UNDP Jobs - 53441- International Consultant for Conducting Training o

International Consultant for Conducting Training of Professionals on the Protocol/Procedure for Assessing Communication Skills of Persons with Disabilities

Location :

Home-based with a mission of 14 workdays in Tirana, ALBANIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

16-Feb-2015

Application Deadline :

06-Feb-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

24 workdays over a period of three months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

In the broader framework of the joint United Nations’ initiative on social inclusion in Albania, social exclusion is defined as the process whereby certain individuals and groups are pushed to the edge of society and prevented from fully participating in it by virtue of their poverty, lack of access to basic services and opportunities, lack of capabilities, and/or as a result of discrimination. This distances them from job, income and education opportunities as well as from social and community networks and activities.

Albania experienced remarkable economic growth in the past decade. Reforms have been launched in all sectors of the economy as well as in basic services such as education, health and increasingly for social care, insurance and other protection systems. Nevertheless, government structures cannot respond adequately to the needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups due to limited financial and human resources as well as inefficient institutional capacities. Vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, face multiple barriers to social inclusion.

Currently, Albania is preparing new policy documents on Social Inclusion and Social Protection for 2015-2020. With respect to vulnerable groups, policies would articulate the group-specific dimensions and implementation measures necessary to ensure that the strategies are not “blind” to the group specific characteristics.

United Nations Support to Social Inclusion in Albania Programme seeks to support the development of capacities of Albanian institutions at central and local levels for advancing the national social inclusion agenda with a view to ensure that government policies and programmes are consistent and coherent in achieving the maximum possible effect for the social inclusion of people at risk; and, to enhance civil society and citizens’ participation as rights holders in national social inclusion processes.

Support for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will have a special focus in the programme. While the policy level work will target mainstreaming disability issues in the common policies, legislation and programmes, capacity support interventions will address a wide range of government and non-government partners at national and local level to be able to carry out the country’s commitment towards more inclusive policies for people with disabilities.

Objective of the assignment

Albania ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in December 2012. Article 21 of the CRPD which relates to “Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information” requires States Parties to take all appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities can exercise the right to freedom of expression and opinion … through all forms of communication of their choice, … including by … accepting and facilitating the use of … augmentative and alternative communication, and all other accessible means, modes and formats of communication of their choice by persons with disabilities in official interactions.

The present consultancy will focus on persons with autism spectrum disorder whose number in Albania, according to some studies, is growing. Studies have shown that autism spectrum disorder is associated in the majority of cases with communication disorders and speech problems. Collectively the communication skills are used to socially relate to others and to satisfy a wide range of needs. As a result of this disorder, this group of people lacks the possibility to communicate with the others, to be integrated in the community and be included in the education school system.

The Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth in Albania which is the leader institution in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating disability-related policies, programmes and services aims at enhancing the quality of life of autistic individuals with no or few communication abilities through improving and updating the work knowledge and practice of its partner service providers. More specifically, the intention is to provide service providers’ staff with skills on using a protocol/procedure for assessing communication skills of persons with autism and make use of the communication software which is called the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and helps disabled people to communicate better.

UNDP/UNSSIA programme will support this initiative by providing technical assistance, hence the Programme is inviting interested international consultant(s) to apply for designing and conducting this capacity-building intervention. The international consultant will be assisted by a national consultant whose Terms of Reference will be announced separately.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UNDP Programme Analyst for Social Inclusion, and the direct supervision of the National Programme Manager for the UNSSIA Programme, the international consultant will be responsible for the following:

Become familiar with the situation of people with disabilities, more specifically with autism spectrum disorders, in Albania;
Become familiar with the legislation, standards of services and other relevant documentations regarding persons with disabilities in Albania;
Play the role of team leader for the national consultant by assigning to him/her the preparation and facilitation work for the training design and delivery;
Design the training curriculum and materials on the protocol for assessing Communication Skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorders and for developing Communication Skills Refinement Plan for them;
Assist UNDP/UNSSIA team with specifying the characteristics of supportive materials such as assessment guides, testing kits, electronic supplies, software, etc.;
Design the training outline and agenda for professionals working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders;
Conduct, with the assistance of the national consultant, a fourteen-day training, including on-the-job training for 10 professionals that work with individuals with autism spectrum disorders on the various components of the communication skills assessment and communication skills refinement plan, assessment tools and progress assessment. The training should be based on the communication software called the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP);
Assist the professionals during the coaching part of the training to identify the specific communication skills of 20 individuals with autism spectrum disorders in order to develop an individualized and practical Communication Skills Refinement Plan that would improve their ability to effectively communicate and interact with others;
Prepare an assignment report underlining the overall objectives and methodology and a summary of the training outcomes and lessons learned with conclusions and recommendations for training follow-up.

Deliverables:

Inception report including the initial outline of the training curricula for staff working with persons with autism and the suggested work plan and timeline;
A document proposing the specificities of materials and supplies necessary for the training;
The training curricula, manual, outline and agenda on the protocol for assessing communication skills for professionals working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders;
Conduct of fourteen-day training, including on-the-job training, on the protocol for assessing communication skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorders for professionals working with them;
An assignment report.

All outputs will be agreed with and approved by UNDP/UNSSIA team.

Time-lines/Schedule

The work is expected to be completed within 24 working days over a period of 3 months from the contract signature date. The inception report shall be submitted within two weeks from the contract signature.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Thorough understanding of disability issues, human rights, social inclusion and international development
Good understanding of Albanian key documents on persons with disabilities;
Proven excellent analytical, communication, public speaking and presentation skills;
Creativity skills;
Excellent inter-personal and teamwork skills, networking attitude;
Capacity to deliver as per deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education/Academic Qualifications:

Graduate degree in education, social sciences, law or other related fields.

Work Experience:

Minimum ten years experience in designing and implementing policies and programmes with relevance to disability issues;
Significant experience in designing and conducting training for service providers, preferably for those working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders;
Experience in providing expertise on promoting disability rights;
Relevant experience with UN Agencies or other international organizations would be appreciated;
Relevant experience in the region would be highly appreciated.

Language requirement:

Fluency in written and spoken English.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultant will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max points: 70

Criteria A: Expertise in designing and implementing training programmes with relevance to disability issues – max points: 30;
Criteria B: Educational background– max points: 15;
Criteria C: Analytical, communication, public speaking and presentation skills – max points: 25.

Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max points: 30.

Application procedures:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain:

Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application;
Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees
(blank form can be downloaded from http://www.undp.org.al/index.php?page=bus_center/vacancies; please upload the P11 instead of your CV);
Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (number of anticipated working days, travel, per diems and any other possible costs).

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document.

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would take into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their financial proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores. UNDP retains the right to contact references directly. Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Qualified individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.