International Lead Consultant to develop a feasibility study on implementation of the Farmers’ Digital Registry as part of the team of experts

Consultant

Overview

Lead the development of a feasibility study for Farmers’ Digital Registry.

You have:

• University degree in IT, engineering, agritech, economy or another relevant area.
• At least 7 years of proven experience in IT or technical advisory in economic services.
• Proven experience in developing documentation for feasibility studies for software and web-services.
• Previous experience in designing feasibility studies for software products related to Farm Registries for governmental entities in the EU states.
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities.
• Fluency in oral and written English.
• Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is an advantage.

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

Digital transformation is already visible in Moldova, as the country has begun to transfer legal, social, and civil services delivery on online platforms. Accelerated digitalization can be expected to create new business models and opportunities for digital leapfrogging in traditional industries and governance.

COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need for significant support and investments in digital transformation and effective digital governance, particularly to ensure the continuity and delivery of core government functions.

The pandemic has revealed a lack of preparedness in the public sector to quickly adapt policies and tools due to missing and low quality of data; to work remotely and online, including in delivery of social services in education, health, mobility and other sectors for specific population groups; and to adapt the performances of services for the economic sectors to the conditions induced by the crisis.

In the past months, business continuity was severely hampered, and many government officials and staff had to continue working in their physical offices not only due to infrastructure issues, but also most importantly due to the fact that information is kept on offline hard copy files.

While there has been much emphasis on digital tools and technologies in Moldova, digital transformation areas like policy, institutional coordination and trainings, as well as leadership remain a significant challenge and continue to constrain effective digital transformation and economic growth.

The Ministry of Agriculture is the key line ministry of the Government and a central body empowered to promote and implement new information technology methods to strengthen the local agricultural system and improve productivity, to spur digitalization and innovative technology adoption among Moldova’s agribusinesses. While data collection, analysis, monitoring, and sharing tasks were traditionally performed using hard copies, currently it is proposed to use digital tools for real-time data collection; validation, modelling, and compilation software; as well as applications for data dissemination to reduce data processing obstacles faced in the past. The initiative complements and builds on national strategies in the sector and Agenda 2030 for sustainable development of the country. The modernization and digital transformation of the agricultural production is imperative to create a sustainable economy and develop human capital in Moldova. Driven by the expanded usage of digital technologies in high growth potential value chains, this transition will result in innovation and spillover benefits to enhance the performance of one of Moldova’s most important economic sectors.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main objective of the current assignment is to develop a Feasibility Study related to development of the Farmers’ Digital Registry that will be a robust and reliable information platform on farmer and their activity within the country. It is expected that Farmers’ Digital Registry will be the main entry point for agricultural production including collection, analysis, monitoring, and provision of technical assistance to farmers. Moreover, the registry will:

1. Supply reliable data for Moldovan policy makers. The Registry will be used for collecting accurate information about the agricultural cadaster (a system for mapping and managing land), agricultural land use, and agricultural enterprises, as well as quantitative and qualitative data about agricultural land. Inaccurate data significantly hamper the capacity of decision makers to get a clear understanding about the current situation in agricultural sector which is necessary to elaborate clear and effective decisions. The number of cases with discrepancies in official documents which contain information received from different data sources is so big that the false perception of the real sector status could lead to negative impact on policy results;
2. Serve as one of the main resources for harmonization of Moldovan sectorial legislation and regulations with EU standards. Moldova has as of now embraced essential actions to make sure the presence of sectorial legal environment in accordance with international and EU regulations. In addition, the registry will allow to compile national agricultural data that is comparable with the one used internationally, particularly by EU Member States;
3. Serve as the basic tool for monitoring agricultural subsidies. In the current context of improving the quality of agricultural subsidies payments in Moldova, the Registry will be considered as an indispensable instrument in the process of approval and verification of applications submitted by potential beneficiaries as it is used in EU countries, where similar information system is part of the Integrated Administration and Control System;
4. Improve the traceability of Moldovan agricultural products. The agri-food sector is more and more focused on meeting increasing consumer demands regarding quality, safety and security of products. Traceability is a risk management tool that can be used by the consumers to identify clear and precise information for agri-food products. For instance, by tracking the production chain it is possible to verify, certify, and monitor if the final product complies in fact with the relevant specifications and quality requirements.

Additionally, the registry will provide a unique opportunity to support small farmers across Moldova and potentially increase food security, create jobs, and support long-term agriculture, rural and economic growth.

For detailed information, please refer to Annex 1 – Terms of Reference which can be accessed following the link: https://sc.undp.md/jobdetails/2606/

Competencies

COMPETENCIES

Corporate competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritisms;
• Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional competencies:

• Strong interpersonal skills, communication and diplomatic skills, teamwork ability;
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
• Strong analytical, reporting and writing abilities;
• Good time management, meeting deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

QUALIFICATIONS

Academic Qualifications/Education:

• University degree in IT, engineering, agritech, economy or another relevant area.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of proven experience in IT, or technical advisory in economic services;
• Proven experience in developing documentation for the feasibility studies for software and web-services;
• Previous experience in designing feasibility studies for software products (especially related to Farm Registries) for the governmental entities in the EU states;
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge in handling feasibility studies for web-based management systems and IT tools, web re-design projects, web information architecture, and tasks management;
• Previous experience and knowledge in information systems and data management in the context of agriculture, climate change, environmental, natural resource management, or other development programmes, will be an advantage;

• Knowledge on the national legislation (of several EU countries comparable with the Republic of Moldova) in the software development and security standards.

• Previous experience of working with international organizations, including UN Agencies.

Language skills:

Fluency in oral and written English. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian is an advantage.

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Potential interview questions

Added 3 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: jobs.undp.org