Lesotho - Consultancy to assist the NAO to perform a quality audit and to resolve issues concerning the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS)

Lot:11 - Macro economy, Statistics, Public finance management - EuropeAid FWC Beneficiaries 127054

DONWLOAD Terms of References

Number of requested experts per category and number of person-days per expert or per
category.

o Expert 1: One Senior Expert in IT contract management. will be required.
(45 working days)
o The expert will be required to work 35 working days over a span of 9
months in Lesotho. Prior to arriving in Lesotho it is expected that this
expert will work a total of 1 working day in her/his home country (or
place of employment) to study the contract in detail. Additionally the
expert will have a total of 3 additional working days in the course of the
contract to draft the required reports. The schedule of working days as
well as all extended absences must be agreed with the NAO and EU
Delegation following the first month of work. The expert will perform no
less than three separate missions to Lesotho, the first being equal to 15
working days and each subsequent mission being equal to 10 working
days. Weekends are not to be counted as working days. An additional 1
day will be accepted for travel to Lesotho and an additional travel day for
travel from Lesotho for each mission, which shall raise the total amount
of working days to 45 – all inclusive.
o This expert will be considered as the Team Leader and will be responsible
to ensure that all the outputs of the experts are coordinated.

o Expert 2: One Senior Expert on the Epicor application and its use in a whole
of government environment for an IFMIS
(39 working days)
o This expert will be required to work 30 working days over a span of 9
months in Lesotho. Additionally the expert will have a total of 3
additional working days in the course of the contract to draft the required
reports. The schedule of working days as well as all extended absences
must be agreed with the NAO and EU Delegation following the first
month of work. The expert will perform no less three separate missions to
Lesotho, each being no less than 5 working days. Weekends are not to be
counted as working days. An additional 1 day will be accepted for travel
to Lesotho and an additional travel day for travel from Lesotho for each
mission, which shall raise the total amount of working days to 39 – all
inclusive.

o Expert 3: One Senior Expert on IT specifications and configuration
necessary for successful implementation of Epicor across a WAN and,
eventually, across the country, including inter-facing with other
applications
(29 working days)
• This expert will be required to work 25 working days in Lesotho over a
span of 6 months. The schedule of working days as well as all extended
absences must be agreed with the NAO and EU Delegation following the
first month of work. The expert will perform no less two separate
missions to Lesotho, each being no less than 10 working days. Weekends
are not to be counted as working days. An additional 1 day will be
accepted for travel to Lesotho and an additional travel day for travel from
Lesotho for each mission, which shall raise the total amount of working
days to 29 – all inclusive.


Profile per expert or expertise required:
o Expert 1 (Contract Management Expert)
- Category and duration of equivalent experience
- Senior Expert
- Minimum 10 years of professional experience in a relevant
field.
- Education
- Postgraduate degree in public financial management (or
graduate degree with extensive experience) and/or business
management.
- Experience
- experienced in the introduction of Management Information Systems
and in the management of supply and service contracts in the public
sector. Significant experience with working with EPICOR systems in
the public sector is an advantage.
- Adequate IT skills and should have a suitable qualification involving
the introduction and management of Financial Management Systems
- Language skills
- Fluency in English, both written and oral, is a prerequisite.

o Expert 2 (IT Expert)
- Category and duration of equivalent experience
- Senior Expert
- Minimum 10 years of professional experience in a relevant
field.
- Education
- Postgraduate degree in public financial management (or
graduate degree with extensive experience), degree in IT related
field and/or computer programming.
- Experience
- experienced in the introduction of Management Information Systems.
- Experience with working with EPICOR systems in the public sector
is an advantage.
- Advanced IT skills in the specification and configuration necessary
for successful implementation of Epicor across a WAN and,
eventually, across the country, including inter-facing with other
applications.
- Language skills
- Fluency in English, both written and oral, is a prerequisite.

o Expert 3 (EPICOR Expert)
- Category and duration of equivalent experience
- Senior Expert
- Minimum 10 years of professional experience in a relevant
field.
- Education
- Postgraduate degree in public financial management (or
graduate degree with extensive experience) and/or computer
programming.
- Experience
- experienced in the introduction of Management Information Systems.
- Significant hands on experience working with EPICOR systems in a
whole of government environment is a prerequisite.
- Language skills
- Fluency in English, both written and oral, is a prerequisite.

6. LOCATION AND DURATION

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
There is a need for a quality audit in terms of assessing whether the system as supplied meets
the required specifications /mandatory requirements of the system. This requires an
assessment of the functionality of all aspects of the system and its introduction, including, but
not limited to, the IT specifications and configurations required for its use on the WAN and,
eventually, introduction of the system throughout the Government network and across the
country. This assessment would inform any current or future contract disputes. Such an
assessment will form the basis for a comprehensive review of the contractual
responsibilities/obligations as set out in contract, juxtaposed with the existing output (both in
regards to services and supplies) from STCL. This assignment requires expertise in four
areas:
1. hands on experience with the set-up, configuration and use of the Epicor application in
a whole of government accounting environment, including any changes and
adaptations required for its effective operation (business process re-engineering/
change management) and its interfacing with other software applications;
2. with the IT specifications and configurations needed for successful implementation
and effective utilisation of the Epicor system, including its interfacing with other
applications;
3. drawing on the expertise in the areas above, analysis of whether the requirements of
the RVD and of the contract have been, or can within a reasonable time frame, be,
met.
4. Managing of contracts and contract disputes. Naturally this will inform the Project
Management Team on the Final Acceptance certificate of the system as a whole.
It is anticipated that three experts will be required to cover this range of expertise. The
experts will report to the Accountant General of the Ministry of Finance and Development
Planning.
It is foreseen that the experts covering points 1 and 2 above will arrive at least one working
week prior to the contractural expert. . The first movers will conduct a preliminary
assessment of the technical system – together with the staff of the IFMIS Project Management
Team. When all experts are in country, they will agree their approach to the assignment and
their working schedule: these will be submitted for approval to the Project Management
Team, NAO and EU Delegation and also agree to a working schedule.

2.1 GLOBAL OBJECTIVE

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY SELECTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED