Consultant – Support the implementation of incentives for business integrity in public procurement

  • Location:
  • Salary:
    negotiable / YEAR
  • Job type:
    CONTRACTOR
  • Posted:
    2 weeks ago
  • Category:
    Ethics and Compliance, Procurement, Supply and Logistics
  • Deadline:
    06/05/2024

JOB DESCRIPTION

Result of Service
The consultant will carry out the specific outputs to be performed under the supervision of the responsible Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer. A Inception report on good practices on incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement submitted B Draft paper on good practices on incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement submitted C Draft policy paper with recommendations on how to define and assess compliance programmes as a basis for granting incentives submitted D Draft strategy or action plan for implementing incentives for business integrity in the area of public procurement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia submitted E Final report on results of pilot phase of the strategy or action plan submitted The fee will be based on the qualifications and experience of the selected candidate. Payments will be made in instalments upon satisfactory completion, to be evaluated by the supervisor, of the deliverables and as described in this document. All outputs should meet the satisfaction of the supervisor according to the pre-agreed indicators pertaining to the specific outputs, quality of work and timeliness of delivery. The written deliverables must be supported by relevant documentation and primary data, and contain a clear indication of sources/source materials. Use of artificial intelligence must be made transparent. Media and other unverified sources are to be avoided. All tasks must be conducted in close consultation with the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer and in coordination with relevant UNODC staff. Plagiarism and unauthorized use of copyrighted materials will not be tolerated. All written deliverables must be in line with the UN spelling and editorial guidelines.
Work Location
Home-based (with up to five potential travels to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and/or Vienna, Austria on 9 September 2024; 28 November 2024; 28 January 2025; 12 February 2025; 30 March 2025)
Expected duration
From 24 June 2024 to 31 March 2025
Duties and Responsibilities
Background of the assignment: The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the global leader in the fight against drugs, organized crime, corruption and terrorism with widely recognized expertise and specialization on issues pertaining to international cooperation in criminal matters. Established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention, UNODC operates in all regions of the world through an extensive network of field offices. The work of UNODC is guided by a broad range of international legally binding instruments and a set of United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice. UNODC, as guardian of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and secretariat to the Conference of the States Parties to the Convention, has the mandate to provide support and technical assistance to States parties to effectively implement the Convention, including on business integrity. The backbone for UNODC anti-corruption work is the normative framework provided by UNCAC. As part of its Global Programme against Corruption, UNODC has been implementing projects on business integrity since 2011 with activities delivered in more than 17 countries. The projects implemented by UNODC aim to strengthen legal frameworks, promote public-private dialogue, increase knowledge of good practices to prevent and counter corruption in the private sector and deliver education programmes to equip future employers and business leaders with ethical mindsets. More information is available on the UNODC Business Integrity Portal. UNODC’s business integrity projects focus on strengthening anti-corruption legal frameworks, enhancing public-private dialogue and building private sector capacity to prevent and counter corruption. As part of this work, UNODC will support the Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in the development of government incentives for incentivizing business integrity in the area of public procurement and encouraging the country to advance legislative reforms on this matter. In this context, UNODC is seeking a consultant who will support the identification of good practices on incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement; the development of recommendations for the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on how to assess compliance programmes as a basis for incentives; and the drafting of a strategy for implementing incentives for business integrity in the area of public procurement in the country. The consultant will be home-based. The consultant will engage with UNODC staff primarily via electronic means. The consultant will receive guidance from UNODC and will be required to periodically report on progress and outcomes. The consultant is expected to interact and coordinate with international experts and UNODC staff in field offices. Purpose of the assignment: The purpose of the assignment is to assist the Chief (TSS/CEB), the programme managers and the substantive officers, as well as government counterparts and local business representatives, in matters related to implementing incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Specific tasks to be performed by the Consultant: Under the overall supervision of the Chief of TSS/CEB and the guidance of relevant programme managers and substantive officers, the consultant will perform the following specific tasks: A. Draft an inception report on good practices on incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement The consultant will submit an inception report outlining the methodology, work plan and timeline for the assignment. The report will also include a preliminary review of main good practices on incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement. B. Draft a paper on good practices on incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement The consultant will draft a paper on good practices on incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement through desk reviews, as well as consultations with the Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) and national and international experts from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia. The consultant will design and conduct meetings with national experts to gather experiences and examples on incentives in public procurement that could be applied for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The consultant will draft a short summary on the meetings, highlighting the good practices and challenges discussed as a basis for the draft paper. The draft paper should include an executive summary, an updated overview of good practices, case studies and lessons learned on incentives for business integrity gathered through