Local support to the preparation for the implementation of a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) for the Lebanese Civil Service

1. Background and needs

1.Expertise France and its activities

A public agency under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, Expertise France is the French agency for international technical cooperation. It was created by the law of 7 July 2014 on development and international solidarity policy, and joined the Agence française de développement (AFD) Group on 1 January 2022.

Expertise France designs and implements projects that sustainably strengthen public policies in developing and emerging countries. Governance, security, climate, health, education... Expertise France works in key areas of sustainable development and contributes alongside its partners to achieving the Agenda 2030.

In the field of Governance, Expertise France is present in many countries to support national or local authorities engaged in processes of reform and modernisation of the State. The agency supports beneficiary countries in strengthening their administrations around their strategic functions. The steering of public policies, interministerial coordination and change management are some of the central elements highlighted by the projects deployed by the agency. Its action aims to facilitate structural reorganisation, the renovation of legal frameworks, the simplification of procedures, a better relationship between the administration and the user, and the modernisation of the management of public human resources.

 2.The Public Administration Reform in Lebanon Project

Lebanon is facing one of the most serious economic crises in the world, exacerbated by the explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and, more recently, armed conflict in the country. These tensions have affected all sectors, in particular public services and the operation of public administrations, due to the reduction in available resources. Recruitment in the public sector has been suspended since 2017, leaving administrations understaffed and struggling to fulfil their missions.

The project to support public administration reform in Lebanon was set up in this context to strengthen governance, integrity, transparency, equality and accountability. It is funded by the European Union, implemented by Expertise France, and is based on three main areas of reform.

1. Safeguarding the integrity of public administration in public human resource management

• Clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of public officials,
• Applying standards of transparency and merit in appointment, promotion and non-discriminatory recruitment of public officials,
• Recognizing the independence and effectiveness of the Civil Service Board.

2. Enhancing transparency of public procurement
3. Strengthening accountability of the administration and the role of oversight bodies in implementing reforms and anti-corruption measures

This call for tenders is part of the first component, “Safeguarding the integrity of public administration in public human resources management”.

The Civil Service Board[1] (CSB) is the institution responsible for human resources management in the public sector in Lebanon and plays a key role in the revitalisation of public administrations. Its mandate covers:

• Central administrations and public institutions, excluding the Justice, Defence and Security sectors.
• The 10 largest municipalities in Lebanon.

The Civil Service Board is composed of two Departments: the Department of Research and Orientation, which deals with the organisation and working methods of administrations, and the Department of Employees, which focuses on the management of public human resources. It is in the latter department that the HRIS will be installed.

It should be noted that the Civil Service Board is currently engaged in a project to compile an interministerial directory of professions, the content of which (professions, expected skills) will ultimately be integrated into the HRIS.

 3.Deployment of a public human resources information system (HRIS) in Lebanon

Expertise France is working with the Civil Service Board to deploy a public human resources information system.

Presently, the CSB has a tool for storing data relating to each public employee: personal information, status, current and past positions, specific conditions of service, leave, diplomas, training, languages spoken, salary and allowances, promotions, sanctions, etc. This information is updated by the CSB itself, on the basis of declarations made by administrations and sent in by post, as the tool is not connected to the outside.

The tool can also be used to run queries to analyse the data available. It was developed in-house and is managed by the ‘Personnel files’ unit in the Department of Employees, which has 7 staff.

The tool currently lists data relating to around 10,000 current employees.

The main problems in the current situation are as follows:

• Difficulties in updating and ensuring the reliability of the data centralised and managed by the CSB,
• Mainly paper-based human resources management processes,
• Limitation of human resources management practices based on basic data,
• Minimal accountability on the part of administrations in managing their human resources.

The introduction of an HRIS for the Lebanese civil service, managed by the Civil Service Board, is intended to address these issues and promote greater transparency and efficiency in the management of public human resources.

 4.Technical specifications

A number of technology options are under consideration for the HRIS, ranging from the development of custom-developed proprietary systems to preconfigured  turnkey solutions. Due to the data sensitivity and Lebanese sovereignty requirements, on-premise (or eventually hybrid) architectures will be prioritized.

The system will feature:

• A centralised database with master records and validation authority.
• Role-based decentralized interfaces for ministries/municipalities; (e.g., Ministry of Finance for salaries control bodies (Central Inspection, Court of Audit, High Disciplinary Council) for sanctions…)
• A ‘temporary’ database could be set up to enable the Civil Service Board to verify data reliability and integrity before validating it and merging updates into the live system.,
• Data migration will be conducted in phases, beginning with active employee records, followed by data cleansing.

Interfaces will emphasize a user-friendly design to accommodate varying technical skill levels across administrations. The aim is to obtain a reliable census of all public employees currently employed and remunerated.

 II.  Objectives and expectations of the assignment

 A. Objectives

The aim is to establish the HRIS as a comprehensive human resources management (HRM) tool for the Lebanese civil service, enabling efficient day-to-day personnel management, while supporting strategic workforce planning through data-driven analysis and forward-looking management of staff, jobs and competencies.

More specifically, the objectives are as follows:

• Digitise and streamline current HR processes and data sharing between the CSB and administrations, to maximize operational efficiency
• Automate workflows and enable real-time data sharing to improve accuracy and timeliness of HR information.
• Decentralise appropriate HR functions to the administrations, where relevant, while maintaining CSB oversight.
• Enhance employee records with new data related particularly to their skills and performance to support talent management.
• Strengthen strategic HR capabilities through data-driven workforce planning and analytics using the HRIS.

This preparatory phase is intended to inform imminent strategic and critical design decisions and establish implementation frameworks prior to the HRIS development and deployment.

The present call for tender aims at recruiting an individual consultant to support the delivery of the defined methodology, in close collaboration with the Expertise France Beirut office and a consulting firm based in France. The recruited consultant will liaise with the French consulting firm to adapt and implement the methodology locally. He/she will play a key role in stakeholder engagement and relationship management, and will contribute substantively to the production of deliverables.

B.Expected deliverables

1. Technical scenarios: advantages and disadvantages of different solutions and strategic, operational and technical implications, based on the following criteria:
   1. Suitability of the solution’s functionalities with stakeholders’ requirements
   2. System reliability and scalability
   3. Security and protection of sensitive data
   4. Compatibility and ease of integration with existing administrative processes and IT systems.
   5. Total cost (development, maintenance, training, support)
   6. Compliance with Lebanese data protection laws and relevant regulations.
2. HRIS blueprint, including:
   1. A study of the existing system
   2. A detailed description of the expected functionalities
   3. Mapping of new processes
   4. Internal (CSB) and external (administrations) organisational implications
   5. An international benchmark
   6. The roadmap leading up to the successful adoption of the tool by its stakeholders
   7. Performance indicators to assess the adoption and impact of the HRIS
3. Technical specifications for the development of the tool including but not limited to:

1. System architecture,
2. Software/hardware requirements,
3. Data migration strategy
4. Application Programming Interface and interoperability standards

4. Change management and risk management plan including:

1. Change Management Strategy – Communication, training, and stakeholder engagement plans
2. Risk Mitigation – Identification of potential risks (e.g., resistance, technical failures) and countermeasures
3. Capacity Building – User training programs and skill development initiatives

C.Expected role and responsibilities of the consultant

The recruited individual consultant is expected to:

• Integrate fully the project governance and the consulting team;
• Contribute to the possible adaptation of the methodology, where deemed necessary with regards to field reality;
• Facilitate stakeholder engagement, trust-building and relationship networks in order to promote a fully collaborative dynamic;
• Display and leverage on an excellent understanding of the Lebanese public sector and of its key players, as well as excellent Arabic language skills;
• Lead and facilitate interviews, meetings and workshops, with remote participation from French consultants when possible;
• Coordinate logistics and event management (workshops and receptions);
• Develop comprehensive findings reports at the end of each critical phase (e.g. strategic interviews), in French or English, in order to feed regularly into the project team’s reflections and deliverables;
• Contribute to the production of deliverables, led by the remote consulting firm:
  • Technical scenarios: providing a practical perspective on the local feasibility of scenarios and promoting realistic implementation conditions
  • Benchmark: facilitating and participating in discussions with publishers, providing analyses on the local feasibility of identified solutions
  • Technical specifications: review and adaptation to the administrative and technical Lebanese context
  • Change and risk management: providing field input for a contextualised change management strategy and contributing to the definition of a governance system adapted to the Lebanese context

D.Conditions of the assignment

The consultant must be based in Lebanon in order to work with the teams from the Civil Service Board and Expertise France. Some of the tasks involved in producing the deliverables may be carried out remotely.

The coordination mechanism between the local consultant and the French consulting firm will be specified jointly in the first stages of the project.

The service provider will be part of an ecosystem consisting of:

• Within Expertise France, the team leader, the manager of the ‘Civil Service component of the project, the long-term expert dedicated to the ‘Civil Service’ component, and the project IT short-term expert.
• Within the Civil Service Board, the President of the CSB, who is actively involved in the project and oversees decisions on the future design of the HRIS—as well as the steering committee composed of CSB and potentially other relevant administrations’ staff.
• Within the French consulting firm, an HR transformation Expert, a public sector IT Expert, and an HRIS Expert.

The day-to-day working languages are Arabic, French or English. The language of the final deliverables is English.

1. Evaluation of applications

The applications will be evaluated following the here-presented criteria, out of a maximum of 100 points.

Financial Critera : 35 Points

Technical Criteria over 65 Points divided as follow

1.Technical sub-criterion 1: Expertise in HR transformation, public sector IT and experience with HRIS projects : 30 Points

2.Technical sub-criterion 2: Familiarity with the Lebanese public administration: 25 Points

3.Technical sub-criterion 3: Excellent knowledge of  the Arabic language as well as English and/or French, written and spoken: 10 Points