• Fostering a sound business climate is one of the major pillars of the private sector development activities of the World Bank Group (WBG). Complementarily, improving the business climate is on the top of the development agenda in many developing and transition economies. A favorable and enabling business environment promotes domestic and foreign investments and therefore contributes to private sector growth and overall economic development.
  
• Supporting the WBG Private Sector Development Strategy, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has created the Advisory Services in Latin America and the Caribbean, whose Program is aimed at promoting private sector growth through support to SMEs. The Investment Climate Advisory Services, in the area of simplifying business procedures, gives particular attention to improving the legal and institutional framework for SME development at both, the national and the sub-national level through streamlining business-related regulatory procedures and strengthening institutional capacity of municipalities that result in better provision of public services to private firms, mostly to SMEs.
  
• IFC has experience in supporting the implementation of simplification programs in various municipalities in LAC, in particular in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador with pilot experiences to streamline administrative procedures that are an obstacle to attract new private investments and to ensure SMEs development. IFC has been working on such initiatives in Ecuador since 2006, primarily through the simplification of sub-national business procedures. IFC carried out a pilot project in the municipalities of Quito and Manta, which as a result have seen significant reductions in the number of days and requirements needed to obtain operating licenses and construction permits.
• In order to build on the momentum of successful reforms, the Ecuador government, through the Ministry Coordinator of Production, Employment, and Competitiveness (MCPEC), has requested IFC to support them in carrying out a national plan to extend the successful reforms throughout the country, and to improve business inspections to start and operate firms, in particular in inspections for safety, health and environment, which have also been identified in a scoping study as the most difficult barrier related to operating a business for entrepreneurs in Ecuador (especially security, sanitary, and environment inspections) reinforcing the results of the World Bank Group Doing Business Report for Ecuador.
  
• National and sub-national agencies in charge of carrying out business inspections are not well-coordinated and do not use adequate information technologies to facilitate business registration and inspections processes. Private and public sector representatives often consider that municipalities do not have standardized procedures for obtaining operating licenses and construction permits, and the time and cost to obtain licenses are unreasonable. As a result, entrepreneurs view public institutions as corrupted and lacking transparency in the issuance of business licenses.
  
• In summary, there is clearly a need to streamline procedures to obtain operating licenses and construction permits in Ecuador, and improve the inspections system for security, health and environment carried out by both sub-national and national level institutions.
  
• The project is procuring the Consultant to address the Project’s objective of: Reducing the transaction costs for the private sector in terms of starting and operating a business, and carrying out formal business constructions. 
• This will be done by reducing time, costs, requirements necessary to obtain operating licenses and construction permits, and improving the business inspections system (related to starting and operating businesses) in the country. 
  
• The project will also improve and implement a new system for health, safety, and environmental inspections (national and sub-national) that are required to entrepreneurs to start and operate a firm.  This will take place at the national level with the Ministry Coordinator of Production, Employment, and Competitiveness (MCPEC), the province level department of the Ministries of Public Health and Environment, and at local level with the municipalities of Quito, Manta, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Loja, Machala, and Santo Domingo.
  
• These terms of Reference refer to the Design and Implementation of a Comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation System as part of the sustainability elements of the reform implementation.

Qualifications:

• The consultant must have an intimate understanding of the local regulatory framework in Ecuador, knowledge of local market and political conditions, and a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in one of the following fields of study.
  
• Social Sciences,Public Administration, Statistics, or  Related discipline Experience in development programs, and a mix of field and headquarters postings are advantageous.
  
• The consultant must have firsthand experience in managing and/or conducting evaluations (under time and financial constraints), in particular country portfolio and/or complex evaluations (strategic, thematic, impact).
  
• Desired expertise in the areas of SME development and the impact of public policies on the performance of the private sector. Additionally, experience in administrative reform processes and procedure simplification is a plus. Candidates without prior experience in conducting and/or managing evaluations will not be considered for the position.

Interested Candidates may send their Resume at  mastonitas@ifc.org