Background

The Constitution of Nepal turned Nepal into a federal state with three levels of government with the intent of transforming the country from a centralized unitary state into a federal country and to ensure economic equality, prosperity and social justice. The Constitution marks a fundamental paradigm shift in the system, structure and functioning of sub-national governance in Nepal and requires massive reorientation of the institutions, systems, work cultures and styles of functioning.

The Provincial and Local Governance Support Programme (PLGSP) is the national flagship programme of the Government of Nepal (GoN) to build institutional, organizational and individual capacity at all levels of government, with special focus on the provincial and local levels. The ultimate goal of the Programme is to attain functional, sustainable, inclusive and accountable provincial and local governance. The Programme aims to contribute to delivery of quality services at provincial and local levels, promote better local infrastructure and enhance economic prosperity. The Programme will achieve 14 outputs under the following three outcomes:

• Government institutions and inter-governmental mechanisms at all levels are fully functioning in support of federal governance as per the Constitution;
• Provincial and local governments have efficient, effective, inclusive and accountable institutions; and
• Elected representatives and civil servants at provincial and local governments have the capacity and serve citizens to their satisfaction.

The PLGSP serves as an umbrella programme of the Government in providing capacity development support to the provincial and local governments. As such, the Programme will establish a common framework for coordination and coherence of all governance-related programmes at the provincial and local levels and accommodate other donor-funded programmes.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) is the executive agency of the Programme. The seven provincial governments, the 753 local governments, the restructured Local Development Training Academy (LDTA) and seven provincial-level training centres (Provincial Centres for Good Governance) are the implementing agencies of the Programme. The Programme is supported by four international development partners, namely, the Department for International Development (DfID) of the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU), the Government of Norway, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the United Nations.

MOFAGA is partnering with UNDP to receive Technical Assistance (TA) for the implementation of the Programme. As the first step, a key priority of the TA is recruitment of TA personnel , their capacity building and knowledge enhancement, including orientation and continuous backstopping support in coordination with the Programme Management so that they deliver on the intended outputs.

The Province governments have a major role to facilitate and implement the Programme, benefitting both Province and Local Governments. All the Province governments have entered into memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MoFAGA to be a part of the Programme implementation. To support the provincial governments in the implementation of the Programme, a Provincial Programme Implementation Unit (PPIU), will be established in the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers (OCMCM). Against this background, a number of technical assistance personnel will be deployed by the Programme to support the PPIUs in discharging their roles.

This Terms of Reference (ToR) describes the functions and responsibilities of the assignment, expected results, and qualifications/experience and competencies and selection criteria required of the Information Technology (IT) and E-Governance Expert in the PPIUs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall responsibilities of the assignments are to:

1. Provide technical support and guidance to strengthen the province governments IT and E-Governance capacity, in close coordination with the team of experts at PPIU and the IT and E-Governance Specialist in PCU;
2. Directly contribute to the achievement of PLGSP Output 5: Modernized provincial government systems enable horizontal and vertical accountability to all citizens and mainstream GESI; and provide technical inputs and backstopping support to achieve Output 8: Modernized LGs have strong administrative systems, and accountable PFM systems;
3. Support the PCGG on issues related to IT and E-Governance, in coordination with the Local Governance Expert (PCGG) and the IT and E-Governance Specialist (PCU);
4. Support in ensuring mainstreaming of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) throughout programme interventions in the province; and
5. Perform any other tasks assigned by the concerned authorities at the PPIU and PCU, including the Governance and Legal Expert in PPIU.

1. Provide technical support and guidance to strengthen the province governments IT and E-Governance capacity, in close coordination with the team of experts at PPIU and the IT and E-Governance Specialist in PCU:

• Provide advice and guidance on strategic and policy issues to strengthen the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and E-Governance systems, tools and methodologies within the Province government units;
• Provide support and inputs, and interact with relevant counterparts in the province on initiatives related to e-governance;
• Facilitate sensitizations of Programme staff and external stakeholders on concepts, issues, challenges opportunities, and tools related to IT and E-Governance;
• Capture good practices in the province with regard to progress made on ICT and E-Governance;
• Support Monitoring and Reporting Expert in developing necessary monitoring system for evidence based reporting system; and
• Support the development, implementation and follow-up of initiatives rolled out to strengthen the IT and E-Governance systems at the provincial level, including various trainings/mentoring and follow up on implementation of systems and support required to ensure accessibility, accountability and transparency.

