Local Consultant for the Alignment of National Legislation with the EU Acquis

Background

The European Integration Office (EIO) represents a central coordinating institution for the process of the accession to the EU including accession negotiations and management and programming of IPA funds. Department for alignment of national legislation with the Acquis coordinates activities in the field of alignment of national legislation in cooperation with line ministries, which includes checking and verifying Statement of compatibility and Table of concordance for proposals of national legislation which are adopted by Government. This procedure implies knowledge of sources of the EU law, as well as national legislation procedures and instruments for alignment. Bearing in mind that process of alignment is demanding especially during negotiation process, it is important to strengthen capacities of Department for alignment of national legislation with the Acquis. 

The project “Strengthening capacities for the acceleration of EU accession of Montenegro” is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by UNDP in partnership with the EIO. The general objective of this action is to assist, advise and support EU accession negotiations through strengthening the capacities of the EIO in responding to the demands of the new phases of accession.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment: 

The objective of the assignment is to strengthen capacities of Montenegro for legal alignment with the EU Acquis.

Job content:

The local consultant should contribute to the process of alignment of national legislation with the Acquis, specifically, coordination of the alignment process in specific areas of Acquis by checking and verifying Statement of compatibility and Table of concordance for proposals of national legislation which are adopted by Government. The consultant will cooperate with line ministries and give expert support to civil servants who prepare piece of legislation which transposes the Acquis.

The local consultant will work on the following tasks under direct supervision of UNDP Programme Manager and Deputy Chief Negotiator:

• Review and quality checking of the Statements of compatibility and Tables of concordance which are prepared by line ministries,
• Cooperate with line ministries and provide inputs and guidelines on fulfilment of Tables of concordance;
• Check and verify Table of concordance for law proposals before its submission to the European Commission;
• Review of the EC comments on law proposals; 
• Monitor the implementation of the Programme of Accession of Montenegro to the EU (2020-2022);
• Keep records of adopted legislation (at Government sessions and Parliament);
• Provide support in the implementation of all activities planned in the project „Strengthening capacities for the acceleration of EU accession of Montenegro“, and ensure transparent and excellent communication with direct project partners and other stakeholders;
• Prepare monthly reports on implemented activities;
• Perform other relevant tasks upon request of the UNDP Programme Manager and the Deputy Chief Negotiator.

The expected results: It is expected from the consultant to coordinate and deliver above mentioned tasks, in order to strengthen capacities of the Office of European Integration.

Timing and reporting: The local consultant will be obligated to provide monthly reports on their deliverables during the assignment.   

Time duration and travel: The local consultant will be engaged in the period 22 March – 30 September 2021. The consultant will be placed at the premises of the Office of European Integration and work during the working hours of the Office.

Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP/EIO;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Excellent communication skills, facility in working with teams and capacity to compose clear and readable narrative reports;
• Demonstrates ability to manage complexities and work under pressure, as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Excellent organizational and time management skills;
• Knowledge Management and Learning;
• Shares knowledge and experience;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
• Ability to perform a variety of standard tasks related to Results Management, including collecting of documentation, data entering, preparation of revisions, filling, provision of information;
• Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills;
• Ability to work independently and in a team. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University degree in Law;

Experience:

• Minimum two years of relevant working experience
• Previous experience in preparing or implementation of national legislation which is aligned with the EU Acquis;

Language:

• Fluency in Montenegrin language;
• Excellent knowledge of the English language;

Other:

• Computer literacy.

Criteria for selection:

Combined Scoring method will be used. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: (i) responsive, compliant, acceptable, and (ii) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

• Technical criteria weight - 70% (Background and education 10%; Relevant previous experience 20%; Substantial knowledge/Required competencies 30%; Required language 10%);
• Financial criteria weight - 30%.

Only offerors obtaining a minimum 490 points for technical criteria will be considered for the financial evaluation. For more information on procurement methodology for Individual Contractors, please refer to Procurement Notice.

Application procedure:

Interested applicants are requested to submit their applications by March 7, 2021 by using the Apply now button. The application should contain CV or P11 that can be downloaded at https://www.me.undp.org/content/montenegro/en/home/jobs.html. Please note that UNDP jobsite system allows only one uploading of application document, so please make sure that you merge all your documents into a single file.

Only the short-listed applicants will be contacted and requested to submit a letter of interest including a price quotation indicating the lump sum (in EUR) requested for the work envisaged in the section "Description of Responsibilities".Education: