According to the latest SIEA 2018 Framework Contract statistics published by DG INTPA Framework contract SIEA 2018 | International Partnerships (europa.eu) the consortium led by Linpico is now the first ranked contractor by total value of contracts awarded under Lot 5 (Budget Support). The total value of contracts awarded up until the end of 2020 was €29.5 million, of which € 6.4 million, representing 35 specific contracts, has been awarded to the Linpico consortium.
We extend a particular thanks to our experts and look forward to working together for another two years, now that the SIEA 2018 has been extended until May 2023.
Linpico is an international development consultancy. We implement projects funded by International Donors (such as the European Union, or the World Bank) that aim to support developing countries’ governments in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their public policies.
Linpico’s projects cover five main sectors: Public Finance Management, including Budget Support; Education; Governance and Aid Management; Trade and Private Sector Development and Information Technology. Our projects are in all regions of the world, in over 80 countries. They are both long- and short-term, ranging from several years to a few months in length.
Our head office is located in the South of France; we also have an office in Burkina Faso. Linpico employs 17 permanent staff in the following departments: General Management; Project Management and Framework Contracts; Administrative and Technical Support; Finance and Contracts Administration.
This job description refers to a position within the Framework Contracts Department.
The Department deals with short-term projects of a value up to 1 million EUR, which are tendered under the umbrella of a wider 4-year long EU Framework Contract. Linpico is leading a Consortium for Lot 5 relating to Budget Support; and is the member of a Consortium for Lot 1 relating to Natural Resource Management.
MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
Search for experts based on each project’s requirement, contact the best candidates;
Coordinate the search and keep track of all experts contacted, follow-up on best candidates;
Evaluate profiles of experts, discuss proposed selection with the Framework Director, and close deals with the selected candidates;
Preparation of financial and technical proposals (including tailoring CVs, drafting methodologies and budgets, doing background research);
Take on the responsibility of managing ongoing projects – getting updates from experts in the field; preparing contract documents; quality control of deliverables and reports; coordination of experts’ work; monitoring the budget, etc.;
Track statistics and data about proposals and projects to support internal and EU reporting;
Other tasks as directed.
SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
University Degree (Master’s degree is an advantage)
Experience in a similar position, with specific knowledge of EU-funded contracts;
Experience searching for and contracting experts within a short timeframe;
Excellent verbal and written communication in English – Fluency in French or Spanish required; both would be an advantage.
Organized and able to meet deadlines;
Able to prioritise tasks and remain calm to deliver under pressure;
Linpico signed a contract with the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, on the 11th of May, 2021, to implement Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Finance in Strengthening Budget Planning, Coordination, Execution and Transparency. This project is under the umbrella of The Second Capacity Building for Public Finance Management Project (CBPFM-2) funded by the Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) administered by the World Bank. The duration of the project is 8 months.
The objectives of this assignment are to provide the MoF with the following consulting services:
a) upgrade the existing econometric FP model to enable better forecasting of budget revenues and expenditures in the medium and longer run;
b) further improve intergovernmental fiscal relation mechanisms;
c) improve procedures and practices for cash planning, liquidity management, and control of budget commitments in line with good international practice;
d) prepare an updated Public Debt Management Strategy and develop functional requirements and software for public debt management (accounting);
e) develop regulatory and methodological documents on IPSAS and improve regulatory documents guiding MoF position and role in the Public Finance Management.
Training seminar given by the Team Leader Dr JJ PADOU for Linpico at the Court of Accounts in the Central African Republic in accordance with the COVID19 security measures in force.
The COVID pandemic has caused an unprecedented international crisis forcing all governments around the world to put in place emergency strategies to deal with this health situation which affects all sectors of the global economy.
Consequently, all the development aid activities and objectives implemented through current and planned projects funded by the various international donors had to be reviewed.
Faced with this situation, Linpico was able to react and adapt its support to donors and governments by developing 4 main strategies:
1. Emergency repatriation of experts: Linpico has deployed its resources at headquarters to find the quickest solutions for modifying the experts’ return flights, revising their contracts accordingly and favouring contract extensions with donors and clients in order to adapt deadlines to be completed through remote work;
• Maintaining communication amongst our permanent staff and with our various repatriated experts and confined clients around the world, by email, via Whatsapp, Skype, or Microsoft Team;
• By implementing hygiene and distancing measures (supply of masks, hydroalcoholic gel, soap, cleaning of toilets, etc.) for projects still underway.
