No. of vacancy : 1

Context and Programme: 

Transition to a well-functioning federal system will be a longer-term, organic process. The implementation of the federal Constitution (2015) is not solely a technical but inherently a political negotiation process. Moreover, it is a prerequisite for sustainable development that is an essential part of sustained peace process in Nepal. This requires political sensitivity and continued political engagement, particularly in processes where new inter-governmental relations are concerned. 

The multi-level system of governance as envisaged by the Constitution of Nepal relies on the principles of cooperation, coordination and co-existence among the different tiers of government. Due to the ongoing and still unclear sequencing of federal implementation processes, contributing to the effective inter-governmental relations between vertical and horizontal tiers of government is essential for the consolidation and functioning of federalism. Building of inclusive institutions, governance systems and processes, often being built from zero, will be the major task and challenge for Nepal in the years to come.

Harnessing Switzerland’s long-standing record of cooperation with Nepal and its extensive experience in consensus-oriented, inclusive multi-level governance systems, the Swiss Cooperation Office in Nepal is launching a new Province Support Programme (PSP).  The PSP will be implemented from Feb 2020 till Jan 2024 with the intent to support the Government of Nepal in its transition to federalism at the Province level.  It focuses mainly on institution building in order to enhance the service delivery functions and accountability of new province institutions towards their citizens thus catalyzing more inclusive development and poverty reduction in Nepal. 

The Programme comprises three principal components that include:

• (Outcome 1) strengthening of Province 1’s policy making, administrative, fiscal management and service delivery functions; 
• (Outcome 2) building of inter-governmental strategic partnerships between local and province level authorities through prioritized development projects; and
• (Outcome 3) working with province government and legislative authorities to enhance their accountability towards their constituencies, namely fostering greater inclusion of women and disadvantaged groups in decision making processes. 

While encouraging strong inter-governmental coordination at all levels, PSP’s support activities are concentrated in Province 1 where elected government authorities, line ministries and the Province Assembly will be the programme’s focal institutional counterparts.  Primary engagement modalities of the Program involve provision of targeted technical assistance and hands mentorship support to Province 1’s government (PG) authorities; development and provision of customized capacity/training packages; contribution of seed funding for select PG and Local governments strategic partnerships and natural resource projects; as well as comprehensive budget support for Province 1 related to institution building and service delivery as per its concurrent and exclusive rights.

To ensure the maximum ownership of the programme , OCMCM has established Programme Management Unit (PMU) for day-to-day management and implementation of the Programme.  The PMU is headed by the Secretary of Governance Reform Division of Office of the Chief Minister and council of minister as Programme Director. Government of Switzerland will provide financial and technical assistance to the provincial government through the Programme Management and Implementation Support Consultants (PMISC). The PMISC is attached to the PMU. Team Leader of the PMISC serves as the Programme Manager. S/He executes the programme under the supervision and direction of the Secretary of Governance Reform Division (Programme Director). The PMISC is headed by a Team Leader who supervises five core thematic experts and a pool of technical consultants hired on a as-needed basis.  Strategic steering of the Programme will be guided by higher level Province Steering and other Coordination Committees. 

To assist the implementation of the programme, PSP/PwC is recruiting a team of professional, dedicated, and qualified experts for PMISC. These terms of reference specifically correspond to the specified full-time positions based in Biratnagar, Province 1.

Duties and Responsibilities :

Working closely with and under the direction of the PMU, Programme Director, and the Programme Manager, the IT systems & E-Governance Specialist will be responsible for technical assistance (TA) support to province level authorities – the OCMCM, line ministries and the Province Assembly on Programme as follows: 

• Provides overall technical leadership in optimizing information communication technology (ICT) and e-governance solutions across programme activities; guides technical support to the PMU in all ICT and e-Governance related matters;
• Provides inputs, drafts a general concept/policy and action plan for advancing SG’s implementation of sustainable, longer-term, cost-effective e-governance architecture, IT systems for enhanced public service delivery and citizen outreach based on assessment-to-instruction (a2i) approaches;
• TA in the implementation of efficiency enhancing, fit-to-scale transitions from paper-based to ICT enabled administrative and fiscal management systems (e-governance front/ back office business process reengineering strategies, institutional interoperability/e-services bus architecture, integration systems/ reference models/ protocols, development of e-services, cyber and data security protocols, selection of compatible software/hardware/ APIs, organizational change management, staff capacity assessments, resource estimation/allocation etc.); 
• Ensures the implementation of sustainable longer-term policy vision, cost-effective, efficient, systemic solutions and prevents piece meal pilots and isolated ICT applications; 
• Jointly with the Governance and Organizational and GESI Specialists, technically oversees the redesign of OCM’s/SG website per citizen-centric, participatory and technically modern standards;
• Contributes in the redesign of Province Assembly’s website per modern citizen-centric and technically modern standards;
• Conducts strategic planning consultations with concerned SG departments to ensure user-centric, user-friendly, fit-to-scale ICT solutions and tailored capacity building measures;
• Ensures that Province websites, social networks, CM’s Dashboard, website traffic and user rates are systematically updated with meaningful, interactive content; 
• Develops online public registry of CSOs (linked to CM’s Dashboard);
• Technically assists OCMC, PMU in drafting IT related (e-)procurement specifications and calls; oversees recruitment of required IT consultants for programme targeted tasks (e.g. depending on targeted solutions -  System Analyst, Business Analyst, Solution Architect, Mobile Apps Developer (iOS and Android), Web System Development Expert, Security Expert, Database Expert, UX Expert, Infrastructure Expert, Data visualization Expert, Technical Writer and dedicated Support Engineers having individual experience in relevant ICT area);
• Periodically assesses and reviews overall implementation progress of implementation of ICT solutions in OCMCM and programme activities, derives reports and recommendations for improvements; 
• Develop and implement practical capacity development initiatives (online tutorials or face-to-face training) related to e-Governance and ICT tools, ideally those being implemented;
• Supports the PM in identifying effective and efficient ICT enabled management, administrative internal solutions during programme’s implementation;
• Documents and shares success stories, good practices and contributes to scheduled programme reports with progress overviews on ICT related activities;
• Pro-actively supports PMU, PM and other PMISC Specialists in planned ICT related tasks. 

Qualifications and Experience :

• Has advanced or combined degree(s) in Computer Science/IT systems, Public Administration/ e-Governance or relevant fields with at least 7 years of practical experience in developing, implementing applied Information Systems and sustainable e-Governance solutions in public administration/ corporate settings. 
• In addition to solid technical IT service management skills (incl. ITIL, OSGi specification, ability to deploy scalable system in clustered environment using Apache Ant, Maven and any LDAP system).
• Requires to be knowledgeable in latest e-government standards and fit-to-scale sustainable practices, solutions (staged e-government models, whole-of government approach in implementing e-Government systems for public value/ different from commercial IT systems, cloud-based solutions, interoperability and e-document, data exchange systems/ protocols, assessment to instruction (a2i) design methods, G2G-G2B-G2C e-services development/integration, mobile government applications, e-payments, e-procurement, open data etc.).  
• Understands risks (and their prevention/ mitigation) associated with introducing ICT in public administration settings. Experienced in strategic e-government planning, procurement processes and contracting of service providers/IT experts for technical tasks and in interacting with and training government authorities as clients.  
• Demonstrated track record of delivering high-quality IT/ e-gov systems, applications and timely progress reports. Strong analytical, oral, written communication and inter-personal skills in English. 
• Capable of working in and with multi-disciplinary teams, clients with different levels of IT skills.

Terms and Conditions for Employment :

Full-time position contracted for the project period subject to annual renewal with onset 6-month probation period. Competitive salary to be negotiated.