Background

UNDP globally and regionally has built a strategic vision that recognizes the importance of creating employment opportunities as a means to addressing both poverty reduction and inequalities and exclusion. In Albania, after several years of experience addressing labor supply interventions, UNDP’s strategic vision is to contribute to building a labour-market focused skills development system that is suited to enhance the employment and entrepreneurship aspects of the unemployed in urban and rural areas, while simultaneously addressing the skills needs of those employed in the formal and informal sectors and emerging entrepreneurs.

Indeed, UNDP Albania’s is working closely with the government institutions in charge of employment policies and economic development. Recognizing the need to systematically address em­ployment by re-orienting the vocational education and training and vocational skills development sys­tem towards labour market needs, and modernizing and extending outreach of employment services, the Albanian government adopted the National Employ­ment and Skills Strategy 2014-2020. In addition, a Business and Investment Development Strategy has also been approved. A tourism sector strategy has been drafted and is due to be approved shortly.

In addition to employment promotion, entrepreneurship and skills creation support to economic development with particular focus on the sector of tourism and increasing its competitiveness. To support the integration of various youth employment policy objectives through coordinated action, UNDP Albania, in collaboration with other UN agencies has designed and implemented several skill development / employment related interventions.

Scope of work

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Albania invites qualified national experts to express their interest in being included in the Experts’ Roaster to deliver advisory services, access to knowledge, and technical backstopping to UNDP’s employment and economic development portfolio in the following areas:

• Employment policies;
• Vocational education and training;
• Legal expertise;
• Statistics;
• Private sector development, competitiveness and support to SME
• Tourism
• Innovation for social and economic development

Duties and Responsibilities

A roster of consultants will be established in this respect to facilitate the swift engagement of national and local expertise as per the above focus areas. Based on the project needs as articulated in the approved work-plans, consultants will provide a range of advisory services to UNDP and its government partners. Specific tasks, outputs, reporting and working relationships will be specified at the time of contracting for the given assignments.

When demand arises in a particular thematic area, pre-selected consultants will be called upon to provide demand-driven services. The range of tasks for the consultants may include, applied research, diagnostic missions, people oriented research, provision of strategic and operational advice, training and capacity development activities, development of policy papers, monitoring and evaluation and others as may be required.

Specific Thematic Areas

Employment promotion – UNDP expects to engage qualified candidates that:

• Contribute to the design of policy interventions, programmes and measures that target the employability of unemployed jobseekers, particularly young people and vulnerable groups;
• Work closely with MSWY and other relevant institutions and support them to translate strategy objectives into activities regarding the promotion of employment of young people and of those from vulnerable groups;
• Demonstrate capability to review institutional arrangements and capacities, and advise accordingly on required changes and/or adaptations;
• Be able to review international best practices in the field and advise or their application in the Albanian context;
• Possess substantial knowledge on monitoring and evaluation of active labour market measures, including net impact evaluation.

Vocational Education and Training – Qualified candidates should be able to:

• Support the carrying out of studies and comparative analysis to further strengthen the capacity to provide evidence-based advice for policies and strategies in the field of VET;
• Asses, analyse and provide options for the functional  connection of schools and TVET centres with employment service and programs;
• Articulate how quality assurance functions can be established and monitored vis a vis public and non-public TVET programs;
• Provide advisory support to NES in running the dual system and especially regarding  the register of apprentices and recognition of both formal and non-formal learning;
• Contribute to drafting quality reports relevant to VET lifelong learning policies;
• Identify and asses the role of VET in equipping young people with relevant skills and competences needed for a sustainable integration into the labour market;
• Asses trends and characteristics of apprenticeships and work-based learning systems in order to contribute to the programme activities on work-based learning;
• Suggest approaches and trends in work-based learning, to inform how these can empower workers to better manage careers and multiple working-life transitions, thus improving employability and labour market integration;
• Support the development of vocational and employment skills training programs;
• Develop and implement innovative training programs to improve employability of local communities;
• Assist in implementation of on-going capacity building initiative for VET;
• Co-ordinate and liaise with government line departments/ministries, VET institutions, and other relevant stakeholders to involve them in project activities;

