EXTENDED DEADLINE- Call for expression of interest for provision of consultancy services: International consultant to conduct the functional analysis of the General Prosecutor Office of the Republic of Moldova and support the implementation of resulted policy recommendations

The Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE), extends the deadline for the call for expression of interest of an international consultant to conduct the Functional Analysis of the General Prosecutor Office (GPO) of the Republic of Moldova and support the implementation of resulted policy recommendations, within the Project “Securing integrity, efficiency and independence of the justice system in Moldova – #Justice4Moldova”, funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Soros Foundation Moldova, implemented by IPRE in partnership with IWPR.

The general objective of the project is to contribute to an increased role of civil society and media to support independence, integrity, efficiency, and accountability of the justice system in the Republic of Moldova.

Specific objectives:

1. Enhance the capacity of the civil society and policy experts to advance the implementation of justice sector policiesin a transparent and accountable manner in line with European rule of law and human rights standards and Association Agreement.
2. Increase the independence, integrity and efficiency of justice and anti-corruption actors through scrutiny and support by civil society, policy and media organisations.

Purpose of services:

Conduct a functional analysis of the General Prosecutor Office (GPO) of the Republic of Moldova with the view to identify the organisational and functional gaps and needs; formulate and contribute to the implementation of policy recommendations to enhance the efficiency and strengthen capacities of GPO to implement its role and powers as provided by the article 8 of the Law 3/2016 on public prosecution service.

One of the key research questions of the functional analysis would be to assess specifically which functions should GPO continue to exercise, and which functions would be better performed outside the GPO. Also, consequently the analysis would also assess specifically the number of prosecutors and other staff that the GPO actually needs to perform its current functions and eventually the revised functions proposed as a result of the analysis. The findings and policy recommendations of the Functional analysis will be subject to discussions and validation process with the national and international stakeholders. The international consultant will subsequently support the implementation of the resulted policy recommendations.

The selected international consultant shall provide the following deliverables:

• Methodology, including key research questions, questionnaire for the structured interviews and the structure of the Functional Analysis report;
• Contribute to the focus groups questionnaires to be conducted with prosecutors and other justice actors by IPRE with the support of the sociological company;
• Draft Functional Analysis report, including conclusions and policy recommendations;
• Presentation of the draft Report within consultations/validation multi-stakeholder meeting to collect feedback;
• Final Functional Analysis report, including final conclusions and recommendations;
• Presentation of the Functional Analysis report during a public event in Chisinau, Moldova (or on-line), including a PPT presentation;
• Support the implementation of at least 25% of the policy recommendations of the Report addressing needs and enhancing effectiveness of GPO.

All deliverables shall be presented in English. The final report, as well as other documents prepared under the assignment, must prove high quality and expertise.

The duration of the assignment to prepare the Functional Analysis Report shall not exceed 30 working days and for the expert support in implementation of the policy recommendations shall not exceed 20 working days. The total duration of the assignment shall not be longer then 50 working days for the period of December 2023 – February 2026.

The consultant is expected to work in Moldova at least 7 working days during the assignment on the functional analysis and presentation of the final Report and at least 5 days during the second phase of the assignment for the support for the implementation of the policy recommendations. For the rest of activities, the consultant my provide service on distance/online.

During the entire duration of the assignment the costs for up to 3 international travels and accommodation of the consultant will be covered by the project.

Eligibility criteria for the consultant:

The consultant shall meet the following profile and minimum qualifications:

• Proven experience in conducting similar analysis or assessments of a comparable complexity of prosecution services in South-Eastern and Eastern European countries in the last 5 years;
• Proven record of working with or in prosecutor services of countries of South-Eastern and Eastern European Countries for at least 5 years;
• Good knowledge of Moldovan justice and rule of law systems;
• Good knowledge of the prosecutor service system of the Republic of Moldova and of other countries from South-Eastern and Eastern European countries.
• Excellent analytical, writing, reporting and communication skills;
• Proficiency in English. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian languages will be an advantage.
• Availability of the consultant for up to 50 working days for the period of December 2023 – February 2026.

Submission of applications

Offers may be submitted by individual candidates and/or legal entities.

The technical and financial offers accompanied by a cover letter/email expressing the interest for the position shall be sent by e-mail to [email protected] by 27 December 2023,23.59 CEST time, which will include:

1. Technical offer:
2. Curriculum vitae of the candidate or/and for the legal entities a copy of the registration certificate/extract for the legal persons;
3. An outline of the envisaged Methodology (approach) with the proposed action plan for the key deliverables within the proposed timeline.
4. Financial Offer: Financial offer will be submitted in EUR with the breakdown of costs (consultancy fee per number of anticipated working days). The cost will be provided in NET amount and VAT 0%.

Detailed information on the main tasks, the application process and the evaluation criteria can be found in the Terms of Reference available HERE.

Clarification questions and requests for additional information can be sent via email to Ms. Ecaterina Popșoi, Project Manager at: [email protected] by 26 December 2023, 23.59 CEST time.