BACKGROUND: The Republic of Moldova is at a crucial stage in its journey toward European integration and sustainable economic growth. Moldova’s reform agenda is driven by the country’s commitment to European Union (EU) integration. This commitment is underpinned by an Association Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), with the EU, which entered into force in July 2016. In a further and potentially transformative step, the EU granted candidate status to Moldova in June 2022. 

The Government of Moldova has committed to an ambitious reform agenda to take advantage of the opportunities provided by its EU candidacy status. This includes improving the quality of governance and the business and investment climate, strengthening the rule of law, and accelerating the implementation and alignment with the EU acquis, particularly in the energy and other key sectors. 

However, Moldova is confronted with multiple challenges. The impacts of Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - including substantial gas price increases, inflation, and rising socio-economic pressures - have the potential to erode government support, disrupt reform efforts, and embolden the political opposition. This further underscores the need for an ambitious economic reform programme to improve Moldova’s investment and export potential and to secure its energy and food supplies. 

To accelerate this process, the Government of Moldova has asked the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to extend and expand the programme of Reform Support Teams (RSTs) established in key government ministries. 

Building on this experience, the principal objective of this project is to expand the administrative capacity of key ministries and agencies by providing additional reform support experts with the necessary skills and expertise to address priority capacity gaps. These experts will provide strategic advisory and operational support in areas of priority for the Government of Moldova and the EU, including policy reform initiatives and investment projects. 

The Moldovan Government faces two main challenges hindering reform efforts: a persistent “brain drain,” as young individuals leave the country, and a deficit in the capacity and effectiveness of the public administration to implement reforms. Key ministries and agencies lack senior experts with the specialised expertise required. Following the recent European Commission recommendation to commence accession negotiations with Moldova, these institutions urgently require increased technical support, particularly from professionals experienced in EU integration, drafting of normative acts, and transposition of the EU acquis into national legislation. Attracting such experts through the RST programme will strengthen the government’s capacity to conduct EU accession negotiations effectively. 

The Government of Moldova has identified additional needs for experts to support ministries in the EU integration process, with a particular focus on harmonising national legislation with EU standards. Experts are expected to contribute to research, drafting of normative acts, and coordination efforts across key ministries to accelerate implementation and alignment with the EU acquis. 

The programme will be expanded to include EU harmonisation and other relevant technical experts funded by the European Union. 

The overall coordination of the RST Programme will be managed by EU Delegation, EBRD and the State Chancellery of the Republic of Moldova, which exercises the functions of the Centre of Government in terms of policy formulation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation.  

The experts will be embedded for 12 months with a view to provide targeted support to the government with the EU integration process.

This job posting refers to the position for the “EU Integration Expert under the Bureau of European Integration (BIE)”.

SCOPE OF SERVICES: The Expert will support the Bureau for European Integration with analytical inputs, coordination, and reporting for EU accession, focusing on Chapters under Clusters 2 and 3. This includes preparing materials for negotiations, the Enlargement Package, and Association Agreement bodies, as well as briefing notes, position papers, and monitoring progress on benchmarks and EU approximation.

The role also covers coordination across ministries and partners, data analysis for EU reporting, and identification of implementation gaps and priorities. The Expert will support legislative alignment, national position preparation, and ensure timely, high-quality outputs to guide decision-making in the accession process.

CONSULTANT PROFILE: For the position of the “EU Integration Expert under the Bureau of European Integration (BIE)”, EBRD intends to select an individual expert with the following profile:

• University degree in economics, European studies, public policy, law, or related field 
• Experience in EU integration processes, screening, or approximation 
• Strong analytical and drafting skills 
• Familiarity with economic, financial, and banking chapters is an advantage 
• Working knowledge of Romanian and English 

Civil servants and other staff currently employed by public administration of the beneficiary country are not eligible to apply as experts. Experts must be independent and free from conflicts of interest in the responsibilities defined by the Terms of Reference. 

Full documentation for this position can be found at: EBRD | Public Bid Site (gep.com) https://eu.smart.gep.com/publicrfx/ebrd?oloc=215#/ 

Interested suppliers must register in the EBRD’s SMART by GEP platform at the registration page https://eu.smart.gep.com/Nexus/Registration/PartnerRegistration?dd=YnBjPTcwMDIxODY5JnNwYz0wJmZjPTE1&oloc=102

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