Mission description

The assignment at a glance

Project

Improving Moldova's Access to the EU Single Market and Advancing SOE Reform, funded by the European Union, Component 2 implemented by Expertise France

Subject

Bring knowledge of Moldovan law to the diagnostic of the State ownership policy carried out with the French Inspectorate General of Finance (IGF), then translate its conclusions into legal proposals and evaluate the implementation of the State property management strategy 2023-2030

Beneficiaries

Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalisation (MEDD) and Public Property Agency (APP)

Nature

Intermittent expertise, individual expert contract concluded intuitu personae, organised in three lots and six deliverables

Volume

20 days of expertise

Period

From contract notification (targeted mid-November 2026) to 30 April 2027

Key deadline

20 November 2026: complete legal mapping sent to the IGF, before its mission of 23 to 27 November

Place

Chișinău (IGF mission and meetings) and remote work

Remuneration

Lump-sum price per deliverable

Project or context description

1. Context

The project supports the Republic of Moldova in its rapprochement with the EU Single Market. Its Component 2, implemented by Expertise France, supports the reform of state-owned enterprises and of State asset management, as technical support to the MEDD and the APP.

The first activity of the component (2.1.1) concerns the legal and institutional framework of the State ownership policy. It relies on a mission of the French Inspectorate General of Finance: two inspectors prepare remotely, carry out a mission in Chișinău from 23 to 27 November 2026 and write a diagnostic report, handed over by the project to the MEDD, the APP and the Delegation of the European Union on 16 December 2026. This report is the first dated milestone of the component. It then serves as the basis for a recommendations note, planned for 31 March 2027.

The terms of reference of the IGF mission provide that the project supplies it with a Moldovan legal mapping prepared by the project's legal expert: texts in force, how they relate to each other, points of attention. The diagnostic is structured along six axes, which also guide the mapping: rationale for State ownership; organisation of the ownership function; exercise of shareholder rights; information, reporting and control; implementation of the triage; equal treatment and integrity. The reference is the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises, revised in 2024.

Activity 2.1.2 evaluates the implementation of Government Decision No 911/2022 (State property management strategy 2023-2030 and programme 2024-2027). It prepares the mid-term evaluation of the strategy (activity 2.1.4, June 2027) and the programme 2028-2030 (activity 2.1.5).

2. Purpose of the assignment and expected results

• Lot A, support to the IGF mission (2.1.1): before its mission, the IGF has a reliable legal mapping; its interviews benefit from on-site legal support; the findings on Moldovan law in its report are checked before the final version.

• Lot B, legal recommendations (2.1.1): the recommendations of the diagnostic report are translated into proposals for amending the texts, prioritised and with the level of legal norm concerned.

• Lot C, evaluation of Decision No 911/2022 (2.1.2): the state of legal implementation of the strategy and the programme is established, with the obstacles and the adjustments needed for the future.

The IGF inspectors remain the authors of the diagnostic report. The legal expert does not write its analyses but guarantees its accuracy on Moldovan law. The proposed texts remain those of the Moldovan authorities, which the project supports technically.

3. Texts to be examined

The expert works on the consolidated versions published in the State Register of Legal Acts (legis.md), supplemented by the documents provided by the MEDD and the APP.

The list may be completed at the request of the IGF, the MEDD, the APP or the Head of Component.

4. Activities

Lot A · Support to the IGF mission (2.1.1) · 8 days

• Within three working days of notification: check of the consolidated versions of the texts with the project team, and list of texts or articles to be translated as a priority. Translation is provided by the project.

• Legal mapping: for each text, its subject, scope, competent authorities and how it relates to the other texts; then a legal reading along the six axes of the IGF grid: who exercises the rights of the State and on what basis, how board members and managers are appointed, what information and dividend obligations exist, on what legal basis privatisation, transformation and liquidation decisions rest, what rules govern conflicts of interest. It flags gaps, contradictions and missing implementing acts.

• Mission in Chișinău, from 23 to 27 November: participation in the interviews with a legal focus (legal departments of the MEDD and the APP, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice), answers to the inspectors' questions, short record of the points of law clarified.

• Draft report, from 7 to 11 December: check of the findings relating to Moldovan law and proposed factual corrections.

Lot B · Legal recommendations (2.1.1) · 4 days

On the basis of the IGF report, the expert prepares a legal sheet for each recommendation: texts to be amended, level of legal norm (law, Government decision, APP act), drafting principle, prerequisites and order of priority. The expert distinguishes what falls within activities already planned by the project (governance code, appointments, privatisation framework) from what requires a new workstream, and contributes to the recommendations note of activity 2.1.1.

Lot C · Evaluation of the implementation of Decision No 911/2022 (2.1.2) · 8 days

• Proposed method: monitoring grid of the measures of the strategy and the programme that require a legal act, sources, interviews.

• For each measure: planned act, act adopted or not, gap with the timetable, legal or institutional causes of delays, consistency with Law No 121/2007 and Decision No 819/2023.

