International Consultant to provide recommendations and deliver online training on trade barriers

Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of Turkmenistan (Ministry) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are implementing a project entitled “Strengthening the Trade Capacity of Turkmenistan”. The project is focused on supporting the Government of Turkmenistan in building trade capacity of the country with a view to support the realization of Turkmenistan’s objectives aimed at increasing competitiveness of national economy, reducing imports dependence and diversifying exports, including by increasing the share of higher value-added products in export composition.

Due to the increasing international competition for markets it is necessary to address the objective of export diversification with range of measures focused on the creation of effective system to promote domestically produced goods in export markets throughout the whole value chain: producer – ultimate buyer. The level of competitiveness of modern economy is largely determined by the quality of professional staff. Among factors of economic growth human capital is a matter of primary importance. This issue for Turkmenistan implies addressing the current challenging trends in the development of human capacities, including insufficient level of training of specialists and advanced training of personnel.

Under provision of this consultancy services project aims to enhance knowledge and skills of specialists, who are, to varying degree, involved in addressing the issues of domestic and foreign trade. Specifically, international consultant is expected to conduct research on regulatory and procedural set up and standards used in the third country markets and regional integration associations (the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union), which need to be followed and implemented to allow access of Turkmenistan’s export goods to  those markets by studying best international practices (accumulated by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and other international organizations).

United Nations Development Programme supports the Government of Turkmenistan in formulation and implementation of a set of measures focused on building trade capacity of the country with a view to support the realization of Turkmenistan’s objectives aimed at increasing competitiveness of national economy, reducing import dependence, and diversifying export, including by increasing the share of higher value-added products in export composition.

In this regard, UNDP is planning to engage international consultancy with the hands-on experience to develop recommendations on foreign market regulations, import procedures and more importantly standards to support national export throughout the whole goods shipment chain and deliver online training on the best international practices developed by the WTO, UNCTAD and other international organizations for the specialists of the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, Ministry of Finance and Economy, State Customs Service, the Major State Service “Turkmenstatestandards” and other related organizations in Turkmenistan.

In accordance with the above-mentioned objective of the assignment and under the supervision of the Project Manager and Programme Analyst, the International Consultant (IC) will have the objective of transferring knowledge and expertise to the specialists of national partners the above-mentioned proposal and deliver interactive training courses. To achieve the objective, he or she will perform the following tasks:

• Activity 1. Carry out desk review by reading relevant sections of the project document, state programmes related to trade and economic activities, trade policies and study of relevant trade related government institutions of Turkmenistan;
• Activity 2. Prepare materials and deliver five-day online interactive training course applying digital communication technologies to be delivered in the form of lectures, practical sessions, master-classes, problem-solving exercises, simulations, or case studies on the best international practices developed by the World Trade Organization, the UN Conference on Trade and Development and other international organizations addressing elimination of trade barriers. Online training course participants’ obtained knowledge must be tested and results provided;
• Activity 3. Working jointly with National Consultant examine the existing customs tariff and non-tariff measures in the markets of third countries that adversely affect current and potential interests of Turkmenistan;
• Activity 4. In accordance with current international law, develop proposal for Turkmenistan on practical measures required for implementation of comprehensive system to support national export throughout the whole goods shipment chain;
• Activity 5. Provide five-day online interactive training course applying digital communication technologies to be delivered in the form of lectures, practical sessions, masterclasses, problem-solving exercises, simulations, or case studies on the findings, recommendations and proposal on practical measures required for implementation of comprehensive system to support national export throughout the whole goods shipment chain for Turkmenistan. Online training course participants’ obtained knowledge must be tested, and results provided;
• Activity 6. Provide consultancy report on the outcome of online training courses with further recommendations.

