SCOPE OF WORK
Kosovo Municipal Integrity (KMI) activity
Project Background:
USAID’s Kosovo Municipal Integrity (KMI) activity addresses long-standing challenges related to corruption and poor-quality service delivery by the Government of Kosovo by enhancing public financial management (PFM), with a focus on municipal procurement, and by reinforcing accountability mechanisms both within government and outside of government through civil society, the private sector, and media.
The four objectives of this activity are:
- National accountability agencies provide more effective and coordinated financial oversight.
- Governments increase use of good practices in budget planning, public procurement, and contract management.
- Government advances norms and practices that support internal audit and accountability.
- Civil society, media, and the private sector improve the integrity of public and private sector actors in public procurement.
Role’s Purpose:
The National Audit Office (NAO) often provides qualified opinions for public institutions due to public debt. In recent years, the total amount of uncollected tax debts has increased in Kosovo municipalities, as repeatedly noted in the NAO's audit reports. These unpaid debts, primarily related to property taxes, have also affected the qualification of annual financial statements for several project partner institutions. Unfortunately, the municipalities have not taken enough action to address this problem.
USAID KMI activity plans to engage a short-term expert to assist our focus institutions in addressing outstanding debt with a focus on property tax. USAID KMI supports the following municipalities: Prishtina, Peja, Gjakova, Gjilan, Vushtrri, Suhareka, Rahovec and Lipjan.
Objectives and Duties:
The short-term expert for non-voluntary debt collection will perform the following tasks for the project:
- Analyze the profile of the 30 biggest debtors in focus municipalities and define possibilities for debt collection in a comprehensive report.
- Draft a list of recommendations for municipality officers for non-voluntary tax debt collection and immediate steps to undertake in support of the application of relevant law provisions for non-voluntary debt collection.
- Advise and monitor municipal officers in the process of preparation of at least 1/3 of municipality top (30) debtors files (cases) and advise the preparation of the proposal for enforcement procedure (if the collection of debts/liabilities is at risk) in project focus municipalities.
- Coach municipality officers in the implementation of non-voluntary measures for debt collection.
- Develop materials and conduct one roundtable with focus municipalities.
- Draft an activity final report, list recommendations and success stories to share and roll out with other Kosovo municipalities.
Deliverables:
The required deliverables for this assignment are as follows:
- Analysis/report on debtors and their profile in partner municipalities,
- List of recommendations for municipality - to apply enforced debt collection,
- A formal template decision on execution of outstanding liabilities and proposal for enforcement procedure with a checklist of documents to attach and the procedure to follow,
- Coaching relevant municipal officers on enforced collection of outstanding liabilities,
- Deliver materials and conduct one roundtable,
- Report on ten cases (debtors), in each partner institution, on the assistance provided to apply enforcement procedure,
- Final Report with list of activities, findings, and recommendations for improvement.
Qulifications:
The required qualification and criteria for this assignment are as follows:
- University degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in public finance, economics, or other related fields.
- At least 5 years of experience in tax liabilities.
- Work experience in the public sector in Kosovo is highly desirable.
- Proven experience in coaching, mentoring, and capacity building.
- Proven ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with all levels of stakeholders, including municipal counterparts, partners, the project team, and the public.
- Knowledge of excel and data review approaches and analytical and communication skills are
- Experience with USAID or other donor organizations preferred.
- Fluency in Albanian required. Knowledge of English and Serbian languages preferred.
Reporting:
- This position will report to the Objectives Two & Three Lead.
Please send your CV to email account: KMI_Recruitment@dai.com
