Important notice to the Applicants!

Only those applications would be considered that have been submitted to the following email address: procurement.kz@undp.org with the indication of Ref.2019-002 in the subject line. The deadline is March 4, 2019.

For detailed information on the position, required documents to be sent and evaluation procedure please refer to the Terms of Reference. Any request for clarification must be sent in writing, or by standard electronic communication to the following e-mail konstantin.sokulskiy@undp.org copying meruyert.bolyssayeva@undp.org

Project description

The development strategy – “Kazakhstan’s Way to 2050: Common Goals, Common Interests, Common Future” – lays out the strategy of the country becoming one of the 30 most developed countries in the world by 2050. This strategy is focused on economic diversification, innovation, investment in human capital and international trade integration. It also seeks to strengthen governance, enhance the quality of public services and improve the business climate in the country.

Notwithstanding the progress made to date in many fronts, significant institutional and governance challenges remain, constraining the state’s ability to effectively formulate and implement its development policies. A key challenge, relevant to this project, is to further develop the judicial sector in the country. This requires the strengthening of the institutional capacity of selected state agencies and organisations for the effective implementation of the judicial function and the improvement in the efficiency and transparency of their processes, procedures and interactions with other state agencies and organisations. It also entails the modernisation of those entities and structures that are related to the judicial functions, aiming to bringing them up to the standards of the OECD member states.

Independent, effectively functioning judiciary free of corruption is key to realising Kazakhstan’s aspiration to enter the ranks of the 30 most competitive economies in the world.  In connection to this, the overall objective of the Project is to increase the capacity of the Supreme Court (SC) to manage and support the judicial system in its efforts to increase public trust in courts, by: (i) developing a strategy and an action plan for a 3-year period to improve the judicial system of Kazakhstan; (ii) developing and implementing a framework for the continuous improvement of the quality of administration of justice and courts’ management; (iii) improving the training, assessment and promotion of judges and court personnel management systems; (iv) developing the judiciary’s resource infrastructure and introducing innovations to improve access to justice; and (v) developing amendments and additions to current legislation based on the outcomes of the four preceding activities.

In doing this, the project will (i) conduct institutional assessments, analyses and reviews of the judicial system; (ii) prepare strategies and other concept notes and papers, as well as detailed action plans, including the cost for their implementation; (iii) simplify and optimise judicial procedures; and (iv) strengthen the institutional capacity of the SC to perform administrative and management functions with regard to local courts.

This large scaleproject is expected to be delivered within 14 months in close cooperation with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and in consultation with other relevant stakeholders. 

A Team Leader is needed to orchestrate performance of a sizable team of experts and consultancy services providers  and ensure overall project management for the implementation of project goals and objectives, effective communication with national and international stakeholders and timely resolution of issues that may hinder the successful implementation of the project.

The Team Leader must ensure full implementation of the following deliverables within the prescribed duration of this project (14 months), by successfully coordinating, deploying and utilising the resources of the project:

1. Development of a draft Strategy of the development of the judicial system of Kazakhstan and a draft Plan for its implementation

It involves: (i) qualitative and quantitative analysis of the key aspects of administration of justice and court administration; (ii) a SWOT-analysis of the quality of administration of justice and court administration; (iii) review of good practices of countries with advanced level of development of the judicial system in modernization of the judicial system, improvement of the quality of justice and efficiency of court administration; (iv) preparation and support of technical visits; (v) development of a draft Strategy of the development of the judicial system of Kazakhstan; (vi) development of a draft Plan for implementation of the Strategy of the development of the judicial system of Kazakhstan; (vii) organization of events aimed at discussion of the draft Strategy of the development of the judicial system of Kazakhstan and the draft Plan for its implementation; and (viii) conducting an independent international legal assessment of the draft Strategy of the development of the judicial system of Kazakhstan and the draft Plan for its implementation for compliance with international standards and good practices in judicial sphere.

