Result of Service
• Inputs: National legislation, development plans and interview transcripts. • Diagnostic report: Draft report, “North Macedonia’s system of Metrology, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation, and Market Surveillance: Diagnostic Report” (in English), following a detailed outline that will be provided by the Secretariat. Final report incorporating UNECE’s feedback, with all revisions marked in track‑changes mode.
Duties and Responsibilities
The UNECE is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It comprises 56 member States and covers Europe and parts of Central Asia and North America. As a multilateral platform, UNECE facilitates greater economic integration and cooperation among its member countries and promotes sustainable development and economic prosperity through policy dialogue, negotiation of international legal instruments, development of regulations and norms, exchange and application of best practices as well as economic and technical expertise, and technical cooperation for countries with economies in transition. This consultancy forms part of the UNECE’s broader effort to support the Government of North Macedonia in increasing the contribution of trade to an inclusive transformative development path, driven by low-carbon, green technologies and circularity and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the country’s strategic ambition to accede the European Union. The objective of this consultancy is to deliver a technical diagnosis of North Macedonia’s alignment with the SDGs and EU frameworks for four pillars of quality infrastructure, namely, accreditation, conformity assessment, market surveillance, and metrology. This includes readiness for the EU Green Deal product sustainability requirements, identifying gaps and practical steps for supporting integration into the EU Single Market. This diagnosis forms part of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) broader assessment study, “Policy Coherence for the Green and Circular Economy Transition in North Macedonia: The Role of Trade,” undertaken at the request of the Government of North Macedonia. The consultant will provide a comprehensive technical diagnostic report on North Macedonia’s system of accreditation, conformity assessment, market surveillance, and metrology. The aim of the report is to support the Government’s reforms to align with the SDGs and EU acquis, including the horizontal frameworks under Chapter 1 (Free Movement of Goods), and their application across different sectors under Chapters 12 (Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy), 15 (Energy), 27 (Environment), and 28 (Consumer and Health Protection). Alignment with these chapters requires the transposition and implementation of EU directives, regulations, and harmonized standards across the entire quality infrastructure system, including accreditation, metrology, conformity assessment, and market surveillance. The report will constitute a background document, which will be used by the Secretariat in the preparation of the UNECE study. Working closely with the staff at the UNECE Market Access Section (MAS) of the Economic Cooperation and Trade Division (ECTD), the consultant will undertake the following tasks: A. Horizontal technical gap analysis • Laboratory capacity diagnosis: Assess the technical (expertise skills and equipment) and operational capacity of national testing, calibration, and medical laboratories in terms of their compliance with the EU horizontal framework and harmonized standards for accreditation, conformity assessment and metrology. This includes readiness for the EU Green Deal product sustainability requirements (e.g., the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation, ESPR). • Inspection and certification bodies: Assess the technical and operational capacity of inspection and certification bodies, including in terms of their readiness to perform assessments required for the EU Single Market and act as future "Notified Bodies". • Market surveillance: Assess the technical and operational capacity of the State Market Inspectorate (SMI), including in terms of its ability to enforce sustainability and product safety requirements at the border and in domestic markets in line with the EU framework for market surveillance. B. Sector-specific technical gap analysis • Assess the technical and operational capacity of the national system of accreditation, conformity assessment, market surveillance, and metrology to support the successful implementation of the EU sector-specific legislation and, where applicable, harmonized standards for the below priority circular economy sectors identified by the Government of North Macedonia: o Construction and building materials o Agriculture o Food and beverages o Textiles and apparel o Mining and metallurgy o Automative industry o Chemical industry D. Methodology • Desk review: Conduct a desk review the development plans and legislation underpinning North Macedonia’s system of accreditation, conformity assessment, market surveillance, metrology. • In-person interviews: Conduct in-person interviews with representatives from relevant specialised agencies and line ministries using UNECE Evaluation Methodology. In this respect, the interviews should be guided by the Methodology’s actor-oriented questionnaires. E. Deliverables • Inputs: National legislation, development plans and interview transcripts. • Diagnostic report: Draft report, “North Macedonia’s system of Metrology, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation, and Market Surveillance: Diagnostic Report” (in English), following a detailed outline that will be provided by the Secretariat. Final report incorporating UNECE’s feedback, with all revisions marked in track‑changes mode.
Qualifications/special skills
Education • Advanced university degree in economics, science, public administration, or a related field. Experience and specialized knowledge • At least 10 years of professional experience in the areas of accreditation, conformity assessment, market surveillance, and metrology. • Familiarity with North Macedonia’s development landscape, and its system of accreditation, conformity assessment, metrology and market surveillance (including, market inspection, environmental inspection, sanitary inspection, etc.). • Advanced understanding of the EU horizontal framework and harmonised standards for accreditation, conformity assessment, market surveillance and metrology. • Advanced understanding of the EU sector-specific regulatory frameworks governing the priority circular economy sectors identified by the Government of North Macedonia. • Advanced understanding of the EU Green Deal. • Familiarity with the ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) and IAF (International Accreditation Forum) multilateral agreements. • Familiarity with the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) recommendations and WELMEC (European Legal Metrology) role in the EU harmonization processes. Skills: • Analytical rigor. • Excellent drafting skills in English. • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. • Strong organizational and coordination abilities. • Ability to work independently.
