Background

Organizational Context

Since 1995, Ethiopia has adopted a multiparty parliamentary system and a federal structure devolving power to nine regions and two city administrations. The Constitution established a bi-cameral parliamentary form of government with two houses. The framework of governance includes a system of political representation based on the holding of local (every 2.5 years) and nation-wide elections (every 5 years), and formation of a set of legislative institutions at all levels including, at the apex`, the two houses of the national parliament (the House of Peoples Representatives (HoPR) and the House of Federation (HoF).

Under the current constitution, the country held five general elections, the last being in May 2015.  Among all elections, only the 2005 election was characterized by improved political space and competition between political parties.

Ethiopia has embarked on a path of reforms and political renewal.  With the new leadership of Dr. Abyi Ahmed, the government has systematically invested in the opening of the political space and has lifted many of the restrictions that were placed on political participation.  The most notable development was the lifting of ‘terror labels’ of several previously outlawed political parties.  The return of opposition parties has enriched the political debate and has been a clear indication of the Government and the Ruling Coalition to engage in the open and more inclusive political process.  This is expected to have a direct bearing on the upcoming general elections planned for 2020.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has recently seen its leadership changed.  Former Judge Birtukan Mideksa was appointed in November 2018 as the new Chairwoman of NEBE.  The change of NEBE’s leadership reconfirmed the Government’s commitment to reform the institution and enhance its credibility within the political sphere but also among the general public.  NEBE has faced reputational challenges and was heavily criticized for being biased and partial in conducting previous elections.  Investment in the Board’s integrity, professionalism and effectiveness have been included in the policy priority areas that were captured in the ‘New Horizon of Hope’ document, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) following the most recent Cabinet reshuffle.   

In response to the request by the Government of Ethiopia and with the view to support the reforms and general elections, the United Nations has performed a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM), which confirms that conditions were favourable for the United Nations to design and activate an elections programme/project of support.  UNDP supported the development of the ‘Supporting Elections for Ethiopia’s Democratic Strengthening (SEEDS)’, which was launched in June 2019 and the project provides for capacity building and institutional strengthening of NEBE. With the objective of strengthening the capacity of NEBE for asset management, service of Asset Management Consultant is required. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Functions / Key Results Expected:

The Asset Management Consultant will be part of a team of advisors supervised and guided by the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) and will report on delivery to the Project Manager – Output 1. Her/his primary task will be to develop the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) assets management capacity and will systematically refer to any existing documents such as Lesson Learnt Report and Capacity Needs Assessment reports from previous elections as a source to carry out her/his work. S/He will work in coordination with NEBE and will be responsible for continuously providing technical advice and help to develop the technical capacity of NEBE in the relevant areas of the electoral activities. S/he will work closely with the relevant NEBE staff to support them in:

• Providing expert advice and guidance to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) on all asset management related matters.
• Provide recommendations to NEBE on asset management software they can adopt to improve on tracking and report of organizational assets.
• Assist and train the NEBE asset team on the use of the software package identified.
• Develop and carry out a plan for capacity development/skill transfer to NEBE staff who are associated with asset management.
• Familiarizes relevant NEBE staff with international best practice on asset management.
• Advise the NEBE in developing and implementing a long-term assets management training plan and an assets management development plan that identifies the relevant areas and functions/staff based on the training needs assessment already conducted by the NEBE
• Advise the NEBE on design and preparation of assets management training materials for NEBE staff on all levels
• Participates in assets management training sessions as a facilitator.
•  Provides general advice to NEBE on improvement on the existing asset management procedures.
• Contributes to regular reporting and documents the SEEDS capacity building support for best practice knowledge sharing.

Deliverables:

The Assets Management Consultant  will produce the following deliverables during the period of this contract:

1. Needs assessment done on the status of the Capacity of the NEBEs assets department and staff.
2. Options of asset management software available from the market to be shared with NEBE and to train NEBE staff on the selected software.
3. Long term assets management training plan and an assets management development plan developed in coordination with NEBE asset team
4. The document produced on the areas of improvement for NEBE’s existing asset management procedures.
5. Written contributions made to the SEEDS reporting schedule.
6. At the end of the assignment a final report to SEEDS management on NEBEs status in terms of asset management and recommendations on the next steps. 

Institutional Arrangement/Reporting Relationships  

The selected IC will be based at the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia.  The selected expert will operate under the direct supervision of UNDP’s SEEDS Chief Technical Advisor (CTA).

1. In Ethiopia, the consultant may either work from her/his accommodation or use the offices of the UNDP SEEDs Or UNDP main Office;
2. Transportation related to official visits within Ethiopia and the field if needed will be provided to the consultant by UNDP in accordance with UNDP policies and procedures as appropriate subject to clearance and approval by the UNDP Ethiopia Management;
3. The consultant should arrange for her/his own insurance including evacuation in emergencies and war risk insurance.  Related costs should be included in the consultant’s financial proposal;

DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT The engagement of the IC will be for 120 working days, of which maximum 7 working from home over a period not to exceed six calendar months.

PAYMENT MILESTONES AGAINST DELIVERABLES

The successful expert shall receive his/her payments upon certification of the completed tasks satisfactorily.

Competencies

Ethical Considerations, Confidentiality And Proprietary Interests

The IC holder needs to apply standard ethical principles during the course of the assignment. Some of these must deal with the confidentiality of interviewee statements when necessary, refraining from making judgmental remarks about stakeholders.

The incumbent shall not either during the term or after the termination of the assignment, disclose any proprietary or confidential information related to the service without prior written consent by the contracting authority. Proprietary interests on all materials and documents prepared by the contract holder under this assignment shall become and remain properties of the Government of Ethiopia and UNDP. 

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications and Experiences:

Education: Minimum Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in (but not limited to) Business, Management, Public Administration, Economics  or related field.

Experience: Minimum 3 years of asset management experience, and well experienced in governmental capacity development in an advisor capacity including needs assessment, planning, and evaluation. Exposure and familiarity with international electoral institutions.

Language Requirements: Fluency in written and spoken English is essential;

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE BEST OFFER

Price Proposal and Schedule Of Payments

1. Daily Fee – The contractor shall propose a daily fee, which should be inclusive of his professional fee, local communication/transportation cost and insurance (inclusive of medical health insurance and evacuation). The number of working days for which the daily fee shall be payable under the contract of 120 working days.

2. Living Allowance – The Consultant shall be separately paid the Living allowance/ as per applicable UNDP rate for a stay in Ethiopia and travel to other locations as per the actual number of nights spent in Ethiopia or other locations. Deductions from DSA shall be made as per applicable UNDP policy when accommodation and other facilities are provided by UNDP. An estimated provision in this regard shall be included in the contract. The consultant need not quote for DSA in Financial Proposal.

3. The total professional fee shall be converted into a lump-sum contract and payments under the contract shall be made on submission and acceptance of deliverables under the contract in accordance with the schedule of payment linked with deliverables and at the end of the assignment.

4. UNDP reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of payment if performance is unsatisfactory if work/outputs are incomplete, not delivered or for failure to meet deadlines. 

Documents to be included when submitting the proposals:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to

demonstrate their qualifications. Proposers who shall not submit below mentioned documents

will not be considered for further evaluation.

How to Apply:

Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows

to upload the maximum one document.

• 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;

• Confirmation of Interest and Availability: Interest and Availability to perform the task

and Financial Proposal must be submitted through a standard template as attached in

Annexure 2

• Technical Proposal including:
• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most

suitable for the assignment and a methodology on how they will approach and

complete the assignment.

• A brief description of the approach to work/work plan on how he/she will

approach and complete the assignment.

• Financial Proposal: As per template provided in Annex II

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

• Annex 1 -   IC Contract Template (for information);

• Annex 2 –  Financial Proposal using UNDP Template (https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UNDP_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx&action=default)
• Annex 3 –  IC General Terms and Conditions (for information);
• Annex 4 –  RLA Template (if a consultant wishes to be recruited through an employer) - (for information).