• Ensuring the sharing of larger data and the simultaneous online work of Linpico experts and backstopping staff members via tools such as Sentspace or Dropbox;
• Organizing videoconferences with the various ministries and donors involved in our projects and maintaining the implementation of the training workshops initially provided for by our contracts at a distance, via tools such as Zoom or Microsoft Team and with dynamic presentations on Power Point and Visio;
3. Modifying the ToR’s for current projects: Linpico has also worked in concert with donors, clients and teams of experts to propose adaptations to the objectives and services initially planned for the containment situation, but also for the economic consequences of this crisis;
4. Encouraging a gradual return to work in the field: Ensuring optimal health security conditions, in particular by offering the teams training on health standards.
Hereafter some relevant examples, where these various measures have been implemented within Linpico’s projects:
Technical Assistance to the Court of Audit of the Central African Republic: The training initially planned at the Court of Audit has been partially maintained (although the training of part time experts has been suspended) and carried out in conformity with the strict sanitary measures in place: restrictions to the number of participants (splitting into two groups to reduce the number of people present), respecting social distancing, availability of soap and the wearing of masks.
Tax Administration Efficiency Improvement and Public Expense Management (PEM) Program in the Dominican Republic – Business Process Re-engineering for the Integrated Financial Management Information System:
The team has been providing all the required services from home, communicating and working together online through Outlook, Whatsapp, Skype, Dropbox and Sendspace, Zoom and Microsoft Team.
These culminated in a virtual meeting with the Minister of Finance, his main advisers and some Managing Directors, where the new proposed processes were approved .
The Minister of Finance’s reaction was very positive, giving us an hour and a half of his time. This shows the importance that he assigned to our work and its practical results for its management. He asked that we continue to accompany him in this last stage to deliver everything planned and with the quality with which he has worked so far. He suggested that we extend the project to deliver everything virtually, as it will not be possible to travel before the deadline for presenting the final report and training.
Support for the Establishment and Running of a Unit responsible for implementing the Government’s PFM reform programme :
Due to the health crisis triggered by COVID-19 and its effects upon Paraguay’s economy, the Ministry of Finance is now having to implement many PFM reforms to better manage the available resources and give greater aid to those sectors rendered the most vulnerable by the situation.
Linpico and the Ministry of Finance have reviewed the ToR’s in order to re-allocate our technical assistance to support those new short and medium term reforms.
Analysis of the budget and Public Finance Management in Tunisia: Due to the health crisis triggered by COVID-19 and its effects upon Tunisia’s economy, specific ToRs are being developed in order to adapt the experts’ mission. Indeed, the studies and analysis will have to be primarily focussed on the disbursement of special budget aid (budget aid of 175 thousand dollars to aid Tunisia in coping with the effects of the new COVID-19 and allocated to the emergency operation title for aid to development politics for resilience and recovery), whilst also taking into account the new macroeconomic data emerging from this unusual situation and its effect upon the economy.
Linpico is seeking two Municipal Finance experts to
assist the Kabul Municipality in Afghanistan with strengthening Financial
Management. Experts should have the following profiles:
Municipal Finance/Local Revenue Specialist
Bachelors or master’s degree in
Finance/Accounting/Economics/Public /Municipal Finance OR Professional
certifications such CA/CPA with at least 8 to 10 years of experience. Prior
experience in financial analysis and local revenue management of municipalities
will be an advantage.
The expert will perform the review of
Kabul Municipality revenue management and prevailing urban services charges law
(2000). The expert will develop Kabul Municipality revenue management manual
(Total input 100 days).
Asset Management Specialist
Master’s degree in finance/Business
Administration/Economics/Public /Municipal Finance. Professional certifications
such CA/CPA will be an advantage with 8 to 10 years’ experience. Specific prior
experience in Asset management analysis and local authority asset management of
municipalities will be an advantage.
The expert will perform fixed assets and
inventory management assessment, based on that the expert will develop fixed
assets and inventory management module. The expert will also be responsible for
providing inputs to relevant training manuals. (Total input 50 days).
Linpico has started performance of a 3 year € 4.8 million EU funded service contract to support Fiscal Transition in the West Africa region. The project provides support to the WAEMU and ECOWAS member states for improving tax management; strengthening measures for tackling fraud, tax evasion and illicit financial flows so as to improve tax revenues; and strengthening the regional and national fiscal transition coordination systems.
