Background

The issue of entrepreneurship for women in Albania remains challenging and very limited. Although there have been increases in the number of women-owned businesses in Albania since 1990, such ownership and scope of activity is far limited and requires special attention. Women entrepreneurs or lack thereof is a multifaceted issue, which may be analyzed at different angles. Entrepreneurship for women means more economic freedom, asset and property ownership, decision-making, and therefore greater economic empowerment. Nonetheless, the lack of such accesibilities and opportunities makes women less likely to become entrepreneurs and start new businesses. According to INSTAT, at present women own 25.7% out of 106 477 business in the country. 18% of private business managers are women. Furthermore, despite the fact that more than 50% of women in rural areas work in agriculture, they only own and manage 6% of farms. There are several reasons why the percentage of women who run a private business is so low. There are constrains in the tax system and there is a high level of informality of women entrepreneurs. Women have larger problems than men to access finance to create new businesses and expand and scale up existing ones. Furthermore, the gender-related division of labor leaves women with less time to devote to business; fewer opportunities of having information; partial contacts and experience; scantier capital resources; limited mobility and fewer capabilities. On top of that there is an overall lack of data and research on the matter. This lack in knowledge causes also the absence of supporting policies and programs on the side of the Government of Albania to promote and encourage women’s entrepreneurship. The SME Index report claims that Albania needs to improve support for women’s entrepreneurship providing dedicated programmes of support, training and access to finance.
 
Women economic empowerment both through increased access to labour markets as well as enhanced opportunities for women entrepreneurship is a policy area that is gradually gaining attention in government policy as a tool to guarantee consolidation of women’s rights. The centrality of women’s economic empowerment is stressed in several documents and strategies elaborated by the Government of Albania, as the National Strategy for Gender Equality and Reduction of Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence (2011-2015) and The National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI) 2007-2013. Both strategies clearly underline the need for full participation in the economy of the country. The Government of Albania, cognizant that women’s economic empowerment constitutes a necessary condition to promote gender equality is committed to support women entrepreneurship through specific programs and policies. Ministry of Economy Trade and Energy (METE) is committed to comprehend involved challenges and elaborate policies and practices that could be developed to promote women entrepreneurs.
 
Pursuant to that commitment and in line with the Programme of Cooperation signed between the Government of Albania and the UN system, for the period 2012-2016, UN Women in cooperation with METE have collaborated to mainstream gender on the recently drafted Business and Development Strategy 2013-2020. The Draft Strategy represents a significant advance by including women entrepreneurship as one of its priorities. The strategy includes targets to increase female self-employment and to increase women’s share of business credit. Most important, the strategy and its action plan include specific measures to achieve the gender targets. One of its targets is also the development of a Women’s Entrepreneurship Policy Document and Action Plan which will be later followed and implemented by the Government of Albania.

Based on the above, UN Women requires the support of an International Consultant, as a team leader who, in collaboration with a National Consultant and on the basis of a country analysis of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and current practices and projects, will provide a detailed plan of interventions that could be adopted to better support national efforts geared towards promoting women entrepreneurs in Albania. The detailed action plan should include accurate and well-developed entry points, indicative interventions and activities that the consultant suggests GoA and in specific METE to support, while pointing out capacities of potential local partners. This plan must take into account Albania’s gender equality and economic development current stage and national policy plans and shall be revised and polished after finalization of consultations with key stakeholders from METE. The detailed action plan and its recommendations will build upon the efforts made by the GoA, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders that are currently promoting women’s entrepreneurship in Albania.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

Under the direct supervision of UN Women National Programme Coordinator on Women Economic Empowerment, the International Consultant will design a comprehensive Plan of Action on Women Entrepreneurs to be jointly developed and implemented with METE in Albania. The consultancy will aim to point out the most appropriate national efforts to be designed for supporting Albanian women entrepreneurs. In developing this Plan, the International Consultant will be guided by the National Strategy on Gender Equality and Gender-Based Violence and the 2012-2016 GoA-UN Programme of Cooperation as well as the sectorial strategies adopted by line ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agriculture; the consultant will closely examine pilot initiatives ongoing or concluded in different regions of the country; will assess Albanian women economic status as compared to men; will integrate the country’s economic development potentials; and make use of proven international best practices of interventions that have produced positive results in promoting women entrepreneurship.  
 
