Antecedentes

Investment management in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) is governed by the Investment Law of 2006 and various other government policies and regulations, and falls under the purview of the Kurdistan Regional Government Board of Investment (KRG BOI).

The KRG BOI is responsible for developing investment strategies, plans, and policies. It is also responsible for setting up a suitable environment to attract investments, to help promote increased economic development in the region. This aspect of its work entails promoting, facilitating and regulating investment, ensuring that investment is directed into priority sectors to enhance local production, and creating job opportunities for the KRI citizens.

The KRG Economic Reform Roadmap 2016 recognizes the importance of domestic and foreign direct investment (FDI) in contributing to growth and employment, especially given the relative lack of capital, technical know-how, and technology in the Kurdistan region. Key investment-related priorities in the KRI include development of a regional investment policy, establishment of an investment registration center that can be a true one-stop shop for would-be investors, and the promotion of investment in the industry, agriculture and tourism sectors.?

To enhance the next stage of KRG BOI’s work and to ensure that it progresses in the right direction, the KRG BOI needs to identify current barriers to investment and determine whether its current policy mix can be reformed to attract more FDI in a wider variety of sectors. Therefore, KRG BOI is considering a thorough analysis on existing legislation, regulation, policies, strategies, institution structure, incentive schemes and promotional techniques to identify needed reform to promote investment in KRI. Furthermore, it also seeks expertise in analysing the state of the overall industrial sector to determine needed reforms to further develop this sector. It will be important to develop an understanding of what the industrial sector’s strategic direction should be, and what gaps exist that could be filled by foreign investment – foreign firms could not only boost investment in the KRI but also being valuable jobs, know-how, and capital to the region.

For these dual but interconnected initiatives, KRG BOI seeks deeper expertise in the areas relevant to attracting, securing, and retaining foreign investment, and in developing its industry, agriculture, and tourism sectors. For support with this ambition, KRG BOI has approached the UNDP Funding Facility for Economic Reform – KRG (FFER-KRG) to provide them with the necessary technical assistance.

As an initial response, UNDP FFER-KRG is recruiting an Investment Policy Specialist to support KRG BOI to undertake an Investment Reform Mapping (IRM) process. This IRM process will first thoroughly study the state of KRI’s investment potential and policy. It will then assess the type(s) of rules, regulations, incentive schemes and promotional techniques that can be reformed or instituted to best help KRG BOI to enhance investment in KRI. Next, it will identify and set priorities for reform, and finally it will create an action plan with concrete timelines. Concurrently, FFER-KRG will be recruiting an Industry Sector Specialist to conduct an assessment of the industry sector, and collaboration between these two specialists will be important.

The envisioned reform map for Investment Reform will focus on the overall environment, and set the stage for foreign investors and businesses to seek and discover the many potential benefits that come with investing in the region. It is envisioned that the Investment Policy Specialist can leverage both expertise and experience with attracting FDI to support KRG BOI as it considers its next steps in developing the KRI industry, Tourism and Agriculture sectors and investment climate.

As part of a separate exercise also funded by the FFER-KRG, an Industrial Sector Developing Specialist will be recruited to provide necessary technical assistance to the KRG Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoT&I) to (1) assess the current state of KRI’s industry sector; (2) formulate a strategic direction and policy for Industry sector of the KRI; and (3) develop an industry sector growth and development plan that addresses legislative, regulatory, processes, procedures and support program reforms that are essential to promote growth and development of industry sector of the KRI. The assignment will be in parallel to this exercise, and it is expected that the recruited consultants coordinate their activities to avoid duplications and ensure synergies are established.

Scope of Work

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide necessary technical assistance to KRG BOI to (1) assess the current state of investment in the KRI, and (2) identify what reforms are required to promote investment opportunities in KRI and improve management of investment, promotional activities, and incentive programmes.