Legal expertise - Qualified candidates should be able to:

• Assist the government institutions in reviewing and finalizing relevant legislation and related contracts/agreements;
• Assist the relevant institutions with the analysis and recommendations for the new employment regulatory framework;
• Assess and recommend any changes to NES in view of the Crafts draft Law;
• Draft the recommended new regulations and/or administrative orders and preparing the related justification documents with support from project’s technical experts;
• Providing legal advice and participating in the project implementation as far as youth employment is concerned;
• Review legal provisions, organigrams, management structures;
• Review and prepare an overview of the experiences and lessons learnt in other countries from implementing similar employment promotion measures;
• Analyze the existing regulatory framework to identify areas where additional regulation or changes to existing regulation are most needed;
• Review and refer to good practice in other countries for employment promotion legislation, and inform practice;
• Recommend Changes to the Legal and Regulatory Framework
• Support the MSWY and its relevant institutions during the presentation of the proposed regulations and incorporating any comments;

Statistics – qualified expertise is expected to:

• Carry out research studies on socio-economic development, employment and labour market;
• Collect and analyze data based on national statistical instruments and administrative data as required
• Interpret and present results to government institutions, programme management structure and relevant stakeholders;

Tourism – experts will be asked to:

• Assist the Tourism department at the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism and Entrepreneurship and UNDP for the implementation of activities related to the annual work plan.
• Consult and work closely with tourism stakeholders, community organizations, tourism operators
• Ensure all stakeholder needs, industry gaps, and feasible opportunities are accurately identified and described e.
• Develop tourism marketing and communication approaches
• Draw strategies for enhancing local community participation in the ecotourism initiatives
• Facilitate the development and implementation of productive partnerships between community ecotourism groups and the private sector
• Design project fiches that promote sustainable eco-tourism

Private sector development, competitiveness and support to SME – experts are expected to work on:

• Private sector, SME and competitiveness research, policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation as well as project fiche preparation
• SME, PSD policy development, institution building, business plan competitions, income generation programs, cluster development, competitive business development Services adapted to local demand, youth and women.
• Coaching, training, capacity building, industrial and business advice. 
  Innovative private sector development with focus on SME support:
• Entrepreneurship and start up support
• Establishment of Business Incubators / Business Support Centres and Business Associations

Innovation and people centred development – experts are expected to contribute to:

• Fostering innovation – ensuring that the latest innovation expertise and methodologies are systematically identified, tested and made available.
• Capacity development support with an emphasis on expanded collaborative and networking capacities across institutional, professional and constituency boundaries
• Conduct research and field trips to identify new ideas for potential innovative public services oriented towards employment and economic development
• Mobilize, facilitate and coordinate any volunteers for new innovative public services

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards.
• Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
• Display cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional competencies:

• Strategic vision, strong technical and analytical capabilities;
• Strong reporting and writing abilities;
• Ability to work in a team, develop synergies and establish effective working relations with government counterparts, donors, NGOs and other development partners;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, resourcefulness, initiative, maturity of judgment, tact, and negotiating skills, and the ability to cope with situations which may pose conflict;
• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
• Ability to accommodate additional demands on short notice;
• Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
• Ability to manage heavy workload and solve complex problems with minimum supervision.

Required Skills and Experience

Expert/s in employment promotion

• Graduate degree in public policies, economics, public administration or closely related field of studies.
• Substantial experience in the field of labor market analysis employment policies;
• Minimum 10 years of professional consulting experience
• Demonstrated ability to understand, analyses and present complex terms on labor market &employment policies;
• Familiarity with UN & EU agenda;
• Analytical thinking and strategic planning skills, ability to facilitate, consult and negotiate with a broad range of government and non-government partners;
• Good inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills,
• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

