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. The project is designed into 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 .

The World Bank (WB) and the EU has also been implementing a Trust Fund-financed project called Strengthening Governance in Mongolia (SGM) (TF) aimed to support the efforts of the Government of Mongolia (GM) to improve fiscal discipline, public financial management (PFM), and transparency and accountability processes for strengthened governance in the public sector in Mongolia. This project complements the WB-financed Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability (SFFS) Project in supporting the ongoing government reforms in PFM and governance in the public sector. 

This TF, through both Recipient Executed (RE) and Bank Executed (BE) interventions, serves two main purposes. Firstly, it complements and expands the ongoing technical assistance the WB is providing through the Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability (SFFS) Project. Secondly, this TF supports the GoM in advancing the current efforts toward increasing transparency, participation and accountability in fiscal matters as well as in strengthening its capacity to deal with non-technical drivers of the reform process that prevent state agencies from implementing policies and regulations as intended.

Specifically, the Component 2 of the TF 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 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.

As per the Government’s PFM strategy and action plan for 2020-2023, (under budget revenue and expenditure matters), the GFMIS’s functions should be improved and integrated with other related systems. To achieve this goal, the Treasury Department (TD) of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) contracted with Freebalance Ltd to implement commitment control and a web service extension to the GFMIS, but possibility of providing all spending units with access to the system remains to be limited. The TD| maintains more than twenty thousand accounts for more than four thousand six hundred budget entities through the units located in each soum and aimag. To increase the coverage of the accounts in the use of the FMIS, developing a Portal system to enable electronic exchange of financial information with budget entities as spending units, billing of utility services, and more. This will enable the TD to integrate sub systems with the GFMIS and improve the unified coding system for further reporting, which will allow data exchanges with line ministries and the National Statistics Office. The TD has been working toward improving its operations through interlinked systems with paperless transactions, digital signature approval and implementation of sub systems that allow data exchanges with other government agencies such as the tax office, procurement agency and the Civil Service Council. To help bring these efforts together, there now is a need to develop and implement a portal for electronic exchanges of financial transactions for budget entities. 

Furthermore, the Government maintains bank accounts at commercial banks to quickly and timely provide some government services such as social security, revenue collection and pety cash needs of budget entities. However legislative arrangements, effective rules, and regulations governing the opening/closure of accounts at commercial banks for the Government and budget entities have resulted in difficulties in practice when opening, closing, managing, monitoring, and reporting on these accounts.  This creates discrepancy between central bank and commercial banks data that is challenging for the TD to reconcile. To manage all commercial bank accounts daily basis, there is a need to develop and implement of a Bank Account Management, Monitoring and Dynamic Reporting System (BAMMDRS) for Government banks accounts, which will improve transparency and coordination tax offices, local treasury units and line ministries for better management.

The IT Center (ITC) of the Custom, Taxation and Finance (hereinafter, the developer), a State-Owned Enterprise was established under the MOF in 2015 and has since developed several systems for the MOF. The MOF has assigned the task of developing the web portal system for the Treasury also to the ITC.

B. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT 

The objective of the assignment is to support and advise the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance (TD, MOF) in the process of developing and implementing the portal system and commercial bank account monitoring and reporting system for the Treasury, which are to bring Treasury services to a new level through improved automation and digitization. The desired national consultant will work closely with the Payment and Settlement Division of the TD, MOF and act as a project manager for the above-mentioned two systems. The consultant will provide technical advice in the implementation of the proposed systems and on other relevant issues concerning software, hardware, and infrastructure including providing information on the industry’s best practices, latest technologies, up-to-date market analysis, and cost estimates. The consultant will also be responsible for project management matters including managing a team of local consultants to support the system development and implementation.  

C. SCOPE OF WORK

The main responsibilities of the consultant will include providing technical support and advice in the implementation, testing, and deployment of the proposed systems; assessing progress on the overall project activities, advising on how to coordinate and sequence the planned activities, identifying key issues hindering the project implementation, and offering technical options/resolutions upon careful analysis of the associated risks and benefits. 

Key responsibilities under this assignment will include, but not be limited to, the following tasks:

Task 1. Provide support in the development, piloting and implementation of the Portal system:

1.1 Review the legal framework to implement the portal system and develop a draft government resolution to enable implementation the portal system nationwide, if required;

1.2 Act as a key person to liaise with the developer (ITC) and lead a team of national consultants, who are to support the development and implementation of the Portal system;

1.3 Assess progress on the overall project activities related with the Portal and advise on how to best coordinate and sequence the activities;

1.4 Verify testing and pilot-runs of the portal implementation before the actual go-live start of the Portal;

1.5 Develop a detailed work plan draft to carry out the pilots on implementing them at selected budget entities, aimags and districts;

1.6 Act as a key person to interact with MOF end-users and to provide necessary training on utilize the system;

1.7 Perform a market analysis and pricing of payment systems, hardware, and other IT-related infrastructures; 

1.8 Identify critical issues hindering the Portal implementation and offer technical and operational solutions upon careful analysis of their associated risks and benefits;

1.9 Develop an implementation and roll-out plan detailing the systematic roll-out of the solution in accordance with the PFM action plan;

1.10 Conduct end-user’s training at nationwide in accordance with the approved training plan;

1.11 Monitor implementation of the Portal and IT infrastructure and report to the TD and PIU if there are necessary actions and corrections to be undertaken; 

1.12 Prepare MOF end-user’s manual for the portal system functionality;

1.13 Train the MOF system administration team and MOF end-users in order to transfer the relevant knowledge; particularly on how to provide daily support and assistance in parallel with the preparation and roll out of the system;

1.14 Coordinate compiling, maintaining and archiving project documents as well as recording incoming and outgoing documents/correspondence; and

1.15 Undertake such other tasks related with the system as reasonably requested and/or assigned by the Director-General of the TD or Project Coordinator of the SGMP. 

Task 2. Provide technical support on the implementation of a Bank Account Management, Monitoring and Dynamic Reporting System (BAMMDRS) for Government banks accounts:

2.1 Act as a key person to liaise with the developer (ITC) and commercial banks on the development and implementation of the BAMMDRS;

2.2 Assess progress on the overall project activities related with the BAMMDRS and advise on how to best coordinate and sequence the activities;

2.3 Verify testing and pilot-runs of the system implementation before the actual go-live start of the BAMMDRS;

2.4 Monitor implementation of the BAMMDRS and IT infrastructure and report to the TD and PIU if there are necessary actions and corrections to be undertaken; 

2.5 Train the MOF system administration team and MOF end-users in order to transfer the relevant knowledge; particularly on how to provide daily support and assistance in parallel with the preparation and roll out of the system;

2.6 Coordinate compiling, maintaining and archiving project documents, as well as  recording incoming and outgoing documents/correspondence; and

2.7 Undertake such other tasks related with the system as reasonably requested and/or assigned by the Director-General of the TD or Project Coordinator of the SGMP. 

D. DELIVERABLES

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

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

1.1 Monthly progress reports on the overall project activities related with the Portal and recommendations on how to best coordinate and sequence the activities along with the evidence of the detailed deliverables and documents;

1.2 Evidence on tracking development progress of the system;

1.3 Reports on testing and pilot-runs of the portal implementations before actual go-live starts of the Portal;

1.4 A draft work plan to carry out pilot-runs and implementation of the system;

1.5 An operational portal system with secure verification of electronic transfers developed and tested;

1.6 Requests made to and responses obtained from relevant authorities regarding connecting to the the portal system including functional specifications and requirements;

1.7 Comprehensive user acceptance testing cases and result reports;

1.8 Training materials covering the portal capabilities and processes;

1.9 Reports on training organized for implementing treasury units and budget entities;

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

1.11 Documents on the portal system, compiled, archived, and handed over to the TD; and

1.12 Reports of project progress on a regular basis or as agreed with TD, MOF and SGMP.

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

2.1 Monthly progress reports on the overall project activities related with the BAMMDRS and recommendations on how to best coordinate and sequence the activities along with the evidence of the detailed deliverables and documents;

2.2 Reports on testing and pilot-runs of the system implementation before actual go-live starts of the BAMMDRS;

2.3 Periodic reports on the BAMMDRS implementation and recommendations on technical and operational solutions upon careful analysis of their associated risks and benefits;

2.4 Comprehensive user acceptance testing cases and result reports;

2.5 Training materials covering the portal capabilities and processes;

2.6 Reports on training organized for implementing treasury units and budget entities;

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

2.8 Documents on the BAMMDRS system, compiled, archived, and handed over to the TD.

2.9 Reports of project progress on a regular basis or as agreed with TD, MOF and SGMP.

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

Education: A suitable candidate should have a master's degree or equivalent in business administration,  engineering, ICT, or in other fields related to this assignment;

Experience:  Incumbent should have at least ten (10) years of relevant professional experiences in the software development and project management;

• Previous experience in a similar capacity of working with an Enterprise resource planning /ERP/ system is required;
• Experience in PFM system review and improvement of functional requirements, including accounting, consolidation of financial statements, and reporting would be an advantage; 
• Have excellent skills in Project Management including Project Development, Project Planning, Project Implementation, Quality Control, and Project Risk Management; and
• PMP certificate or a similar PM certificate is a plus.

Language skills:  Fluent written and spoken skills in English and Mongolian;

Other skills: 

• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to and lead a group and work in multicultural team environment is required to deal effectively with staff at all levels.
• Be able to process documentation.
• Be able to work overtime if required.

F. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING 

• The consultant will report directly to the Director-General of the TD, MOF , who will meet regularly with the consultant to review progress with the work program and to resolve any outstanding issues. The Client may also appoint officials to monitor the contract implementation. Appointed MOF officials will be responsible for the coordination of activities under the Contract. 
• The consultant will be required to carry out his/her tasks in line with the approved WP which will serve as a basis for measuring progress on desired outcomes and goals for the entire consultancy service.
• The consultant will prepare monthly progress reports detailing the achievements and impediments in executing the entire WP effectively. These progress reports will be discussed with the Director General of the TD.

G. CONTRACT DURATION 

The consultancy is expected to commence in May 2021 with the total duration of 8 months with a possible extension period, if necessary.  

H. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The MOF will provide office space for the consultant and the Consultant is expected to bring his/her computer equipment. During the workshop the client will provide venue, and projectors. 

The consultant will work on a day-to-day basis with the ITC team on the system development matters related to the assignment and also work closely with respective officials of central and local budget entities. The consultant will also manage a team of local consultants to support the development and implementation of the said systems. 

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.