Background

Successive Philippine Administrations in the Philippines have consistently pursued programs to reduce poverty and inequality. The amount of government spending has increased significantly over the period 2011-2015 largely because of improved revenue collection and fiscal reforms. The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has accelerated this spending program, particularly through the mantra “build, build, build”. However, absorptive capacity of government agencies has been affected by bottlenecks in the planning, design, pre-execution, procurement, and execution phases of projects with problems in coordination within and between national government agencies and issues also with local government capacity. A critical issue, therefore, is the effective management of public procurement that underpins the Administration’s Development Agenda.

The legal framework for public procurement in the Philippines is notably strong: the passage of the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) or RA 9184 in 2003 ended the era of fragmented procurement regulation which had enabled leakages. Still, public procurement continues to suffer from frequent delays (e.g., bid failures) as well as corruption scandals (e.g., bid riggings), both of which hamper the timely and effective delivery of public services. Systemic reform and capacity building are needed to support government plans to boost public spending to meet its development goals.

A Rapid Assessment has been pursued on the last quarter of 2017 to help inform the process of strengthening institutions for public procurement. The Rapid Assessment conducted diagnosed the integrity risks in public procurement and the management of public finances in order to develop a collective agenda for improving public service delivery.  It provided relevant information emanating from the series of dialogues conducted among key stakeholders on these integrity risks and broader Public Financial Management (PFM) and service delivery issues; and likewise provided recommendations for a capacity development action plan for improving service delivery.

Alongside the above, the Bangsamoro Organic Law was recently passed and if ratified through plebiscite, will involve the transition of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.  This provides an opportunity to assist the new BARMM with developing a procurement/PFM reform plan and to build capacity to underline a commitment to good governance within the new entity.

The engagement of a Procurement Reform Advisor is needed to contribute to the initiative of UNDP to strengthen the public procurement system of the Philippines and deepen integrity and effective delivery of services.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Country Director, the Procurement Reform Advisor will carry out the following responsibilities:

1. Closely coordinate with identified key stakeholders and focal person in order to provide strategic directions and input to the Public Financial Management (PFM) Specialist tasked to develop the five-year PFM programme document of UNDP and resource mobilization strategy;
2. Together with project stakeholders, provide strategic guidance for processing the programme document and Identify potential partners and/or help identify resource mobilization opportunities for the programme;
3. The incumbent shall also subsequently (subject to securing resources) lead a team of experts in implementing the UNDP 5-year PFM programme in the selected pilot agencies;
4. Conduct a comprehensive review of existing statutes, rules, policies, and procedures to identify challenges in developing a procurement reform and draft relevant policy notes, technical advisories, implementing guidelines during the course of the implementation of the PFM and procurement programme;
5. Conduct a policy scan and provide a policy note on viability for the Government of the Philippines to pursue Green Procurement;
6. Provide program oversight to the implementation of the Public Procurement Strengthening Project supported by Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK Prosperity Fund);
7. Prepare a concept note on support to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority for a targeted budget execution support and PFM/Procurement Reform and capacity Development programme that is based on the National Acceleration Modality; and
8. Regularly report the development of the abovementioned programme documents to UNDP and immediately elevate issues that require urgent attention by the Country Director.

Expected Output and Deliverables

Institutional Arrangements

1. The Contract will be oversighted by the Country Director of UNDP with the support of the Governance Team.
2. The Governance Team will provide technical support and administrative-logistical assistance in organizing meetings and activities with relevant stakeholders.
3. UNDP shall provide for operational costs that the Individual Consultant will incur consistent with the contract.
4. UNDP Philippines shall be entitled to all intellectual property and other proprietary rights to all materials that have direct relation to the project.

Duration Of Work

The Procurement Reform Advisor will be engaged for six (6) months (January 2019 - June 2019) unless revised in a mutually agreed upon timetable by the Country Director and the Contractor.

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.

Functional and technical competencies:

• Strong knowledge of the latest theories and concepts in urban development and sustainable cities in the Philippines and broader region;
• Strong analytical and research skills;
• Familiarity with current actors working on urban development challenges in the Philippines;
• Strong communication skills and ability to communicate with different stakeholders;
• Excellent in oral and written communication; have skills to write independent reports, documents, maintain systems and procedures in administering programs.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications Of The Successful Individual Contractor

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Law, Public Administration, Communications, Social Sciences and related courses

Work Experience

• Minimum of twenty (20) years relevant experience to project management, financial administration, and other related work experience;
• Minimum of 10 years public financial management; national and local budget reform experience, 
• Minimum of 10 years social accountability and third-party monitoring experience.
• Previous engagement with any UN agencies

Language 

• Fluency in spoken and written English, Filipino

Scope Of Price Proposal And Schedule Of Payments

The financial proposals from possible candidates should be expressed in lump sum amount inclusive of all financial costs related to this engagement (i.e., such as transportation/travel to and from residence for meetings within Metro Manila, supplies and materials, equipment, reproduction, communications including internet, etc).

Payments will be made when specific outputs have been submitted, as outlined below:

The financial proposals from possible candidates should be expressed in lump sum amount inclusive of all financial costs related to this engagement (i.e., such as transportation/travel to and from residence for meetings within Metro Manila, supplies and materials, equipment, reproduction, communications including internet, etc).

Payments will be made when specific outputs have been submitted, as outlined below:

Recommended Presentation of Offer

Offerors are must submit /upload in 1 file following documents: 

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability that indicates the all-inclusive lumpsum contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided; If an 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 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;
2. Financial Proposal 
3. Personal CV or P11, 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;
4. Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a methodology, if applicable, on how they will approach and complete the assignment

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

The offer will be evaluated based on a Combined Scoring method where the qualifications and technical proposal will be weighted a maximum of 70% and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a maximum of 30%. The technical proposal will be evaluated based on 1) CV and 2) submission of item # 4 – brief description under the Recommended Presentation of Offer.

For the evaluation of the CV, the following point system will be used:

The breakdown of percentage for the entire technical evaluation is as follows:

Please visit  http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=52205  to access the Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability and view the complete details of Terms of Reference.

In view of the volume of applications UNDP receives, only shortlisted offerors will be notified.