Anunțuri de Angajare

Terms of Reference 

1. General context:  

Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova provides support to institutions and stakeholders involved in urban development since 2017. According to the collaboration relations established with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of the Republic of Moldova (MIRD) for 2022-2023, Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova will provide the necessary support both to the Ministry and to the regional development agencies, but also to the local public authorities for the implementation of the provisions of the Government Decision no. 916/202 on the approval of the National Program for the Development of Cities - Growth Poles in the Republic of Moldova for the years 2021-2027 (hereinafter the National Program), in particular for strengthening the capacities of regional development agencies and cities-growth poles (6). 

An activity dedicated to the efficient operationalization of the National Program is oriented towards the creation and consolidation of the capacities of the Project Implementation Units (PIU) within the six cities of growth poles: Edinet, Soroca, Ungheni, Orhei, Cahul and Comrat. 

The tasks of the Project Implementation Units are mainly:  

1. involvement and providing the necessary support in the elaboration / updating of strategic and urban documentation; 

1. elaboration of the Operational Program for the implementation of projects at the municipality level; 

1. submitting project proposals based on planning and urban planning documentation; 

1. ensuring the management and operational monitoring of the project implementation; 

1. implementation of urban development projects; 

1. elaboration and presentation for examination to the local authorities, but also to the regional development agencies, progress reports regarding the implementation of the projects; 

1. cooperation with development partners and contributing to attracting financial means for the implementation of the National Program at municipal level. 

Support on partners capacity building at the regional and local levels is part of the Solidarity Fund PL Support Program in Moldova on the effective implementation of the National Program. In this regard, Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova will provide support in 2022 on the institutional development of the IPU in the 6 cities with growth poles (action initiated in 2021). 

For more details on the support provided to national, regional and local partners in the implementation of national urban development policies, please visit the Solidarity Fund PL website in Moldova: https://solidarityfund.md/dezvoltare-urbana/. 

1. Specific context on regional and local capacity building: 

In order to plan the support of partners capacity building, Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova conducted in 2020 an "Assessment Report on the Institutional Potential of Cities - Growth Pole for the Implementation of Urban Development Projects and Programs." The results of this report show that in different cities there is a different level of development needs, based on the structure of town halls and the number of staff, as well as the personal capabilities of employees. According to the conclusions of the report for capacity building in line with the attributions and competencies given to the new Project Implementation Units, 5 basic directions were identified in order to carry out different forms of training. Furthermore, in order to carry out the necessary actions for the process of consolidating the capacities of the Project Implementation Units, the priority activities will be focused for 2 basic areas out of the 5 selected: 

1. Strategic Planning 

Although the context of "strategic planning" actions is quite broad, based on the specifics of the activities included in the National Program, more attention should be paid to the principles of urban development, taking into account the specifics of each city-growth pole, with an impact on the localities within its sphere of influence. 

At the same time, the Assessment Report reveals that about a third of respondents have medium or advanced skills in the process of drafting or implementing policy documents, and an even smaller number of about 20% have general knowledge in the field of regional development and especially of urban development, most mentioning that they do not have such capabilities. 

In this sense, the first module of capacity development, arising from the order of actions planned in carrying out the activities of the National Program will be aimed at strengthening capacity in the field of strategic planning, this knowledge being subsequently applied in the exercise of reviewing / developing urban development strategies, with a focus on: 

• Regional development policy (interdependence of concepts: national development, regional development, local development and urban development, tools used in urban development and planning); 
• Polycentric urban development policies; 
• Analysis and elaboration of development profiles of urban localities; 
• The specialization analysis of the city (identification of the mechanisms of city-growth pole development; development profile elaboration bases on the intelligent specialization);  
• Identifying the development mechanisms of cities; 

• Socio-economic analysis for strategic planning actions; 
• Elaboration of integrated development plans with emphasis on polycentric urban development principles; 
• Principles for elaborating the implementation of general urban plans; 
• Principles of elaboration and implementation of spatial planning plans. 

1. Project Management 

One of the basic competencies of the PIU will be to ensure the implementation of investment projects in the localities it represents. Thus, according to the provisions of the National Program: 

Ist implementation stage (2021-2024) - the projects will be implemented with the support of regional development agencies; 

IInd implementation stage (2025-2027) - all activities and responsibilities in this regard will be taken over by the Project Implementation Units. 

In this regard, the Report indicates that:  

• about a quarter of respondents mentioned that they have advanced team management skills; 
• about a third of respondents mentioned that they have average skills in project writing, human resources management, quality management; 
• a small number of respondents have the necessary knowledge of financial management and audit. 

Thus, this training module will be aimed at accumulating basic knowledge of project management principles and developing skills for monitoring the progress and resources of a project. 

In this sense, in order to strengthen the capacities of the teams involved in project management, a module should be developed that would include, without being limited to: 

• Project management cycle; 
• Development of investment projects (problem identification, problem tree, budgeting, activity planning, identification of progress indicators); 
• Initiation, planning, execution, control and completion processes; 
• Financial management and project audit; 
• Human resources management (of the project team and distribution of responsibilities); 

• Risk management; 
• Quality management; 
• Use of "Fundraising" tools in the implementation of projects. 

