Professional Local Expert (Independent/ Body) to deliver Municipal taxes and allowances and tendering process

Terms of Reference

Post: Professional Local Expert (Independent/ Body) to deliver Municipal taxes and allowances and tendering process

Component Result: R_1_C1_Capacity building design and delivery

Project: Improvement of Development Process and Local Governance in the Municipality of Tripol

1. Introduction

The Municipality of Tripoli received on the 15^th of January 2016 a grant from the European Union (EU) to realize the project” Improvement of Development Process and Local Governance in the Municipality of Tripoli” over a period extending to 48 months that included 2 extension periods of 6 months each. The overall objective of the project is to improve the institutional and operational contribution to governance and development process in the Municipality of Tripoli. The Specific objectives of the project are to improve access in Bab El Tabbane, Jabal Mohsen and El Ghouraba to basic and adequate social services on a sustainable basis. All three communities will benefit from a positive impact on different levels especially on Health, Education, Job Creation and awareness levels. Five Expected results derive from the project.

1. The project

The project derives from four basic facts advanced by the Municipality of Tripoli:

• The local authority and civil society are in need for capacity building,

• Health is a fundamental human right and should be available to all people regardless of gender, social class, ethnicity and age,
• Job opportunities are very limited due to the deficiency of educational skills,
• Recreational activities allowing the cohesion of the dissimilar zones allow a better synergy.

It consists of:

• Enhancement of the capacities of the municipal council and staff of Tripoli Municipality on management issues, managing development, institutional, technical and organizational development, networking and coordination, local governance and accountability, aiming at enhancing their role in the provision of public basic services and development projects.

• Consolidation of social cohesion, and the promotion of the synergy between the Municipal Council and the civil society.
• Coordination of efforts of existing local resources (Municipality & CSOs) through participatory approach, to establish a common plan that reflects their vision as a local authority and CSOs so they can together give a push for the policy process and the development process in general and specifically in the regions of Bab El Tabbaneh - Jabal Mohsen and El Ghouraba where the project will be realized.

1. The Objective of the assignment

Under the Expected Result (1) “R_1A Capacity Needs Assessment” of the project, the municipality of Tripoli has previously contracted an independent consultant who conducted a capacity needs assessment that targeted the municipal council members, the head of directorate and head of departments (municipal staff) and the representative of 20 CSOs intervening in Bab El Tebbaneh, Jabal Mohsen and Ghoraba (areas covered by the project). This mission highlighted 6 priority topics to be addressed within a capacity building program

During the original timeline of the project, the Municipality realized a capacity building component on the “Best Practices on Municipal procurement and financial management and grant management (EU procedures –case study on PRAG 2015) which answered one of the priorities and was delivered to members of the municipal council and to  head of department and sections (municipal staff). The purpose of this component was to contribute enhancing the capacity building of the Municipality of Tripoli, its internal institutional development policy (that includes both municipal council and municipal staff communication channels, performance and know-how) and its coordination with the civil society organizations in matters related to inclusive strategic planning, governance and accountability in local development.

During the extended timeline of six months of the project, the Municipality plans to realize another  two-day capacity building component. An internal assessment was carried in the Municipality. Accordingly a two-day capacity building component will be realized . It will encompass the tendering process, municipal taxes and allowances and relationship with control institutions.

1. The Tasks of the expert   

 For this aim, and according to the stipulations of article 3.2.3 of the “Practical Guide to contract procedures for European Union external actions “applicable from 15 July 2015,the Municipality of Tripoli is seeking to contract a short-term expert (Independent /Body) to Develop the training material and tools and deliver the training course as follows:

Day 1:

Topic: Municipal taxes and allowances, direct and indirect taxes, the independent municipal fund,  issues in collecting taxes, relationship with controlling instituitions

Targeted Audience:

Municipal council (all members if feasible)

Municipal staff (head of departments and sections)

Duration

Four Hours

Day 2:

Topic: Public procurement, Identifying the needs, the Tendering regulation, tendering document and specifications, publication, evaluation of offers, problems facing the tendering process

Targeted Audience:

Municipal council (all members if feasible)

Municipal staff (head of departments and sections)

Duration

Four Hours

1. Duration of the contract and maximum ceiling / start of the contract

- The contract duration is two weeks and will start on the day of its signature with the Municipality of Tripoli and after coordination with the project team.

- The maximum number of working days expected to be realized by the expert is Four Days

- The maximum ceiling amount allocated to the contract is: 1000 Euros and include the preparation and the design of the training material and the delivery of the 2-day training and the realization of the final training report.

1. Evaluation of proposals and award of the contract

Proposals will be evaluated by the concerned committee. Methodology and CV will have a grade over 80 and the financial offer will have a grade over 20.

1. Dependence

The professional independent expert will report to the Project Coordinator and will coordinate his/her work with the Mayor, the steering committee and the Project team. 

1. Deliverables:

Topic

Deliverables

- Municipal taxes and allowances and relationship with controlling institutions

- Public Procurement and tendering process

• • Training material and tools ,
  • Report for future capitalization that includes evaluation of the participants’ performance, knowledge and skills after the completion of the training module and evaluation of the impact of the program

All deliverables should be submitted in Soft copy and Hard copy.

Power Point Presentations should be delivered to the municipality in Power Point Format (. pptx)

1. Education/Professional experience and skills

• The candidate should have an academic background in law, public finance, public
• administration, public procurement or any related field, in addition to a minimum of 5 years of experience in the field of training and capacity building program design and delivery in the domain of public procurement and financial management and grant management.  Deep knowledge of the EU procedures is required.  
• The candidate should demonstrate proven communication and interactive capacities with a diversified audience.
• In addition to Arabic language, fluency in English is a must (Fluency in French is an additional asset).

The training should be delivered in Arabic