Lead International Advisor Government of the Republic of Serbia - General Secretariat

Government of the Republic of Serbia - General Secretariat

Belgrade, Serbia

Project: ”Reforming Policy Coordination of the Government of Republic Serbia”

Consulting services (Individual Consultant) – Lead International Advisor

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

The funds provided by Sweden through The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (“SIDA”) are made available to the Government of the Republic of Serbia (“GoS”) and used to provide technical and expert support with the goal of enhancing the quality of public policies, and contributing to Government effectiveness and good governance over the period of 18 months.

The purpose of the Project support is to redesign the policy making process so that the Government policies are strategic, outcome focused, flexible and innovative and linked to developed strategic frames, and that proper coordination from the Centre is ensured, aimed towards reforming and reinforcing policy coordination activities in the Government and bearing in mind the requirements stemming from the EU accession process.

The Project will build upon the results of the first phase and continue to provide support to the General Secretariat of GoS (“GS”) in the area of redesigning policy development, planning and coordination, monitoring and further institutional building. This is sought in the context of improved support to the GS in the preparation, execution and monitoring of policies as a pre-Accession EU applicant country and the proper coordination from the Center of the GoS.

GS is seeking services of a competent international consultant that would act as a Lead Advisor that shall provide advice, guidance and support to the General Secretariat senior officials and civil servants and the Project Team in advancing the Policy Co-Ordination and Strategic Planning Reforms within the General Secretariat in the first instance, and across government (other Ministries) thereafter.

Lead Advisor will:

1. Advice and support regarding revision of internal management and governance arrangements within General Secretariat to improve internal co-ordination and document management, in line with international best practice and best fit for Serbia given extant Rules of Procedure, political dynamics and governing legislation etc.;
2. Support in drafting guidance materials, handbooks and templates used within the General Secretariat to improve internal co-ordination and governance: this may include development of initial draft materials (in English) for the General Secretariat, with subsequent revisions and refinements based on internal discussions;
3. Provide ongoing support and guidance for staff in the General Secretariat in developing internal briefing documents: this will lead on from work by SIGMA (to be confirmed) in providing training and guidance on how best to draft internal briefing notes for the Prime Minister and Secretary General;
4. Develop proposals to improve the quality and consistency of information presented to the Cabinet for agreement, including support in development of guidance materials, templates and staff handbooks for use by public sector staff across ministries. This may include initial development of materials by the advisor and subsequent advice on revised texts;
5. Support the General Secretariat staff in developing and delivering training courses for staff across ministries in using revised guidance materials;
6. Assist in establishing control mechanisms for use by the General Secretariat to ensure adherence to revised guidelines by ministries;
7. Advice the Project Team on options to better promote, ‘sell’, and embed reforms within and across ministries, based on experiences and practices followed in other EU/OECD countries;
8. Monitor the progress and rate the reforms being pursued by the Project Team. Provision of assistance, guidance and advice to the Project Manager in streamlining and sequencing project objectives and deliverables to best utilize resources and maximize outcomes;
9. Provide advice and concrete support finding the best approach in introducing the system changes across the Government;
10. Provide quality assurance of all documents produced by national and international consultants and ensuring they are aligned with the goals and objectives of the reform and needs of General Secretariat and Government bodies and providing assistance in their development;
11. Mentoring, coaching and guiding the General Secretariat in transitioning to revised ways of working arising from the reforms and facilitating change management.

Eligible candidates should fulfill the following minimum requirements:

• Senior level/ management experience in the public sector preferably at Centre of Government, with a tradition of evidence based policy making and good governance;
• Practical experience in developing, introducing and managing change/ implementation of reforms in a public sector context;
• Experience in developing planning systems both for policy, strategic and operational planning purposes and decision and policy-making processes;
• Experience in development and use of policy analysis and regulatory reform;
• Senior level experience in monitoring, reporting and evaluation of policy and staff performance;
• Experience in delivering training, particularly on public policy development, strategic planning and co-ordination and regulatory reform;
• Excellent communication, presentation and networking skills.

The Lead Advisor shall be engaged in the period between October 2011 and June 2012. The period of engagement would entail regular visits to Belgrade, preferably monthly for minimum 10 days at the time. The proposed schedule may be altered and days reallocated between the onsite and offsite work of the consultant based on the needs of General Secretariat and the consultant’s prior commitments.

Consultants will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the Section V of Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers, May 2004 revised in October 2006 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROCUREMENT/Resources/ConGuid-10-06-ev1.pdf.

Interested consultants should provide expression of interest with resume including the information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services.

Expressions of interest must be submitted by September 23, 2011 by mail or e-mail.

Office for submission of Expressions of Interest and for obtaining further information:

Deposit Insurance Agency
Knez Mihailova 2/I
11000 Belgrade
Serbia

Contact persons:
Ms. Biljana Djokic
E-mail: biljana.djokic@aod.rs
Tel: +381 11 2075 124