VET expert/s

• Graduate degree in economics, public policies, social policies or any other relevant field
• Minimum 10 years of professional consulting experience
• Excellent understanding of the vocational education and training sector in Albania certified by reports and project references
• Familiarity with UN & EU agenda;
• Analytical thinking;
• Good inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills;
• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

Statistician/s

• Graduate degree in statistics and demonstrated professional experience in the specific technical areas of the project;
• Minimum 10 years of experience in similar assignments;
• Working knowledge of statistical software;
• Analytical thinking and proven track record in data collection and analysis;
• Good inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills;
• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

Legal expert/s

• Graduate degree or equivalent in Law, specialized in labor market & employment sector;
• Minimum 10 years of legal expertise in the public and private sector;
• Good knowledge of Albania’s public laws relevant to the field of employment and social and economic development;
• Excellent knowledge of National Administrative and Constitutional Law;
• Familiarity with UN & EU accession agenda;
• Good inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills,
• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

Private sector development expert/s

• Graduate degree in economics, business administration or closely related field of studies.
• Minimum 10 years of professional consulting experience on private sector, business development, competitiveness and SME development
• Familiarity with UN & EU accession agenda;
• Analytical thinking and  ability to facilitate, consult and cooperate with a broad range of government and non-government partners;
• Good inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills,
• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

Tourism expert/s

• Graduate degree in economics, business administration, tourism development or closely related field of studies.
• Minimum 10 years of professional consulting and management experience on issues related to tourism
• Familiarity with UN & EU accession agenda;
• Analytical thinking and  ability to facilitate, consult and cooperate with a broad range of government and non-government partners;
• Good inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills,
• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

Innovation expert/s

• Graduate degree in public policies, social sciences, economics or closely related field of studies.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience on employment, economic development. private sector, business development, competitiveness and SME development
• Familiarity with UN & EU accession agenda;
• Analytical thinking and  ability to facilitate, consult and cooperate with a broad range of government and non-government partners;
• Demonstrated ability to travel and conduct and document community based research for innovation purposes
• Good inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills,
• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

Evaluation of applicants:

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies specified above for each thematic area. The inclusion into the Vetted Roster of Experts will be offered to those individual consultants whose offers have been evaluated and determined as (a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and (b) having received high scores specific to the solicitation.

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

• Relevance of education to the selected thematic area (hereafter ‘area’) – 15 points;
• Relevance of specific professional experience in the relevant field - max. 30 points;
• Record of drafting policy papers and high quality products – max. 10 points;
• Fluency in English– max. 10 points;
• Familiarity with UNDP mandate and/or approach relevant to the area; experience working with other international organizations or in public sector; experience with public policy or capacity development – max. 5 points;

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

UNDP applies the ‘Best value for money’ approach - the final selection will be based on the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

Contracting Arrangements:

The successful candidates will be included in UNDP’s technical expert roster for a period of 3 years. Entry into the expert roster system does not necessarily mean that contract with UNDP is guaranteed. This will depend on forthcoming needs.

Where a request for services arises, the UNDP shall directly approach the selected consultants from the roster checking for their availability. A specific Term of Reference (ToR) outlining the outputs for each assignment shall be provided and an Individual Contract (IC)/Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) will be issued to the consultant, detailing the time frame directly by the contracting unit/office. Conditions of a particular assignment may be negotiable.

Payments:

Payments will be made as specified in the actual contract upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

Application procedures:

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

• Cover letter, including applicant's qualifications for the advertised position. The letter should be pasted into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
• A clear identification of the primary thematic area of interest and expertise (number and title of the specific thematic areas above) for which the applicant is applying.
• It is possible to apply for more than one thematic area(s).
• Filled P11 form for SC and ICs; (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.al.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/operations/jobs/  ; please upload the P11 instead of your CV;
• Financial Proposal – daily fee in ALL (merge as explained above)

Applications without financial proposal will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all other requested materials.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UNDP on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.

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 women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

How to Submit the Application

To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs);
• Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs), Financial Proposal, daily fee and cover letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click “Submit Application;”
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.