Deliverables and timeframe:

Deliverables:

• Desk review of state programmes related to trade and economic activities, trade policies and study of trade related government institutions of Turkmenistan was completed;
  Materials of five days online interactive training course applying digital communication technologies to be delivered in the form of lectures, practical sessions, master-classes, problem-solving exercises, simulations, or case studies on the best international practices developed within the WTO, UNCTAD and other international organizations addressing the elimination of trade barriers were prepared and training course delivered;

Duration and timeframe: 3 working days for analyses, state programmes related to trade and economic activities, trade policies and trade related government institutions of Turkmenistan; 10 working days to prepare materials of online interactive training course and its delivery;

• The existing customs tariff and non-tariff measures in the markets of third countries that adversely affect current and potential interests of Turkmenistan were examined and proposal and recommendations for Turkmenistan were developed;
• Online interactive training course applying digital communication technologies to be delivered in the form of lectures, practical sessions, masterclasses, problem-solving exercises, simulations, or case studies on the findings, recommendations and proposal on practical measures required for implementation of comprehensive system to support national export throughout the whole goods shipment chain for Turkmenistan was delivered;
• Final consultancy report was submitted;

Duration and timeframe: 12 working days for development of proposal. 5 working days for delivery of online interactive training course.

• Writing final consultancy report with further recommendations.

  Payment conditions:

  This is an installment-based contract that should cover the costs of consultancy required to produce the above deliverables. The final schedule of payments will be agreed upon in the beginning of consultancy. Payment will be released in two installments: 1st installment: 40% (after delivery of first online training course as specified in Activity 2) and 2nd installment: 60% (after delivery of second online training course with developed proposal as specified in Activity 5 including examination of knowledge of participants and final consultancy report submitted by international consultant as per the ToR) – upon timely submission of respective deliverables and their acceptance by UNDP Turkmenistan.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment;

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge of and extensive experience working with UN international trade development mechanisms;
• Excellent analytical, communication and proposal writing skills;
• Results driven, ability to work under pressure and to meet required deadlines;
• Good understanding and practice of capacity development;
• Cultural sensitivity;
• Diplomatic skills;

Education:

• Advanced university degree (at least master’s degree) in a relevant field, such as business administration, economics, international business, or a related field;

Experience:

• At least 7 years of working experience in capacity development with a particular focus on training of trade professional skills or advising in the field of trade;
• Experience in provision of training using interactive methods applying digital communication technologies with focus on professional development in trade;
• Knowledge and experience of work in Central Asia or CIS is an advantage;
• Good knowledge of the UN, WTO mandate and practices on elimination of trade barriers;

Language requirements:

• Excellent written and spoken English; fluent Russian is an asset.

Submission of applications:

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

All experts applying for this position are required to provide:

• Brief (1-2 pages) description of the methodology for the assignment. However, the specific design and methods for the workshop will be determined from consultations among UNDP Turkmenistan Project team, the international expert, and the national partners as specified in Project Document about what is appropriate and feasible to meet the goals of the training courses;
• Financial Proposal with the references to (1) the daily rate for the assignment and within the timing scale indicated in the present TOR, and (2) any other expenses (including transportation costs, accommodation costs, the possibility of vaccination and etc.). Template of the form can be found at: http://www.tm.undp.org/content/turkmenistan/en/home/procurement.html. The UNDP will enter into an Individual Contract based on a lump sum amount. The financial proposal shall represent a detailed, justified and “all inclusive” amount.  In order to assist UNDP in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount, including: a daily fee for the tasks and an estimated duration as specified in this announcement, travel (to and from the missions), per diems, any other possible costs (including vaccinations, dwelling, communication etc.);
• Cover letter explaining why they are the most suitable candidate for the assignment;
• Resume /CV.

Evaluation of proposals:

Individual Consultants will be evaluated based on the combined scoring methodology. When using this method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant and
• Having received the highest score – out of 100

Out of the maximum score, the score for technical criteria equals 70% – maximum 100 points, and for financial criteria 30%.

The technical evaluation will take into account the following as per the scoring provided:

• Education in the field of business administration, economics, international business or a related field – 20 pts;
• Working experience in capacity development with a particular focus on training of professional skills in the field of trade – 20 pts;
• Methodology – 15 pts;
• Good knowledge of the UN, WTO mandate – 15 pts;
• Knowledge and experience of work in the CIS or Central Asia – 15 pts;
• Fluency in Russian – 5 pts;
• Fluency in English – 10 pts

Financial proposal – 30% of total evaluation.

Additional requirements for recommended contractor:

Recommended contractors aged 65 and older, and if the travel is required, shall undergo a full medical examination including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. The medical examination is to be cleared by the UN physicians and shall be paid by the consultant.