Reference: | 23/CS/0005 |
Client: | Ministry of Finance |
Category: | Consultancy Service |
Advertised: | 2/15/2022 |
Deadline: | 2/28/2022 15:00:00 |
A. BACKGROUND
The World Bank (WB) with the financial support of the EU is implementing the Strengthening Governance in Mongolia (SGM) Project aimed to support the efforts of the Government of Mongolia (GOM) to improve fiscal discipline, public financial management (PFM), and transparency and accountability processes for strengthened governance in the public sector in Mongolia.
Component 2 of the SGM project focuses primarily on supporting the specific needs of the GOM to establish sound fiscal discipline, to improve expenditure management by strengthening the budget credibility, to establish the foundations for medium-term budgeting, and to re-orient public investment to strategic projects linked to the diversification of the economy. Five priority areas will constitute the core of the component: (i) development and implementation of a public financial management reform plan and inter-agency coordination; (ii) strengthening budget preparation and execution towards results-based medium-term budgeting; (iii) improving budget reporting and transparency by increasing the comprehensiveness of fiscal and financial information and reporting; (iv) improving the management of contingent liabilities, through improving the existing governance framework for recognizing, managing, and disclosing contingent liabilities; and (v) strengthening public investment management, through the development and implementation of mechanisms for prioritizing capital project proposals and cost-benefit analysis.
The Citizen’s Budget for the consolidated budget in Mongolia was first-ever developed in 2018 with the aim to increase the citizens’ knowledge about the state budget, enable citizens to mon¬itor and participate in the budgeting process, and improve budget transparency by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) initiative and with the support of the U.S. Department of Treasury.
Since 2019 the SGM project supported the production of the Citizen’s Budget for both the proposed and approved budgets with the aim to explain the budget to the citizens in a transparent and easy-to-understand format using dialogues be¬tween family members and representatives of functional sectors, such as health, education, and environmental protection, etc. The booklets also included information on state fiscal policy, macro-economic projections, budget revenue sources, government loans, and grants as well as information on government debt. Detailed expenditure information is provided for each functional sector. Also, comprehensive information is included about government services provided to children, mothers, senior citizens, disabled citizens, civil servants, and herders. Starting from 2019, additional Citizen’s Budget booklets were developed to inform quarterly budget executions.
During fiscal years 2021 and 2022, the Citizen’s budget booklets were produced at the time of submission of the budget proposal to the Parliament and were published on the MOF website and the fiscal transparency websites as e-booklets.
With the support of the SGM project, in February 2021 an interactive, web-based Citizen’s Budget was partially launched. Some menus of the website are currently under development, so further maintenance and improvements are needed. The Citizen’s budget menu also needs further modifications due to several structural changes that are to be made as per the 2022 Budget law. In this regard, the Fiscal Policy and Planning Department (FPPD) of the MOF plans to engage with a local consultant to support the web development going forward. Furthermore, budget documents prepared and published in 2022 will be evaluated in the next round of the Open Budget survey round. Therefore special attention is needed during the year with the support of the local consultant.
B. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The main objective of this assignment is to (i) provide support to further development of the existing features of the Citizen’s Budget website (back-end and front-end) in order to enable easy release and access of fiscal information to the public; (iii) maintain the website to ensure the data and information available on it are up-to-date; (iv) prepare a mid-year review document in a timely manner; (v) monitor budget documents of 2022; (ii) support the design and implementation of activities aimed at fostering public participation in fiscal matters (i.e. enhancing participation in the budget process).
C. SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
Key responsibilities under this assignment will include, but not be limited to, the following:
Task 1. Support development of the Citizen’s Budget website:
Task 2. Enhance public participation opportunities suitable in current fiscal process.
Task 3. Maintain the Citizen’s budget website to ensure that the data and information available on it is up-to-date. Collect, review, and import the following data to be made available on the website:
Task 4. Prepare a mid-year review document in a timely manner
Task 5. Monitor budget documents of 2022
D. DELIVERABLES
E. CONSULTANT’S QUALIFICATIONS/SELECTION CRITERIA
Education: A suitable candidate should have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field: information technology or web development;
Experience: The incumbent should have at least two (2) years of relevant professional experience in IT and web developing. Knowledge of data processing and public finance would be an advantage.
Language skills: Fluent written and spoken skills in Mongolian and English.
Other skills:
F. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING
The consultant will report directly to the Head of the Budget Consolidation Division (BCD) and Director-General of the FPPD, MOF and will work closely with the officials of Financing, Reporting and Accounting Division of the Treasury Department and the Budget Consolidation Division of FPPD of the MoF, respectively. The Head of the Budget Consolidation Division will communicate regularly with the consultant to review the progress of the relevant tasks, respectively, to resolve any outstanding issues.
The consultant should submit monthly brief notes on the expected deliverables during the course of the assignment.
All information provided to the consultant will be regarded as confidential and information will not be shared with any outside individuals or organizations without prior agreement by the Client.
E. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
The client will provide office space, assign the officials to accept deliverables stated in the contract and provide all necessary materials required for undertaking the assignment. The consultant shall bring his/her own computer/laptop.
F. CONTRACT DURATION AND PAYMENT CONDITION
The consultant’s contract amendment is expected to commence in February 2022. The total duration of the consultancy service to be rendered is estimated at twelve (12) months.
If you possess the above qualifications, please submit the following documents via email to procurement_sgm@sffs.mn:
1. Cover letter indicating why she/he considers her/himself suitable for the position.
2. Detailed CV highlighting relevant skills/experience.
3. Copy of diplomas or certificates; and,
4. 2 reference letters from the previous last two employers no later than 15:00, February 28, 2022.
The submitted documents will not be returned to the applicants. Please be noted that incomplete applications would not be considered for evaluation. Only selected candidate will be contacted.
Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Individual Consultant Selection method set out in the Procurement Regulations: The following is the link to the World Bank’s website: https://policies.worldbank.org/sites/ppf3/PPFDocuments/Forms/DispPage.aspx?docid=083b3f94-a932-4395-a410-834f8bc14f8c
Address for submission of Expression of Interest: Attention to Ms.Oyunyam.M, Procurement Specialist, Strengthening Governance in Mongolia Project, Address: Room #204, Negdsen undestnii 8/2, 4th khoroo, Chingeltei District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Tel: 70120582 or via email to: procurement_sgm@sffs.mn
70120582