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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS (Open Tender)

FORMULATION OF TIMOR LESTE TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORK

Background

Timor Leste officially notified the European Union (EU) of its intention to accede to the EU Pacific EPA (IEPA) in 2020. Since then, the EU, through the PIF-SPIRIT project, has provided technical support to Timor-Leste in its accession process towards IEPA. In 2022, SPIRIT completed its first project activity, which was conducted from August to November on a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and review of Timor-Leste’s Market Access Offer (MAO) towards this end.

The Government of Timor Leste informed the PIF on 5 May 2023 of its three national priorities for technical assistance to be implemented under the SPIRIT project, which cover the review and strengthening of institutional, human resources, and legislative frameworks to ensure that these are fit for purpose when they accede, and ultimately sign and ratify the IEPA.

Purpose

The purpose of the short-term consultancy is:

 Formulate Timor -Leste’s National Trade Policy Framework as it has been identified as a national priority under output activity 2.13.

Scope of Work

The Consultant will deliver the following Key Result Areas (KRAs):

1. Participate in Inception Meeting.

2. Conduct a gap analysis on the state-of-play of Timor Leste’s institutional and regulatory frameworks vis a vis what should be the basic tenets that should inform Timor Leste’s National Trade Policy Framework, including also trade performance and prevalent opportunities and importantly gaps that can be substantially narrowed through a Trade Policy Framework and provide details thereon.

3. Consult with national stakeholders in Dili and provide a draft design of the institutional structures and arrangements that clarify the appropriate roles, responsibilities, staffing needs, funding sources, and legal, statutory, or licensing requirements of the identified key institutions to develop a requisite Framework addressing including cross cutting trade Issues such as gender, IT, climate change and private sector development.

4. Based on KRA3, assist the focal ministry with the development of a Cabinet Paper or equivalent, seeking policy approval for the proposed Formulation of the National Trade Policy Framework that will facilitate Timor Leste’s accession and implementation of the IEPA.

5. Deliver a presentation to the Government of Timor Leste on the findings and recommendations.

6. Submit a Draft National Trade Policy Framework and then after review by the Government of Timor Leste and Project Manager, a Final Draft outlining the key deliverables, key objectives, Institutional Framework recommendations on way forward and risk analysis.

Academic Qualifications

The Consultant must be an Expert in International Trade and Development, and should possess the following qualifications and experience:

• Master or Postgraduate degree in trade law, law International trade, public policy or any other field relevant to the assignment;
• Extensive experience in conducting stakeholder consultations of diverse backgrounds.
• Strong research and analytical skills;
• Excellent communication, and report writing skills;
• Excellent team working abilities;
• Minimum 10 years of relevant post-graduate professional experience in issues related to trade and law;
• Excellent command of English and Portuguese, both oral and written;
• Proficient of Microsoft Office such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
• Experience working with governments, international organizations or NGOs is highly desirable.

HOW TO APPLY

Submissions should be entitled:

[OPEN TENDER] – [FORMULATION OF TIMOR LESTE TRADE POLICY FRAMEWORK]

Method of Submissions:

Submissions must be forwarded in PDF format following the instructions at www.tenders.net/forumsec

Note: Tenders must be submitted with clear labelling of the technical offer and the financial offer. The Technical Offer documents must be saved and submitted clearly labelled “A. Technical Offer”. Financial Offer documents must be saved and submitted clearly labelled “B. Financial Offer”.

The electronically submitted documents should be converted to the PDF format.

Deadline for Submissions:

Submissions need to reach the Secretariat by 5pm (Fiji Time) Tuesday 25 July 2023.

Late or incomplete tenders will not be considered.

Questions and Answers

All queries or request for information must be submitted via the Question and Answer Forum at www.tenders.net/forumsec . Tenderers may submit questions in writing to the mentioned Question and Answer Forum before the stated “deadline for requesting clarifications” 18 July 2023. The Secretariat has no obligation to provide clarification after this date.

Note: The Secretariat will not be responsible for non-receipt/non-delivery of the Bid documents due to any reason whatsoever.

Any complaints regarding the Secretariat’s tender must be directed to the following email: Tender.Complaints@forumsec.org. This email address will forward your complaint to a person that is independent and removed from the tender process. Complaints must be well founded and should not be used as a mechanism for notifying displeasure with the outcome of a tender award. Further information on making a complaint can be found on the Policies & Information page at http://tenders.forumsec.org.

In the event that further information is required by the Secretariat in relation to the tender for consultancy, the Secretariat reserves the right to seek the required information without the need for calling for resubmission of proposals.