REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (Re-announcement)
(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT SELECTION)
Uzbekistan
Institutional Capacity Building Project
Credit No.: IDA 6431-UZ
Assignment Title: Transformation Consultant for the Mining Industry and Processing of Minerals.
Reference No.: UZASSETS-MINING-IC
The Ministry of Economy and finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Institutional Capacity Building Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services for "UzAssets" JSC under the Ministry of Economy and finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
"UzAssets" JSC is committed to the transformation of state-owned enterprises (SOE) in Uzbekistan. This transformation is directed towards enhancing profitability, efficiency, and adherence to robust environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, thus improving their overall performance and investment attractiveness in the global market. Based on this, Ministry of Economy and finance seeks to involve Transformation consultant for the Mining Industry and Processing of Minerals.
The Ministry of Economy and finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan now invites eligible Individual Consultants (“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 (reference to similar services, experience in similar assignments, availability, etc.) submitting directly to the piu_mof@mail.ru.
Qualification requirements for the Consultant:
- A higher education degree in natural sciences, technical fields, mathematics, or social sciences. A master's degree or higher is preferred. Education from leading international universities is an additional advantage.
- At least 10 years of experience in major mining companies. Proven practical experience in large-scale transformation, restructuring, operational efficiency improvement, and digitalization projects. Experience with international mining companies is a plus.
- Understanding of government policy and economics in the mining industry.
- Experience in corporate governance and control.
- Practical expertise in developing and optimizing organizational structures.
- Knowledge of finance, auditing, and risk management.
- Strategic asset management skills specific to the mining industry.
- Experience in developing and implementing operational models in the mining sector.
- Ability to engage with capital markets and understanding their mechanisms.
- Proficiency in establishing and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) in the mining industry.
- Knowledge of best practices and business processes in mining.
- Skills in digitalization and automation of mining processes.
- Experience in developing investment policies and management processes.
- Ability to conduct investment (re)evaluation.
- Skills in implementing and monitoring investment projects.
- Knowledge of sustainable development and applying ESG principles.
- Strong analytical thinking.
- Proficiency in English and Russian is essential.
The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” dated July 2016, revised in November 2017, August 2018 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. In addition, please refer to the following specific information on conflict of interest related to this assignment: Consultants shall not be hired for any assignment that would be in conflict with their prior or current obligations to other clients, or that may place them in a position of being unable to carry out the assignment in the best interests of the Ministry of Economy and finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours from 9:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m. Tashkent time.
Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form in English or Russian languages to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by e-mail) by October 11, 2024.
Project Implementation Unit under the
Ministry of Economy and finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Attn: Sirojiddin Imanov, Manager of the Project
Uzbekistan, 100017, Tashkent city, 29, Istiklol St.
Tel: +998901741711
E-mail: piu_mof@mail.ru
TERMS OF REFERENCE
for the selection of the Consultant for Transformation in the Mining and Metals Sector
Background information
The Government of Uzbekistan (GoU) has set as one of its goals to significantly reduce the degree of state presence in the economy, by using privatization as one of the main tools for achieving this objective. The Uzbek economy is dominated by state presence across all sectors. State-owned enterprises (SOE) and enterprises with a predominant share of the state in the economy of Uzbekistan dominate and have a significant impact on the functioning of most sectors of the economy, including the extraction of natural resources, energy, manufacturing, telecommunications, and transport.
Uzbekistan's mining and metals industry is a cornerstone of the national economy, boasting the world's fourth-largest gold reserves and ranking 12th globally in mining. The country is also among the top 15 for uranium and copper reserves. Key minerals include copper, gold, silver, and uranium, with significant contributions from the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgy Complex (AGMK) and the Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Complex (NGMK). In 2023, the mining sector's production volume neared $11 billion, highlighting its strategic importance for economic growth and diversification. The sector encompasses 2,537 mineral deposits, including substantial reserves of precious metals, hydrocarbons, and industrially vital minerals. The government is committed to reforming the sector, aiming to enhance its contribution to the economy and public finances through a modernized policy framework and legislative reforms. This includes transforming SOEs, improving the investment climate, and expanding the range of mineral products to meet global market demands. The Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company alone represented 6.4% of GDP and 10.3% of industrial production in 2023, underlining the sector's pivotal role in Uzbekistan's economic landscape. UzAssets is committed to transforming these sectors to enhance profitability, operational efficiency.
