UNDP Jobs - 82791- Local Consultant for Legal Framework on Policy Coo

Local Consultant for Legal Framework on Policy Coordination

Location :

Podgorica, MONTENEGRO

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Feb-2019

Application Deadline :

20-Jan-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 February 2019 - 30 September 2019

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

In December 2010 Montenegro was granted the status of the candidate country for EU membership, accession negotiations with Montenegro being launched on 29 June 2012. One of the EU “fundamentals first” approach in the Enlargement policy has, inter alia, been Public Administration Reform (PAR), aimed at achieving a sustainable growth and improving competitiveness through the creation of a more transparent, efficient and service-oriented public administration in Montenegro, as a front-runner of the accession negotiations.

One of the PAR components in need of comprehensive reform is policy development and coordination. Namely, there has been no medium-term and performance-based strategic planning system in place, which indirectly impacts the pace of EU negotiations and affects proper planning and programming of IPA funds, ultimately affecting their absorption rate. Result-oriented, evidence-based approach in drafting strategies is still not present enough in practice, as in many cases strategies lack performance indicators, i.e. outcome level indicators, which makes monitoring of their implementation impossible in terms of their true impact. A more coherent strategic planning, which focuses on the medium-term goals and priorities of the Government and embodies measurable deliverables would benefit horizontally the entire administration system with a considerable impact on state budget credibility.

Strategy on Public Administration Reform, i.e. its Action Plan for 2018-2020, defines two objectives which need to be addressed through the work of competent bodies:

Objective 4.4.1. Comprehensive and rational system of planning, coordination and monitoring implementation of Government policies established.
Objective 4.4.2. Increased use of analytical tools for drafting of legislation and better quality of consultation among stakeholders when drafting policies.

Work on sectoral strategic planning system was initially within the mandate of the Ministry of European Affairs, which put focus on improving the quality of strategic documents, so that by the end of February 2018, when the Ministry of European Affairs ceased to function, the legal framework for strategic planning with clear quality criteria, procedures and institutional responsibilities was prepared, in order to ensure quality control of strategies and coordination between central government institutions. Namely, Decree on modalities and procedure for drafting, alignment and monitoring of implementation of strategic documents was prepared (adopted by the Government in July 2018, published in Official Gazette 54/18), with the accompanying Methodology for policy development, drafting and monitoring of strategic planning documents, providing elaborate explanation on overall strategic framework of Montenegro, on categorization of strategic documents and interlinkages, as well as interpreting in detail all the aspects of the Decree, with a set of practical tools and examples to facilitate the work of line ministries on strategic documents.

In the aftermath of the Ministry of European Affairs’ official abolishment in March 2018, the tasks on further improvement of strategic planning system were assigned to the Secretariat - General of the Government. In order to ensure the continuity of implementation with respect to the achieved results, a separate Department for Coordination, Monitoring of Compliance and Monitoring of the Implementation of Strategies Defining Public Policies was established within Secretariat General of the Government.

In this context, Secretariat General of the Government will further focus on the quality check of strategic documents and reports on their Implementation, by way of implementing the relevant Decree and Methodology, and further exploring the legal solutions necessary for optimal functioning of the strategic planning system of Government policies, for the sake of improving overall planning system and a more efficient EU integration of Montenegro.

The project “Strengthening capacities for the acceleration of EU accession of Montenegro” is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by UNDP in partnership with the Office for European Integration and the Secretariat General of the Government. The project started on October 1, 2017 and it will be implemented over the period of two years. The general objective of this action is to assist, advise and support EU accession negotiations through strengthening the capacities of the Government of Montenegro in responding to the demands of the new phases of accession especially in areas of policy planning and coordination.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment:

The objective of the assignment is to strengthen capacities of the Secretariat General of the Government of Montenegro and its Department for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies, by contributing to their examination of optimal legal solutions for functioning of the overall strategic planning system through engagement of the local consultant, that would be assigned a relevant research project. Additionally, the consultant will support the implementation of the project „ Strengthening capacities for the acceleration of EU accession of Montenegro“.

Job content:

Under the supervision of the UNDP Project Manager and the Assistant Secretary-General of the Government, the local consultant will perform the following tasks:

Analyse the legal solutions for efficient functioning of strategic planning systems of the Region and/or EU member states of comparable size to Montenegrin administration, including IPA/EU structural funds programming documents and/or European semester related planning documents;
Analyse the legal framework for strategic planning in Montenegro, with focus on the implementation of the relevant Decree and the Methodology, that entered into force in August 2018;
Explore possible legal solutions for effective inter-linkages between developing quality strategic documents and medium-term budget programming;
Explore possible legal solutions for better coordination between developing quality strategic documents and IPA/EU funds programming;
Prepare a research assignment on the scope of legal framework for the strategic planning in Montenegro (what types of planning documents have been legally defined and what is missing, what procedures and institutional mechanisms need still to be embedded in the legal framework for a more efficient policy planning etc.), based on the comparative analysis of legal solutions in some other countries and the implementing practice of the current by-laws in force;
The research paper should be based on the data collected with the reference on the analytical work, as above, and it should contribute to streamlining the future work of the Department in terms of legal proposals to the Government and affect further cooperation with other institutions for a more efficient strategic planning system.
Provide support in the implementation of all activities planned in the project “Strengthening capacities for the acceleration of EU accession of Montenegro “, and ensure transparent and excellent communication with direct project partners and other stakeholders;
Prepare monthly reports on implemented activities;
Perform other relevant tasks upon request of the UNDP Project Manager and Director General of the Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies in the Secretariat General of the Government.

The expected results: It is expected from the consultant to coordinate and deliver above mentioned tasks, in order to strengthen capacities of the Secretariat General of the Government and support the implementation of the project „Strengthening capacities for the acceleration of EU accession of Montenegro “.

Timing and reporting: The local consultant will be engaged in the period from 1 February 2019 – 30 September 2019. The consultant will be placed at the premises of the Secretariat General of the Government, and he/she will work during the working hours of the Secretariat General of the Government. The local consultant will work under direct supervision of UNDP Project Manager and Assistant Secretary-General of the Government. He/she will be obligated to provide monthly reports on their deliverables during the assignment.

Time duration and travel: The local consultant will be engaged in the period from 1 February 2019 – 30 September 2019. The consultant will be placed at the premises of the Secretariat General of the Government and work during the working hours of the Office.

Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
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;
Excellent communication skills, facility in working with teams and capacity to compose clear and readable narrative reports;
Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills;
Excellent organizational and time management skills;
Knowledge Management and Learning;
Shares knowledge and experience;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.
Ability to perform a variety of standard tasks related to Results Management, including collecting of documentation, data entering, preparation of revisions, filling, provision of information;
Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems;
Responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Excellent inter-personal and communication skills;
Ability to work independently and in a team.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree, preferably in law; advanced degree would be considered as an asset;
Academic orientation towards policy planning would be considered as an asset.
State Exam would be considered an asset.

Experience:

Minimum three years of working experience in the relevant field;
Experience in drafting strategic planning documents or policy planning papers is considered an important asset;
Experience in text analysis in general, as well as analysis of strategic planning documents or policy planning papers is an asset;
Experience of working within the EU accession processes is an asset;
Interest in major EU policy developments is an asset.

Languages:

Fluency in Montenegrin language;
Excellent command of spoken and written English language.

Other:

Computer literacy.

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 inidividual 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 January 20, 2019 by using the Apply now button. The application should contain CV or P11 that can be downloaded at http://www.me.undp.org/content/montenegro/en/home/operations/jobs.html. 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".