Back Trainer in Communication Skills for Managers and Staff of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (MoESD)

Background

In 2016, UNDP rolled out a new, multi-year initiative ”Supporting Public Administration Reform (PAR) in Georgia,” (PAR Project), which addresses a complementary but a distinct set of specific, predetermined needs in three crucial pillars  - Policy Development and Coordination, Civil Service Reform and Public Service Delivery.  As part of the Civil Service reform pillar, the project aims to support the Government of Georgia (GoG) in the establishment of a professional, career-based civil service. One of the commitments of the project is to assist its Government counterparts in the development of an effective and efficient performance appraisal system of civil servants.

Pursuant to the new Law on Civil Service, since 2018, each government agency is obliged to develop its system of civil servants’ performance appraisal in line with the relevant Government Decree. In 2017-2018 the PAR project team provided substantial support to the selected government agencies in the process of introduction and testing of this new mechanism. Through the external consultancy, the assistance was provided in the selection of relevant performance appraisal models, capacity building of managers, awareness-raising activities with employees, development of relevant internal documentation, etc. Among other public entities, the PAR project provided consultancy support to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of IDPs, Health and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, etc.

Performance appraisal system has been in place at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development for almost eight years. However, despite extensive experience in evaluating employees, the Ministry still faces several challenges throughout the appraisal process. Therefore, building on the previous support provided to other public agencies, UNDP is supporting the MoESD in ensuring effective implementation of performance appraisal procedures in practice. However, in addition to performance appraisal development work a need to improve and strengthen communication skills of managers and the staff including on issues of giving and receiving feedback has been evidenced. Therefore, UNDP seeks to recruit an experienced consultant/trainer to plan and implement the above described capacity development intervention.

Duties and Responsibilities

The primary goal of the capacity development assistance is to support the MoESD in opening the lines for communication, building trust and empowering both, managers and personnel to communicate clearly and effectively and feel heard and valued across the organization. On the one hand, managers need sound communication skills to structure their vision and goals effectively, be able to present new ideas and strategies, as well as build open and trustful relationships in their teams. On the other hand, employees shall also have skills to effectively interact with a broader audience, communicate their needs and challenges in a clear way and build relationships for their career path. Thus, the training program shall target managers and employees separately and address their needs and exiting challenges in communication. The consultant is expected to assume the following tasks and responsibilities:

• To identify specific needs of managers and staff in the field of communication (interviews; a focus group, or online survey); consult with HR unit;
• To draft and tailor two training programs to the needs and challenges identified for both groups; To present the programs to HR department;
• To include interactive sessions for both groups (50% of the program shall be interactive);
• To conduct three training sessions for line managers;
• To conduct three training sessions for staff;
• To prepare and conduct an evaluation of the training results;
• To coordinate work with a local expert on performance appraisal and include appraisal-related feedback session in the program.

The program among other elements shall include the following topics: understating different communication types, skills and overcoming barriers; communicating clear and concise messages; accurate questioning and active listening skills; team communication feedback; challenging conversations; communicating with different audiences.

Deliverables:

The consultant is expected to provide the following deliverables:

• Key results to be achieved;
• An agenda;
• An overview of interactive sessions (50% of the program);
• A presentation (handouts if necessary);
• An overview of evaluation mechanism.

In total: 2 days for program development and 1 day for preparation; Note: the project will support the expert in preparation;

Management Arrangements:

The PAR Project Manager will directly supervise the consultant in cooperation with the HR Unit of MoESD. The consultant will be directly responsible for reporting to, seeking approval from, and obtaining a certificate of acceptance of outputs from the above person. In addition, the PAR project team will be responsible for sharing relevant documents, contact details, and other necessary information with the consultant.

Payment Modality:

The payment will be made through four installments upon satisfactory submission and approval of the deliverables by the PAR Project Manager:

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Understanding of the mandate and the role of UNDP would be an asset;
• Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNDP; 
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Possesses knowledge and understanding of public administration system;
• Strong and proven research and analytical skills;
• Proven ability to deliver quality output working under tight deadlines;
• Proven ability to coordinate with others and to work as part of a team;
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills;
• Ability to work independently and under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, PR, Communication or similar field (minimum requirement: 5 points);

Experience:

• At least three years of working experience in communication or marketing (minimum requirement: three years - 6 points, more than three years - additional 3 points);
• At least two training programs in communication-related topics delivered (as a trainer) in the past three years (minimum requirement: two trainings - 6 points; more that two trainings - additional 3 points);
• At least one training program in communication-related topics developed (as an author) in the past one year (minimum requirement: one training: - 6 points; more than one training - additional 3 points);
• Previous managerial experience in a public, private or international organization (minimum requirement: 5 points);
• Experience of working with a public agency is an asset (3 points)

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in Georgian

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis method: Offerors will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30. Technical evaluation consists of desk review (40 points) and interview (30 points). Offerors that do not meet Minimum Qualification Criteria will be automatically rejected, while the rest will form up the long list. The offerors who obtain minimum 28 points as a result of the desk review will be invited for the interview. Note: qualified offerors will be requested to present a draft training outline during the interview.

Offerors who pass 70% threshold, i.e. obtain minimum 21 points, as a result of the interview will be requested the financial proposal.

Financial Proposal:

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the ToR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount. Maximum 30 points will be assigned to the lowest price offer. All other price offers will be scored using the formula (inverse proportion):  Financial score X = 30* the lowest price offer/suggested price offer. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well.