May spring issue

Transcription

1 May 2014 spring issue 1

2 In this issue EDITORIAL Dear readers, Project Stories ACE Stories Consulting opportunities Over the past 25 years, ACE International Consultants has been contributing to the development of transition countries by enhancing the capacities of local actors in a wide range of fields, from private sector development to public finance management and social development; so far, we have implemented over 650 technical assistance projects worldwide In this sense, few sectors have a more profound impact on a country s economic and social development than water and sanitation Guaranteeing sustainable, affordable and equal access to water resources has become one of the main priorities of the international donors In order to address such needs, ACE created its Water & Sanitation Unit in September 2012 After 18 months of hard work within this challenging sector, our efforts have been rewarded with the recent award of a 4 million Dollar Water Reform Project for the base period and 3 million Dollar for the optional period set in Cape Verde, titled National Institutions Technical Assistance and funded by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) On behalf of ACE s staff, we would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the Water and Sanitation team for reaching such a considerable milestone less than two years after the unit s creation and hope this will be the first of many projects we will have the privilege of implementing You may find further insight with regards to the W&S Department in the following pages Newly awarded projects Algeria: P3A Cape Verde: Project launching ACE s New Staff CSR: Fair Trade Market Focus: W&S Unit Economic development, trade, competitiveness Public finance management Water and sanitation Aid and social developement 693 projects won since ACE creation We wish you a pleasant reading! 15 offices including project office 21 projects won in 2014 Antonio Bonet 1989 year of ACE creation Visit our website wwwaceconsultantseu and follow us on and Linkedin: Ace International Consultants

3 PROJECT STORIES Our latest news to know what has been happening around the office recently Projects Country Albania Angola Newly awarded projects Name of the project Improved VET planning to meet national and regional employment and inclusion objectives VET school baseline study Missão de identificaçao e Formulaçao do Programa de Apoio à Revitaizaçao do Ensino Médio Técnico e Formaçao Profissional em Angola (11º FED) Donor organization ETF Belarus To support the establishment of Sector Skills Councils in Belarus ETF Cameroon Congo-Brazzaville Croatia Djibouti Appui a l'elaboration du manuel des procedures d execution des operations budgetaires et comptables Appui à l élaboration d un cahier des charges pour l acquisition d un progiciel de gestion intégrée des impôts Recrutement d'un Expert Gestionnaire de l UGP pour la mise en œuvre du Programme de Renforcement de Capacités Commerciales et Entrepreneuriales du Congo Brazzaville Composante 2 et 3 de l avenant à la convention de financement (COB/005/08) du projet de Renforcement des Capacités Commerciales et Entrepreneuriales PEFA Assessment in four Croatian Cities Assistance Technique Court Terme pour l'elaboration des DAOs - Alliance Mondiale contre le Changement Climatique CDE Centre pour le Développement de l Entreprise SAFE funds (Multiple donor administered by the WB) Eastern Africa Standards Framework Agreement Multi-donors Malawi Mali Moldova Technical Assistance to the Trade, Industry and Private Sector Development SWAp Évaluation finale du Programme d'appui au Développement Economique et Social de la Culture- PADESC Identification and Formulation of the EU Budget Support of the Public Finance Policy Reforms (PFPR) of the Republic of Moldova for 2014 Country Montenegro Algeria Name of the project International and national expertise to support the development of the Strategy for Life-Long Entrepreneurship Learning in Montenegro New Caledonia Budget Support Evaluation New Caledonia Palestine Papua New Guinea Provision of a TVET international expert with experience in organisational development Regional Cluster Initiative in the Pacific - Setting up clusters in PNG Donor organization Support Program for the Association Agreement (P3A) The Programme Management Unit has started a new association agreement with the Directorate General for Taxation (DGT), with the main objective of improving their capacities and performance and an estimated length of 24 months Thanks to this project, the DGT will benefit from an audit mission at the central level, which will manage the planning and programming of the activities, as well 5 as the monitoring of the implementation of the programme ETF ETF Biz Clim Samoa Regional Cluster Initiative in the Pacific Setting up clusters in Samoa Biz Clim Sierra Leone Identification and Formulation of an EU Budget Support Intervention in Sierra Leone under the 11th EDF ( ) Swaziland EDF11 Programming- Formulation of interventions for Social Sector Tanzania Tunisia Ukraine - 11th EDF Regional Programming - Facilitation Services in Support to the Regional Authorising Officer, the National Authorising Officers and the EU Delegations in the East African Community - 2nd phase - EAC Liason Officer Renforcement des capacités de la direction régionale de la formation professionnelle et de l emploi du gouvernorat de Médenine en Tunisie : continuation Support to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in improving the national forecast methodology continuation of 2012 assignment ACE is currently managing a EU funded project for the Ministry of Trade in Algeria titled support programme for the implementation of the Association Agreement (P3A) Steady progress has been made and the project is expected to launch 19 twinning projects in 2014, with a total budget of 29 million Five of them are already being implemented Furthermore, the programme has already identified the needs in favour of other beneficiaries, in other sectors of activity, such as agriculture, mailing, telecommunications, road safety, energy and environment ETF ETF 4 5

