The UNODC Regional Office for South-Eastern Europe (ROSEE) operates in South-Eastern Europe in the framework of its Regional Programme for South-Eastern Europe (RPSEE), covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo  and delivers technical assistance in the areas of anti-corruption, asset recovery, border management, anti-money laundering, firearms trafficking, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants (TIP/SOM), criminal justice and drug use prevention. The UNODC ROSEE is based in Istanbul, Türkiye, with UNODC Programme Offices located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, while Montenegro is covered by the Regional Reporting and Communications Officer. 
UNODC carries out its work in the region with the objective to meet specific national needs while ensuring that national activities and outputs form part of a coordinated and harmonized regional and interregional approach. In 2019, a new RPSEE was developed for the period 2020–2023 through an inclusive and participatory consultation process that included three expert working group meetings and other consultations in the spring of 2019 and saw the direct involvement of more than 90 government officials and experts from across the region, as well as technical experts from UNODC global programmes. The process provided Member States with an opportunity to shape the regional programme and to take ownership of the initiative.

In late 2022, the UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Montenegro and the Permanent Mission of Montenegro to the United Nations (Vienna) have expressed the wish to have a more concrete presence and engagement of UNODC in the country with the objective of identification of national policies in UNODC mandated priority areas which need further technical assistance and programmatic expansion and support. The need for UNODC’s more structured and physical presence in the country has been also highlighted by the said key interlocutors including the Ministry of Interior who in its letter welcomed UNODC efforts in the framework of the RPSEE and expressed further support to UNODC efforts in the fight against drugs, crime and terrorism.

Furthermore, in light of the launch of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Montenegro 2023-2027 (UNSDCF), the Resident Coordinator sent a letter to the UNODC Regional Representative (RR) for SEE inviting UNODC to undertake a programme development and expansion mission to Montenegro aiming at conducting direct contacts with: (i) national counterparts (existing beneficiaries of the RPSEE and potential new stakeholders); (ii) the diplomatic and donor community; and (iii) UNCT members present in the country. This would enable UNODC to better align and seek resources based on the current and future programmatic work and technical support to Montenegro in line with the UNSDCF and UNODC RPSEE. Similarly, the Permanent Mission of Montenegro to the United Nations (Vienna), during meetings with the UNODC RR SEE has also emphasized that they would highly welcome the expansion of UNODC activities and the establishment of a physical presence in the country. 

Purpose of the assignment:

The purpose of the consultancy is to assist UNODC with the development of a strategic framework for furthering the cooperation between Montenegro and UNODC which will contain conclusions and concrete recommendations aimed at scaling up UNODC interventions and portfolio in Montenegro. The consultant will undertake an assessment of UNODC mandated areas in the country and explore the possible further expansion of its activities through preliminary situation/needs analysis/assessments as well as other means. It is expected that the process would be conducted through consultations with national counterparts, existing and potential donors, international organizations, UNODC experts in the field and Vienna, and other relevant stakeholders. 
The aforementioned programme development/expansion initiative will enable UNODC, through structured meetings with the (i) Montenegrin Government Institutions, the (ii) UNRCO and Country team, and (iii) diplomatic and international community in Podgorica, to identify the priority areas of UNODC work in the country under the framework of the RPSEE 2020-2023 (in line with the United Nations Convention Against Organized Crime, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism).  The developed Montenegro-UNODC strategic framework of cooperation will be aligned with the national security and development agenda. Support documents for this analysis will include the 2022 Common Country Analysis for Montenegro; the European Commission progress reports for Montenegro; and national strategies on areas pertinent to rule of law, organized crime and corruption and other relevant documents.
Under the direct supervision of the Reporting and Communications Officer, the consultant will formulate and finalize the Montenegro-UNODC strategic framework of cooperation based on consultations with the mentioned stakeholders. 

The consultant will be responsible for contributing to the quality and timely submission of all deliverables, as follows: 

• Conduct a preliminary situation analysis/assessment of Montenegro needs for technical assistance in UNODC mandated priority areas. This will also include analysis of the relevant reports and strategies for Montenegro including but not limited to:

1. the Montenegro UNSDCF for 2023-2027;
2. the 2022 Common Country Analysis for Montenegro;
3. the European Commission progress report for Montenegro 2022;
4. UNODC delivery in Montenegro through the RPSEE 20-23 and related gap analysis.

