IT Senior Consultant

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Consultant Terms of Reference and Scope of Services

For Consultancy services for

Public Financial Management Improvement Project-Phase 2 (TF0B8064)

Recruitment of IT Senior Consultant (Assessment of RMS)

Background

The Palestinian Liberation Organization, for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority, has received financing from the World Bank, International Development Association in the amount of USD 8 million towards the cost of the Public Financial Management Improvement Project-Phase 2 (PFMIP-Phase 2) (the Project).

The Project development objective (PDO) is to enhance the expenditure controls, financial accountability and procurement management of the Palestinian Authority. To achieve this PDO, the project will mainly cover six components:

Component 1- Improving Budget Expenditure Management and Control; this component will address core weaknesses in expenditure management and control mechanisms through further development of operating procedures, a legal and regulatory framework, and methodologies and capacity building for budget preparation and execution. 

Component 2- Financial Accountability; this component will address the core weaknesses with the financial accountability of the PFM system. 

Component 3- Enhancing Revenue Mobilization; this component will address core weaknesses in domestic resource mobilization by strengthening revenue policy and administration and operational development of the recently created Revenue Commission under the Ministry of Finance. 

Component 4- Improving Public Procurement Management; this component aims to improve procurement management by scaling up activities implemented by the HCPPP and supported by the current PFMI Project (Phase 1) as well as to support new interventions in priority areas. 

Component 5- Closing Critical Data Gaps and Modernizing Statistics Production; this component builds on the MENA Statistics Compact and the Palestine National Statistical Development Strategy. It aims to increase and improve the use of administrative data for production of statistics, particularly through increased collaboration with the MoF. 

Component 6- Project Implementation Support and Management; this component finances costs related to project management and capacity building at the MoF throughout the life of the Project. A Project Management Unit (PMU) will manage project implementation and monitor progress as under the current PFMI Project (Phase 1). 

Objective of this assignment 

MoF is looking for a senior IT Consultant to help the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in conducting an advanced performance assessment about the achievements of an ongoing software development project. The name of this project is RMS and it represent the main tax revenue management software at the ministry of Finance. the consultant will assess and achievements/gaps of building the program, and will assess the capacity of MoF team to take over on the system from the software developer company. This means assessing the readiness of the RMS to properly handed over to MoF in terms of staff capacity, challenges, requirements and the system service provider commitment in documenting the architectures, designs, and coding of the system that are necessary to enable a proper handing over to the MoF team. The consultant shall prepare an exit strategy about RMS future that includes different scenarios with pros and cons for each scenario.

This is a 9-month onsite assignment and the candidate shall work at MoF head offices in Ramallah. 

Responsibilities

1. Understand the current business lifecycle and activities at the Revenue Commission. For this sake the consultant will produce flow charts of the main business processes to gain an understanding of these processes.
2. Analyze and examine existing systems and technical progress assessment against the contract. This includes conducting an assessment of what has been done, what has been automated, what remains outstanding and linking that with the revenue strategy.
3. Staff assessment of team capabilities; this includes assessing of who is doing what (currently); the capabilities of the MoF IT department (particularly those working on RMS) and linked staff roles within the revenue departments. The assessment should include a staff audit (need; numbers required and type/title/grade).  
4. Understand and map existing infrastructure
5. Design, plan, and implement process improvements 
6. Identify requirements and functionalities needed to upgrade systems; this includes; software, extending the functionality. 
7. Provide Strategic direction for the IT department

Deliverables and Timeframe:

جميع الحقوق محفوظة لموقع جوبس.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS, MIS, CIS, or related field
• MBA is a plus
• Full understanding of the software development lifecycle 
• 10+ years of experience in software development and cyber security
• 3+ years of experience in consulting
• Experience in business process reengineering, requirements management, and process design
• Understand basics of monitoring and evaluation
• Knowledge in .net and Angular 
• Basic understanding of relational databases and other relevant technologies 
• Proven experience in Project Management

Other Qualifications

• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team
• Time management skills 
• Excellent Arabic and English language skills
• Understanding of the Tax Technology Landscape is a plus

Reporting

Derivable shall be endorsed by the PFMI project and then be signed off by the RMS manager. Moreover, the consultant shall submit monthly report to the PFM project, RMS manager and the Revenue Commissioner General. 

Interested candidates are requested to send their CVs and a cover letter to the Ministry of Finance – The International Relations and Projects Directorate, at this email address: [email protected] indicating the position in the subject e-mail.

The closing date for applying is September 18, 2022. Please clearly indicate the position in the subject line of your email.