4 As a result, nine other projects have been launched between February and April 2014, benefiting the finance ministry general management, the ministries of industrial development and investment promotion, post and information and communication technologies, transport, and interior Finally, ten projects are to be launched in October 2014 and will be implemented until May 2015, concerning the sectors of trade, justice, energy, health, water resources and telecommunications ACE STORIES Our latest news to know what has been happening in the office recently Cape Verde National Institutions Technical Assistance Ace s New Staff The Water and Sanitation Unit has the pleasure to announce that it has been awarded the following Water and Sanitation Technical Assistance project National Institution Technical Assistance, financed by the Millenium Challenge Account The objective of the assignment is to provide the necessary technical assistance to national level institutions, new and existing, in order to assist the setup and operation of a new regulatory and policy and planning regime for the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) sector In this photo: the MCA s Team This will be done through provision of Technical Assistance (TA) to the National level WASH institutions in Cape Verde This will consist of: 1 Provision of defined deliverables; 2 Provision of capacity building to beneficiary staff by international and local experts,; 3 Provision of structured training The end result of this Technical Assistance Contract, and the ultimate measure of success, is for: - ANAS (National Agency for Water and Sanitation) to be a fully functioning organization with capable staff and with processes for managing the sector, and - DGA (General Directorate of the Environment) and ARE (Economic Regulatory Agency) undertaking their revised WASH duties and responsibilities effectively ACE s Team met MCA-CV II Director, as well as the rest of MCA s team, the WASH Project Director, the Contract Manager, etc Also representatives of MCC were present in the meeting In this first meeting, MCA conducted a presentation conveying the importance of the Project not only per the project itself but also as per the whole institutional reform of the water and sanitation sector in the country In this photo: the Team Leader Andrea Verdasco averdasco@aceconsultantseu Andrea recently joined the company as Project Manager for the Framework Contract Division, Project Implementation Unit She has worked for over five years in development focusing on migration and child protection issues having lived and worked in Eastern Africa for UNICEF (Mozambique) and the International Organization for Migration (Tanzania) She holds a BA in Translation and Interpretation studies and an MSc in Migration and Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies She fluently speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese Mónica López mlopez@aceconsultantseu Monica has recently joined ACE to work at the FWC BU unit for the newly acquired Lot 6 Environment For the past ten years she has been working on Environmental projects, highlighting the importance of conservation for social and economical development She has experience working at the grass roots community level as well as at the policy level, providing specific evidence to decision makers and multi stakeholder groups Before joining ACE she was based at the United Nations Environment Programme Headquarters in Kenya, and before that in a National Park working with local communities in Mozambique She speaks English, French and Portuguese Joao Castilho jcastilho@aceconsultantseu João joined ACE as Project Manager for the Water and Sanitation Unit He has over five years of experience, working both with Public Institutions, NGOs and in the private sector Having worked for the European Commission, and in the Water and Sanitation sector, he also holds experience as Project Manager of the leading Portuguese Water Cluster Association He has developed a deep understanding of project implementation and management, as well as policy development, financial management and water sector regulation João has a Degree in Economics and Master in Environmental Policies and Management He speaks Portuguese, Spanish, English and French Tania Ortiz tortiz@aceconsultantseu Tania joined ACE at the end of March, to set up our newly created Monitoring and Evaluation Unit She has worked, for more than 14 years, with NGOs (ACH HQ, MdM Indonesia, MPDL India and FYROM) and UN agencies (UNDP Mauritania, FAO 7 Rome, Kenya and Djibouti), managing various sectors projects (Governance and human rights, Gender, Food security and agriculture, postdisaster relief, IGA, communications and reporting) She holds a Master s degree on International Affairs and speaks English, French and Portuguese She has been working, in the last few years, as an independent evaluation and private sector development consultant (Government of Sao Paulo (Brazil), USAID, AECID) 6 7

5 Alessio Marino Alessio joined ACE as Financial Controller at Framework Contract Division Graduated in Political Science and International Relations at University of Pisa, he started a Development Cooperation path with local NGO s, before approaching to a long-term administrative experience within IBM International Centers in Bratislava and Madrid, covering several positions Alessio fluently speaks English, French, Spanish and Italian Stephanie Char schar@aceconsultantseu Stephanie recently joined the Economic Development Unit within the Technicla Assistance Division as Junior Project Manager She has been working in development economics for the last 5 years, first as an economic analyst at the OECD Development Centre and then as a consultant at Ernst&Young and BDO, specializing in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the MENA countries She also participated in several free lance projects on related subjects She holds an MSc in Development Economics and Policy from the University of Manchester She fluently speaks English, French, Arabic and newly Spanish Caroline Bujan cbujan@aceconsultantseu Caroline has recently joined ACE as an intern in the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit She holds a Bachelors degree on International Economics with a specialization in econometrics and statistics (Université de la Sorbonne, Paris) Her desk research on the impact of education on economic growth in developing countries led her to undertake a Masters degree on Economic development with a specialty in public policies and project evaluation Meanwhile, she has also conducted research on politics and culture in the Caribbean She speaks French, English and Spanish CALL FOR TECHNICAL ARTICLES 2014 brings the 25th anniversary of ACE International Consultants In order to celebrate this great milestone, ACE will publish a thematic series of papers with global diffusion The papers will discuss the most innovative and trending topics in the area of Aid development Focus - Water & Sanitation Unit Comprehensive Public Policies to guarantee sustainable, affordable and equal access to water resources José Julián Martínez Head of the Unit General professional experience: Over 9 years of experience in the field of International Business Development working both with enterprises addressing internationalization processes and Public Institutions aimed at promote exports or inward investments Before joining ACE he worked 5 years as Business Development Director of a leading Spanish water treatment company set up in Latin America Deep understanding of the entire Project Cycle for water and sanitation infrastructures beside the governance, finance and technical issues affecting this kind of projects ACE International Consultants Since it was established in 1989, ACE has been providing International Technical Assistance in several fields as different as Economic Development, Private Sector Development, Public Finances, Social Aid or Framework Contracts During all these years the Water Nexus has been present in different degrees as a variable in the Projects that have been implemented On the one hand, Water Resources availability, in terms of quantity and quality, determines greatly the economic development of a Region or Country shaping its economic structure Each publication will have a specific sectoral approach in line with the main thematic areas of the company The following topics will be discussed: ( i ) Economic Development Trade and Competitiveness ( ii ) Social Aid and ( iii ) Public Finances Along with these, horizontal issues such as the evaluation of interventions, aid coordination, etc are also to be addressed Call for papers is now open to all those with interest in sharing their expertise and knowledge To receive more information on how to participate please contact the publication s coordination team (Maria Garron mgarron@aceconsultantseu or David Lopez dlopez@aceconsultantseu ) CSR First Fair Trade Market at ACE s Headquarters The Corporate Social Responsibility Committee launched its first fair trade market in ACE! This new initiative took place on Tuesday 29th April at ACE s Headquarter office There were a variety of coffee, tea, chocolate, cosmetics, handicraft etc All of these products elaborated with decent labour conditions and respecting the environment Qualifications: Degree in Political Sciences and a Master Degree in European Union Law and postgraduates in International Trade and Public Private Partnerships Languages: English and Spanish On the other hand, the Water Footprint of established or newly created industries have an impact on the sustainability (social, economic and environmental) of the areas where they operate Acknowledging this, the assessment of Water Risks that Companies and Organizations face is becoming more important day by day in Board Meetings Besides, Water & Sanitation is a sector with profound social implications in terms of lower-income groups integration, gender relations, health improvements or the necessity of social behavioral change to guarantee the sustainability of water resources General professional experience: She has almost 2 years working experience in the Water and Sanitation sector as Project manager for long-term/large-scale technical assistance for development projects in the Water and Sanitation sector funded by multilateral donors 9 Qualifications: Degree in Agricultural Engineer graduated in the Polytechnic University of Madrid, specialized in Environmental Science, Land Use Planning and Management She holds a diploma in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and is currently completing a Masters of Water Technology and Water Management Languages: English and Spanish Sara Cabrejas Junior Project Manager 8 9

6 Water & Sanitation Unit The awareness of the importance of the Water Nexus is present in almost all human activities as well as the consciousness regarding the challenges in developing countries is being awakened This can be seen not only in the lack of adequate infrastructure but also in the lack of enabling institutional environments that guarantee a sustainable planning and management of Water Resources and Water Services In this regard, we decided to focus our efforts and know-how to Projects in the fields of: João Castilho Project Manager General professional experience: Over five years of experience, working both with Public Institutions, NGOs and in the private sector Having worked for the European Commission, and in the Water and Sanitation sector, before joining ACE he also holds experience as Project Manager of the leading Portuguese Water Cluster Association He has developed a deep understanding of project implementation and management, as well as policy development, financial management and water sector regulation 1 Institutional Strengthening of Water & Sanitation Institutions (national, regional and local) and Organisations (Water Board, Catchment Areas, etc); Qualifications: Degree in Economics and Master in Environmental Policies and Management 2 Improvement of the performance of Water Utilities both in urban and rural contexts,; 3 Enhancement of regulatory and tariff setting Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English and French frameworks focused on guaranteeing equal and affordable access to water services to all the segment of society while maintaining the financial sustainability of the systems; 4 Capacity building and training aimed at the professionalization of the Executives and Staff of Water Services providers and Water Authorities as drivers for change; 5 Supervision of the implementation of large Investment Programs focused in the improvement of the coverage of Water & Sanitation services; 6 Community engagement initiatives for name a few CONSULTING OPPORTUNITIES Find our latest job opportunities around the world in these pages and consult Twitter and Linkedin for further updates All our projects can be included in the following categories: A Water Governance and Policy, B Water Finance and Water Services Management and C Water and Global Challenges (Water nexus with Land Management, Climate Change, Energy or Food Security) The Unit was created in mid-2012 and in one year and a half of existence it has reaped great successes with the current implementation of an innovative Project of Water Sector Reform in Cape Verde financed by MCC and that will set a landmark for the following projects of this Bilateral Agency In addition the Unit counts with the asset of the current award of the Lot 6 of Framework Contracts to ACE which will allow us to further explore interesting opportunities 1 2 Economic development, trade and competitiveness Public finance management Nevertheless the great value of the Unit is the quality and attitude of its personnel whose expertise complements each other allowing the Unit to cover a wide range of Projects Thus, José Julián Martínez, the Head of the Unit, brings a public policy acumen that fits perfectly well with the technical knowledge of Sara Cabrejas, Junior Project Manager and the financial knowledge of Joao Castilho, Project Manager 3 Water and sanitation 11 4 Aid and social development 10 11

7 Announcement RESULTS - ORIENTATED MONITORING - ROM Over the upcoming weeks, ACE International Consultants will be preparing many tenders related to Result-Orientated Monitoring topics There will be many vacant positions to be covered across many different regions If you are a consultant with significant experience in this field, with prior working experience in the listed regions above, we would be delighted to hear from you To apply for any vacant positions or to register yourself in our database for opportunities that might arise under the framework contract, please put forward your interest through the following address: rom@aceconsultantseu and forward your updated CV in the standard EC format Consulting opportunities In this section, you will discover our new project opportunities and job vacancies If you are interested in taking part in any of the projects below and would like further information, please contact the ACE Expert Centre at cv@aceconsultantseu Please don t forget to attach your updated CV and indicate the project title you are interested in You can also consult new opportunities by following us on Twitter and Linkedin at Ace International Consultants 1 Economic development, trade and competitiveness ACP Countries Provision of a programme management unit for the implementation of the TradeCom II programme Algeria Assistance technique d appui à la mise en oeuvre du programme d appui à la diversification de l économie - Secteur Pêche (DIVECO 2) Egypt - Technical assistance to Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade in areas of domestic market and industrial competitiveness - Technical assistance to the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade in areas of foreign trade, export promotion and trade agreements ENPI Result Oriented Monitoring - ENPI Region Ethiopia - To design, customise and deploy a CMS on all operational stations of the authority that meets ERCA s customs procedures to comply with international standards of customs Guatemala - Provision of national or foreign experts to provide ad hoc support to beneficiary institutions of the programme to support security and justice which are looking to improve their internal management and the services they provide to citizens - Services for the provision of experts and logistical support for training events in public sector entities and civil society organizations working in the field of Security and Justice of the Republic of Guatemala Honduras Technical Assistance to the Programme Promoting fast and accessible justice in Honduras (EuroJusticia) Kosovo - Increase of Competitiveness and Export Promotion - Support to the free movement of goods Latin America Result Oriented Monitoring - Latin America Multicountry Review ( ROM) of implementation of projects and programmes financed by the European Union within the framework of its external assistance Nepal NP-Kathmandu: DCI International tender for services to enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology and the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control, and value chain development Papua Guinea Technical assistance to Trade-Related Assistance programme phase II Philippines Technical assistance for the Philippines health sector reform contract SADC Formulation of a Trade Related Facility Programme Serbia - Technical assistance for project preparation of investment projects - Support to implementation of the action plan for improving business environment

