Consultancy for Revision of LWF Procurement Manual

LWF World Service invites interested persons to submit their expression of interest for the revision of the LWF Procurement Manual, as outlined in the following Terms of Reference.

Terms of Reference

Revision of the LWF Procurement Manual

BACKGROUND

By nature of its work with refugees and other persons of concern, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), through its humanitarian arm, World Service, works with a considerable number of partners and procurement is an important component of its work. Done well, it offers a lot of opportunity. Done badly, procurement is a huge risk.

UNHCR is LWF World Service`s biggest donor, providing over 27m Euros worth of funding in 2016 (or approx. 19% of the World Service income of 141.8 million Euros). This funding has been steadily growing in the past 5 years, with continued growth projected for the future. With UNHCR funding secured, LWF World Service has been able to leverage an additional 30m Euros for its refugee work – from other major international donors including BPRM, ECHO, Sida, GAC. Serious non-compliance with UNHCR could put at risk the financial support from these other donors, severely impacting on LWF World Service’s refugee work globally.

In November 2014, UNHCR issued a Guidance Note 4 on Procurement by Partners with UNHCR funds, requiring its Partners that procure equal to or above USD 100,000 (UNHCR funds) under Project Partnership Agreements to seek Prequalification for Procurement (PQP) status from UNHCR. In the process, the UNHCR Procurement Service undertakes an evaluation to determine PQP status which involves the review of the compatibility of the Partner’s procurement policies and procedures with UNHCR and other applicable standards (In 2013, the LWF Procurement Manual was prequalified by UNHCR before the new guidance note came into force).

The LWF World Service management team in Geneva is concerned that World Service is currently not meeting many of the UNHCR procurement requirements. Although pre-qualified already (until 14th Feb. 2019), LWF World Service recognizes that parts of its Procurement Manual do not fully comply with UNHCR’s guidelines/requirements.

It has been decided, therefore, that the LWF Procurement Manual (adopted from DanChurchAid in 2013) must be revised to meet the new UNHCR regulations.

UNHCR is in the process of revising its Procurement Manual and Guidance Note for Partners. The LWF World Service revision process should take into account any changes in procurement procedures being made by UNHCR, including revised UNHCR requirements for Partners. (The existing Guidance Note remains valid https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/ip_guidance_note_4_-_procurement_by_partners_with_unhcr_funds_nov_2017.pdf). The reason is to “simplify” some of the UNHCR requirements for its NGO Partners, as for example on thresholds.

As stated above, LWF World Service works with a number of major international donors in addition to the UNHCR, whose procurement requirements are less than those of UNHCR. By revising its Procurement Manual to be compliant with UNHCR, it is understood that the revised Procurement Manual will be compliant with the requirements of these donors as well.

SCOPE OF THE WORK

To revise the LWF Procurement Manual, to make it compliant with the requirements of UNHCR and other donors with which LWF is engaged in procurement. The scope of work will include the following:

Carry out a survey/desk review to gather information on the scale, scope, experience and trends of procurement over the past three years by LWF Country Programs with UNHCR and other donors engaged in procurement.
Engage and negotiate/advocate/discuss with UNHCR in Geneva/Budapest on those elements needing further discussion and eventual revision. Adhere to the UNHCR Guidance Note on Procurement that is about to be finalized.
Update the LWF Procurement Manual to be compliant with the major UNHCR, ECHO and BPRM procurement requirements (a comparison chart has already been prepared as a starting point https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/procurement_comparison_chart_unhcr-lwf.pdf).
Ensure that all necessary updates and changes to the LWF Procurement Manual are completed, so that LWF is ready for the next UNHCR prequalification process (likely to start in 2018).
While reviewing the procurement thresholds, authorization limits, make up of procurement committees and bidding processes, recognize and consider any updates or changes which need to be made in the LWF Emergency Manual (i.e. the chapter on Procurement in Emergencies)
Determine, in the course of the consultancy, procurement-related staffing or advisory needs in World Service in 2018 and beyond, in order to guarantee modalities of procurement support required by Country Programs and World Service Geneva.

PERSONS TO WORK WITH

The consultant will:

Report to the LWF World Service Regional Program Coordinator (RPC) with focal point responsibility for procurement.
Liaise with this RPC and the LWF World Service Senior Policy Adviser as the focal points for this consultancy and with other RPCs, the LWF World Service Global Funding Coordinator (GFC) and various LWF Country Programs that are heavily involved in procurement with UNHCR and other major international donor funding.
Meet with the relevant persons in ICVA (International Council for Voluntary Agencies) to understand the ICVA/NGO strategy on the UNHCR Procurement Manual, as well as NGO observations on the current UNHCR Guidance Note on Procurement. Determine whether a common position among major NGOs (such as NRC, DRC and IRC) will be established in approaching UNHCR and whether it is in the interest of LWF World Service to be party to that common approach.
Liaise with DanChurchAid`s procurement unit in Copenhagen, for its advice and experiences (as the original authors of the Procurement Manual adopted by LWF in 2013).
Establish contact with the UNHCR Procurement Management and Contracting Service (hqsmsipp@unhcr.org) to get updated on matters related to the management of Project Partnership Agreements from the Implementing Partnership Management Service (epartner@unhcr.org). To the extent possible, get copies of the new UNHCR Procurement Manual and Guidance Note.
Organize webinars on capacity strengthening for LWF field colleagues (procurement committees) and Geneva-based staff. The webinars should include a familiarization of the changes to come in the LWF Procurement Manual.
Give advice to Country Programs seeking to revise their in-country Procurement Manuals.

PROJECTED OUTCOMES

Provide a full report on the recommended changes in the revised LWF Procurement Manual.
Briefing on the revised LWF Procurement Manual to the LWF World Service extended management team and staff in the Geneva office.
A revised LWF Procurement Manual, in line with requirements of UNHCR and other donors and on the basis of the report prepared, and give an in-depth briefing to LWF staff.
Training for LWF World Service staff in Geneva and for LWF Country Programs (on line) on the revised LWF Procurement Manual.
Proposal for procurement advisory and support functions for LWF World Service (Geneva and country programs) in 2018 and beyond.

ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

(1) Timing: This consultancy is planned to take place during a 6 months period, from October 2017 to March 2018.

(2) Travel: The consultant will be expected to be at LWF World Service Geneva for initial orientation at the start of the consultancy, and near the conclusion to present findings and recommendations. Indications of travel to LWF Country Programs or agencies should be included in the technical proposal, to be determined early in the consultancy.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in procurement.
Hands-on experiences in procurement and in particularly UNHCR and other donors such as ECHO.
Familiarity with different grant procedures and existing funding mechanisms.

Closing date for applications: 1 September 2017

To apply, click on the following link:

https://lutheranworld.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0f6m7