• Develop the logical framework for the strategic framework in consultation with the UNODC team both at HQ and field level;
• Conduct an internal mapping with Global Programmes in Vienna HQ and the field to analyse how UNODC can further expand its programmatic portfolio and activities in the country and provide grounds for the possible scale-up of UNODC activities; 
• Organize and carry out, in close liaison with the UNODC Reporting and Communications Officer a UNODC scoping mission in Podgorica (Montenegro) headed by the RR SEE and other staff to conduct programmatic mapping meetings/interviews with (i) government counterparts, including with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, (ii) UN RC, RCO’s office and UNCT colleagues, to gain a better understanding of the country’s challenges and opportunities (the aim of this is to carry out a mapping of the various Montenegrin government institutions and analyze their capacities and willingness to cooperate further); and (iii) other international actors (eg. OSCE, EU programmes) and the diplomatic community to seek financial support and ensure joint coordination.
• Produce and finalize a report/concept paper on the Montenegro-UNODC strategic framework for cooperation with concrete action and recommendations;
• Prepare a presentation of findings and results for internal and external stakeholders demonstrating how UNODC can deliver the framework of cooperation with the country and further carry out its implementation in Montenegro;
• Produce a final report with a summary of the activities carried out, the main findings, recommendations and programmatic multiyear work plan with budget;
• Support the presentation of the report as a funding tool and technical framework of UNODC cooperation with Montenegro. 

The consultant will develop a work plan, which will be submitted along with the inception report. Upon review and finalization of the inception report, the consultant will proceed with the assignment as agreed. The consultant is expected to submit brief progress reports after finalization of each deliverable. The consultant might conduct missions to UNODC Headquarters in accordance with the approved workplan. 

Expected tangible and measurable output(s)/deliverable(s):

The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

• Internal Mapping and consultation with UNRC (UNODC Global Programme interest and mobilization of internal resources including RB23)
• External mapping and scoping mission to Podgorica (government interest and resource mobilization) 
• Finalization and presentation of the programme development report with recommendations, workplan, budget and actions
• Support UNODC ROSEE in the presentation of the report to national counterparts and the donors’ community in Montenegro and in Vienna HQs.

 Dates and details of deliverables/payments:

Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion and/or submission of outputs/deliverables. Please note that last payment must coincide with the end of the contract and must be identical to payment phases in the engagement of consultant/IC request.

Indicators to evaluate the consultant’s performance  

The Consultant will be evaluated against following key performance indicators:

• Timely and accurate submission of the documents.
• Logical and comprehensive inception report and output documents with substance and linguistic qualities in English language.  
• The final consultancy report shall include a summary of the activities carried out, an executive summary of the report with the main findings and recommendations. 
• Comments from UNODC Regional Office for SEE and HQ, as well as, national counterparts are integrated as requested. 

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN;
• 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;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills

Education: 

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in fields of law, criminology, international relations, public administration, project/programme management or other relevant disciplines, with specialized training in programme management, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, or statistics is required. A first level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. 

Experience:

• A minimum of seven (7) years of extensive practical experience in the field of drugs and crime (organized crime, anti-corruption, rule of law) including with International Organizations utilizing advanced analytical techniques to develop, monitor and evaluate complex projects/programmes related to UNODC mandates is required.
• Excellent analytical, drafting, editing and communication skills in English are required;
• Experience in conducting research, assessments, and analysis, including programme development, with strong abilities in quantitative and qualitative analysis is required;
• Professional experience in the wider region of South-Eastern Europe is required;
• Prior experience in developing programme documents for UN agencies is desirable;

Language:

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in oral and written English and Serbian/Montenegrin with proven drafting skills is required. 

Other:

• Ability and willingness to work under pressure and with tight deadlines is desirable; 

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 individual 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 May 20, 2023 by using the Apply now button. The application should contain CV. 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".