RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTING FIRM TO CONDUCT A FUNCTIONAL REVIEW FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GAMBIA
The Government of the Gambia represented by the Personnel Management Office (PMO) seeks proposals/expressions of interest (EOI) from competent consultants/firms to conduct a Functional Review for the Public Service of The Republic of The Gambia as specified in these terms of reference (TOR).
Country: THE GAMBIA
Name of the Institution: Personnel Management Office
Sector: Public Service Reforms & Institutional Capacity Development Board
Financing: Government of the Gambia through the Personnel Management Office
Reference: REO1/ ICB/ PMO/001/2021
1. BACKGROUND
There has been a steady increase in the number of public service institutions in The Gambia over the years, driven by the pursuit of more effective governance through decentralisation and development management. However, the proliferation of public sector organisations (ministries, state enterprises, state agencies, diplomatic missions etc.) has given rise to the paradoxical performance of the public service as it created room for deviation in mandates between policy-formulating and policy-implementing public organisations. This can be seen in state enterprises and agencies executing the role of policy formulation, which is a core mandate of Ministries, and has thus undervalued the role of state ministries in the formulation of policies.
The public service of the Gambia is characterized by overlaps, duplications and redundancy of roles, functions, and operations. Currently, the public service is comprised of nineteen (19) Ministries excluding the Office of the President and Public Service Commission and more than 60 subvented public sector entities. Ironically, there is no correlation between the growth in public organisations and effective service delivery. This means that the structures of the public service are over-extended, expensive, and inefficient. The Personnel Management Office (PMO) being the office mandated to “promote the effectiveness of the public sector’’ (under the Public Service Act 1991), has not undertaken any systematic study to analyse the relationship between the above-mentioned growth and expansion of government institutions to overall performance and efficiency of public service delivery. Thus, the objective of achieving a leaner and efficient Civil Service continues to remain elusive.
However, despite some efforts by the PMO to achieve an effective and efficient public service responsive to the needs of the citizenry, redundancy of roles and duplications of functions and operations remain prevalent. Resultantly, a comprehensive evaluation of the operations and purpose of public sector organisations is vital.
2. OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of the functional review of the Gambia Public Service is to assess the extent of overlaps and duplications within the public service. The review will thus allow Government to address deviations in mandates between policy-formulating and policy-implementing public organisations.
3.SCOPE
The review will enable government to understand the extent of overlaps and duplications across government institutions. Therefore, the review will cover all Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
In light of the above, the following terms of reference will guide the review and reporting process:
- Review mandates and functions across Government to determine overlaps, duplications, and coordination deficiencies
Action: Conduct a review of government operations across government institutions to determine any government institutions operating with similar mandates
Expected Output: A reviewed government structure where all overlaps, duplicates and coordination problems are eliminated
- Comprehensive capacity development and skills transfer
Action: As part of the exercise, you will conduct a comprehensive capacity development of a core team to effectively participate in the entire review process
Expected Output: A trained core team equipped with the required functional review skills
4. CONTRACT DURATION, REPORTING AND LOCATION
- The review exercise will span for a period of 3 months from the date of the award of the contract.
The consultant(s) will report to the Permanent Secretary of the Personnel Management Office
4.REQUIRED PROFILE
The lead consultant or at least one member of the consultancy team/firm must possess the following:
a) Academic Qualifications:
Possess at least an Advanced/ Master’s degree in Public Policy, Public Administration, Human Resources Management, Development Studies, Law, Political Science, or any other related discipline (PhD is an added advantage).
b) Experience:
- A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience in Public Administration and Management.
- Prior working experience on a Functional Review exercise or similar processes, with the ability to draw out lessons learned from these experiences.
- Demonstrated expertise in conducting functional review of Ministries, Departments and Agencies; and
- Demonstrated experience in working with government partners (World Bank and other major donors) in public sector development programmes including the area of capacity development, development financing and monitoring and evaluation is desirable.
- Office. The review exercise will be conducted in The Gambia’s public service
Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the Gambia Public Procurement Authority “Rules and Procedures for the use of Consultants’’ GPPA Act 2014 Amended & 2019 Regulation which is available on the GPPA website. www.GPPA.gm.
Interested consultants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours Monday to Thursday 8.00 am to 4.00 pm and Fridays 8.00 am to 12.00pm. The details Terms of reference will be provided upon request.
Expressions of interest must be delivered to the address below by 23rd November 2021 at 12:00hrs Gambian Time addressed as below:
The Permanent Secretary
Personnel Management Office
The Quadrangle
Banjul
The Gambia
Tel: +220 4224155 / +220 4223813
Email: pmo@pmo.gov.gm / sjallow7@gmail.com