8 Turkey Technical Assistance for Expansion of Van Enterprise Development Centre ACP and Asia Yemen Support to Yemeni civil register roll-out SAO TOME E PRINCIPE PHILIPPINES ETHIOPIA Job opportunities More information clicking on the red box!! Team of Experts for STM for the project renforcement compétitivité des filières d exportation Team of Experts for Short Term Missiosns for the project TRTAIII Technical Assistance team with Extensive experience of WTO rules and regulations Should you be interested in the following opportunities, please send your CV in a EU format clicking on the red box or at cv@aceconsultantseu Latin America and the Caribbean ENPI/IPA TURKEY KOSOVO Team Leader with Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment experience Quality Assurance Expert with quality control systems experience Team Leader with monitoring metholodogy and techniques knowledge Senior SME/Private Sector Development Expert Quality Infrastructure expert with experience in standardization EGYPT Team Leader with Monitoring Cycle Knowledge Senior Monitor Expert with Analytical and Methodological training skills Medium-Level Monitor Expert with Policy advice experience Trade Policy expert with specific experience in the MEDA region GUATEMALA Team Leader with experience in justice sector reform and security HONDURAS Team of experts in Access to Justice with proficent level of Spanish and English GUATEMALA Team Leader with experience in implementation of management models

9 2 Public finance management Lesotho Support for PFM reform in Lesotho Namibia TA for the implementation of the institutional capacity development programme (ICDP) in support to the Ministry of Finance and office of the Auditor General Palestine TA for Further Institutional Capacity Building at the Palestinian Authority Republic of Guinea - Technical assistance for implementing the Customs component of the support programme to strengthen public finance in the Republic of Guinea - Technical assistance for implementing the support programme to strengthen public finance in the Republic of Guinea - Technical assistance for Decentralisation and Devolution in the Republic of Guinea Serbia TA for the implementation of system for the modernisation of the Serbian tax administration Tanzania PFM Reforms including support at local level Zimbabwe - Capacity Building Project for Public Finance and Economic Management - Governance and Institutional Strengthening Project (GISP) More information clicking on the red box!! PALESTINE Senior Technical Assistance Expert in Institutional Reinforcement 3 Water and sanitation Africa Integrated Water Resources Management and Development of Multiple Goals in the Senegal River Basin (PGIRE 2) Chad Technical assistance to implement the project MDG(Millennium Development Goals) initiative - access to drinking water and sanitation Ghana Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (Gama) Sanitation and Water Project GAMA-SWP Ecuador Improvement Project of Public services of Manta Infrastructure Nicaragua Prequalification Process of the International Specialized Consulting firm for Accompanying ENACAL and AECID in the verification of PISASH Phase 1 Panama Multiphase Investment Program in Water and Sanitation - Phase II GUATEMALA Institutional Expert in the Water and Sanitation Sector Change Management Expert in Water and Sanitation Reform processes NICARAGUA Team of Experts with experience in management of water public services Team of Experts with experience in Training in the Environmental Sector PALESTINE LEBANON GUINEA Senior Expert with experience in desing, and delivery of programmes Senior Auditor with wide experience in Fund Audit Management Team of Experts with experience in Decentralisation and in Public Finance Reform LESOTHO 17 Public Finance Management Experts with Regulatory Framework Experience 16 17

10 4 Aid and social development Algeria Technical assistance to support the development program and the implementation of national work despolitiques youth and youth employability - Support to the Youth-Employment Program Lebanon Technical Assistance to the administrative simplification in selected ministries in Lebanon (Ministries of Social Affairs, Tourism, Public Health and Industry) Mauritania - Technical assistance for the implementation of a project to support decentralization and local development in Mauritania - Technical assistance to support the implementation of the program of conflict prevention and the promotion of intercultural dialogue Serbia Technical Assistance to support direct grant management in the field of employment policy Turkey Technical Assistance for Strengthening Institutional Capacity of Centre for Labour and Social Security Training and Research (ÇASGEM) MAURITANIA Expert in planning / management / institutional support / monitoring program of decentralization Calle Sagunto, nº Madrid - Spain wwwaceconsultantseu T: (+34) F: (+34) Ace International 18