Procurement Notices

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. BACKGROUND

Kiribati consist of 32 atoll islands scattered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a population of 119,434 (2020 Census)[1].The country’s national development agenda is encapsulated in the 20-year Vision Development Plan known as the KV20. The KV20 is Kiribati’s long-term development blueprint for the period 2016-2036.The development blue print aims to transform Kiribati into a wealthier, healthier, and peaceful nation. The KV20 is founded on four pillars: Wealth, Peace and Security, Infrastructure, and Governance.

As a part of the 20-year Vision (KV20), the Government has identified fisheries and tourism sectors as two critical sectors for development. The Government intends to increase international trade through the wealth pillar especially in these two sectors as a means of improving Kiribati’s economy thereby improving the livelihood of all I-Kiribati.

One important prerequisite to international trade is the existence of an internationally recognised National Quality Infrastructure (NQI). Such NQI allows the manufacturer, producer or exporter to demonstrate the compliance of its products and services with the technical, sanitary and Phytosanitary requirements of the export market. A country’s NQI include all systems related to standards development, metrology, conformity assessment and accreditation. A functioning and internationally recognised NQI not only supports trade but also plays a critical part in ensuring the protection of consumers’ rights, health, life and the environment.

In order to provide a framework and principles for the development of the NQI in Kiribati, the Government adopted a National Quality Policy (NQP) in 2017. The NQP has highlighted metrology as one of the critical areas for focus. Metrology, being defined as the science of measurement, is one of the pillars of NQI and is critical to domestic and international trade.

Metrology provides the means and methods of realizing and harmonizing the International System of Units (SI), supports quality assurance in manufacturing processes as well as protects consumers and the public against unfair trade practices as well as unsafe and unhealthy products and processes. The government enacted a new Metrology legislation in 2021. The Metrology Act 2021 seeks to provide legal framework for metrology within the Republic of Kiribati; strengthen the enforcement of legal metrology; ensure measurements taken in Kiribati are traceable to International System of Units; ensure fairness in the domestic marketplace by protecting consumers from inaccurate measurements; and support the development of local industry with a focus on improving export competitiveness.

The new drive by the Government to strengthen trade as a part of realising the Kiribati 20-Year Vision (KV20) therefore means that the national metrology infrastructure must be improved to address the domestic measurement needs as well as provide access to accredited calibrations for those companies that trade with the domestic and external market.

Petroleum play an important economic and commercial role in Kiribati. Consumers and governments require affordable sources of fuel for transportation. The fuel dispensed at the service stations must be measured using an accurate and reliable system to provide confidence to the consumer. Kiribati is committed to implement the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) recommendations. The development of an internationally recognised national metrology infrastructure require ongoing and extensive technical assistance in both the technical and administrative areas. The Metrology Capacity needs assessment report undertaken in 2019 recommends the need to develop local competence in the area of verification of fuel dispensers in order to ensure fuel dispensers are reliable and accurate.

This consultancy comes under the “Kiribati trade capacity development and institutional strengthening project Phase 2” funded by Enhanced Integrated Framework(EIF) Facility. This second phase of the EIF project commenced in July 2020. The objective is to strengthen the capacity of institutions and stakeholders to implement trade policies that support poverty reduction, inclusive economic growth, equitable sustainable development and wealthy economy in line with the Government’s 20-Year Vision development plan (KV20) 2016-2036). As part of the project, UNDP, as the Main Implementing Entity, is seeking the services of a qualified Metrology Expert to implement a three-day Virtual training in the area of “Introduction to Verification of Fuel Dispensers

1. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

1. Qualifications

• A minimum Degree in the area of Legal Metrology, Physical Science, Engineering or related field

1. Experience

1. At least 10 years of relevant working experience in the field of metrology, and quality infrastructure, both in technical capacity and in institutional positions.
2. Experience in developing training manual and delivering training programmes in the area of metrology and verification of fuel dispensers
3. Experience in the Pacific Islands Countries, especially with good understanding of Kiribati context would be advantageous

1. Language requirements

Fluency of English language is required.

1. SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

1. EVALUATION METHOD AND CRITERIA

1. Cumulative analysis

The proposal will be evaluated using the cumulative analysis method with a split of 70% and 30% financial scoring. Proposal with the highest cumulative scoring will be awarded the contract. Applications will be evaluated technically and points are attributed based on how well the proposal meets the requirements of the Terms of Reference using the guidelines detailed in the table below:

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Interviews may be conducted as part of technical assessment for shortlisted proposals. The final evaluation method will be based on a cumulative analysis of both the technical and financial proposals.  When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable;
2. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation; and
3. Technical Criteria weight: 70 percent; Financial Criteria weight: 30 percent.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document:

1. Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
2. Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
3. Technical proposal, including a) a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment; and b) a methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment including the proposed scope of the training.
4. Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II. Note: National consultants must quote prices in United States Dollars (USD).

Consultant must send a financial proposal based on a Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs.

In general, UNDP shall not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources in the event of unforeseeable travel not anticipated in this TOR, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and the Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Incomplete and joint proposals may not be considered. Consultants with whom there is further interest will be contacted. The successful consultant shall opt to sign an Individual Contract or a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) through its company/employer with UNDP.

Annexes

1. Annex I - Individual IC General Terms and Conditions
2. Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to Mr. Dale Kacivi - procurement.fj@undp.org/dale.kacivi@undp.org 

All applications must be clearly marked with the title of consultancy and submitted by 5:00pm, 30th August 2021, 5pm (Fiji Time) online via UN Jobs website https://jobs.undp.org/ or etenderbox.pacific@undp.org