A. BACKGROUND

Mongolia received a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability (SFFS) Project. The Objective of the SFFS Project is to contribute to the Government of Mongolia’s efforts to strengthen fiscal and financial stability and improve the quality of expenditure management. The project is designed with five components: (i) Strengthening Macroeconomic and Fiscal Management; (ii) Improving the Efficiency of Public Financial Management; (iii) Enhancing Financial Sector Stability; (iv) Strengthening the Social Protection System; (v) Project Management and Monitoring. The objectives are to strengthen fiscal responsibility and implement the relevant policy measures; improve fiscal discipline; strengthen the resiliency of the banking system; improve public expenditure quality in social protection; and provide support for Project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, including, inter alia, audit arrangements, reporting requirements, procurement and financial management activities, respectively. 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 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). Payroll for civil servants is not fully administered through the GFMIS, other than settling the relevant payments, while wage bill accounts for a significant proportion of overall recurrent expenditures for the government. 

As part of the Ministry’s reform agenda on digital transformation, the Treasury Department of the MOF (TD, MOF) has been developing a number of information systems in recent years for treasury specialists at the MOF, UB city municipality and local administrations, as well as accountants at the budget entities. Development and introduction of each information system has required updates and modifications in the relevant internal operations and business processes, the relevant regulatory documents, as well as training materials and manuals. Furthermore, building capacity and skills of the system users has faced various challenges regarding time and space, and in particular in-person training of specialists in remote aimags and soums has not been sufficiently accessible due to the required travel costs and availability of quality trainers. The inability to adequately train staff and professionals in the use of the systems in their day-to-day operations has a direct impact on the success of the digital transformation efforts. Hence, in order to help address the gap in training delivery, the TD, MOF intends to pursue development of a Learning Management System (LMS) leveraging the current information technology infrastructure, the Treasury network and the internet connections made available in all aimags and soums. 

The envisioned LMS intends to enable collaborative, independent and continuous learning, regardless of space or time constraints, using the existing infrastructure. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online training has increasingly been used nationwide at various levels, so the proposed development and rollout of the LMS will be timely and appropriate. There is currently no Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system on the market that can be customized to do the needful by the MOF. But the LMS system will be developed utilizing widely used open source software solutions so that the system will be customized to meet the specific requirements of the TD, MOF.

B. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT 

The objective of the assignment is to support the Treasury Department of the MOF in implementation of a Learning Management System (LMS) that is to be developed, which will help enable better treasury services through building capacity and skills for treasury officials and budget entities’ accountants in the use of the Integrated Payroll System, commitment and obligation modules of GFMIS, and the Electronic transaction verification directory (E-TVD) systems.

C. SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will collaborate with the relevant specialists and national consultants at the TD, MOF and perform the following tasks:

1.  Act as a focal point to liaise with the LMS contractor providing the necessary support from the Client’s side to the development and implementation of the LMS;

2.  Review and provide comments on the contractor’s research report on similar LMSs used in other countries and in Mongolia with that have comparable characteristics in terms of geography, public administration structure, etc.;

3.  Plan and monitor the progress of the overall LMS development process and review and compile project-related reports;

4.  Collaborate with the contractor to ensure that the system development is in accordance with the functional and technical requirements; 

5.  Provide technical support and advice to the Client in the system identification and selection process;

6.  Review and provide comments on the detailed implementation plan for the system development, testing, content development prepared by the contractor for consultation with and approval by the Client;

7.  Provide support to the contractor and coordinate training curriculum and learning contents development in consultation with the relevant officers and consultants of the TD, MOF; 

8.  Supervise LMS pilots in selected budget entities and coordinate the planned work;

9.  Coordinate the training for end-user at piloting entities;

10. Act as a key point of contact on functional issues and provide functional support to end-users of piloting entities; 

11. Report on a regular basis on the status and issues emerging from the pilots to the Director-General of the TD;

12. Act as a focal point on functional issues and provide support for end-users of the system;

13. Identify and report system bugs and errors in the system during testing, piloting, and implementation in collaboration with end-users and offer operational solutions to resolve issues;

14. Supervise comprehensive testing of electronic transfer authorization capabilities in the LMS and its interfaced systems;

15. Organize trainings for local treasuries and budget entities on system capabilities for pilot-runs and implementation rollout purposes; and

16. Undertake such other tasks related to the assignment as reasonably requested and/or assigned by the Director-General of TD.

D. DELIVERABLES:

Based on the above tasks under the assignment and a detailed Work Plan (WP) to be approved by the client, the consultant’s deliverables will be as follows:

1. An operational LMS developed and tested;

2. Reports on the LMS development progress on a regular basis or as agreed with TD, MOF;

3. Evidence on tracking development progress of the system;

4. A draft work plan for carrying out pilot-runs and implementation rollout of the system;

5. Comprehensive user acceptance testing cases and result reports;

6. Training materials covering LMS capabilities and processes;

7. Reports on pilot runs for implementing the system at treasury units and budget entities;

8. User guides including all user roles for all levels of treasuries and of budget entities to serve as day-to-day references; and

9. Documents on the LMS compiled, archived, and handed over to the TD.

The Consultant will receive formal feedback and comments on each deliverable within 1 week after submission from the TD.

E. CONSULTANT’S QUALIFICATIONS/ SELECTION CRITERIA

The Consultant shall have the following qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent in ICT, or in other fields related to this assignment;

• Experience:  Incumbent should have at least ten (10) years of relevant professional experiences in a system development process and capacity building. Candidates specialized in project management would have an advantage;

• Previous experience in a similar capacity of working with public financial management system is required;

• Language skills: Good written and spoken skills in English and fluent written and spoken skills in Mongolian;

• Computer literacy: Be proficient in PC-based applications such as Word, Excel, and have excellent web research, collect information and process, summarize and prepare reports and navigation skills. Be proficient in project management software and tools, etc;

• Other:

  - Have excellent skills in Project Development and Management including Project Development, Project Planning, Project Implementation, Quality Control, and Project Risk Management; and

  - Be able to work with Microsoft Windows, Unix, and Linux systems; and

  - Have ability to communicate complex technical problems concisely and professionally to technical and non-technical audiences, including high ranking officials.

F. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

MOF will provide office space and equipment for the consultant. The Consultant will have access to all the necessary data/information that the MOF could provide for this assignment. All information provided to the consultant will be regarded as confidential and information shall not be shared with any outside individuals or organizations.

G. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING 

The consultant will work under direct supervision of the Director-General of the TD. On a day-to-day basis the consultant should consult and cooperate with the TD specialists and consultants in charge of the related systems’ implementation. During the assignment period, all deliverables shall be reviewed by the Director-General of the TD and the consultant shall inform the Client of the work progress on a weekly basis. The client shall provide its comments on reports and other related deliverables within 5 working days of receiving these documents from the consultant.

H. CONTRACT DURATION

The assignment is expected to commence in May 2021 and the total duration of the consultancy service to be rendered is estimated to be 9 months with a possible extension period, based on business needs and satisfactory performance. 

If you possess the above qualifications, please submit following documents via email to procurement@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. Two (2) reference letters from previous last two employers no later than 17:00, May 18, 2021.

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 be noted that incomplete applications would not be considered for evaluation. Only selected candidate will be contacted.

Address for submission of Expression of Interest: Attention to Ms. Ariunaa G, Procurement Specialist, Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project, Address: Room #204, Negdsen undestnii 8/2, 4th khoroo, Chingeltei District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Tel: 70120582 or via email to: procurement@sffs.mn

70120582