1. Purpose and principles 

Purpose of services: 

Elaboration of the described training modules (strategic planning and project management) and its implementation within at least 2 events organized for regional and local actors, whose role is imperative in identifying the development vision of the cities-growth poles, ensuring their role in the context of a polycentric development, in which the 6 cities (Soroca, Edinet, Ungheni, Orhei, Cahul and Comrat) are to identify and consolidate their economic functions within a network of balanced urban settlements on the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova. 

Important principles: 

• Focus on case studies - elements that would bring clarity and a greater perception of the information presented; 
• Practical applications - being easier to memorize the theoretical aspects for training participants. The trainers must be friendly and offer an interesting session, based on the principles of collegiality. 
• Flexibility - adapting to the needs of partners at regional and local level, through dialogue with Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova and MIDR;  

• KASE1: starting from knowledge, complemented by attributes in the sense of PIUs characteristics as an inherent part of the urban development process, continuing with the development of practical skills in practice and culminating in gaining experience - the process of applying knowledge and skills to accomplish things (projects, tasks etc.). 

1. Tasks and responsibilities:  

• Examination of the provisions of Government Decision no. 916/202 on the approval of the National Program for the development of the cities-growth poles in the Republic of Moldova for the years 2021-2027; 
• Analysis of the provisions of the document "Recommendations for local public authorities on the organization of the institutional and planning framework at the local level for initiating the implementation of the National Program for the development of the cities-growth poles in the Republic of Moldova for the years 2021-2027"; 
• Development of 2 capacity development modules at regional and local level (strategic planning and project management); 

• Consultation of capacity development modules with Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova, and its validation by MIRD; 
• Analysis, as appropriate, of the PIU Operations Manual (framework document) in order to align the training topics with the subjects contained in the Manual2; 
• Preparation of concepts, training agendas, thematic support materials and their consultation with Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova and MIRD; 
• Organizing and conducting at least 2 training sessions, with the participation of PIUs representatives from the 6 cities, 4 Regional Development Agencies and MIRD representatives; 
• Proposing practical mechanisms for developing partners' capacities at regional and local level, according to the principles and phases of implementation of the National Program; 

• Regular communication and reporting to Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova on the tasks progress; 
• Estimating and announcing to Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova the possible risks in the process of accomplishing the assumed tasks; 
• Elaboration of the Final Report on the assessment of partners' capacities at regional and local level and formulation of recommendations for the next period. 

1. Deliverables: 

1. Timeframe and organization of work: 

• The services shall be implemented in the timeframe from January 2022 to April; 
• All materials developed in the context of the service contract will be delivered in electronic format (Power Point and / or PDF); 
• The estimated number of participants to the training is up to 20; 

• The format of the trainings (offline or online) will be established at the planning stage of the events, depending on the pandemic situation in the country; 
• All communication regarding the performance of the service contract, as well as all documentation in this context must be in Romanian; 
• Communication of the service provider with national, regional and local partners will take place through Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova; 
• Payments shall be disbursed in tranches, upon delivery and acceptance of the deliverables by the Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova. The payment schedule will be agreed in the process of contract signature. 

1.  Requirements:  

• Team with skills and abilities of training in the fields specified at point 2 - at least 1 specialist on each subject, who have a master's degree (or equivalent) in the field of Public Administration, Law, Project Management, Public Policy or other related fields; 
• Min. 20% of the team are specialists from the Republic of Moldova (with a high level of knowledge of the sphere of regional development and urban development in the country, as well as the specifics of legislation, procedures, etc.); 
• At least 2 proven experiences of organizing and delivering training on similar topics in the last 5 years; 
• Proven experience of working with local public authorities, regional structures and, optionally, with central institutions; 

• Knowledge of national policies in the field of regional / urban development; 
• Public communication; 
• Proven skills in developing course materials; 
• Good knowledge (speaking and writing) of Romanian, Russian and English.  

1. The application should include:  

1. Application procedure:  

The applications will be sent in electronic format, to the address e-mail hr@solidarityfund.md with the mention of the subject of the message: Development of PIUs capacities 

Please specify the application format in the content of the message (email): company or expert group. 

Deadline: January 17, 2022, 10:00 (Chisinau). 

1. Selection and evaluation procedure: 

The submitted applications will be evaluated in a two-stage evaluation process:  

1st stage: Formal Evaluation  

At this stage, the verification of the formal requirements will be performed, which includes the examination of the correspondence of the file with the Terms of Reference, as well as the verification of all the components of the file according to point 8. The formal evaluation is performed by a representative of the Urban Development Unit. 

2nd stage: Content evaluation 

A team of at least 3 evaluators will evaluate the components of the application according to the criteria included in the evaluation form. 

The criteria for the selection process are as follows: 

• Relevant experience, including the minimum qualifications and professional skills listedat point 7 (highest possible score - 50); 
• Applicable methodological approach (highest possible score - 20);
• Reasonable price (highest possible score - 30).

The valuation according to the "price" criterion will be based on the following formula: 

P = Pmin / Pof x 30 points, where: 

Pmin - the lowest price proposed 

Pof - price presented in the examined offer 

P - the number of points awarded to the examined offer according to the price criterion, rounded to the full number. 

Personal data will be processed by Solidarity Fund PL in Moldova exclusively for the purpose and process of employment, in accordance with the provisions of applicable law. This data will not be passed on to other third parties without the prior consent of the data subject.