Support to the Secretariat of the Foreign Investors Council - Legal Expert Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : United Kingdom

Summary : Support to the Secretariat of the Foreign Investors Council - Legal Expert

Deadline : 04 Nov 2019

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 37165152

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Attn: Elena Kolodiy One Exchange Square London EC2A 2JN
United Kingdom
Email :kolodiyo@ebrd.com, finprop@ebrd.com

Tender Details

Expression of Interest are invited for Support to the Secretariat of the Foreign Investors Council in Uzbekistan - Legal Expert.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “EBRD” or the “Bank”) is assisting the Government of Uzbekistan in setting up a Foreign Investors Council (the “FIC” or the “Project”).

FIC is a structured platform for regular dialogue between the Government and private investors, in particular foreign, to openly and constructively identify key obstacles to private sector development and investment attraction and jointly develop solutions.

The purpose of the FIC is:

to promote constructive dialogue between the Government and private sector on the necessary steps to address the most pressing issues for the development of the private sector, improve the business environment and foster investment, in particular foreign;
to identify the main impediments preventing attraction of investments in different sectors of the economy and to propose intervention measures with efficiency and maximum impact for the improvement of business environment and conducive investment climate;
to suggest and review proposals for relevant changes to the legislative and regulatory framework regarding the above;
to develop recommendations, including in the form of drafts of relevant resolutions and decrees with supporting assessment reports for the review by the Government and suitable in form for the Government-s internal process;
to facilitate the exchange of experience and best practices in regulatory reform from other countries to facilitate fostering objectives of the FIC.
The daily activity of the FIC will be supported by a secretariat (the "Secretariat") led by the Head of the Secretariat and staffed with a number of professionals such as economic and a legal expert. The task of the Secretariat is to support the FIC-s activities, especially the facilitation of an open dialogue between the government and the private sector with the intention of improving the business environment and fostering reforms directed towards the achievement of a fully-functioning market economy.

Assignment Description:

In the context of the Project, the EBRD is now seeking to engage a consultant (the “Consultant”) for the position of the Legal Expert of the FIC of Uzbekistan (the “Assignment”).

The Consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Head of FIC Secretariat.

The tasks of the Consultant will include, inter alia, the following:

Review the current and proposed legislation in the area of private sector development and make practical recommendations (based on private sector concerns) in terms of regulations, institutional improvement, and/or structures to be created and/or reinforced aimed to improve the business climate in general and fostering investment (foreign and domestic);
Maintain consultation with the EBRD and the MIFT and seek the feedback of relevant authorities/bodies, the private sector, as well as international financial institutions and other donor organizations;
Review requests, recommendations and suggestions presented by the private sector players and provide analysis to the FIC members for action;
In collaboration with FIC members/working groups, suggest and assist in preparing the agenda, including ensuring that appropriate topics and documentation is provided, to be discussed at the FIC meetings and its working groups;
Following instructions from the FIC, make sure that reports and analysis are prepared in time, including recommendations to be submitted to the FIC;
Assist in organizing the FIC Plenary and Interim Sessions, the working groups meetings and other FIC activities;
Assist in preparing minutes of FIC meetings and, based on the recommendation of the FIC, identify areas to be addressed and create working groups for these areas;
Make a presentation of conclusions and recommendations of the FIC and/or its working groups to relevant government bodies, private sector representatives and the EBRD;
Assist in steering the process and managing the day-to-day operations of the FIC starting from inception to the end of the assignment period;
Help in summarizing the achievements of the FIC Secretariat in annual reports to the Bank copied to the relevant government bodies and private sector involved in the process.
Full Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Assignment can be found here.

Consultant Selection Procedure: Single stage open competitive selection. Interested individual experts are now invited to submit a Technical Proposal and a Financial Proposal in the manner described in the submission requirements.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in November/December 2019 and has an estimated initial duration of 24 months. Please note that this is a full time-role. Subject to availability of funding, the performance of the selected Consultant and the business needs, the Assignment may be extended beyond the current scope.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: N/A

The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Request for Technical Proposals. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.

Funding Source: It is anticipated that the contract will be financed by the EBRD-s Special Shareholders- Fund. Please note that Selection and contracting are subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions based on the Consultant`s nationality.

Consultant Profile: Individual services are required. The successful individual is expected to possess the following:

· Academic qualifications in law or related field, with preferably a postgraduate degree;

· At least 3 years of relevant work experience, preferably at senior level, both in the public and private sectors;

· Good understanding of the process of legal reform in Uzbekistan;

· Analytical skills, with the ability to interpret and report on complex issues;

· Ability to interact effectively with senior officials in government and the business community;

· Ability to prioritize and work under the pressure of deadlines;

· Fluency in written and spoken English, Uzbek and Russian.

Submission Requirements:

· Interested individual experts and/or firms consultants are now invited to submit a completed Technical Proposal as per the standard templates and instructions available at this link.

· Interested Consultants should make themselves familiar with these Standard Templates, Standard Instructions and Conditions of Contract in preparation of their Proposal.

· The Financial Proposal (Form 2 - FP 1 and FP2) shall be submitted in English separately by email only, to the following address: finprop@ebrd.com. Financial proposal should ONLY indicate the Key Experts- Daily Fee Rate in EUR. Consultants are reminded of the requirement to ensure the confidentiality of the Financial Proposals.

· The Technical Proposal shall be submitted in English electronically via eSelection not later than the Closing Date, as one single PDF file.

Documents

 Tender Notice