National Expert/ Strategic and LED Plan for KM Cluster

 

Project Title Area (C) Resilience Development initiative Project (ARD), Reference NEAR-TS/2017/392-844.

Proposed Position National Expert in Local Authorities Strategic Planning and LED.

Activity name and description  Development of Strategic Plan and LED Plan for Khalet Al Maya Cluster Villages, Hebron, West Bank.

Proposed Consultant  TBD

Background of Country Programme and Expected Results

VNG is implementing Area C Resilience Development Initiative (ARD) project. The project is funded by the European Union and aims at enhancing Palestinian Local Authorities contribution to governance and development process in Area “C” as a pre-condition to more equitable open and democratic society.

More specifically, the Area “C” Resilience Development initiative (ARD) Project aims at strengthening the institutional and operational capacities of the Palestinian Local Authority Association (APLA) and enables APLA to better advocate for and lobby on issues related to Area C on behalf of its members (Local Authorities) LAs. In addition, improve the capacity of Khalet Al Maya Villages council (The council is located in Hebron Governorate nine kilometres south of Hebron and four kilometres west of Yatta) in providing services, in promoting local economic development and in contributing to the territorial development integration through two main streams of support:

Stream 1:  Strengthen the institutional and operational capacities of APLA: The project supports the Re-activation and institutional development of APLA as an umbrella for providing technical, advocacy, and policy support to LAs in general and in Area C in particular.

Stream 2:  Supporting Khalet Al Maya Villages Council in Area C: The project aims to tackle the challenges that face Palestinian communities in Area C through strengthening the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA), and supporting a cluster of 7 local authorities in Area C include: weak institutional capacity and systems; inadequate financial resources; limited access to land and natural resources; weak planning and service delivery capacity; and unavailability of unified, and capable voice to advocate for LAs rights and priorities in Area C.

Background of the pilot project and expected results

In recent years, Area C has emerged as a key priority for the PA as well as to the international partners and donors operating in Palestine (including the EU).

This demonstrates the importance of supporting LAs in Area C, as they are the most effective and direct vehicles for improving service delivery and economic opportunities for communities living in that Area, in which our project is specifically focus on Khalet Al Maya Villages Council.

Since planning is key to the development of the area, the project will support the Cluster to develop strategic plan and LED plan that is based on a Territorial approach to Local Development (TALD). The plans will be developed in a participatory and collective way that takes into consideration the specific conditions, needs, and potential of the various communities in the cluster. The planning exercise will be fully coordinated with the MoLG, Enabel and other partners working in the cluster and will benefit from the tools and manuals developed by MDLF. 

Aims of the Assignment 

The key objective of this assignment is to develop Mid-term Strategic Plan and LED Plan for Khalet Al Maya Cluster Villages. More specifically, the aims are:

Mid-term Strategic Plan: The role of the individual Consultant/Expert will be to develop and implement a strategic review methodology, ensuring all along that the process is highly participatory.

LED Plan: Acknowledging the limited capacity and resources in the cluster, the “LED plan” will identify a number of targeted, low hanging fruit initiatives that can be implemented through the existing CSOs, and private sector entities. In all of these steps, the LA will play an active role in the selection, promotion, designing, and supervision of the LED activities. This will further build the capacity of the LA, and will improve the relation between the LA and the citizens in the area.

Activities to be performed

The scope and focus of the assignment is to provide technical, strategic and facilitation support to enable the development of Khalet Al Maya Cluster Villages Midterm Strategic Plan and LED Plan, the following four steps are required as a basis for development process. 

Step One: Prepare

Inception report outlining the key steps/methodology with specific deliverables and timeline; contextual analysis.

Forming a committee(s) of governmental; private and public sectors in the cluster to ensure the participatory approach is using throughout the plans development process.

Step Two: Review, Assess and Analyze

Participatory process of collecting critical reflection, analysis and consultation (SWOT analysis) with stakeholders is followed.

Review of relevant documents. 

Interviews with Khalet Al Maya Villages’ Councilors, partners, donors, and Local influential figures according to the participatory process.

Assessment report outlining cluster related critical issues, contextual analysis, gaps to be addressed and opportunities to grab. 

Step Three: Define/ Draft a Midterm Strategic Plan and LED Plan

Analyze feedback from the different sources (as outlined in step-2)

Formulate strategic plan and LED plan.

Step Four: Accept/Approve – Finalizing, endorsing and disseminating the strategic plan and LED plan

Draft the text around the key objectives.

Consult widely with stakeholders on draft documents.

Approve the final documents.

Outputs (expected deliverables)

The expert should deliver:

Mid-term Strategic Plan, and;

LED Plan.

Reporting requirements

An Inception Report setting forth the proposed work plan. This report should be in English.  The inception report should include the following: 

Detailed scope of work

Work plan (Schedule plan) for the main deliverables and the activities 

Milestones plan for the deliverables 

Anticipated risks and obstacles and the response activities  

A detailed final report covering activities mentioned in the action plan, and any other recommendations.

Routing of the reporting occurs according to the following guidelines:

1.     The expert will work in close collaboration with the ARD Project Manager to ensure alignment of the activities.

2.     The expert will ensure that a proper level of information prior to, during and after the activity is provided to the project manager.

3.     The expert will report directly to the ARD Project Manager at VNGi office in Ramallah.

Minimum qualifications

The consultant should have the following minimum qualifications:

University degree in a relevant field of discipline.

Skills:

Excellent writing and reporting skills.

Excellent communication skills (Arabic/ English).

Pro-active and representative attitude, able to work independently.

Efficient time management.

Experience:

At least 10 years of demonstrated experience with LAs in strategic and LED planning.

Experience in organizational and change management, business process management and analysis.

Have strong experience in institutional development and institutional assessment.

Good knowledge of the transparency field; understanding of natural resource governance is considered an advantage.

Have experience in coaching local government officials in the fields of institutional development.

Possess strong analytical, communication and management skills, as well as solid mediating and consensus building skills.

Familiarity with techniques for organizational design, process improvement and process modelling.

Extensive knowledge in workflow and business 

Have demonstrated skills in working with public sector development concepts and procedures, as well as with the best practice in institutional assessment.

Highly motivated and committed to the values of transparency and integrity.

Approximate number of working days and planning

The allocated level of effort to perform the aforementioned activities is Twelve (12) working days in total.

Period of the assignment

The assignment will be implemented during the period starts on 

20 September 2020 to 20 November 2020.

Place of the assignment

The consultant may work onsite or offsite, depending on the requirements of the assignment.

 

Contact details of Project coordinator

Individual consultants are required to submit their technical and financial offer by COB Sunday, 13 September 2020.

NB: The financial offer must contain the daily rate.

Applications to be sent to:

Mrs. Amal Odeh

Email: amal.odeh@vng.nl 

Resources (background information):

ARD Project Proposal- VNG

Khalet Al Maya Annual Capital Investment Plan.