Short Term Technical Assistance: Preparation of ToR for Developing Various PFM Technical Documents for Provincial and Local Governments - Part I

USAID Public Financial Management (PFM) Project

Terms of Reference for Preparing ToR for Developing PFM Technical Documents for Provincial Governments (PGs) and Local Governments (LGs) - Part I

1. Background

Deloitte Consulting and WSP, together with Georgia State University and the Niti Foundation are implementing a five-year USAID funded Public Financial Management Program (USAID PFM) whose purpose is to provide technical assistance and strengthen Public Financial Management (PFM) functions, performance, and accountability of targeted agencies at the federal, provincial, and local levels of government, and to provide targeted assistance to the Government of Nepal (GON) aimed at strengthening national PFM institutions and systems to sustainably advance PFM.

The project commenced in October 2022 and will run for a five-year period until October 2027. The major stakeholders of the project are selected Federal Agencies including Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA), Financial Comptroller General’s Office (FCGO), , National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission (NNRFC), National Planning Commission (NPC), Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minsters (OPMCM), Public Procurement Monitoring Office (PPMO), Provincial Governments of Madhesh and Lumbini Province, and Local Governments located in these two provinces.

The objectives of the Project are to provide technical assistance and strengthen PFM functions, performance, and transparency and accountability of targeted agencies at the federal, provincial, and local levels of government, and to provide targeted assistance to the GON aimed at strengthening national PFM institutions and systems to sustainably advance PFM. The Project’s two objectives and key activities are:

In general, the expected outcomes of the Project are to enhance transparency and accountability by accomplishing the following results:

• Selected PFM related laws or policies or regulations or standards or norms or guidelines or tools or manuals developed.
• Selected local governments have increased their own resource revenue.
• Elected and Government officials trained on public financial management system.
• Selected PFM institutions, governments and agencies adopted improved public financial management system.
• Selected local governments have improved gender-responsive budgeting. 
• Coordination mechanisms for coordination are established.
• Standardized training modules in the PFM disciplines are developed.

2. Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to engage an Independent Short-term Consultant on intermittent basis to work with the concerned government counterparts and the USAID PFM Project in preparing Terms of Reference (ToR) for developing various PFM technical documents for Provincial and Local Governments in line with  the approved Annual Workplan (AWP ) of Year 3 and their requirements.  

(Please note that the ToR is subject to change slightly per the Government Counterpart’s requirements which will be informed to the applicants prior to selection)

3. Rationale

As the objective of the Project is to provide technical assistance for strengthening PFM functions and performance of targeted Provincial and Local Governments, its scope includes providing technical support them to develop various PFM technical documents with an aim to enhance and vitalize transparency and accountability in their service delivery. In view of this, as mentioned in the agreed AWP of Year 3, various PFM technical documents shall be developed for the Provincial and Local Governments. These documents should be in line with the constitution, prevailing legal provisions, well-accepted philosophy and principles of  PFM, and in line with  national and international best practices. Moreover, they should be understandable and implementable and more importantly as per the standard and formatting of government documents in line with the requirements  of the government counterparts. In this context, the USAID PFM Project intends to engage a short-term Individual Consultant on an Intermittent basis with a thorough and competent Terms of Reference (ToR). Considering the various counterparts to be consulted for preparing the ToR and that a professional expertise is needed,  an Individual Consultant is expected  to consult all relevant stakeholders and prepare the ToR for developing  PFM technical documents for Provincial and Local Governments.

4. Methodology

The methodology to be undertaken for this assignment shall be as follows:

• Review Literature: After the mobilization, the Consultant should review constitution of Nepal, all the related laws, directives, and publications that are necessary for developing the PFM technical documents in the given PFM topics (Please see below under bullet 5). The Consultant should also review the national and international best practices along with the well-accepted philosophy on PFM. In this context, the Consultant shall also go through the relevant clauses of the AWP.
• Consultation meetings with concerned officials of Federal (in particular MOF, FCGO, PPMO, and MOFAGA) , Provincial, and Local Governments, Province and Local Government PFM Coordination Committees (PLGPFMCC), Inter-Local Government PFM Coordination Committees (ILGPFMCCs) and others.

