Special Skills Expert (SSE) on Payrolls, Records and Pensions

Successful implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) provides a better opportunity for Revitalized Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) to carry out reforms skilfully, structurally, systematically, symbiotically and synthetically in the key public institutions. This will necessitate the placements of well-trained capacity of public servants with motivation to effectively and efficiently deliver peace dividends impactfully for the welfare of over 12.58 million population whose human development index stands lowly at 0.418. That is why governance early support and leveraging coordinated partnerships is needed urgently during the transitional period with concentration on delivery capacity of Change Agents (CAs) in the institutions of Presidency, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (PMDAs) mentored by Special Skills Expert (SSE) on Governance Cluster.

It is for this purpose that the GEMS Project has been designed with enabling functional tools of professional discharge of duties in public governance sector, including communication technology applied in conducive physical infrastructure and secure working environment. The Project has been envisioned to induce behavioural change in conduct of public affairs, learning from relevant comparative experiences and adjusting attitude of civil servants to match the standards of “good governance” through serious implementation of Chapter I of the R-ARCSS with adoption of relevant comparative best practices. The performance of RTGoNU shall be enhanced with help of SSEs and CAs, providing dynamic inputs, including assessing, analysing, deciding, planning, organizing, training, staffing, leading, controlling, performing, evaluating and redressing the fundamentals of public administration and management of the public sector. The processes outputs shall be considered with cost-effectiveness in generating outcomes within PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) context of operation informed by validated SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis.

The SSE shall support the MPS&HRD with detailed technical capacity building and institutional reforms of public service in accordance with R-ARCSS and reviewed laws/regulations that will guide the Ministry its mandates professionally.

The SSE shall train, coach and mentor the staff of Ministerial Offices, Office of the Undersecretary, Directorate of Policy Planning and Budget, and Directorate of Management Service, to discharge their duties on the following:

• Upgrade South Sudan Electronic Payrolls System (SSEPS II), including locally developed software backed up by standard computerized hardware and strong internet connectivity with owned sustainability by national government;
• Roll-out the updated SSEPS II and payroll cleansing to government institutions with user manual adopted by the Change Agents trained for this purpose in accordance with the approved nominal rolls and tracking of attendance records of government employees;

• Upgrade the Human Resource Information Management System (HRIMS) and use it to update the records of government employees through trained Change Agents;
• Review and unify the Salary Scales and Structures of all Civil Servants (officials and employees), including job specific allowances of the various public institutions with relevant adjustments and proposals where necessary to reflect changes in the cost of living and the current economic situation in the South Sudan;
• Review and work out the Salary Structures of the independent Institutions who have different Structures and Allowances such as Judiciary; Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology; among others, and come out with objective proposals backed up by justifiable realities.
• Review and work out fixed standards of the constitutional post-holders’ emoluments, allowances and privileges; and make proposals for new allowances such as Additional Education Qualification Allowance, Transport Allowance, Nature of Work Allowance, Representational Responsibility Allowances, and Technical Allowances of the various specialized cadres to motivate them based on special skills and extra efforts;
• Review and develop scheme of records of civil servants, unified filing system and safe archives for MoPS&HRD based on computerized management system and backups;
• Train the change agents in MoPS&HRD on computerized records, filing and archives management of employees in the public service of South Sudan;
• Review and develop pension policies with packages that could enable the retired public servants to have dignified life outside the system of public service.
• Develop a computerized data management system for pensioners with backups for the employees of MoPS&HRD and the entire public service of South Sudan.
• Train Pension change agents and officers on records, filing and archives management of pensioners’ benefits and retirement packages.
• Adopt affirmative action and gender mainstreaming in the division of labor of the public sector as regulated by MoPS&HRD based on endorsed pension schemes; and
• Involve the change agents in organizing and attending committee meetings and workshops on Payrolls, Records and Pensions management.

The SSE and CAs shall be provided with efficient work facilities (computers, printers, internet service, and stationeries, etc..) through GEMS Project budget while the MoPS&HRD will provide office space with power during workhours.

