Antecedentes

On 23 January 2015, the Government of the Russian Federation and UNDP signed a Partnership Framework Agreement (PFA) that establishes the foundation for a long-term Russia strategic partnership with UNDP for the implementation of development projects in other countries. According to the Russia-UNDP Trust Fund for Development (TFD) Agreement, the Trust Fund may provide financing to UNDP knowledge management and capacity building projects, developed in partnership with and using the knowledge, experience and expertise of Russian ministries, agencies, think tanks, universities and NGOs involved in international development cooperation.

The regional project “Knowledge Management and Capacity Building in the Russia-UNDP Partnership” is formulated in accordance with the PFA, which foresees that Russia and UNDP collaborate in “leveraging the knowledge, experience and expertise in development cooperation, including by involving academic institutions and individual experts from the Russian Federation in accordance with UNDP’s applicable regulations and rules, and policies and procedures”.

The main goal of the project is to support capacity building on knowledge and expertise transfer of Russia as a donor and to achieve sustainable, scalable development impact in partner countries through the programmatic promotion of several mechanisms of Russian expertize transfer.

The Russian Experts on Demand Programme is part of the project and aims to provide an instrument for knowledge and know-how transfer via rapid deployment of Russian experts for on demand small-scale interventions and consultancies and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing through mentorship.

Trade has significantly contributed to development of Turkmenistan. The country’s integration with the rest of the world was based on export of hydrocarbons over the last quarter century. In 2013, the President announced the country would consider joining WTO. A working group to study and analyse the economic implications of the country’s potential accession to the organization was set up. However, there is no progress in this respect, and Turkmenistan remains the only country of the former Soviet Union that is neither a member of WTO nor an applicant for membership.

Since 2014, lower hydrocarbon prices and sluggish external demand have continued to undermine Turkmenistan’s economic performance enforcing the authorities to target a gradual transition toward a more diversified, market-driven economy. Turkmenistan does not have a separate trade strategy document. There are two main documents in this area: National Program on Import Substitution and National Program on Export Promotion.

The Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan expressed an interest to cooperate with the UNDP in the area of trade capacity development, including foreign and domestic trade.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The specific objective of the expert will be to explore the capacity needs of the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan and define concrete areas for strengthening its institutional capacity to define the country’s trade strategy. During the preliminary consultations, the Ministry and UNDP have identified the following areas for potential cooperation: i) capacity development for formulation and implementation of foreign policy; ii) capacity building for domestic trade; iii) developing trade research capacity and trade education; and iv) building capacity of export promotion ministries and agencies.

Deliverables and timeframe:

Deliverable 1: Provide substantial inputs for the future project document on Trade Capacity Development, including the following:

• i) describe the development challenge that the project seeks to address and how it is relevant to the national development priorities;
• ii) using the concept of Theory of Change, describe the approach and strategy that has been selected to address the development challenge;
• iii) clearly define the project components/expected results and propose activities for each project component

Number of days: 10 days, including 5 days in Ashgabat. Deadline: 15 December 2017.

This is an installment-based contract that should cover the costs of consultancy required to produce the above deliverables. The final schedule of payments will be agreed upon in the beginning of consultancy. Payment will be released in one installment upon timely submission of respective deliverables and their acceptance by UNDP Turkmenistan.

Competencias

Functional competencies:

• Excellent analytical and writing skills;
• Good understanding of the national contexts and statistical systems in CIS countries;
• Knowledge of and ability to transfer Russian expertise in the area of trade capacity development.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Master Degree in Economics/Trade;

Experience:

• At least 5 years of previous working experience in trade policy system of Russian Federation, including foreign trade and domestic trade policy;
• Proved record of international consultancy experience in CIS countries focused on trade capacity development;
• Knowledge and experience working on international trade.

Language requirements:

• Russian is mandatory, including excellent writing skills. English is an asset.

Submission of applications:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• Brief (1-2 pages) description of the methodology for the assignment;
• Financial Proposal with the references to (1) the daily rate for the assignment and within the timing scale indicated in the present TOR, and (2) any other expenses (including transportation costs, accommodation costs, the possibility of vaccination and etc.). Template of the form can be found at: http://www.tm.undp.org/content/turkmenistan/en/home/operations/jobs. The UNDP will enter into an Individual Contract based on a lump sum amounts. The financial proposal shall represent a detailed, justified and “all inclusive” amount.  In order to assist UNDP in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount, including: a daily fee for the tasks and an estimated duration as specified in this announcement, travel (to and from the missions), per diems, any other possible costs (including vaccinations, dwelling, communication etc.);
• Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable candidate for the assignment;
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from  http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc.

Evaluation of proposals:

Individual Consultants will be evaluated based on the combined scoring methodology. When using this method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant and
• Having received the highest score – out of 100 points

Out of the maximum score, the score for technical criteria equals 70% - maximum 100 points, and for financial criteria 30%.

The technical evaluation will take into account the following as per the scoring provided:

• Education: Master Degree in Economics/Trade – 15 pts;
• At least 5 years of previous working experience in trade policy system of Russian Federation, including foreign trade and domestic trade policy – 25 pts;
• Proved record of international consultancy experience in CIS countries focused on trade capacity development – 25 pts;
• Methodology (knowledge and working experience on international trade) – 20 pt;
• Fluency in Russian – 10 pts;
• Fluency in English – 5 pts;
• Financial proposal – 30% of total evaluation.

Additional requirements for recommended contractor:

Recommended contractors aged 62 and older, and if the travel is required, shall undergo a full medical examination including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. The medical examination is to be cleared by the UN physicians, and shall be paid by the consultant.