As the provider of the Technical assistance to the National Authorising Officer of the European Development Fund in the Republic of Angola project, Linpico supported the implementation of the Fourth Ministerial meeting on 11 March 2019 in Luanda. It was organised under the EU-Angola Joint Way Forward (JWF) agreement, a framework for dialogue and cooperation based on common interests and shared values.
The Ministerial talks covered a broad spectrum of issues: economic cooperation, sustainable development, governance and human rights, multilateral and global challenges such as peace, security and climate change.
This meeting, was co-chaired by the Minister of External Relations of the Republic of Angola, Manuel Domingos Augusto and the Minister of Economy and Planning of the Republic of Angola Pedro Luís da Fonseca on the Angolan side and on the EU side by the Vice Prime Minister of Romania, Ana Birchall, representing the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The participants reiterated their full commitment to maintaining the Joint Way Forward as a forum for constructive dialogue and cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect, openness, democracy, rule of law and transparency. Such a partnership can allow a fruitful cooperation with a view to tackle internal and global challenges in the interest of both Angola and the EU.
The participants welcomed the already achieved adjustments of the instruments put at the disposal of the partnership with the adoption of a Dialogue Facility and of an Economic Governance programme, in line with the Government of Angola’s ambitious reform agenda.
They agreed on the need to make full use of existing instruments in order to enhance cooperation in the economic and social fields, but also in the peace and security area, in line with agreed global, continental and regional mechanisms contemplated in the EU-Africa Partnership. The Joint Way Forward should also continue to offer a privileged forum for high-level dialogue and concrete cooperation activities on good governance and human rights related issues, by using all the instruments available.
The participants agreed that the next Senior Officials and Ministerial meetings will take place in Brussels during the second semester of 2020.
Since the launch in June 2018 of the Framework Contract Services for the Implementation of External Aid (SIEA) 2018, Linpico has led a successful Consortium of ten partners in Lot 5: Budget Support.
Having been invited to tender in more than 50 Requests for Services, the Consortium has so far proposed over 100 experts in projects worth a total of €11m.
As the Consortium has grown from strength to strength, successes have followed. Linpico has thus far won 12 projects in all corners of the globe, from Papua New Guinea to Jamaica and everywhere in between. This has required the mobilisation of approximately two dozen experts for assignments totalling €2.8m of aid.
As this Framework Contract develops over the coming months and years, the Consortium is well-positioned to sustain the achievements it has already enjoyed and further build on its accomplishments to remain at the forefront of the industry.
The Economic Development Board (EDB) is hosting an 8-member delegation from the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) led by Mr Sekete Pholohlo, General Manager of Investment and Trade Promotion for a two-day study tour from 14th to 15th November 2018.
The objective of this study tour is to learn about the Economic Development Board, gain insights & technical knowledge as well as understand the Mauritian context and investment landscape. It should be highlighted that the LNDC has undergone an organizational restructuring similar to the EDB in October 2016.
The LNDC delegation comprises the following members:
Sekete Phohlo – General Manager: Investment and Trade Promotion
Semethe Raleche – Manager, Domestic Investment
Marina Bizabani – Manager, Foreign Direct Investment
Mosebetsi Makumane – Projects Manager
Raphuthing Mamoiloa – Planning and Research
Boitumelo Adam – Human Resources Manager
Lebohang Mohau – General Manager: Property Development and Management
Victoria Seaton – Consultant
During the working session organised this morning, Mr. Vinay Guddye, Head of Department at EDB showcased a presentation on the successful diversification of Mauritius from a monocrop to an innovation-based economy. He has also emphasized the performance of Mauritius in the 2019 World Bank Doing Business which has ranked Mauritius 20th globally and leader in sub-Saharan Africa. Different avenues of cooperation have also been discussed including doing business, Occupation Permits and the Africa Strategy. The working session also provided an opportunity to draw lessons from challenges faced at various stages of the evolution of the institution.
As a reminder, the LNDC, operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Cooperatives and Marketing of the Government of Lesotho, is mandated to implement the country’s industrial development policies. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Mutual Cooperation was signed between the Ex Board of Investment (BOI) and the LNDC on 17th February 2015.
The study tour has provided a unique opportunity to consolidate economic ties between the two countries and create a framework for cooperation, consultation and exchange of information between both entities.
The Ministerial talks covered a broad spectrum of issues: economic cooperation, sustainable development, governance and human rights, multilateral and global challenges such as peace, security and climate change.