For the duration of this post, the Investment Specialist will be working in the office of the Director General of Promotion, Assessment and Licensing of Projects at KRG BOI, and will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the Director General of Promotion, Assessment and Licensing of Projects at KRG BOI and KRG Ministry of Planning General Director of Capital Investment Budget as well as in coordination with the UNDP FFER-KRG Project Manager.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Key duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited t0

Conduct desk review on current state of investment in KRI – The specialist shall prepare an initial baseline report through a desk review of relevant documents, related to KRI investment including but not limited to Investment Law ref 4 of 2006, Draft revised Investment Law 2015, Board of Investment Internal System, BOI Instruction ref 1 2007, BOI Instruction ref 2 of 2017 and KRG BOI vision and Policy. This report will then serve as a foundation for more in-depth consultation with stakeholders. This report must include, but is not limited to:

1. A thorough outline of KRG investment strategy, legislation, regulations, investment licensing procedures, and key investment opportunities;
2. A general assessment of the current state of investment in KRI;
3. Matrix that captures best practices examples from global experiences and conduct comparative assessment to KRI Investment legal and Institutional framework;
4. List of all necessary stakeholders required for in-depth follow up.

Conduct in-depth consultation meetings with KRG BOI, Ministry of Trade & Industry, Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources and other relevant government and non-government entities – with the support of the baseline report, and through these in-depth meetings, the specialist shall prepare a detailed assessment report of the current state of investment in KRI by doing the following:

1. Assess the overall legal framework for investment, identify existing legal gaps and conflicting policies that act as barriers and disincentives to investment, and make recommendations as appropriate on updating the investment legislative framework in line with international best practices to attract and promote investment;
2. Assess existing investment incentives as defined under the law, assess their suitability and effectiveness in promoting and directing investment to priority sectors, and recommend appropriate financial and/or other incentives to promote and facilitate investment;
3. Assess the extent to which investment-related administrative procedures have been streamlined to simplify business registration and licensing procedures, and to reduce transaction costs. The assessment should include the possibility of establishing a one-stop-shop for investment and the use of online technology and instruments to facilitate implementation of business regulations and procedures;
4. Assess the existing framework for investment promotion and facilitation, analyze its effectiveness, identify any needs for capacity building and institutional strengthening, and make recommendations on revised, more simplified, and more streamlined investment procedures;
5. Review the extent of investment promotion activities and materials, identify the gaps, propose measures to improve promotion and facilitation for both domestic and foreign investment as well as support with the revision of promotional materials of BOI;
6. Assess the coherence between investment promotion measures and other policy measures (e.g. trade policy, tax policy, competition policy, infrastructure development, etc);
7. Assess how the various investment promotion and facilitation measures are coordinated across agencies and the different layers of administration (sectoral approaches), identify the challenges and capacity gaps and make policy recommendations to improve investment promotion and facilitation;
8. Assess the existing land ownership and registration system and make recommendations on how to improve access to land for investment;
9. Assess and recommend appropriate measures for monitoring investment flows and activities and follow-up in KRI, including capacity building for collecting and publishing statistics on investment flows.
10. Assess the investment security guarantees against expropriation and measures for compensation in KRI against international best practices. Identify any gaps and make appropriate policy recommendations;
11. In light of the review that is going to be conducted by FFER-KRG Senior PPP Expert (another assignment also funded by FFER-KRG) on the effectiveness of existing public-private sector dialogue initiatives, the Specialist shall recommend the most appropriate formal mechanisms and channels for effective government- investor dialogue on facilitating investment for development.

Technical Support to KRG BOI to develop an Investment Reform Map (IRM) – with the aid of the detailed assessments to be conducted, the specialist will support KRG BOI to set priorities for the reforms to be undertaken. The specialist will:

1. Develop Draft IRM – Support KRG BOI to drat an IRM that addresses legislative, regulation, procedural, and promotional program reforms that are essential to enhance local and foreign investment in the KRI.
2. Develop necessary Terms of Reference (ToRs) to support IRM – the Specialist shall support with the development of ToRs for the necessary consultancy work to implement the IRM.
3. Conduct IRM Consensus Workshop – Conduct a day-long workshop with key government and private sector stakeholders to discuss and help reach consensus on the proposed Investment Reform Map.
4. Submit final IRM – Amend the IRM document based on the outcomes/discussions of the workshop and any other consultation meetings conducted. A final IRM shall be submitted based on these final discussions and amendments.

?Expected outputs and deliverables:

1. Draft Investment Reform Map IRM that addresses legislative, regulation, procedural, and promotional program reforms that are essential to enhance local and foreign investment in the KRI.
2. Developed Terms of Reference (ToRs) for necessary consultancy to implement IRM
3. Conduct IRM Consensus Workshop to discuss and help reach consensus on the proposed Investment Reform Map.
4. Submit final IRM based on the outcomes/discussions of the workshop and any other consultation meetings conducted.