2. Directly contribute to the achievement of PLGSP Output 5: Modernized provincial government systems enable horizontal and vertical accountability to all citizens and mainstream GESI; and provide technical inputs and backstopping support to achieve Output 8: Modernized LGs have strong administrative systems, and accountable PFM systems:

• Obtain updates from the PCU on the Government of Nepal policies, guidelines, models, templates, standards and norms related to ICT and E-Governance;
• Provide technical support to the province government authorities in introducing/strengthening participatory budgeting, public hearing, e-procurement system, and carrying out Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) audits;
• Support the establishment and utilization of ICT and E-Governance systems for data integration and information sharing at province and local levels;
• Support the Governance and Legal Expert in the preparation of the  PPIU Annual Strategic Implementation Plan (ASIP) and trimester workplan based on the ProgDoc, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework of the Programme, and the guideline provided by the PCU, particularly in relation to Output 5;
• Provide inputs for the overall progress reports and prepare narrative and financial reports related to output 5;
• Provide support to the Local Governance Expert in the PCGG in developing ASIP related to output 8, its reporting in trimester and annual basis, and extend technical support to her/him in e-governance issues in local governments;
• Facilitate sensitizations of Programme staff and external stakeholders on concepts, issues, challenges opportunities, and tools related to ICT and E-Governance;
• Coordinate with the ICT and E-Governance Specialist in PCU to make sure that the PPIU activities under output 5 are in line the overall scope of the output; and
• Support Innovative Partnership Fund Experts (PPIUs) to effectively and transparently manage the Innovative Partnership Fund (IPF).

3. Support the PCGG on issues related to IT and E-Governance, in coordination with the Local Governance Expert (PCGG) and the IT and E-Governance Specialist (PCU):

• Provide technical support to the PCGG through the PPIU on capacity building and training programmes on ICT and E-Governance;
• Support  the PCGG on activities related to strengthening province and local governments IT and E-Governance capacity, in coordination with the Local Governance Expert (PCGG) and IT and E-Governance Specialist (PCU);
• Support the PCGG in strengthening/institutionalizing the SUTRA in local governments through the capacity measures; and
• Support to develop and facilitate capacity development initiatives on IT and E-Governance for PPIU and PCGG staff and other concerned stakeholders in the province.

4. Support in ensuring mainstreaming of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) through programme interventions:

• Support the implementation of GESI-responsive IT and E-Governance systems at the province level, in coordination with the GESI Specialist (PCU), IT and E-Governance Specialist (PCU) and GESI Expert (PCGG);
• Ensure that accessibility for women and excluded/marginalized groups is a key factor in the contextualisation and roll-out of IT and E-Governance systems at the province and local levels, with particular attention to digital accessibility for persons with disability; and
• Facilitate capacity development sessions for PLGSP TA Staff and external stakeholders in the province on the importance of GESI-responsive IT and E-Governance systems.

5. Perform any other tasks assigned by the concerned authorities at the PPIU and PCU, including the Governance and Legal Expert in PPIU.

Impact of Results:

• Programme outputs are achieved within the given resources and time with high quality standards;
• Strengthened IT and E-Governance systems are available and utilised at the provincial and local levels.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the Government of Nepal (GoN) and UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Serves and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of GoN and UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Good inter-personal skills;
• Clear and upfront communication skills;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Collaborates effectively in a team environment;
• Organized and good with following-up on pending issues; meets deadlines;
• Promote learning and knowledge management/sharing;
• Focuses on delivering results by taking calculated-risks and problem-solving approach;
• Fair and transparent decision making; regularly shares information with team members; and
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development.

Functional Competencies:

• Promotes sharing of knowledge and experience, and actively works towards continued learning and development on personal level as well as for supervisees;
• Good practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Ability to go beyond established procedures and models, propose new approaches which expand the range of projects;
• Demonstrates strong numerical and analytical skills;
• Has experience working with Monitoring and Evaluation tools;
• Experience in developing business plans for financial institutions including energy enterprises;
  Experience in coordination, technical assistance and advisory support top government and private institutions;
• Experienced in delivering training and other needed capacity/ institutional building support to a wide range of stakeholders including financial institutions;
• Demonstrates excellent organizational and administrative skills;
• Identifies and communicates relevant information for a variety of audiences for advocating GoN and UNDP’s mandate;
• Analyzes and selects materials for strengthening strategic alliances with partners and stakeholders;
• Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the position;
• Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks;
• Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments;
• Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to GoN and UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda;
• Assesses project performance to identify success factors and incorporates best practices into project work; and
• Monitors specific stages of projects/programme implementation;
• Researches linkages across programme activities to identify critical points of integration; and
• Oversees and documents the process of strategy formulation for programmes at Project level.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree in E-governance, IT, computer science, or any other related field.

Experience: 

• At least three years of experience for Master’s Degree and six years for Bachelor’s Degree with hands-on experience in the area of e-governance and e-government with introduction of innovative strategies and tools in public service delivery;
• Experience in working at the national/international level with IT/E-Governance systems development is essential;
• Demonstrated track record of delivering high-quality reports on time;
• Experience of working in sub-national governance reform will be an advantage;
• Sound understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their implications local governance would be an advantage.

Language requirements:

• Fluency in English and Nepali, both written and oral, at professional level are essential;
• Knowledge of any of the local languages will be an added advantage.