By 
By Phephile Motau
An international consultant is being sought for the Parliament Restructuring Process.
The request for proposal (RFP) has been issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office in Eswatini.
The RFP states that Parliament has completed the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, and there is a need to align it with the emerging issues and priorities to ensure its relevance. Parliament thus seeks to engage the services of an international consultant to facilitate this assignment.
According to the RFP, the Consultant is required to critically evaluate and implement a combination of changes in structure, personnel, technology, governance, and culture that is needed to execute in this direction. The purpose of the evaluation and restructuring process is not just to look at the boxes and lines in the organisational structure, but to identify the “best design to get the work done in the best possible way” and align to the organisational strategy and its people, for the success of the Parliament of Eswatini.
“This will be as explicitly spelt out in objectives which fit with the 2022-2026 Parliament Strategic Plan, Government of Eswatini’s overall policy objectives including the National Development Strategy (NDS), Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) and Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS), and the King IV Corporate Governance Report, which is a reference for the Kingdom of Eswatini, following the impact of Covid 19,” the RPF states.
It was stated that the Consultant would equally benchmark the restructuring initiatives with other Parliaments within the Commonwealth and other Parliament affiliates.
“The restructuring process seeks to implement the 2022-2026 Parliament Strategic Plan and align its relevance as the guiding roadmap for Parliament of Eswatini while building the capacity of Parliament staff and Politicians to deliver on their core mandate,” the document states.
The Consultant will work with the Parliament of the Kingdom of Eswatini to offer an effective Job restructuring, Job evaluation and Job grading exercise.
This entails amongst other things, providing guidance on the systematic implementation of Parliament Strategy and its implementation plan and reviewing the current structure, job descriptions/profiles, and grades and making recommendations for a new or improved structure with roles that align well with the Strategic Plan and its five-year objectives.
It also involves the development of proposed functions and mandate for the new teams and positions, including job descriptions, as necessary, that align well with the organisational strategy and key programmes.
The consultant will also be responsible for conducting a skills gap analysis on existing staff and identifying current capacity which can be upskilled to deliver new functions, and additional skills needed to deliver the strategy with regional and international programmes.
They will also be conducting a job evaluation, and job grading with remuneration and benefits benchmarked with other regional and international organisations of a similar nature and also provide a cost-benefit analysis of shifting the organisation from the current structure to the proposed structure.
The consultancy also entails developing a plan and budget for the support needed during the transition period and implementation which will include a detailed change management programme for the transition.
In the development of an effective organisational structure, certain deliverables shall be considered including the development of a plan that spells out the competencies and skills that are required to deliver on Parliamentary Service and Parliament’s core mandate.
Other deliverables will be the review of the current organisational structure design (macro and micro) and proposal of a new structure clearly articulating the functional roles and responsibilities and the evaluation of the role of current Portfolio/Sessional committees in relation to the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan and provide a clear presentation of the financial impact of the recommended organizational structure to the Parliamentary Services Board.
The RFP was posted on November 2 on UNDP’s procurement notices and the deadline for submission of proposals is November 16.