Methodology
The international consultant will be expected to develop a work plan and methodology for the elaboration of an Action Plan on Women Entrepreneurs. Final methodology to be agreed with UN Women upon start of the consultancy.
 
Task and Responsibilities

The International Consultant is expected to work closely with UN Women Programme Coordinator, with a UN Women contracted National Consultant, as well as cooperates with the gender focal point within METE.  
Specifically, the expert will have to:
  • Undertake a situation analysis of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Albania;
  • Conduct an assessment of current policies, Programmes and projects for women entrepreneurs implemented by national economic institutions, local governments and civil society organizations, with particular focus on lessons learned and impact of these interventions, together with potentials for replication;
  • Develop a national plan of interventions for women entrepreneurs based on national and international best practices.
Deliverables 
The International Consultant, in collaboration with the National Consultant will deliver the concrete outputs as follows:
  • Detailed work plan for the consultancy and description of methodology to be employed;
  • Updated situation analysis with main areas of concern;
  • Detailed Plan of Action for Women Entrepreneurs in Albania, comprising specific recommendations of best practices that could be adopted in Albania to respond to these local challenges and opportunities;
  • Peer review process with various public and civic stakeholders for the validation of the Plan of Action;
  • A final Plan of Action reflecting feedback from the peer review process.
Duration of the Assignment

The Consultant is expected to carry out the assignment for 30 working days over a period of 2 months. The assignment is expected to commence from July until September 2013.

Competencies

Core Competencies:
  • Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards;
  • Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Functional  Competencies:
Communication:
  • Excellent communication skills, including the ability to pose questions, listen, evaluate and capture opinions, suggestions and comments, both orally and in writing, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different stakeholders.
Client orientation:
  • Ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships with national partners and pro-activeness in identifying of beneficiaries and partners’ needs, and matching them to appropriate solutions;
  • Demonstrated analytical skills on issues related to gender, women’s economic empowerment, women’s entrepreneurship, rural development, employment and vocational/professional training.
Additional Competencies:
  • Demonstrated ability to work in an independent manner;
  • Strong teamwork and leadership skills;
  • Awareness of both gender equality and economic challenges of countries transitioning from centralized to market economy;
  • Ability to organize work efficiently and deal with multiple tasks;
  • Experience in UN interagency cooperation, particularly on Gender and Economic Policy Processes is an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Post-graduate degree in gender & development, economics; rural development, or relevant fields.
Work experience:
  • At least 7 years professional experience in development, economics or relevant fields including proven experience in the field of women’s economic empowerment;
  • Sound and practical experience in strategic planning and operational planning;
  • Experience in legal frameworks and policy formulation;
  • Experience in developing Programmes/projects on women entrepreneurship;
  • Proven research and analytical skills;
  • Proven ability to work within limited time constraints in the preparation of high quality documents;
  • Previous experience in developing programmatic documents to governments, international organizations or civil society organization’s on women’s economic issues;
  • Previous experience in drafting policy documents on women entrepreneurs is considered a plus;
  • Diverse organizational work experience is an asset.

Language requirement:

  •  Fluency in English.
Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultants 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. 70 points:
  • Criteria Education: max 20 points;
  • Criteria Work experience in the field of women’s economic empowerment; gender developmental issues; women entrepreneurship:  max . 25 points;
  • Criteria Knowledge of gender mainstreaming in the strategic planning and policy formulation processes; max. 15 points;
  • Criteria Analytical skills and Competence in conducting policy-designing processes: max. 10 points;
  • Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max. 30 points.
 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 from (http://www.unifem.sk/uploads/doc/p11.doc),  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 note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services...).
 
Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UN Women on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner.
 
FC:  W0001