International Consultant to Develop Policies for IT Governance in the Judiciary

Strengthening internal administration of courts and rolling out an integrated case management system are some of the most important strategic priorities of the Judiciary. It has been investing in information and communication technologies with a view to enabling the integration and automation of information processing and storage.

The Judiciary recently completed connection of all the courts of the Maldives in a single integrated network. This integrated network has enabled to fast-track the roll out of some of the internally developed applications for managing the day to day operations as well as management of cases creating an urgent need to improve its governance of IT processes and data assets.

By having in place firm policies and measures to protect the data assets and to keep the mission critical applications up and running all year round, the Judiciary hopes to build trust in its strategic ambitions. It aspires to meet international standards in this regard.

UNDP has been supporting the digitalization of the justice sector to facilitate provision of services via digital and virtual platforms including virtual hearings to enable access to justice for all sectors of the public and especially vulnerable groups. In view of the existing needs, UNDP under its Integrated Governance Programme (IGP) with DJA is seeking the support of an international consultant to conduct a needs assessment of the integrated case management system of the Judiciary and develop policies for IT Governance.

Scope of Work

Under the guidance of the technical committee (the committee to be established for the purposes of the consultancy which includes staff from various departments and courts of the Judiciary, DJA and UNDP), DJA and UNDP, the consultant will conduct a rapid needs assessment and draft standard operating procedures (SOPs) for management and governance of IT processes and data assets. The tasks to be undertaken by the consultant under the Terms of Reference include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following;

1. Conduct a diagnostic analysis of the existing documentation and practices related to governing IT processes and resources in the Judiciary and the country and submit an inception report;
2. Conduct online consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders identified through a User Mapping exercise within the Judiciary (including the courts and the Judicial Service Commission), other justice stakeholders (Lawyers, Tribunals, advocate unions, and the Public) and with the National Centre for Information Technology in order to understand their needs in terms of data security, control and accessibility;
3. Based on the consultation meetings, policy directives from the technical committee and DJA, inception report and analysis and evaluation of existing hardware configurations, topologies etc., and develop an assessment report on IT governance, data management and network vulnerability including recommendations to strengthen the case management system of the Judiciary with a focus on future investments in hardware and software (and skills)
4. A proposed data governance structure focusing on accessibility and secure digital system and a draft standard operating procedure for management and governance of IT processes and resources informed by the assessment report, consultation meetings, and policy directives from the technical committee and DJA.
5. Conduct a final consultation meeting with relevant stakeholders to validate the standard operation procedures.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables 

All documents shall be submitted as stipulated below and all documents will be submitted as drafts and upon review by the technical committee, DJA and UNDP, the consultant shall revise the draft documents. Once, the revised reports are accepted by technical committee, DJA and UNDP, they will be termed as final documents for the consultancy.

The consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables;

1. Inception Report: The inception report shall include a summary of existing policies for but not limited to acquisition of IT resources, data lifecycle, governance of access to and backup of data. It should also reflect the proposed policy options for enhancing governance of IT processes and resources, existing IT plans and frameworks that have been developed or are in place within the Judiciary, IT plans and projects from other institutions that might have an impact on IT structure of the judiciary, Existing digital transformation projects undertaken in the judiciary and existing information transfer mechanisms, which takes into account information inter alia list of digitized processes within the Judiciary and understand their main characteristics, architecture used, data generated, and involved entities.
2. Rapid Assessment Report: The consultant shall provide an assessment of on network vulnerability, existing hardware configurations, topologies etc., particularly identifying and highlighting weaknesses and vulnerabilities, IT governance, data management including recommendations to strengthen the case management system of the Judiciary including future investments in hardware and software and a proposed data governance structure focusing on accessibility and secure digital system.
3. Drafting of Standard Operating Procedures:  The standard operating procedures should be drafted based on the inception report, policy directives from the technical committee and DJA and the consultation meeting. The consultant should conduct relevant consultations during the drafting stage with stakeholders identified in the inception report and with others if required. The drafts will be written in a format and style determined by DJA.
4. Final consultation meeting and the final draft of the Standard Operating Procedures: The consultant shall facilitate a validation workshop for relevant stakeholders on the SOP and incorporate any necessary changes and reviews identified in the consultation workshop. The final draft of the SOP should be submitted to DJA and UNDP once it is reviewed by all relevant stakeholders following consultation.

The following table shows an indication of the duration for the deliverables;

 Duration of the Assignment

This assignment will approximately take 9 weeks and is expected to start early-June 2021. The consultant should come up with a clear timeline while submitting the proposal taking into consideration the estimated time durations for each deliverable as stipulated above.

