International Consultant

Position description

The Government of Kiribati, through the Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs (MCIA), has received financing from the World Bank towards the cost of the Kiribati Outer Islands Resilience and Adaptation Project (KOIRAP) – P176702 and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.

The consulting services (“the Services”) include an International TA (Comprehensive Assessment of Local Government Finance and Service Delivery in Kiribati) to be based at the Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs (MCIA) in Kiribati. The objective of this Technical Assistance is to carry out a Diagnostic Study on Local Government Finances and Institutional Capacity. The study will be structured in two parts – one for Urban Councils (UCs) and one for Island Councils (ICs) – and will:

Provide a comprehensive assessment of the fiscal framework, institutional arrangements, and operational capacities of the 3 UCs and 23 ICs.
Identify systemic inefficiencies in financial systems and institutional capacities that undermine effective service delivery.
Generate actionable, evidence-based recommendations to strengthen financial sustainability, institutional resilience, and people-centered governance.
This assignment aligns with the Kiribati Development Strategy (KDS) priorities of strengthening institutional service delivery, promoting good governance, and advancing people-centered development.

The level of effort or duration of the consulting assignment will be ‘three person-months over a period of six months”.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be requested through electronic mail to KOIRAP Procurement Officer [email protected] and copied KOIRAP Project Assistant [email protected]

KOIRAP now invites eligible individuals (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services by submission of a Cover letter or Expression of Interest (EOI); curriculum vitae with description of experience in similar assignments, similar conditions, etc. and with supporting documents. Firms’ staff may express interest through the employing firm for the assignment and, under such situation, only the experiences and qualifications of individuals shall be considered in the selection process.

CVs of all applicants will be evaluated as follows: all CVs will be scrutinized against the assignment’s minimum requirements (below). The CVs of candidates that meet the minimum requirements will then be scored according to the set scoring criteria. The candidate with the highest score will be invited to negotiate contract. Referees of the preferred candidate will be contacted to verify prior experience, performance, and character traits.

The criteria for selecting the Consultant are:

(a) Academic Qualifications

Masters/PhD in Public Finance, Urban Planning, Economics or similar field
(b) Experience, Skills and Capability

At least 10 years of experience in working with international organizations (especially in the Pacific region); previous professional experience in Public Finance and Local governments finance;
Strong record including experiences in selection, mobilization and monitoring of preparing and editing research;
Demonstrated experience with local government and municipal finance in Pacific Island Countries (experience in Atoll Nations and/or Kiribati is highly preferred);
International expertise in decentralization, local government finances and revenue mobilization.
Expertise in Infrastructure planning, municipal budgeting, and expenditure management
Ability to work under pressure in a difficult multi-cultural environment on a wide range of tasks and delivery quality outputs on time;
Proven organizational, interpersonal and communication skills needed for effective team management and coordination; and
Fluency in spoken and written English is a requirement.
The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” 6 edn, February 2025 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

Application instructions

Expressions of interest must be delivered by e-mail to KOIRAP Project Manager [email protected] , and copied to KOIRAP Procurement Officer, [email protected] no later than 5.15pm (Kiribati, Tarawa local time), Thursday 12 February, 2026.

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