Historique

The need for territorial and administrative review and consolidation of local government units had emerged in national policy debates since early 2003 and the importance of its considerations have been growing increasingly as a necessity to change the pace and quality of local development and strengthening of public administration.

Such developmental and governance concerns found a central place in the program of the new Government taking power September 2013, with a full understanding that the reform would be critical for reviewing and improving institutional capacities and fiscal systems in place and making them more efficient and responsive to development and further decentralization challenges. In 2013, Local Government in Albania was composed of 373 LGUs of the first level that in many cases were not economically sustainable. 55% of the communes and 15 % of the municipalities comprised less than 5, 000 inhabitants and 230 LGUs used to spend 60% of the budget on their own salaries.  About 80 smallest LGUs did not provide any public service to their communities. LGUs lack capacities to offer quality services and need to get reorganized to tackle new tasks and responsibilities in the context of decentralization and amalgamation.

Undertaking of a territorial reform became a priority for the Albanian Government as a first step for a larger comprehensive package of changes to strengthen local administration and capacities to assume a better development role.  Albania held local elections in June 2015 and in quite a different context from the past, confirming to a radical territorial and administrative reform (TAR) legislated in 2014, from 373 to 61 new local Government Units.

In response to the new Government commitment and resolve to undertake the reform under a tight schedule, several donors agreed to provide immediate support to the leading government institution, the Minister of Local Issues and arranged to contribute to a pooled donor contribution funding (total of $3,672,460) under UNDP management for the provision of input support to the process, i.e. logistics, procurement, recruitment, and the like. This pooled funding includes to date contribution from Sweden, USAID, Switzerland, Italian Cooperation, Albanian Government and UNDP. Donor arrangements around this government commitment have been put in place in a record short time between October and December 2013. The contributing arrangement, under the name of Support to Administrative and Territorial Reform – STAR, was operational by 10 December 2013.

Becoming active at the same time of the launch of the reform, the STAR project has been instrumental in supporting the development and implementation of the entire reform sequence and represents an innovative donor contribution and coordination platform around the reform and in the dialogue with the government. Regardless of the funding sources, the Government/ Minister of Local Issues has an active and leading role in shaping the reform and coordinating assistance and expertise for developing the reform content.

The identified key areas requiring support, to which STAR project contributes financially and managerially, relate to mobilization and management of human resources, procurement of services and goods as well as various coordination and monitoring running costs.

Key Project Results to Date:

The project is designed around four major components:

• Technical and institutional capacity support to the MSLI to manage the reform process
• Facilitation of information sharing and public consultations
• Provision of technical services in support of the transitional and consolidation phase
• Provision of timely logistical inputs at all stages of the process

From its commencement in December 2013 the key results achieved to date by the STAR Project include:

• The establishment and support of a reform Technical Secretariat attached to the Minister of State for Local Issues, which has grown during 2014 to become the Amalgamation Team of Experts, a unit in charge of identifying and developing the details of each action to be undertaken in the framework of the reform implementation, monitor the implementation progress and provide quality assurance on behalf of the Minister of State;
• Hiring of international and national expertise; an expert analytical work on determining optimal options for consolidation based on transparent and simple criteria;
• Organisation and facilitation of  knowledge transfer and sharing platforms where best practices are discussed and experiential learning is generated (E1);
• An extensive public consultations campaign to correct and adjust the proposed solutions and seeking buy-in and support from the beneficiary citizens and the current LGUs (E2);
• The development of the approach and modalities (based on piloting in Pogradec and Ura Vajgurore)  for implementing the consolidation in practice, in conformity with the legal and administrative frameworks in place, including necessary amendments and revisions of such frameworks; (E3)
• The adoption of the legal framework legitimizing and enabling changes to happen; preparing of a practical guide for newly elected mayors (E4);
• The capacity development and mobilization of the necessary human resources to engage in the reorganization and consolidation of local administrations; 61 working groups established at local level;
• The undertaking of the due diligence/assessment  process of 381 LGUs including financial and operational and human resources aspects (E5);
• Undertaking of an assessment of the document management and archiving situation in all the LGUs (E6);
• Developing One-Stop- Shop Model and implementing it in two municipalities (E7)
• Provision of technical assistance to the new municipalities to prepare short-term (three years) Local Development Operational Plans including specific projects fiches for capital investments;
• Support provision of the definition of the administrative borders of 61 of the new local government units; (please find in the Annex 1 linkages of provided evidences according to numbers)

Devoirs et responsabilités

The object of study for this evaluation is the STAR Project understood to be the set of components, outcomes, outputs, activities and inputs that were detailed in the project document and in associated modifications made during implementation. The evaluation aims at the followings:

• Measure to what extend the STAR project has implemented the activities, delivered outputs and attained outcomes and specifically achieved development results;
• Generate substantive evidence based knowledge, by identifying best practices and lessons learned and make recommendations for improved future assistance in the relevant area.

More specifically the evaluation will:

• Analyse the project ’s design quality and internal coherence (needs and problems it sought to solve);
• Analyse the sustainability of project interventions;
• Provide feedback on the soundness (defined as relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability) and impact of its approach;
• Based on the analysis conducted over the experience of STAR, extract lessons learned and provide recommendations for follow-up and adjustments in working methods if necessary

The conclusions and recommendations generated by this evaluation will be addressed to its main users, participating agencies, the Project Steering Committee, the Agency for the implementation of the Administrative and Territorial Reform, the 61 municipalities and other partners involved in the project implementation.