Institutional Arrangement

• The Specialist will report to FFER-KRG project manager. The specialist will be working at KRG BOI during the missions to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Erbil and expected to bring their own computer and telephone and any other required technological solutions.
• The consultant will submit monthly activity reports, describing the progress/achievements against the tasks described above as well as the final report at the end of the assignment. Payment is made against combined deliverables (as per the payment schedule provided below) upon approval of the FFER-KRG project manager.
• The Advanced and Basic Security in the Field II courses must be successfully completed prior to commencement of travel;
• The Consultant is responsible for ensuring they have vaccinations/inoculations when travelling to certain countries, as designated by the UN Medical Director;
• The consultant is also required to comply with the UN security directives;
• The consultant is responsible for obtaining any visas needed in connection with travel with the necessary support from UNDP;
• The consultant is responsible for required health and life insurances related to work or travel.

Duration

• The assignment is for 70 WDs over 5 months, starting from the date that work assigned to specialist officially by FFER-KRG Project Manager.??

Travel

• The consultant is expected to undertake two missions to Erbil, Iraq. as specified in the table below;
• The Specialist shall be paid DSA rate in accordance with UNDP travel policy and according to the going rate at the time (DSA current US$163.00, for each night on mission for purpose of financial proposal) ;
• The consultant?is expected to include the total cost of mission (Per Diem, Flight Ticket, travel cost and communication) in the financial proposal.

Fees and Payment

The price proposal should be an “all-inclusive”daily rate

• The financial proposal should be broken down to Consultancy fee, Flight Cost, Per Diem, Communication, etc. as per provided table; and
• An IC Time Sheet must be submitted by the Specialist, duly approved by the FFER-KRG Project Manager, which shall serve as the basis for the payment of fees
• The Specialist’s deliverables must be approved by the FFER-KRG project manager, and payment will be based on the submitted deliverables as outlined in section 3 and submission of certification of payment.

Competencias

• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• High analytical skills oriented towards problem-solve;
• Leadership and self-management;
• Focus on results and respond positively to feedback;
• Consistently approach work with energy and a positive attitude;
• Demonstrate openness for approaches to manage complexity;
• Team spirit and excellent interpersonal skills;
• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP and the UN; and
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education

• An advanced degree in Economic, Finance, public administration or related field.

Experience

• At least 10 years of relevant working experience in investment policy-related work; experience in one stop shop establishment and other investment-related areas;
• Expertise in conducting situation analyses and needs assessments related to investment policy in developing countries
• Experience in the design of investment policy, preferably in a developing or emerging market country context.

Languages

• Fluent in English written and oral and Knowledge of Arabic/Kurdish is a distinct asset.

Technical Proposal

• Technical Approach & Methodology? – Explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach.
• Work Plan? – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan;
• Interested international individual consultants must submit CVs and technical proposal to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document.

Evaluation Method

Combined Weighted Method

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) 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%

* Financial Criteria weight 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Evaluation Critera

Technical Proposal (30 marks)

• Technical Approach & Methodology (20 marks) – Explain the understanding of the objectives of the assignment, approach to the services, methodology for carrying out the activities and obtaining the expected output, and the degree of detail of such output. The Applicant should also explain the methodologies proposed to adopt and highlight the compatibility of those methodologies with the proposed approach.
• Work Plan (10 marks) – The Applicant should propose the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and interrelations, milestones (including interim approvals by the Client), and delivery dates. The proposed work plan should be consistent with the technical approach and methodology, showing understanding of the TOR and ability to translate them into a feasible working plan.

Qualification and Experience (40 marks) [evaluation of CV]:

• General Qualification (20 marks);
  • Education 15 Marks
  • Language 5 Marks
• Experience relevant to the assignment (20 marks);
  • At least 10 years of relevant working experience in investment policy-related work; experience in one stop shop establishment and other investment-related areas; 10 marks
  • Expertise in conducting situation analyses and needs assessments related to investment policy in developing countries (5 marks); and
  • Experience in the design of investment policy, preferably in a developing or emerging market country context (5 marks).

Interviews may be conducted as part of the technical criteria. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for interview and would be deemed technically compliant..