Identifying and Building Strategic Consensus with Collegial Partnerships:

• Established effective networking with MDAs and partners in seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to mandate of RTGoNU as provided in article 1.2 of R-ARCSS and with special focus on governance reform agenda during transitional period.
• Contextualized assistance of hierarchical bureaucracy of the government for fast-tracking a coordinated payrolls, records and pensions in administrative delivery of public service, using efficient tools necessary for supporting capacity building of public sector with international partnerships in accordance with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Innovating and Developing Good Governance Strategies, Plans and Regulations:

• Coordinated harmonization of legislative framework, institutional policies, strategic plans, and work plans with well-studied knowledge sharing flatforms on payrolls, records and pensions management.
• Adopted new approaches of public administration with broader range of perspectives in developing innovative proposals for meeting the contemporary standards of payrolls, records and pensions.
• Created conducive work environment and team spirit, which fosters innovative collective thinking through the reformed governance institutions in the public sector.

Creating Impact through Sustainable Peace and Holistic Development Dividends:

• Developed leadership and administrative skills of developmental analyses of governance information on potential bilateral and multilateral cooperation with national counterparts to recommend strategic approach for mutual benefits and accountability.
• Compiled comparative lessons learned on payrolls, records and pensions in the public sector in accordance with inculcated fundamentals of good governance and development.

Promoting Institutional Training, Technical Expertise and Knowledge Sharing: 

• Prioritized continuous training, coaching and mentoring of public servants with efficient use of contemporary computerized tools and mechanisms of public e-governance.
• Enhanced effective planning, presentation and report-writing skills with strong analytical and strategic resilience in advanced professional public administration specialization.
• Demonstrated comprehensive skillful knowledge and competence in information technology and strategic communication on governance with efficiency and accountability.

The SSE candidate should have the following qualification, competence, skills and experience:

• At least Master’s degree or Advance degree in relevant fields related to governance (statistics, economics, political science, public administration, law, philosophy, communication, information, etc.) is required with over 5 years of experience or bachelor’s degree in the same relevant fields with over 10 years of experience in the public sector.
• Strong background in planning, policy designs, professional leadership, intra government relations, inter-departmental coordination and mastery of public service fundamentals.
• Experience of capacity development and coaching of technical staff, especially at leadership level and middle administrative level.
• Knowledge of mandates of key national and international institutions at bilateral and multilateral levels partnerships.
• Competence in computerized office applications, data basing and visualization software, including faster adaptation of new updates on e-governance.
• Professional command of written and spoken English with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Timely delivery on the assignment in operational environment of pressure with risks from both expected and unforeseen situations.
• Good knowledge of gender and youth issues with gender mainstreaming approaches.

DELIVERABLES

The assignment is results-oriented with payments directly linked to the following deliverables/outputs anticipated from the starting date of contract or contract:

• Inception Report and initial workplan (10 days after contract commencement).
• Bi-monthly workplan and report of previous period (2 months after contract commencement and every two months following).
• Draft Final Report on the results/finding and recommendations (one month prior to end of contract). Final Report on the results/finding of the assessment and recommendations for future interventions (Revised draft incorporating the feedback from stakeholders) (one week prior to end of contract).  This is to be presented to stakeholders for validation.
• All reports compiled by the SSE are subject to review, validation, and endorsement by the MoPS&HRD and UNDP’s Manager of GEMS Project.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Applicants are reviewed based on Required Skills and Experience stated above and based on the technical evaluation criteria outlined below.  Applicants will be evaluated based on cumulative scoring.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

•          Being responsive/compliant/acceptable; and

•          Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation where technical criteria weighs 70% and Financial criteria/ Proposal weighs 30%.

Technical Evaluation = 100% total points (1000 total marks):

•          Criteria 1: Relevant Educational Experience as per this TOR: Weight = 30% Maximum points out of sub-total of 300 marks.

•          Criteria 2: Professional working experience in relevant fields related to public sector with particular focus on economic sector or within line  ministries; proven technical experience in capacity development and coaching of technical staff, especially at managerial level in economic, resource, revenues and financial management; demonstrated experience working in knowledge management, strong background in planning, policy designs, professional leadership, intra government relations, inter-departmental coordination; and proven relevant work experience and knowledge of corporate social networking-based platforms/tools:  60% Maximum points out of sub-total of 600 marks.

•          Criteria 3: English language, professional competence, computer skills in office applications, data basing and visualization software with faster adaptation to new updates: Weight = 10% maximum points out of sub-total of 100 marks.

Having reviewed applications received, UNDP will award the top candidates with highest scores. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for financial proposal.

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation – Total 30% (30 points).

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Contract Award:

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores of Technical and Financial Evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.

Payment Modality:

•          Payment to the SSE will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the manager.

•          The work week will be based on 35 hours, i.e. on a 7-hours working day, with core hours being between 9h00 and 18h00 daily.