Suggested Analytical Framework:

The evaluator can include other aspects in accordance with the purpose of the evaluation and in agreement with the executing agency (UNDP). The key evaluation criteria revolve around the following aspects:

• Relevance: The evaluator will assess the degree to which the project takes into account the local context and development problems. The evaluation will review the extent to which the objectives of the project are consistent with beneficiary requirements and needs, and assess whether the approach was coherent with the Country's policies. The evaluation will also review the extent to which the project design was logical and coherent, and it will assess the link between activities and expected results, and between results and objectives to be achieved.
• Effectiveness: The evaluation will assess the extent to which the project's objectives have been achieved, compared to the overall project purpose. In evaluating effectiveness it is useful to consider: I) if the planning activities are coherent with the overall objectives and project purpose; 2) the analysis of principal factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the objectives.
• Impact: The evaluation will assess the main impact effectively achieved by the STAR Project in the context of reference.
• Sustainability: The evaluation will assess the project capacity to produce and to reproduce benefits over time. In evaluating the project sustainability it is useful to consider to what extent intervention benefits will continue even after the project is concluded and the principal factors influencing the achievement or non-achievement of the project sustainability.

Outputs and Deliverables:

The evaluator shall produce the following deliverables through the course of the as­signment:

• Work plan – within two days of the start of the assignment.  The evaluator will submit the wok plan which will include a detailed approach and methodology and schedule.  In par­ticular, the work plan will require a clear approach to data collection and work organization to examine the project in its full scope.
• Preliminary findings report – within 13 days of the start of the assignment, the evaluator will share a draft report indicating the scope of assessment in key components. The purpose of this report is to demonstrate progress on the assignment and adherence to the TORs, and will identify any evaluation issues that may need further clarification before completion.
• Final evaluation report – within 5 days of receiving the consolidated comments from stakeholders, the Evaluator will submit a final document that addresses relevant comments and provides comprehensive reporting on all elements of the assignment. This report will be submitted to the STAR project Steering Committee for clearance.

Evaluation Report Outline:

As a minimum, the Evaluation Report (draft or final) shall include the following components (the exact structure of the report may be influenced by the project components and compo­nents of the Evaluation TOR):

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Project outline
• Methodology
• Analysis
• Findings
• Best Practices and Lessons Learned
• Recommendations
• Relevant Annexes, for example: a) List of people interviewed; b) List of acronyms; c) Evaluation work plan and TOR; d) List of key reference documents

 Evaluation methodology:

The evaluation will be carried out through the analysis of various sources of information including desk analysis, survey data, as well as interviews/group interviews with governmental counterparts and project partners, direct beneficiaries, municipalities, civil society and other donor community (besides those involved with STAR)  with relevant programmes in the country, such as for example CoE, EUD, etc.

Management arrangements, work plan and time frame:

• Desk review: Review of key project documents (3 working days)
• Field visit: The evaluator visits project sites, interviews stakeholders and beneficiaries and gathers additional information (6 working days)
• Report drafting: The evaluator drafts the evaluation report (5 working days)
• Stakeholders’ comments and feedback: The draft report is circulated to stakeholders for comments and feedback. These are consolidated and sent to the evaluation team (3 working days)
• Final report: The evaluator finalizes the report embedding the comments (5 working days)

It is expected that the evaluator will conduct consultations and meetings with representatives of the following institutions but not limited to:

• UNDP Albania
• Minister of State for Local Issues
• Amalgamation Team
• Newly elected mayors
• Partner agencies (Sweden International Development Agency, Swiss Development Cooperation, Italian Cooperation, USAID) and other donors with similar implementing projects
• Other actors involved in the sector such as Co-Plan, Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Urban Research Institute, etc

Implementation Arrangements:

The Evaluator will work under the supervision of the UNDP programme officer and STAR project manager which will provide guidance in the development of the work plan and ensure the monitoring of satisfactory completion of eval­uation deliverables. UNDP may provide office space and access to standard office services as needed.

In consultation with the Evaluator and as requested, UNDP/STAR personnel will make available all relevant documentation and provide contact information to key project partners and stakeholders, and facilitate contact where needed.

Duration and remuneration:

UNDP will fund the costs of the consultancy work and all costs of travel, as per UNDP regulations. The duration of the consultancy is 22 working days within a period of 40 days.

Compétences

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 favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated experience in programme design, monitoring and evaluation.
• Knowledge, experience and understanding of the Local Governance and Territorial Reform;
• Familiarity with local governance developments in Albanian and related local government project evaluation experience is highly preferable.
• Proven record in analytical thinking and concise writing and reporting in English language;
• Demonstrated ability to write comprehensive reports;
• Experience in applying adult learning methodologies and workshop facilities skills;
• Strong analytical and conceptual thinking;
• Fluency in spoken and written English;
• Ability to work in an independent manner and organize the workflow efficiently

Qualifications et expériences requises

Education/Academic Qualifications:

• Advanced University Degree in Economics, Public Administration, Political or a Development related field;

Work Experience:

• At least 10 years of experience in program design, monitoring and evaluation;
• Experience in conducting evaluations from a governance based perspective and thematic/sector evaluations;

Language Requirement:

• Fluency in spoken and written 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:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) 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:

• Demonstrated experience in programme design, monitoring and evaluation (30 points).
• Proven ability and experience in governance and development issues; (30 points).
• Proven record in analytical thinking and concise writing and reporting in English language (10 points)

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

Applications procedures:

Qualified and interested candidates are requested to apply on-line through this site, no later than January 22, 2016.

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.
• Completed Personal History Form (P11 form) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs) including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.al.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/operations/jobs.html . 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.

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) - Download here;
• Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs) 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.

*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...). All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. 

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

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply.

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.