A. BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT AND THE ASSIGNMENT

The World Bank (WB) and the European Union (EU) has been implementing a new hybrid Trust Fund (TF)-financed 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), as well as transparency and accountability processes for strengthened governance in Mongolia.  

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.

The Component 1 of the TF aims to complement interventions financed under the SFFS Project and focuses on supporting operationalization of the newly established Fiscal Council (FC) and strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in areas such as debt management and revenue forecasting, among others.

The Parliament of Mongolia is the highest governing body of Mongolia, passing legislation and determining the state’s foreign and domestic policy, acting independently and transparently and ensuring the fundamental principle of including the people’s engagement in legislative processes and implementation of laws. The Standing Committee of Budget Affairs (SCBA), one of the 11 standing committees of the Parliament, is responsible for preparing all the laws and resolutions in relation to the fiscal policy and budgetary proceedings at the parliament level. Within the standing committee, the Fiscal Council is engaged to provide independent review on the budget as its primary responsibility. The council also is responsible for reviewing implementation of the Fiscal Stability Law and for supporting the SCBA in certain budgetary procedures. 

The objective of Subcomponent 1.1. of the project is to improve capacity of the Fiscal Council of the Secretariat (Parliament of Mongolia) to conduct in-depth fiscal analysis, assessment on the fiscal implications of proposed laws and to provide comprehensive recommendations to the SCBA members and MPs to inform their budgetary decisions. It is expected to lead to efficient law-making and monitoring processes, with greater quality for the laws/legislations approved towards improving fiscal discipline in general.  

B. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The main objective of this assignment is to help the Fiscal Council at  the SCBA in developing and  strengthening the capacity for overseeing and conducting reviews and impact analysis of budget and debt, as well as forecasting with a view to providing recommendations. 

C. SCOPE OF THE WORK 

The role will include the following tasks: 

1. Compile historical data and develop templates for conducting fiscal analysis and forecasting, including budget revenue, expenditure and balances of financial assets and liabilities; 
2. Coordinate the development of training materials, and delivery of training to the Secretariat and members of the Fiscal Council, on the topics of budget and debt sustainability analysis (DSA), such that members can perform critical analysis of the budget forecasting and DSA prepared and proposed by the MOF; 
3. Identify the key factors that impact on the real sector of the economy and the budget and analyze the relationship between them, and develop training materials for the the Secretariat and members of the Fiscal Council such that they can undertake critical analysis of forecasting and scenario analysis proposed by the MOF;
4. Provide “train the trainer” support to the Secretariat staff, so that they can train future incoming members of the Fiscal Council regarding key aspects of fiscal planning, fiscal forecasting, DSA and economic forecasting.
5. Conduct a situational analysis and review on the leading 5 major tax and expenditure items; 
6. Provide translation and interpretation support as necessary and as requested; 
7. Share and transfer the knowledge, information and skills gained during the assignment to the Secretariat; and
8. Other additional tasks as necessary and as they pertain to the assignment. 

D. DELIVERABLES

All deliverables shall be submitted in English and Mongolia.

1. Historical data compiled and template developed for fiscal analysis and forecasting of budget revenue, expenditure and factors affecting the budget as well the economy. 
2. Training materials completed with the methodology, application and examples for debt sustainability analysis and impact analysis. 
3. Debt sustainability analysis (DSA) including perspectives of medium-term debt management framework (MTDS). 
4. Review report of the leading 5 major tax and expenditure items during 2000 and 2024.
5. Training programs, guidelines and relevant materials for “training the trainers” developed so that the Secretariat can provide such training in the future to incoming Secretariat staff and future incoming members of the Fiscal Council.
6. Final report.

E. CONSULTANT’S QUALIFICATIONS/ SELECTION CRITERIA

Education:  A suitable candidate must have at least a master’s degree in the field of economics and finance. 

Experience: A candidate should have at least 3 years of relevant professional experience, with specific experience in macroeconomic and fiscal fields. Moreover, he or she must have at least 3 year of working experience in policy making institutions such as the Secretariat of the Parliament, Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank or other research and educational institutions. 

Language skills: Excellent in both Mongolian and English. 

Other skills:

• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to function effectively and collaboratively in a team environment;
• Ability to design and deliver training materials;
• Be proficient in PC-based applications such as Word, Excel, E-Views, Stata and data management, and have excellent web research and navigation skills;
• If there will be an offer from the FC, be able to continue working at the Fiscal council or its office will be an advantage; and
• Meet professional ethics norms regarding information governance and privacy.

F. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING 

The consultant will report directly to both the Chairman of the Fiscal Council and Senior Officer of the Secretariat. He or she will also work closely with the SCBA to deliver the technical assistance outputs. A detailed timebound work plan shall be developed and agreed by the assignment. Payments shall be released based on the progress made towards the deliverables specified on the work plan.

G. CONTRACT DURATION 

The consultant’s work is expected to commence in August 2021. The duration of the assignment is for 5 months. 

H. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The consultant will be supported by not only experts of the Fiscal Council but also advisors of the SCBA under his/her contract for the main outputs. The Secretariat may provide office space if necessary.

70120582