2. Development and implementation of the framework for continuous improvement of the quality of administration of justice and court administration

It involves: (i) analysis of international and national practices and development of recommendations for development of a quality management system of administration of justice; (ii) conduct of surveys, their analysis and development of recommendations; (iii) analysis and development of recommendations for simplification and optimization of judicial procedures; (iv) analysis of normative acts of the SC in terms of compliance with the current national legislation, international commitments and good practices; (v) analysis and development of recommendations for introduction of modern management technologies, including project management and change management, as well as on efficient organizational structure; (vi) development of the draft Programs for implementation of the system of continuous improvement of the quality of administration of justice and optimization of court administration; and (vii) discussions and consultations with all stakeholders on measures to improve quality of administration of justice and court administration.

3. Improvement of the system of training, assessment and promotion of judges and court staff, as well as enhancing the organizational culture of the judicial system

It involves: (i) improvement of evaluation of the judges’ professional activity, disciplinary practice, and compliance with the Code of Judicial Ethics, to enhance the image and accountability of judges; (ii) analysis of the organizational culture of the judicial system and development of recommendations for its development; (iii) implementation of international recommendations for the Development Strategy of the Academy of Justice to introduce the OECD standards in the staff training system; (iv) development of draft programs and draft plans; and (v) discussions with all stakeholders.

4. Developing a resource base and innovations in the judicial system to improve access to justice

It involves: (i) qualitative and quantitative analysis of the existing distribution of courts and their caseload for optimizing the country’s court map; (ii) analysis and development of recommendations on feasibility of introducing mobile court units; (iii) analysis and development of recommendations for improvement of the financing mechanism of the judicial system; (iv) assessment of needs in development of the judicial system’s infrastructure; (v) analysis and development of recommendations for improvement of energy efficiency; (vi) analysis and development of recommendations for improvement of court buildings’ accessibility for people with disabilities; (vii) further development of digitization of the judicial system to increase internal and external users’ satisfaction in accordance with the approved IT Strategy for the judicial system and terms of reference; (viii) development of a draft Comprehensive Program of support of the judicial system of Kazakhstan and draft Plan for its implementation; and (ix) discussions with all stakeholders.

5. Development of recommendations on making amendments and additions to the current legislation based on the outcomes of the four preceding ones.

The information on the specific tasks could be found in the Terms of Reference.

• Excellent analytical and writing skills;
• Excellent people management skills;
• Excellent budget management skills;
• Ability to work under pressure meeting tight deadlines, and prepare accurate and clear reports at short notice for policy makers;
• Ability to orchestrate performance of multiple experts and companies/organizations in parallel; 
• Ability to interact with high government officials and to work closely with technical experts on a day-to-day basis, as well as to provide hands-on technical assistance and transfer knowledge;
• Capability of listening to the Beneficiary, and ability to convert the Beneficiary’s vision into concrete tasks and ensure quality execution.

• Master’s degree in law, management, public administration or any other relevant area of expertise;
• At least 15 years of professional work experience in senior positions in justice reform, rule of law, public administration reform or experience in management of large-scale transformation processes in public, quasi-state or private sector organisations;
• At least 5 years of experience in leading and implementing projects of similar complexity, scope, intensity and budget;
• Proven experience in the management of large-scale projects in the quasi-government sector or with international organizations;
• Good working knowledge of English; knowledge of Russian is considered an advantage.

Scope of price proposal and Schedule of Payments:

1. The financial proposal should specify an all-inclusive daily fee (based on a 7-hour working day - lunch time is not included - and estimated 21.75 days per month). 
2. The financial proposal must be all-inclusive and take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; (excluding mission travel); living allowances at the duty station; communications, utilities and consumables; life, health and any other insurance; risks and inconveniences related to work under hardship and hazardous conditions (e.g., personal security needs, etc.), when applicable; and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services under the contract.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Payments for professional services are done bimonthly based on the all-inclusive daily rate and the number of days worked during the calendar month, upon certification of satisfactory performance by the UNDP Governance Programme Analyst. 

! Application Procedure:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information (max 10 MB) to demonstrate their qualifications:

1. Personal CV 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;

Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP; template attached;

3. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided;

4. Any other referred information would be accepted.

ONLY fully submitted applications would be considered!!!