The development objectives (PDO) of Institutional Capacity Building Project for Uzbekistan are to strengthen public financial management (PFM) and enable the market operation of the corporate sector. This project has four components. 1) The first component, Improving PFM, aims to support improvements in areas fundamental to a functional PFM system that promotes achievement of public policy objectives, improved performance, and institutionalized accountability. 2) The second component, improving conditions for market operation of the corporate sector, aims to support the restructuring and rightsizing of the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) sector in Uzbekistan. 3) The third component, Improving Support Mechanisms for Reforms, aims to provide support to the newly established Economic Council, key regulatory agencies and other public sector agencies expected to be identified as critical for implementing market reforms during project implementation. 4) The fourth component, Project management, aims to provide support to the overall implementation arrangements for the project.
Objectives
The Consultant will lead a comprehensive transformation of the mining and metals sector’s SOEs listed in Anex 1, by:
- Aligning strategic initiatives with the PDO and UzAssets’ 8 pillars of transformation.
- Driving substantial change, enhancing innovation, fostering sustainable development.
- Ensuring alignment with international good practices and market competitiveness.
Scope of Work
The Consultant will contribute to the comprehensive transformation of the mining and metals sector’s SOEs by overseeing and directing teams on all tasks related to the SOEs listed in Annex 1, focusing on the following areas:
- Strategic Asset Management
- Implementing an integrated, cyclical strategic management process, including (re)formulating long-term strategies, defining strategic performance indicators (SPIs), conducting risk-informed planning, aligning with stakeholders, continuous monitoring, and transparent communication.
- Developing and comparing alternative operational models, selecting optimal business models, integrating the value chain, defining cost structures, establishing internal functional structures, distinguishing core, and ancillary activities, and identifying non-core functions.
- Attracting capital for strategic initiatives, enhancing transparency and accountability, building trust and reputation in the market, ensuring financial discipline and management, and optimizing capital structure and liquidity.
- Investment efficiency and optimization
- Developing a modern investment policy and implementing a phased methodology for executing investment projects.
- Evaluating and prioritizing investment projects, incorporating best practices and IT tools for effective project tracking.
- Creating an organizational structure dedicated to investment management.
- Assessing current and completed projects, analyzing investments from the past three years, and making strategic decisions on ongoing projects.
- Adjusting, accelerating, or canceling projects as necessary to enhance control and management of investment decisions.
- Ensuring effective project execution through dynamic progress tracking, proactive stakeholder engagement, comprehensive risk mitigation, and using result-oriented performance metrics.
- Integrating feedback and maintaining strict budget and cost control throughout the project lifecycle.
- Operational efficiency
- Developing a comprehensive policy for operational efficiency and implementing an international-level performance management system.
- Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) and benchmarking them against industry leaders and peers.
- Creating action plans to achieve target KPIs.
- Implementing process-based management, developing business process architecture and metrics, and establishing a continuous improvement mechanism.
- Adopting market policies and best practices to enhance supply chain, procurement, and operations management.
- Developing a comprehensive IT architecture, integrating modern digital business technologies, ensuring cybersecurity integration, and creating a digital transformation roadmap.
- Executing digitalization projects to support operational efficiency and modernization efforts.
- Organizational development
- Optimizing resources and enhancing organizational efficiency, improving communication and collaboration, and fostering better decision-making and adaptability through effective organizational design.
- Aligning organizational structures with strategic goals, clarifying roles, and increasing employee satisfaction, retention, and customer service.
- Developing a structured job hierarchy, adhering to industry standards and requirements, ensuring market-competitive compensation, and implementing performance-based incentives.
- Enhancing performance evaluation and staffing decisions, improving recruitment efficiency, providing clear career advancement paths, and ensuring equity and fairness.
- Revising roles and adapting to new tasks with new qualification standards and improving hiring practices and work efficiency.
