A. BACKGROUND

Mongolia has received credit from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project (SFFSP). The objective of the SFFS Project is to contribute to the Mongolian Government’s efforts to strengthen fiscal and financial stability and improve the quality of expenditure. The project is comprised of five components: (A) Strengthening Macroeconomic and Fiscal Management; (B) Improving the Efficiency of Public Financial Management; (C) Enhancing Financial Sector Stability; (D) Strengthening the Social Protection System; (E) Project Management and Monitoring. For more details, please refer to the Project Appraisal Document Report No. PAD2269 .

Subcomponent B2 of the project aims to increase budget comprehensiveness and transparency through better control, reporting and expansion of the government’s integrated financial management information capabilities. The Government of Mongolia has been using the  FreeBalance software since 2005 as the Government’s Financial Management Information System (GFMIS) i.e. the treasury system. This system is primarily focused on enabling quick settlement of payments and producing budget execution reports. Starting from 2018, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has upgraded the GFMIS to the latest web-based FreeBalance Version 7 (FB v7). 

Furthermore, the MOF has created a working group (WG) for researching successful development of an Integrated Financial Management Information system (FMIS). This WG is tasked with determining stakeholders, identifying user requirements, as well as planning the project schedule and estimating the associated budget. 

Moreover, in order to provide some government services in a quick and timely manner to the citizens, the Government maintains accounts at commercial banks for revenue collection. However, the Government has been working towards improving its current way of collecting service fees for better delivery and transparency of their services. The IT center (ITC) of the Custom, Taxation and Finance, a State-Owned Enterprise under the MOF established in 2015, has so far developed a few electronic solutions for the Mongolian Taxation Offices including the E-Invoice, E-tax, and E-barimt services. Starting in June 2019, the ITC has started working on improving the methods of tax and government services revenue collection. 

B. OBJECTIVE

The objective of the assignment is to assist the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance (TD, MOF) towards better delivery of government services to citizens through improving the revenue collection and developing an online treasury portal for the payment settlement integration with GFMIS V7. 

C. SCOPE OF THE WORK

The consultant will perform tasks including, but not limited to, the following in close cooperation with an international consultant and other national consultants: 

Task 1. To improve the government services revenue collection: 

        1. Discuss and identify banking problems in citizens paying fees to the treasury for receiving government services;

        2. Review and prepare a report on the current issues regarding the collection and transfer of service fees and payments for government services nationwide;

        3. Define the current usage of easy payment methods such as an app, Qpay, bill payment kiosk,  POS for government services;

        4. Work with the ITC to finalize the proposed design of a system arhitechture for collecting government services revenue with multiple options, and define the system capabilities for integrating with the GFMIS /FB V7;

        5. Provide support to the MOF on its correspondence with and management of the developer (ITC) to ensure that the actual development is in accordance with the TOR.

Task 2. To find a solution for budget entities to enable the possibility of making online payments from the TSA through the GFMIS /FB V7: 

        6. Review the current practice of receiving payment requests from budget entities and delivering transaction information through the GFMIS/FB V7;

        7. Propose payment options with less human involvement, such as through the treasury payment settlement web portal that enables budget entities to make transactions, record their commitments and obligations, and generate different statements of their ledger accounts; 

        8. Ensure the usage of digital signatures for treasury transactions with the proposed solution;

        9. Develop the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the proposed system solution that is integrated with the GFMIS /FB V7;

           a. Identify user requirements and develop the TOR for the proposed solution and present it to the WG;

           b. Ensure that the draft TOR are reviewed by all the relevant stakeholders including all members of the WG prior to finalization; and

           c. Finalize the TOR taking into consideration inputs, comments and suggestions provided by the WG members and other relevant stakeholders;

       10. Provide support to the MOF on its correspondence with and management of the developer (Freebalance) to ensure that the development is in accordance with the TOR.

