REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Country: Georgia
Project Name: Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation and Land Project (GRAIL)
Project No: P175629
Loan No. 9504-GE
Assignment Title: Product Owner for Smart Contract
Reference No. GRAIL/CS/ICS-33-01
The government of Georgia and the World Bank jointly developed a new investment project in Georgia’s rural sector – Georgia Resilient Agriculture, Irrigation, and Land (GRAIL) Project. The total cost of the Project is 138,600 mil EURO which is equally split between International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the State budget of the Government of Georgia.
The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to: (a) improve irrigation, and drainage services, and agricultural production in project areas, and (b) strengthen national irrigation and land management institutional capacity for climate resilient planning.
The primary beneficiaries of the Project comprise farmers and agricultural enterprises across the project-targeted regions. Overall, the rural population will benefit from enhanced services provided by land management, irrigation services, and agricultural support. In the public sector, the Project will support the institutional strengthening of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.
The Project will enhance land administration service delivery and support building digital infrastructure by enhancing the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR)’s information technology systems, development of e-services, and further support NAPR’s effort in operationalizing the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).
The Project strongly focuses on climate resilience and rural livelihoods through a holistic and integrated approach. It will include the following components:
Component 1: Resilient Irrigated Agriculture, divided into three sub-components: 1) Subcomponent 1.1: Irrigation & Drainage Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Modernization; 2) Subcomponent 1.2: Irrigated Agriculture and Value Chain Development; and 3) Subcomponent 1.3: Improved Performance of Irrigation Service Delivery.
Component 2: Improved Land Management Capacity, comprising of two sub-components: 1) Subcomponent 2.1: Strengthening of agricultural land management and monitoring; and 2) Subcomponent 2.2: Enhancement of the land administration service delivery and building digital governance infrastructure.
Component 3: Project Management, which will finance two Project Implementation Units that will be responsible for project management: One Project Implementing Unit (PIU) is established within MEPA, which manages Component 1 and Subcomponent 2.1. The second PIU is established within the NAPR, the Project Implementing Entity, and will be responsible for implementing Subcomponents 2.2 and 3.2.
Sub-component 2.2 – Enhancing land administration service delivery and building digital governance infrastructure by:
enhancing NAPR’s information technology systems, particularly the Immovable Property Registration System by focusing on upgrading the core cadaster and registration systems, developing of selected e-services through innovative technologies to improve NAPR customers’ experience further; and
Designing, developing, and deploying the National Spatial Data Infrastructure by NAPR in collaboration with other institutional stakeholders including by focusing on capacity building, training, knowledge sharing, and incorporating best international practice.
The National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR), under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, has introduced a Smart Contract service for real estate transactions in October, 2024. This innovative digital service allows property sales, mortgages, and payments to be completed remotely and securely, supported by escrow services from commercial banks and AI-based identification.
Detailed information about the terms of the smart contract service is available on the NAPR's official website: https://napr.gov.ge/ka/smart-contract
NAPR aims to extend the Smart Contract model to other areas, including business registration, gradually building a broader digital ecosystem of secure and accessible online services.
The Product Owner for Smart Contract is responsible for leading the operational excellence of the platform. The Product Owner manages the full product lifecycle: from designing new digital services to overseeing daily operations. This role ensures that the platform grows through new partnerships while maintaining high standards and regulatory compliance.
Scope of Work and Responsibilities:
Service Diversification: Manage the conceptualization and launch of new digital services, ensuring the platform evolves to meet diverse citizen and business needs.
Ecosystem Growth: Manage the end-to-end integration process for new strategic partners, including commercial banks and private sector entities.
Operational Leadership: Manage and coordinate the daily operations of service delivery teams (operators), ensuring seamless execution of Smart Contract remote sessions and high-quality user support.
Third-Party Vendor Management: Coordinate with external technology providers to ensure service stability, security, and continuous performance optimization.
Regulatory & Process Alignment: Ensure that all product features and partner integrations remain compliant with state regulations, while streamlining the “Legal-to-Technical” translation process.
Product Backlog & Roadmap Ownership: Define, prioritize, and maintain the product backlog based on stakeholder needs, technical feasibility, and the long-term vision. Communicate clear requirements and enhancements to the development team based on partner needs and user feedback.
Advanced Documentation & Analysis: Collaborate with Business Analysts to produce high-level functional requirements, ensuring that all technical documentation supports a scalable partner onboarding process. Ensure comprehensive documentation of business processes, partner integration guides, and user manuals.
Cross-Sector Collaboration: Act as the primary liaison between government stakeholders, internal development teams, and external vendors to align business objectives with public service mandates.
Performance Monitoring & Reporting: Track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to service adoption, partner integration efficiency, and operational excellence.
Requirements Gathering: Collect requirements from stakeholders, ensuring a deep understanding of customer needs.
Sprint Planning: Participate in sprint planning meetings to help the development team understand and commit to user stories for the upcoming sprint.
Requirements and skills:
Reporting obligations: The consultant will be reporting to the Project Manager.
Duration: Duration of the assignment is 12 months
The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 3.14 “Conflict of Interest” of the World Bank’s Guidelines: World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrower, July 2016, revised November 2017, revised August 2018, revised November 2020 and revised September 2023”, 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: The consultant shall not receive any remuneration in connection with the assignment except as provided in the contract. The consultant and its affiliates shall not engage in consulting or other activities that conflict with the interest of the client under the contract. The contract shall include provisions limiting future engagement of the consultant for other services resulting from or directly related to the firm’s consulting services in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs 3.16, 3.17 and 3.18 of the Guidelines.
An individual consultant will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in World Bank’s Guidelines: World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrower, July 2016, revised November 2017, revised August 2018, revised November 2020 and revised September 2023”, “Selection of Individual Consultants”.
Interested consultants may obtain further information by email: grail@napr.gov.ge; ememanishvili@napr.gov.ge; gmachaidze@napr.gov.ge.
CVs of candidates in English language must be submitted electronically to the addressed below grail@napr.gov.ge; ememanishvili@napr.gov.ge; gmachaidze@napr.gov.ge not later than COB March 03, 2026.
Please include the title of the announced position in subject line of the email and request confirmation of receipt of your electronic submission by NAPR.
ტექნიკური დავალება:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vWLiOe-eomAe90NHzgIxxtNquud-XNLe/edit