5. Tasks

The Individual Consultant shall perform the following tasks, but not limited to, in preparing the ToR for developing the PFM technical documents in the given PFM topics:

• Prepare a draft Terms of Reference (ToR) stating Background, Purpose, Rationale, Methodology, Scope/Tasks (including the suggestive methodologies to institutionalize the documents) , Deliverables with Timeline, Period of Performance, Reporting Requirements, Technical Directions and Supervision, Roles and Responsibilities, Required Qualifications and Experience of the Consultant, Facilities/Utilities and Logistics to be Provided, Payments Terms among others for developing the following PFM technical documents:
  1. Financial Aid Guidelines for LGs,
  2. Standardization of the Existing PFM Technical Documents,
  3. Short-term and Long-term Public Investments Plan Directives for PGs,
  4. Multi-year Public Investment Plans for PGs,
  5. Citizen Involvement Guidelines in Budgeting Process for PGs,
  6. Deficit Financing Strategy for PGs,
  7. ToRs for the Simulation on Varying Levels of GESI Weighting on GESI Budget Allocation in Fiscal Transfer,
  8. Updated Standardized Training Modules for the Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) Guidelines for Sub National Governments (SNGs),
  9. Upgraded and Updated GESI/GRB Provision/Versions of Planning and Budgeting Manual, MTEF, and the Citizen’s Guide to Budget for LGs, and
  10. Study on GESI status of selected LGs in Year 3 (one from each province).
• Conduct consultative meetings and discussions with the officials of concerned government entities, and USAID PFM Project, and professional entities; and
• Finalize and submit the concluding ToR incorporating the comments/suggestions from the concerned Government Counterparts and USAID PFM Project and/or as stated in the deliverables.

6. Technical Directions and Reporting: 

The Consultant will work under the technical direction and supervision of the Objective 1/Lead PFM Expert. She/he will be expected to provide the progress report after completion of each task of preparing ToR for developing PFM documents. The Project COP and DCOP will also monitor/review  the Independent Consultant’s work as and when required. All deliverables required hereunder will be reviewed and approved by Objective 1 Lead (Lead PFM Expert) and the COP/DCOP. All deliverables shall be submitted in editable Microsoft documents, in electronic format. The final report shall also be provided in at least two hard copies and PDF format.

7. Contract Duration:

This is a Short-Term Technical Assistance (STTA) position which will be maximum for a total of 50 Level of Efforts (LoE) Days. The duration of the STTA will tentatively begin from January 01, 2025, to the end of April 2025 on an intermittent basis. The contract may be extended upon continued need for the services and availability of funds. Remuneration will be competitive and as per the PFM Project's policy.

8. Required Education, and Experience of the Consultant:

The Consultant should at a minimum have the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree in business administration or management or economics or Engineering in relevant subject or Chartered Accountancy.
• A minimum of 10 years’ professional experience in the public financial management preferably in government sector and Experience in developing PFM technical documents, preparing study report, ToR etc. will also be preferred.
• Good working experience in PFM reform projects and programs.
• Good communication skills (oral and written) in Nepali and English languages.
• Good report writing skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.); and
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and exhibit good inter-personal skills.

Evaluation Criteria will be  adopted as follows: 

• Educational Background (15%):
  • Master’s degree in business administration, Economics, Public Finance, Management Engineering, or Chartered Accountancy (CA).
• Years of Professional Experience (25%):
  • Minimum 10 years in Public Financial Management (PFM). 
• Experience in PFM Document Development (20%):
  • Proven track record of developing technical PFM documents, such as guidelines, directives, ToRs, and study reports. 
• Experience with PFM Reform Projects (15%):
  • Involvement in PFM reforms for government or donor-funded projects. 
• Language Proficiency (10%):
  • Demonstrated ability to write reports and communicate effectively in English and Nepali. 
• Technical Skills (15%):
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools and ability to synthesize feedback into concise deliverables.

9. Facilities/Utilities and Logistics to be provided: 

The Consultant shall be expected to spend time at the Project Office and from home.  As deemed necessary, the Project will provide working space, internet connection, printing and photocopy facilities as required to complete the assignment. The consultant must work in  her/his own computer, including Microsoft Office software to produce compatible documents for review.

All the required field visits, consultative meetings and workshops shall be arranged in coordination with the concerned Government, whereas logistics and allowances shall be managed by the Project.

10. Payment Terms:

Payment will be  made in the Nepali Rupees to the Consultant after completion of each task of preparing ToR for developing PFM documents as per LoE used with the recommendation of the Objective 1 Lead (Lead PFM Expert)

Travel costs, including the number of trips and length of trips should be estimated. Travel will be arranged and approved in advance by the Project, and actual costs will be reimbursed based on the Project’s standard practices and rates for hotel, per diem, and other billable costs (e.g., meeting costs), in accordance with US Government policy.

11. Application Instructions:

Only individual consultant will be considered for this opportunity.

Interested and qualified individuals should email the following documents to recruitment@pfm-nepal.com with subject line “Preparing ToR for Developing PFM Technical Documents for Provincial and Local Governments (LGs)”

• Cover letter
• Recent CV 
• Dates of availability 
• Contact information of two professional reference, and
• Daily rate.  A biodata form may be asked of the successful candidate in order to verify the daily rate.

Application deadline: January 10, 2025

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The organization reserves the right to reject any/all applications without assigning any reason.