methodology, CV/P11 form, Offeror’s Letter of confirmation and Financial Proposal merged into one single file) in Part 5 of Procurement Notice no later than end of 15 April, 2021 (New York time).  Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Your on-line applications submission will be acknowledged to your email address provided in application. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary.

You can review detailed Procurement Notice, Terms of Reference and download templates from the UNDP Procurement Notices Site following the link http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=76696 (cut and paste into browser address bar if the link does not work).

Application submitted via email, incomplete applications or received after the closing date (April 15, 2021) will not be given consideration.

For more detailed information about UNDP Uzbekistan please visit our website at www.uz.undp.org.  UNDP is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified female candidates, people with disabilities, and minorities are highly encouraged to apply. UNDP Balance in Manage Policy promotes achievement of gender balance among its staff at all levels.

Requests for clarification must be sent in writing to pu.uz@undp.org,  ensuring that the reference number above is included in the subject line. UNDP shall endeavor to provide such responses to clarifications in an expeditious manner, but any delay in such response shall not cause an obligation on the part of UNDP to extend the submission date of the Proposals, unless UNDP deems that such an extension is justified and necessary.