Assignment Description: The World Trade Organization (WTO) establishes international agreements to facilitate international trade and remove trade barriers; however, public contracts funded from state budget were traditionally a privilege of domestic suppliers and inaccessible to international bidders. This approach changed in 1994 with adoption of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Countries are required to negotiate accession to GPA upon joining the WTO.
During the last three years the Legal Transition Programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD or the Bank) has assisted countries negotiating accession to the WTO GPA on a case-by-case basis. New countries joining the WTO (Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan scheduled to join in 2014) and adoption of the revised text of the GPA in 2012 created new interest in opening negotiations in Western Balkans, Middle East and the CIS region. This has created demand for structured, ongoing cooperation between the EBRD and the WTO GPA Secretariat and the EBRD GPA Technical Cooperation Facility was launched.
Under the EBRD GPA Technical Cooperation Facility a number of project meetings, training sessions and regional conferences is envisaged. The sessions will be attended by the high level government officials from Georgia, Jordan, Moldova, Montenegro, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine. Project meetings and training sessions will be organised in the relevant countries in the EBRD region; conferences are expected to take place in Geneva, Switzerland and in London, the United Kingdom.
The EBRD now seeks to recruit a consultant (the Consultant) with experience in event management to provide logistic services for project meetings, training sessions and regional conferences organised under the EBRD GPA TC Facility (the Assignment). The Consultant is required to provide coordinating services by appointing a single dedicated English- and Russian-speaking expert, who will work over the phone and email (travel is not envisaged) with government officials, EBRD consultants and EBRD and WTO staff.
The main objectives of the assignment shall be:
The Consultant will be responsible for coordinating and preparing project meetings, training sessions and regional conferences organised under the EBRD GPA TC Facility, as follows:
1) Organising up to 20 Project Meetings, each for up to 10 participants;
2) Organising up to 6 Training Sessions, each for up to 25 participants;
3) Organising two Regional Conferences, at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Consultant will be responsible for timely bookings for, and prepayment of, the project meetings, training sessions and regional conferences, and will be responsible for all their logistics expenses, including visas, flight, accommodation, translations, and local travel as specified by the Bank for each activity. Project meetings and training sessions may be held in Georgia, Jordan, Moldova, Montenegro, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey or Ukraine. Regional conferences are expected to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, at the WTO headquarters.
Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in April 2015 and has an estimated overall duration of 24 months.
Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 151,500; exclusive of VAT.
This amount will include the Consultant’s fees, and all expenses associated with organising the project meetings, training sessions and regional conferences. No budget extension is envisaged.
The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the Bank's special status as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purhcased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.
Funding Source: The Assignment will be funded through the EBRD – Slovak Republic TC Fund.
Eligibility:
Consultancy firms shall be registered in the Slovak Republic and the individual experts proposed must be citizens or permanent residents of the Slovak Republic. However, up to a maximum of 25% of the maximum contract amount may be used to finance services of local experts who are nationals of Armenia, Moldova, Montenegro, Jordan, Turkey, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Tajikistan and Ukraine or consultancy firms of Armenia, Moldova, Montenegro, Jordan, Turkey, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.
Consultant Profile:
Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be an event management or travel agent firm with previous project experience in:
1. planning travel and accommodation for project meetings, training sessions and/or conferences, including all logistics and administrative services;
2. organising meetings, travel and accommodation in any of the following countries: Georgia, Jordan, Moldova, Montenegro, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine.
If the Consultant’s company does not provide travel agent services, the Consultant must have an existing contract with a travel agent.
Submission Requirements: In order to determine the capability and experience of Consultants seeking to be selected for this Assignment, the information submitted should include the following:
1. Company profile, organisation and staffing (max. 2 pages);
2. Details of previous project experience or similar assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contract value, contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided (if different from duration), main activities, objectives;
3. CV of an expert with a background in organising international conferences, workshops or training, who would be available to perform services required under the Assignment. Fluency in English and Russian is essential.
4. Confirmation that the Consultant provides travel agent services or has an existing contract with a travel agent.
5. Completed consultant’s declaration and contact sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link:
http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc
The above information should not exceed 10 pages including CV and completed contact sheet.
The complete expression of interest (including CV and completed consultant’s declaration and contact sheet) shall be one file (pdf or Word), not exceeding 4MB, to be uploaded to eSelection. The EBRD reserves the right to reject applications of firms submitting more than one file. If the permissible file size is exceeded, the Consultant may split the expression of interest into further files.
Expressions of Interest shall be submitted, in English, electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date.
EBRD Contact Person:
Agnieszka Kozlowska (Ms)
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London, EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 20 7338 7488
e-mail: kozlowsa@ebrd.com (submissions should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)
Notes: 1. The selection, shortlisting and contracting will normally be made from responses to this notification only. Consultants will not be asked to submit a proposal. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected from a shortlist and be invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
2. The shortlisting criteria are as follows:
(a) Consultant’s previous project experience in planning and implementing project meetings, training sessions and/or conferences, including all logistics and administrative services, editing and publishing presentations held at workshops etc. – 40%;
(b) Consultant’s previous project experience in any of the following countries: Georgia, Jordan, Moldova, Montenegro, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey or Ukraine – 20%;
(c) Lead Expert previous experience in organising international conferences/workshops/training; fluency in English and Russian is essential – 40%