- Change management and engagement
- Ensuring active participation and accountability of senior leadership and key managers in transformation initiatives.
- Maintaining continuous strategic communication aligned with transformation goals and shareholder vision.
- Empowering and aligning employees by clarifying their roles in the transformation process and connecting them to broader change objectives.
- Establishing performance metrics and feedback systems for dynamic adjustment of change initiatives.
- Identifying and mitigating potential risks associated with the change process.
- Fostering a culture of adaptability, continuous growth, and learning in the workplace.
The Consultant will be responsible for:
- Coordinate and oversee the implementation of specific projects in the Mining and Metals Sector as indicated in Annex 1.
- Comprehensive strategic analysis and optimization of SOEs listed in Anex 1. Key tasks include:
- Leading the transformation of enterprises to enhance their investment attractiveness.
- Conducting systematic analyses of transformation processes.
- Updating business models and adapting them to current market conditions.
- Improving profitability and operational efficiency, ensuring financial stability, and optimizing business processes.
- Creating and evaluating investment proposals.
- Collaborating with leading international consulting firms to achieve transformation objectives.
Deliverables
The Consultant will be responsible for delivering the following, to demonstrate progress and strategic alignment within the transformation objectives for each SOE listed in Anex 1:
- Cyclical strategic management policy
- Operating model
- Capital market interaction plan with execution recommendations
- Adopted investment policy and evaluated investment projects based on newly set criteria
- Policy for operational efficiency and implementation plan for performance management system along with KPI monitoring as per shareholder expectations
- Organisational design and structure
- Periodic couching of top executive team
- Updates and recommendations with a focus on improving SOE performance
Qualifications
The Consultant will possess the following qualifications:
- A higher education degree in natural sciences, technical fields, mathematics, or social sciences. A master's degree or higher is preferred. Education from leading international universities is an additional advantage.
- At least 10 years of experience in major mining companies. Proven practical experience in large-scale transformation, restructuring, operational efficiency improvement, and digitalization projects. Experience with international mining companies is a plus.
- Understanding of government policy and economics in the mining industry.
- Experience in corporate governance and control.
- Practical expertise in developing and optimizing organizational structures.
- Knowledge of finance, auditing, and risk management.
- Strategic asset management skills specific to the mining industry.
- Experience in developing and implementing operational models in the mining sector.
- Ability to engage with capital markets and understanding their mechanisms.
- Proficiency in establishing and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) in the mining industry.
- Knowledge of best practices and business processes in mining.
- Skills in digitalization and automation of mining processes.
- Experience in developing investment policies and management processes.
- Ability to conduct investment (re)evaluation.
- Skills in implementing and monitoring investment projects.
- Knowledge of sustainable development and applying ESG principles.
- Strong analytical thinking.
- Proficiency in English and Russian is essential.
Duration of the Contract, Location of Consultants and Reporting
- Duration: Time-based contract. 12 months with potential for renewal based on performance. The detailed remuneration package will be provided in a separate financial annex and is subject to negotiation with potential candidates.
- Location of Consultant: The Consultant must be based in Tashkent for the duration of the contract.
- Reporting: The Consultant will report directly to UzAssets and the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) Coordinator.
Resources Provided by UzAssets
UzAssets will provide:
- Adequate office space and office equipment.
- Access to relevant internal and external resources, data, and personnel.
- Support for engaging with stakeholders and executing strategic plans.
Annex 1
List of Project Directions
|
Directions |
Number of Projects |
|
Implementation of strategic management |
Over 150 |
|
Enhancing operational efficiency of production and support processes |
|
|
Improving the efficiency of investment processes |
|
|
Implementation of market principles of activity |
|
|
Transformation in the sphere of organizational development |
|
|
Transformation of finance, audit, and risk management |
|
|
Sustainable development in accordance with ESG principles |
SOEs involved
|
No. |
SOEs |
|
1 |
JSC Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company (JSC "NMMC") |
|
2 |
"Navoiyuran" SC |
|
3 |
Almalyk mining and metallurgical joint stock company ("Almalyk MMC" JSC) |
|
4 |
"Uzmetkombinat" JSC |
|
5 |
"Uzbekcoal" JSC |