  Institutional Arrangement

The consultant is expected to work with the technical committee established for the consultancy which includes staff from relevant departments and courts of the Judiciary, DJA and UNDP. The consultant will be accountable to the Programme Analyst of IGP, for each deliverable as stipulated in the proposal. Fortnightly meetings will be held with the DJA and UNDP. A briefing and debriefing meeting will be organized with UNDP senior management at the beginning and end of assignment.

Duty Station and Expected Places of Travel

Home-based 

PAYMENT TERMS 

The method of payment is output-based lump-sum scheme. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive lump sum and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration.

The payments shall be released upon submitting the required deliverables/outputs with satisfactory by the Programme Manger/Focal Point as per agreement for each report in accordance with a set time schedule to be agreed in the contract. 

Note: Payments will be based on invoices on achievement of agreed milestones i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR and certification of acceptance by the UNDP. The applicant must factor in all possible costs in their “All Inclusive Lump Sum Fee” including their consultancy and professional fee, travel, honorarium, board and lodging, and any other foreseeable costs in this exercise. No costs other than what has been indicated in the financial proposal will be paid or reimbursed to the consultant. UNDP will only pay for any unplanned travel outside of this TOR and Duty Station on actual basis and on submission of original bills/invoices and on prior agreement with UNDP officials. Daily perdiums and costs for accommodation/meals/incidental expenses for such travel shall not exceed established local UNDP DSA rates.

For an Individual Contractor who is 62 years of age or older, and on an assignment requiring travel, be it for the purpose of arriving at the duty station or as an integral duty required travel under the TOR, a full medical examination and statement of fitness to work must be provided.  Such medical examination costs must be factored in to the financial proposal above. Medical examination is not a requirement for individuals on RLA contracts.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP and UNCT
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism

Functional Competencies:

Leadership:

• Focuses on impact and results for the partner/counterpart
• Takes initiative and calculated risks and follows up regularly to drive successful implementation
• Consistently approaches the work of the office with energy and constructive attitude

Managing Relationships:

• Communicates clearly and convincingly with other external actors, including cultivating productive relationships with donors, partners and other important institutions and individuals to achieve strategic goals
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Manages conflict and stress and works effectively as a mediator to resolve problems

Managing Complexity:

• Anticipates and understands partner needs, formulates clear strategic plans, prioritizes interventions, and allocates resources according to priorities
• Manages programmes effectively by consistently ensuring timeliness and quality of programme work carried out by the office
• Encourages and contributes innovative solutions to address challenging situations
• Capacity to work under pressure, manage stress and adapt to rapidly evolving situations

Building and Sharing Knowledge:

• Actively develops deep understanding and experience in one or more knowledge areas, including process and/or substantive knowledge; willingly shares this knowledge when others require advice or help
• Brings all relevant knowledge and resources to bear on office initiatives in order to improve quality and timeliness of work

Learning and People Development:

• Demonstrates strong coaching skills and commitment to coaching, regularly providing helpful feedback and advice to others in the office
• Enthusiastically plays a mentoring role for others in the organization who reach out, developing a long-term personal relationship and providing valuable career guidance

Education:

• A minimum of a master’s in information technology management, information and data science, database/data management, computer science, cyber security.
• A minimum of 6 years of experience in information technology management or digital transformation in public administrations or consultancy
• A minimum of 2 years of experience in developing rapid assessment reports and assessing the case management and data management systems
• A minimum of 2 years of experience in information security systems
• Information security certification such as CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) or CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) is desirable
• Experience in facilitation of public consultations is desirable
• Past experience and familiarity with judicial processes will be an added advantage. 

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

Evaluation Method and Criteria

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as a) responsive/compliant/acceptable; and b) having received the highest score out of set of weighted technical criteria (70%). and financial criteria (30%). Financial score shall be computed as a ratio of the proposal being evaluated and the lowest priced proposal received by UNDP for the assignment.

Technical Criteria for Evaluation (Maximum 70 points)

• Criteria 1: Educational and technical competency in the field of data science, governance, data management, and/or cybersecurity.
• Criteria 2: Prior experience, applied knowledge, in digital transformations in public administration, data management, data governance, and digital security.
• Criteria 3: Ranking of previous work done with the state apparatus, or judiciary on the field of data governance, data security or digital security.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) during the desk review/interview are acceptable would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP in Annex II;
2. Previous similar work undertaken by the consultant
3. Personal CV or P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
4. Financial proposal that indicates the lump sum rate/fee of the candidate in Maldivian Rufiyya (or USD in the case of international consultant).  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal must include a breakdown of this daily fee (including number of anticipated working days and all foreseeable expenses to carry out the assignment); 

Incomplete proposals may not be considered.  The short-listed candidates may be contacted for interview and the successful candidate will be notified.