Call for expression of interest of an international consultant to conduct the Functional Analysis of the subdivisions of the General Police Inspectorate of the Republic of Moldova specialized on the investigation of online child sexual abuse and exploitation, within the Project,,Strengthening Moldova’s Capacity to Address Child Online Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (COSESA)” funded by US Embassy Moldova.
Job Title: International Consultant
Period of the assignment: January - March 2024
1. Purpose of services:
Conduct a functional analysis of the specialized subdivision of the General Police Inspectorate (GPI) of the Republic of Moldova with the view to identify the organizational and functional gaps and needs and formulate recommendations for further institutional development.
2. Background
The ,,Strengthening Moldova’s Capacity to Address Child Online Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (COSESA)” Project funded by US Embassy Moldova, aims to contribute to improved protection of children against online sexual exploitation and trafficking in Moldova through a various range of measures oriented on legal amendments, capacity building, providing technical expertise to law enforcement and judiciary to effectively respond to online child sexual abuse and exploitation, awareness raising.
Although important efforts have been deployed at the national level during the last years to advance the response of the law enforcement and justice sector in combatting cybercrime (including online child sexual abuse and exploitation), based on the latest Judicial Practice Analysis of OCSEA cases, improvement is further required to ensure enhanced protection for children victims of OCSEA. At the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office and the General Police Inspectorate, La Strada planned to conduct a functional analysis of the law enforcement agencies mandated to respond to OCSEA.
The analysis is expected to provide recommendations for further actions:
- Set the basis for further institutional development action plans;
- Provide recommendations for the next policies in the area of preventing and combatting criminality, security, and thematic areas related to combatting human trafficking and cybersecurity.
3. Methodology
The selected consultant will develop the methodology for the analysis using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The international consultant shall consult the methodology with La Strada. The international consultant will apply the following methods:
- desk review of the primary legislative framework;
- study (for comparative purposes) the organization, functions, staffing and resources of other European agencies with responsibilities comparable to the specialized subdivisions of GPI;
- analysis of secondary legal acts, internal regulations, statistics, and GPI reports on the activity of law enforcement agencies for the last three years, thematic research reports, international and national monitoring reports;
- analysis of information from public sources, including information posted on the official websites of GPI and other agencies;
- conduct structured interviews with GPI management, criminal investigators, and other relevant national and international stakeholders.
La Strada will provide technical and logistical assistance to the Consultant in conducting the assignment. In particular, La Strada will present the relevant information for the analysis, such as legislation, reports, and statistics, and will support in arranging interviews and other necessary activities for the assignment.
Additional data can be collected by La Strada at the request of the consultant. La Strada will provide comments on the draft functional analysis report, will translate it into Romanian(if needed), and will organize working multi-stakeholder meetings for consultations and validation of findings and policy recommendations as well as the public event to present the final report.
4. Key deliverables and timeframe of the assignment
The selected international consultant shall provide the following deliverables:
Deliverables | Indicative deadlines |
Methodology and the structure of the Functional Analysis report | By 31 January 2024 |
Conduct the interviews with police and other stakeholders | By 20 February 2024 |
Draft Analysis Report, including conclusions and policy recommendations | By 15 March 2024 |
Presentation of the Draft Report within consultations/validation multi-stakeholder meeting to collect feedback | By 30 March 2024 |
Final Functional Analysis report, including final conclusions and recommendations | By 15 April 2024 |
The duration of the assignment to prepare the Functional Analysis Report shall not exceed 20 working days for the period of January 2024 – March 2024. The consultant is expected to work in Moldova about 3 working days during the assignment on the functional analysis and presentation of the final Report. For the rest of activities, the consultant may provide service online. During the entire duration of the assignment the costs for the international travels and accomodation of the consultant will be covered by the project.
5. Eligibility criteria for the consultant
The consultant shall meet the following profile and minimum qualifications:
- Proven record of working with or in law enforcement agencies for at least 5 years;
- Good knowledge of the international standards of functioning of specialized law enforcement agencies working on combating online child sexual abuse and exploitation;
- Excellent analytical, writing, reporting and communication skills;
- Proficiency in English. Knowledge of Romanian and/or Russian languages will be an advantage;
- Availability of the consultant for up to 20 working days for the period of January - April 2024.
6. Evaluation and selection process
The project manager and the project assistant will conduct a formal review of the application documents against the ToR requirements, including the completion of all application documents (i.e. Curriculum Vitae, financial offer and other supporting documents as per the ToR).
7. Application procedure
Offers may be submitted by individual candidates and/or legal entities.
The technical and financial offers accompanied by a cover letter/email expressing the interest for the position shall be sent by e-mail to office@lastrada.md by 25 January 2024, which will include:
A. Technical offer:
- Curriculum vitae of the candidate or/and for the legal entities a copy of the registration certificate/extract for the legal persons;
- Referrences or links confirming the experience of the candidate.
B. Financial Offer: Financial offer will be submitted in USD with the breakdown of costs (consultancy fee per number of anticipated working days). The cost will be provided in NET amount and VAT 0%.