REQUEST OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Mongolia has received a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project (SFFSP). 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: (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[1]

Under the Component B on Improving the Efficiency of Public Financial Management, there is a subcomponent on strengthening the public financial management institutional capacity. Within this subcomponent, the Financial Information Technology Division (FITD) of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) plans to work on introducing new methods and means to configure and monitor all the systems that are currently managed by MOF and to improve the system architecture and the backup for the essential systems that are operated under oversight of the FITD.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Main objective of the assignment is to conduct an assessment and make documentation of the structure of the systems used by the MOF and to introduce an industry-standard system architecture model to supplement these systems in order to ensure the reliability of the system backups as well as unified monitoring of the systems. In addition, the consultant will support the FITD in coordinating and carrying out its activities under the Subcomponent B3.1. of the SFFS Project.

SCOPE OF THE WORK

Key responsibilities of the national consultant will include, but not be limited to, the following:

Task#1: Create a virtual environment on VCenter for the systems used by the MOF

• Assess and identify proper design and solution of a virtual environment for the systems;
• Create a solution for managing systems using virtual technology;
• Improve configuration of the existing servers;
• Configure the security settings required for new servers; and
• Carry out any other technical tasks to support the objective of the assignment as agreed by the FITD.

Task#2: Coordinate all consultants and consulting firms who engage in the information technology-related services under the Subcomponent B3.1.

• Entity-related specific tasks:

• The consultant shall be a liaison between the PIU and the FITD of the Public Administration and Management Department, MOF and will act to relay information between the parties efficiently and effectively in order to achieve synergy and strong relations;
• The consultant will coordinate the work of all consultants hired under the Sub- Component B3.1 under the guidance of the FITD and in close coordination with the PIU;
• Provide translation and interpretation support as necessary and as requested;
• Undertake any other tasks as reasonably requested by the PIU and the FITD under Sub-Component B3.1

• Procurement-related specific tasks:

• Assist the FITD to initiate and implement activities planned under the procurement plan under Sub-Component B3.1 with a clearly defined timeframe and outcomes;
• Prepare draft Terms of Reference according to the approved procurement plan that falls in line with the Sub-Components objectives. As part of this task the consultant will:
  • Ensure that draft TORs are reviewed by the Financial information technology division and/ or the PIU before finalizing them and to facilitate the procurement process;
  • Finalize the Terms of Reference taking into consideration inputs, comments and suggestions provided by the Financial information technology division, PIU and the World Bank task team;

• Prepare Technical Specifications for procurement of various goods, if any, that fall under the subcomponent as per the procurement plan. The Technical Specifications are subject to revision and comments to be provided by the PIU, which need to be properly addressed into a revised version of the Technical Specifications;
• Assist the PIU in facilitating the organizations to be held by various committees relevant to the FITD and Sub-Component B3.1;
  • The activities to be coordinated may include, meetings of the Evaluation Committee and Steering Committee among others, where the consultant will be in charge of taking note of the discussions help and will prepare minutes of such meetings;

• Financial management-related specific tasks:

• The Consultant will prepare request forms of disbursement, implementation action plans and develop detailed training plans for fulfilling Sub-Component objectives and prepare training requests in accordance with the standard forms;
• The Consultant will assist the PIU in developing proposals for international, local training and capacity building events to be carried-out under the Sub-Component. This task will also include organizing relevant logistic aspects such as preparing invitation letters, printing training materials, securing appropriate venues, organize field visits and prepare estimated budgets as well as completion reports for each activity;
• Assist in developing and finalizing training materials and incorporate comments and revisions received from the FITD officials, World Bank Task Team and PIU;
• The Consultant will support and provide the FM specialist a fully translated description of the training courses and results of training undergone overseas and locally;

• Monitoring and Evaluation-related specific tasks:

• Assist the PIU in preparing monthly, semi-annual, annual reports as well as any other necessary information as requested by the M&E specialist at the PIU, on a timely manner.

DELIVERABLES

1. Progress and Final reports on Task # 1 including updates on the following:

- assessment and recommendations concerning the configuration and design of a virtual environment;

- potential virtual technology-related solutions;

- configuration of the systems’ security settings;

- improvement opportunities for configuration of the servers; and

- any other related technical issues.

2. Progress and final reports on work carried out under Task # 2;

- Finalized TORs of consultants under the Subcomponent B3.1;

- Reports on the training-related activities

- Finalized m reports of the Subcomponent B3.1

- Technical specifications of goods to be purchased

- Finalized annual work, training and procurement plans

CONTRACT DURATION AND PAYMENT CONDITION

The consultancy is expected to commence in April 2019 and the total duration of the assignment will be 12 months. If any task is not completed and accepted by the Client within the agreed-upon timeline, consultants should complete the tasks without any additional cost.

SUPERVISION AND REPORTING                   

• The consultant will report directly to the Director-General of the Public Administration and Management Department (PAMD) and Head of FITD and will work on a day-to-day basis with the officials appointed by the Director-General of PAMD to review progress with the work program and to resolve any outstanding issues.
• All information provided to the consultant will be regarded as confidential and information will not be shared with any outside individuals or organizations.
• All reports shall be prepared in both English and Mongolian, in electronic and hard format, which shall be submitted to the FITD of Public Administration and Management Department and the PIU (SFFSP).

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The Ministry of Finance will provide office space and will work with the national consultant on a day-to-day basis. The consultant shall be provided with all necessary data and information to perform the required tasks detailed in these TORs. The consultant is expected to communicate and coordinate his/her work with appointed specialists and if required other specialists from different department.

CONSULTANT’S QUALIFICATIONS

To be considered eligible candidates should have all the eligibility criteria listed below:

• Education: A suitable candidate should have Bachelor’s degree in information technology. A Master’s degree will be an advantage.
• Experience: Incumbent must have a minimum of 6 years of work experience. Must have ability to work on virtual systems, such as VMware vSphere and VCenter. Be able to set up Windows and Linux operating systems, Windows Active Directory Domain Manager, Windows Server, Windows Update Server. Be able to manage server, storage device and network equipment and had to know basic knowledge of system databases. Be able to work independently and perform high-level work with responsibility within a short time. Also candidate should be supportive at teamwork, and pleased to advise others.
• Language skills: Must have professional proficiency in English.

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. 2 reference letters from previous last two employers no later than 17:00, April 01, 2019.

The submitted documents will not be returned to the applicants. Please note that incomplete applications would not be considered for evaluation. Only selected candidates will be contacted. Candidates can be interviewed. Detailed terms of reference can be requested from procurement@sffs.mn Contact address: Attn: Ms.Bayarmaa, Procurement Specialist, Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Stability Project
Room #204, Negdsen undestnii 8/2, 4th khoroo, Chingeltei District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Tel: 70120582

70120582