Senior International Consultant for Policy Coordination

Background

Due to the necessity to respond to the EU requirements and establish mid-term strategic planning system in Montenegro, Government empowered the Ministry of European Affairs (MEA) to be involved in the process of strategic alignment and monitoring of the process of planning and implementation. Thus, Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies was created with the purpose to lead the process of coordination of public policy planning.

The strategy preparation process in Montenegro is currently not uniform and no consistent mechanism for monitoring and evaluation of strategies, and their mutual alignment exists. There is evident lack of clear hierarchy of strategic documents, without listing central planning documents against which implementation of public policies should be compared and defined. Strategic documents are with different content and structure and with no consistency in content structure, with lack of vision and priorities. This commonly results in undefined priorities and indicators for measuring achievements. There is also no effective system for monitoring the implementation of strategic documents with precise outputs and outcomes, while accompanying action plans do not define directions for further police development.

For the purpose of more efficient public policy management, the Ministry of European Affairs is currently focused on establishment of the system for coordination of strategic documents and more effective monitoring of their implementation. The intention of the Ministry is to improve the quality of strategic documents by establishing clear procedures, setting minimum criteria and defining modalities for more successful monitoring of their implementation. In this manner, the Ministry wants to strengthen the entire cycle of public policy management, where the planning of priorities and financial resources is based on clear analyses and experiences obtained from the policy implementation process.

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

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment:  The objective of the assignment is to engage the international consultant who would provide expert support to the Ministry of European Affairs (MEA) in the establishment of the system for coordination of strategic documents and more effective monitoring of their implementation. 

Job content: Under the supervision of the UNDP Project Manager and Director General of the Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies in the MEA -DES, the international consultant will perform the following tasks:

• Provide DES with advice to ensure that the gaps in the existing framework of public policy planning are better matched with the basic elements of the regulatory framework for improving the quality of strategic planning documents with focus on the minimum quality criteria, that will enable MEA to issue opinions on their content. Devise with DES unified approach issued by MEA entailing basic quality check control of draft strategic documents with the aim of enhancing policy coordination and streamlining sector strategies in function of a more efficient EU integration.
• Provide hands-on advice to DES staff in their consultative activities with line ministries aimed at applying quality criteria in drafting strategic documents (participation in working groups, consultations over meetings) – focus on improving their structure and content.
• Prepare and perform a training for DES staff focused on policy planning cycle, and in particular quality check control of the strategic documents defining public policies, as well as their streamlining and alignment with key EU policies.
• Support the establishment of the Network of Strategic Planning Focal Points, that would work on improving coordination and monitoring of implementation of strategies defining public policies, whereby MEA would be in the lead as the coordinator of strategies and each line ministry would appoint a strategic unit representative. Support the development of the range of activities for this Network, aimed at enhancing awareness across civil service of the importance of better strategic planning for reaching the goal of EU accession and improve inter-institutional cooperation.
• Draft the agenda, develop training materials and moderate the workshops/seminars/specific trainings on policy planning and policy planning cycle.
• Elaboration of the system of performance indicators for monitoring development of policy areas in cooperation with DES staff.
• Provide DES with advice on producing monitoring report on the status of different policy areas with possible recommendations;
• Participating in the analysis as a contribution to the  elaboration of the new IT system for planning and reporting (lead by the Ministry of Public Administration);
• Prepare the Final Report for the assignment, approved by UNDP Project Manager.

The expected results: Under the supervision of the UNDP Project Manager and Director General of the Directorate for Coordination, Monitoring Alignment and Implementation of Strategies defining Public Policies in the MEA, the international consultant is expected to deliver the following results:

• Mature Draft of the Guidelines with relevant comments included;
• Finalized agenda of the workshops/seminars/specific trainings on policy planning and policy planning cycle;
• Training materials;
• Delivered training;
• Final report on all activities undertaken under this assignment provided, highlighting main results achieved and proposed recommendations.

Timing and reporting: The international consultant is expected to work homebased and in Montenegro during the assignment duration February 15, 2018 – September 15, 2019. The international consultant will be responsible to prepare the final report to the UNDP Project Manager, and it should contain sufficient detail and information that would allow for the appraisal of the effectiveness to date of the assignment’s activities. 

Time duration and travel: The international consultant will be engaged under individual contract, for total of 30 consultancy days, in the period from February 15, 2018 – September 15, 2019. It is expected that consultant will have five field visits to Montenegro, each for up to three days. Fifteen days shall be homebased, pursuant to the work plan of assignment’s activities. All travel costs and Daily Living Allowance costs should be included in the lump sum figure.

Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP/MEA;
• 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;
• Excellent presentation skills, demonstrated ability to facilitate trainings;
• Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in Social Sciences.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience;
• Thorough understanding/knowledge of Montenegrin administrative system;
• Proven expertise and experience in the development of similar strategic documents, while such experience in the region would be an asset;
• Modern approach to delivery of policy/technical advice, and experience of working with ministries;
• Management experience, preferably within the context of international organization/institutions.

Languages:

• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English is a requirement.

Computer skills:

• Excellent IT skills, including word-processing, database applications, presentation software.

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 14, 2018 by using the Apply now button. The application should contain a duly completed Personal History Form (P11) that can be downloaded from 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 and travel envisaged in the section "Description of Responsibilities".