National Consultant, Logistic support, UNFPA, Uzbekistan

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Hiring Office:

UNFPA CO in Uzbekistan

Purpose of consultancy:

In 2023, MOH and UNFPA Uzbekistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Third-Party Procurement of contraceptives through UNFPA led mechanism. Almost $4 mln were transferred to SCMU on the same month and two Proforma Invoice signed for delivery of 4 (four) types of contraceptives such as the following:

1. Oral pills (combined): 1599696 packs
2. Oral pills (progestin only): 1282068 packs
3. Injectable (MPA): 1 400 000 vials
4. IUDs: 1 121 323 pieces

Some of the supplies are coming by air but bulky shipment is coming by land. Considering the volume of work associated with custom clearance of entire order, lack of dedicated staff in the Ministry of Health – main consignee for these supplies, and complexity of procedures, it is important to provide technical support to the MOH until they gain necessary experience to ensure smooth custom clearance for the next deliveries.

The purpose of consultancy: UNFPA is looking for a national consultant with logistic experience in terms of custom clearance, custom and regular storage, payment for the shipping declaration and organization of local transportation between storages. 

Scope of work:

(Description of services, activities, or outputs)

The UNFPA local consultant will carry out all necessary actions for custom clearance of shipments arrived within framework of TPP agreement with MOH. The consultant will be responsible for the following:

1. Custom clearance of the shipment:
   1. To get familiarized about date of arrival for shipment and prepare all necessary documents for picking up the shipping documents from point of arrival (airport, truck, railway points)
   2. To pick up shipping documents and proceed with necessary letters and payments through the MOH
   3. To prepare custom declarations (different regimes) and arrange transportation/uploading/downloading in case of storage change (custom storage, regular storage);
   4. To ensure that necessary payments for declaration/storage and transportation are timely managed by the MOH

2. Technical Support / Liaison

• Provide day-to-day technical support by telephone, telegram, and email, where required, to MoH focal point in relation to the timeframe, bills, necessary documentation and quality assessment of supplies by MOH/Pharm Committee.
• Provide necessary support in case of damage of supplies in terms of immediate notification of both MOH and UNFPA, filling in the claim form.
• Undertake day-to-day liaison by telephone, telegram, and email, where required, with responsible UNFPA staff especially in case of damage/loss of supplies. 
• Participate in progress meetings, where required, with UNFPA and MoH.

3. Progress Tracking& Reporting

• Progress tracking should be provided for each shipment arrived at the country to UNFPA and MOH with risks and possible delays mentioned
• Develop final report upon completion of each shipment (regime 40) and handing over the documents to MOH for distribution. Key challenges observed during processes and recommendations for solving them should be included to the document to help address Supply Chain bottlenecks.

Duration and working schedule:

Duration of assignment: 8 July 2024 – 31 March 2025.

1. Consultant will work remotely with majority of work before and during arrival of shipment to the country.
2. Processing of one shipment should not take more than 6 working days from picking up the shipping documents from the point of arrival until the declaration for regime 40 is prepared.
3. Altogether it is expected to have at least 7 deliveries during contract period 

Place where services are to be delivered:

No travel is envisioned for this consultancy

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

Consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:

1. One shipment final clearance: 6 days. Total for 7 deliveries: 42 days
   1. At least seven custom declarations for each shipment prepared as required by national custom procedures: regime 40 to be considered as a final document
   2. At least 3 letters per shipment drafted, signed by MOH and delivered to the relevant entities, altogether 21 letters.
   3. At least 14 deliveries are arranged in terms of management of uploading and downloading shipment to warehouse (2 per shipment: custom warehouse – regime 70 and national consignee warehouse – regime 40.
2. Preparation of the reports and set of documents per shipment: 2 days per shipment, 14 days in total

Total number of working days for this consultancy is 56 working days

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

• Monitoring of the process will be done by UNFPA PA on SRH/Youth and UNFPA PA/ Procurement on a daily basis
• Electronic version of the report should be submitted not later than 3 days after completion of work
• Language of the Report and presentations:  Russian

Supervisory arrangements: 

• The consultants will work under the direct supervision of the UNFPA programme Assistant, Procurement
• The consultants will report to the PA SRH/Youth who will assess the quality of services/outputs by the consultants.

Expected travel:

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

• Knowledge of local custom clearance process and normative requirements. 
• At least 3 years of experience in custom clearance, in-country logistic.
• Experience of custom clearance of medical supplies is an advantage.
• Knowledge of UN procurement procedures is an asset.
• Knowledge of Russian and Uzbek language.

Inputs/services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

UNFPA will provide required support in arranging meetings with national stakeholders to discuss challenges and bottlenecks that are beyond control of this consultancy.

Payments will be done in instalments upon completion of custom clearance for each shipment. 

Other relevant information or special conditions, if any:

COA to be charged for the assignment: UNFPA.UZB.FPA90.54800.71305.UZB05SRH-XXX.0.PU0074.0