Individual Consultant - Facilitator: High Level Tripartite Retreat on Public Sector Reform

Background

Zimbabwe is currently going through a transitional phase following a change of Government and coming into place of a new dispensation that has embarked on a range of political and economic reforms meant to lay a foundation for moving the country into an Upper Middle Income economy by the year 2030. The trajectory towards that end is encapsulated in the country’s Vision 2030 document as well as in the Transitional Stabilization Programme (TSP) 2018-2020. The focus is on modernization and growing the economy. Considering that the Public Service will be critical in implementing these reforms, the Government has decided to undertake a Public Sector Reform programme with a view to modernizing the public for greater efficiency in service delivery.

The aforementioned public sector reform programme is also anchored on the Constitution of Zimbabwe, especially Chapter 9, which spells out the principles and the need for strong public administration and leadership. In order to achieve the targets as set out in the Vision 2030 and TSP blue prints, the need to strengthen public sector reforms that are currently on going cannot be over-emphasized with a focus on accelerated economic growth, promoting good governance as well as quality service delivery. In this regard, the TSP recognizes the need to reform and recalibrate the Civil Service in order to propel the country to greater heights of prosperity for all citizens. According to the TSP “At the operational level, the reform of the Civil Service is targeted to change its existing orientation, structure, functioning, temperament, performance, efficiency and ethical base as the vital cog that is charged with planning, implementation and improvement of national welfare and achievement of the development results and outcomes for all citizens” (para 77 of the TSP).

The aforesaid implies strengthening the implementation of the current public sector reform initiatives in a comprehensive and collaborative manner involving the three key central Government authorities, namely the Office of the President and Cabinet, the Public Service Commission and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The tripartism involving the 3 public sector agencies is catalytically necessary in providing strategic and policy direction, consensus and political will to the entire public sector.

The above mentioned tripartite agencies intend to hold a facilitated high level retreat to develop and define a shared vision and implementation modalities for the public sector reforms.

Services of an expert facilitator with knowledge and experience in public sector reforms are required to facilitate the high level retreat.

Duties and Responsibilities

The expert will be expected to facilitate discussions at the high level tripartite retreat as well as to prepare and deliver a paper on international best practice on public sector reforms as well as produce a synthesis report of the proceedings.

• Facilitation of the high level retreat, for 2 days; 
• Background research, preparation and delivery of a paper on international best practice on public sector reforms, 5 days; 
• Synthesis Report of the deliberations of the high level tripartite retreat, for 3 days.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Judgement/Decision-making

• Strong technical skills and analytical capacities, sound judgment;
• Strong technical problem-solving skills;
• Ability to understand and establish priorities and work by objectives.

Teamwork

• Ability to work in a team and establish effective working relationships with people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds;
• Ability to work under stress and work overtime when required;
• Self-Management and Emotional intelligence;
• Conflict Management/Negotiating and resolving Disagreements;
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making, 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;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:  

• Minimum Master’s Degree or higher level in Public Policy, Public Administration, Political Science or related discipline.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years international experience in providing high level policy advisory including experience in public administration, civil services reforms and national strategy development;
• Experience working in a multi-cultural and/or international work environment;
• Working knowledge of the Zimbabwe context;
• Experience in managing change processes/transitional process and working with government and state institutions.

Language Requirements:

• Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Applicants are requested to upload copies of:

• Latest CV highlighting the relevant experience. Prospective candidates could apply either as a team or as individuals. When applying as a team, the CVs of all experts in the team should be provided, along with the application
• Updated P11 Form template of which can be downloaded from this website - http://www.sas.undp.org/Documents/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.
• A detailed technical proposal on undertaking the tasks and evidence of previous work;

Please group all your documents (CV, P11, Technical Proposal and certificates) into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Incomplete applications will not be given consideration.

Applicants must reply to the mandatory questions asked by the system when submitting the applicationPlease note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

Evaluation criteria:

The Consultant will be evaluated based on qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the ToR.  In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology: Technical Criteria weight: 70%;Financial Criteria weight: 30%;

The award of the contract shall be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the Terms of Reference.

“UNDP is committed to gender equality in its mandate and its staff, and equal opportunities for people with disabilities. Well qualified candidates, particularly women and people with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply”.