the meetings and the desk review, with experiences from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries, as well as recommendations. The draft paper will also consider the good practices on incentives included in the updated publication “A Resource Guide on State Measures for Strengthening Business Integrity” developed by UNODC, UN Global Compact and OECD. The consultant will design and conduct a validation workshop with Nazaha and relevant stakeholders to present and discuss the content of the draft paper and will incorporate their relevant feedback and suggestions into the final draft. The final draft should be around ten (10) standard pages in length and in English. The consultant will also design a one-pager on the main good practices/recommendations identified in the paper for supporting its dissemination through the UNODC website and other communications channels/events. C. Draft policy paper with recommendations on how to define and assess compliance programmes as a basis for granting incentives The consultant will draft a policy paper with recommendations on how to define and assess compliance programmes as a basis for granting incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement, through desk reviews as well as consultations with the Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) and national and international experts from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia. The consultant will design and conduct a first international meeting with relevant stakeholders and experts to gather experiences and examples on good practices and lessons learned on definition and assessment of compliance programmes in the private sector as a basis for granting incentives. The consultant will draft a short summary on the meeting, highlighting the good practices and challenges discussed as a basis for the policy paper. Furthermore, the consultant will identify weaknesses and gaps of the existing legal framework and initiatives to assess compliance programmes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the institutions that are in place to implement them. The consultant will then develop a draft paper with practical policy recommendations for assessing compliance programs as a basis for granting incentives for business integrity with a focus on public procurement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The recommendations need to be SMART (meaning specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound), and will consider the good practices on incentives featured in the draft paper (Deliverable B of the consultancy). The paper will also include a prioritization to ensure efforts can focus on areas that will deliver the greatest impact. The consultant will design and conduct a validation workshop with Nazaha and relevant stakeholders to present and discuss the findings and recommendations of the draft policy paper and will incorporate their relevant feedback and suggestions into the final draft. The final draft policy paper should be around thirty-fifty (30-50) standard pages in length and in English. The consultant will also design a one-pager on the main good practices/recommendations identified in the policy paper for supporting its dissemination through the UNODC website and other communications channels/events. D. Draft strategy or action plan for implementing incentives for business integrity in the area of public procurement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The consultant will design and conduct a workshop with relevant stakeholders from the government and businesses of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to draft a strategy or action plan for implementing incentives for business integrity in the area of public procurement in the country. During the workshop, challenges and potential solutions on implementing incentives for business integrity in public procurement will be discussed, and clear actions and solutions will be identified together with stakeholders. The consultant will also use as a basis for the discussion the findings and recommendations from the draft paper on incentives for business integrity and the policy paper on assessment of compliance programs. The consultant will hold a drafting session with stakeholders to start drafting the action plan. The final action plan will include the outcomes of the workshop in terms of challenges and solutions for implementing incentives for business integrity in public procurement, as well as clear actions addressed to key stakeholders to implement the solutions identified. The consultant will then conduct a validation workshop with Nazaha and relevant stakeholders to present and discuss the draft, incorporating their relevant feedback and suggestions. E. Final report on results of pilot phase of the strategy or action plan The consultant will produce a final report on the results of the pilot phase of the strategy or action plan for implementing incentives for business integrity in the area of public procurement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which will also state clear recommendations for future implementation of the plan addressed to key stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The consultant will closely follow-up with Nazaha and local stakeholders during the pilot phase of the action plan to gather relevant insights on the results to be used for the final report. The consultant will submit the final version of the report, incorporating the feedback and suggestions from stakeholders and UNODC.
Qualifications/special skills
• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law, political science or public administration or another related field, is required. A first level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree; • A minimum of 7 years of experience in the field of anti-corruption and/or business integrity is required; • Demonstrated knowledge of relevant international anti-corruption frameworks and business integrity commitments with a focus on public procurement and incentives is required; • Experience in research and analysis related to anti-corruption or business integrity is required; • Knowledge of the anti-corruption framework and business integrity practices in Saudi Arabia is desirable; experience in the field of public procurement and development of incentives is desirable; experience in developing policy recommendations and action plans for legal reforms, preferably on anti-corruption issues is desirable; experience in facilitating workshops and consultations with diverse stakeholders, including public sector, civil society, and the private sector, is desirable; • Excellent command of MS Excel, MS Word and MS PowerPoint is required; • Previous experience with the United Nations or other international organizations is desirable;
Languages
• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, fluency in oral and written English is required. Fluency in oral and written Arabic is desirable. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.
Additional Information
Not available.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.