Task 3. To provide technical support for implementation of the GFMIS /FB V7:

       11. Identify user requirements and develop the Terms of Feference for Freebalance, for developing Multi-Currency Accounting for the Treasury Single Account and API integration with other systems in order to support implementation of the GFMIS /FB V7;

       12. Provide support to the work with Freebalance on implementation of the GFMIS /FB V7 and its integration with other systems;

       13. Work in tandem with the other local consultants and MOF officials to assist in all the tasks aimed towards full utilization of the GFMIS /FB V7 and provide technical support on  interfacing the system with other required systems; and

       14. Undertake any other tasks in a timely manner as reasonably requested by the Director-General of the Treasury Department.

D. DELIVERABLES:

Task 1: Progress and Final reports on Task # 1 including:

        1. Report on findings of the banking problems currently faced in providing government services for citizens and in collecting and transfering the service fees and payments nationwide;

        2. Review report on the current usage of easy payment methods such as an app, Qpay, bill payment kiosk, POS for government services;

        3. Finalized  system arhitechture for collecting government services revenue with multiple options and the system capabilities defined with integration to the GFMIS /FB V7; and

        4. Support provided to the MOF, regarding its correspondence with and management of the developer (ITC) to ensure that the development is in accordance with the TOR.

Task 2: Progress and Final reports on Task # 2 including:

        5. Review report on the current practice of receiving payment requests from budget entities and delivering transaction information through the GFMIS /FB V7 

        6. Solutions proposed with less human involvement for payment options such as the treasury payment settlement web portal that enables budget entities to make transactions, record their commitments and obligations, and get different statements of their ledger accounts; 

        7. Finalized Terms of Reference for the proposed system architecture integrated with the GFMIS /FB V7;

        8. Support provided to the MOF on its correspondence with and management of the developer (FreeBalance), to ensure that development is in accordance with the TOR.

Task 3: Progress and Final reports on Task # 3 including:

        9. Finalized Terms of Reference for Freebalance for developing Multi-Currency Accounting for the Treasury Single Account and API integration with other systems to support implementation of the GFMIS /FB V7; and

       10. Support provided to the work with Freebalance on the implementation of the GFMIS /FB V7 and its integration with other systems.

E. CONSULTANT’S QUALIFICATIONS/ SELECTION CRITERIA

        • Education: A suitable candidate should have a Master’s degree in information technology. 

        • Experience: Incumbent must have at least 15 years of experience of working in IT or a related field, and prior experience of working with fiscal and financial systems. International work experience will be advantageous;

        • Experience in business process modeling, including documenting and analyzing functional procedures and workflows, as well as in business process reengineering, definition and evaluation of user requirements in the selection, development and/or implementation of IT systems;

        • Work experience in managing projects with a preference in development and implementation of web-based or client-server based systems using any standard development tools;

        • Language skills: Must have proficiency in English, as well as fluency in written and spoken Mongolian;

        • Must possess excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to work in a group setting and a multicultural team environment, which is required to deal effectively with staff at all levels;

        • Must be able to work independently, advise others, as well as work in a team.

        • Must be able to work overtime if required;

G. CONTRACT DURATION 

The consultancy is expected to commence in September 2019 and the total duration of the consultancy service is estimated to be 12 months with a possible extension period, if necessary.  

If you possess the above qualifications, please submit following documents:

        · Cover letter indicating why she/he considers her/himself suitable for the position,

        · Detailed CV highlighting relevant skills/experience,

        · Copy of diplomas or certificates and,

        · 2 reference letters from previous last two employers no later than 17:00, October 03, 2019.

The consultant will be selected in accordance with the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (July 2016).

The submitted documents will not be returned to the applicants. Please note that incomplete applications would not be considered for evaluation. Only selected candidates will be contacted. Candidates can be interviewed. Detailed terms of reference can be requested from procurement@sffs.mn.

Contact address: Attn: Ms.L. Bayarmaa, Procurement Specialist, Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Project. Room #204, Negdsen undestnii 8/2, 4th khoroo, Chingeltei District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Tel: 70120582

70120582