• Conclusions useful for the mid-term evaluation of the strategy (2.1.4) and the programme 2028-2030 (2.1.5).

5. Deliverables, timetable and days

Link with the project team. The project team sends a first version of the mapping to the IGF on 13 November. The expert checks and completes it by 20 November, before the mission. If notification occurs earlier, the expert may contribute to the first version.

Pace. The assignment is intermittent: about 8 days between November and mid-December 2026, then 12 days between February and April 2027. The expert organises his or her time freely; no full-time presence is required.

Technical requirements. Lot A deliverables are written in French or English, the working languages of the IGF; those of lots B and C in English, with a summary in Romanian. Deliverables are submitted in editable Word format. Each finding refers to the article and paragraph of the text concerned.

Validation. The Head of Component 2 sends his comments within five working days of the submission of each deliverable; for lot A, he also gathers those of the IGF. Transmission to the IGF and to the Moldovan authorities is done by the project.

6. Organisation of the assignment

• The expert carries out the assignment autonomously. The Head of Component 2 provides technical guidance and validates the deliverables; there is no relationship of subordination.

• The expert does not represent Expertise France, makes no commitment and signs no document on its behalf, and does not manage any team.

• The expert works with the IGF inspectors, the project team, and the legal expert mobilised by the project on the governance texts requested by the MEDD (appointments, evaluation of board members, State representation, PPP): the two experts share their analyses of Laws No 246/2017 and No 1134/1997 to avoid duplication.

• Interviews with the Moldovan authorities are organised by the project and held in the presence of the Head of Component or a member of the project team.

• Place of work: Chișinău for the interviews of the IGF mission and working meetings; the rest of the work may be done remotely. Practical arrangements for any travel are specified at the contracting stage.

• Communication: the expert makes no public statement on the assignment; all communication is the responsibility of the project and follows its validation chain.

Required profile

7. Required profile

Minimum requirements (eliminatory)

• Master's degree in law.

• At least seven years of professional experience in Moldovan public law, company law or public property law.

• Practical knowledge of Law No 121/2007, Law No 246/2017 and Law No 1134/1997.

• Command of legal Romanian.

• Professional French or English, at least level B2.

• Able, as a natural person, to receive fees paid by Expertise France.

• Availability in early November 2026 and during the IGF mission, from 23 to 27 November, in Chișinău.

Assets

• Command of French, the working language of the IGF.

• Experience in privatisation, public property management or the governance of state-owned enterprises.

• Experience in public policy evaluation or in monitoring government strategies.

• Knowledge of the OECD Guidelines and of the EU acquis; experience of projects funded by international donors.

Independence

During the assignment, the expert must not hold any position at the MEDD or the APP, nor any mandate in a body of a state-owned enterprise, nor advise a buyer or a creditor in an ongoing privatisation or liquidation. The expert signs a declaration of absence of conflict of interest and reports any new situation during the assignment.

Public officials. A candidate who is a serving Moldovan public official certifies that the assignment is compatible with his or her status (suspension of service during the assignment, or activity unrelated to current duties) and provides, where applicable, the agreement of his or her supervising authority. A candidate who has held a position subject to the declaration of assets and interests under Moldovan law certifies compliance with the restrictions applicable after leaving office.

Additional information

8. Selection procedure and award criteria

The call for applications is published on the Expertise France GEX platform. Candidates submit a CV, the application form and the sworn statement required for Expertise France individual expert contracts, certifying in particular that their tax and social security situation is in order. A shortlist of no more than three candidates is drawn up on the basis of the minimum requirements and assets. Each shortlisted candidate submits, by the same deadline, a methodological note of no more than two pages, focused on the legal mapping, and a lump-sum price offer for each of the six deliverables. An interview may be organised. Given the 20 November deadline, submission times are short.

These criteria are communicated to candidates in the call for applications.

9. Financial conditions, delays and non-compliance

• The price is a lump sum per deliverable; each deliverable is paid after its validation.

• The number of days is binding on Expertise France. Additional days may only be added at the initiative of Expertise France.

• A deliverable that does not comply with these terms of reference is reworked by the expert, at no additional cost, within five working days of the request. Payment is suspended until a compliant version is submitted.

• Any unjustified delay may give rise to the penalties provided for in the contract. No amendment may compensate for a delay attributable to the expert. Repeated delays or persistent non-compliance may lead to termination of the contract.

• A delay attributable to the beneficiary or to the IGF, for example a postponement of the mission, postpones the deadline accordingly, after written agreement of the Head of Component.

10. Confidentiality and ownership of the work

The documents provided and the work produced are confidential. They are the property of the project and may be used by the IGF for its report and by the Moldovan authorities.

Selection criteria for applications

The selection process for candidates will be based on the following criteria :

• Candidate’s expected linguistic understanding
• Assessment of the candidate's skills in the sought-after domain
• Candidate's knowledges related to local context (country or region intervention)
• Candidate’s understanding of cooperation project stakes

Link to apply online: https://expertise-france.gestmax.fr/16454/1/tdr-legal-expert-h-f/en_US