Antecedentes

The Ministry of Economic Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship is in charge of implementing economic development policies anchored around the Business and Investment Development and Investment Strategy that was approved in October 2014. Its focus on economic governance, SME development, support to competitiveness, foreign direct investment was at the end of 2014 expanded with the tourism that provided the ministry with a particularly important role in support of this increasingly expanding driver of economic growth.

Increasing competitiveness of the Albanian economy remains a present challenge in view of weak law enforcement, concerns with the judiciary and corruption, including in the tax, customs and local administration). The Ministry through the Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA) implements several different 'funds', e.g. a credit line and SME credit guarantee fund, an 'export guarantee fund', a 'creative economy fund', an 'innovation fund', a 'competitiveness fund'.

The performance of these funds highlights the need for continuous program monitoring and evaluation to see the impact of these programs on SME sector competitiveness. A well-designed financial support program needs to be able to quantify and measure impact on the sector competitiveness and must avoid wasteful strategies (ineffectiveness, inefficiency, opportunity costs and deadweight loss). AIDA, being a dual agency that promotes both FDI and domestic SME sector, has a unique opportunity to get engaged in supporting sourcing of multinational companies in Albania (and in the region) from domestic companies. Building export readiness services are meant for new exporters/successful intenders that need to strengthen their export skills and/or build new export competencies. They should lead to development of a practical export plan that can, in turn, pre-qualify the exporter for subsequent assistance programs (e.g. financial grants).

UNDP has supported AIDA especially in terms of increasing its capacities with regard to both FDI policies and SME development through UN Coherence fund financing, Czech Trust Fund as well as Developing Results Together Fund. In technical terms, UNDP and AIDA have agreed to work together on increasing the capacities of sectors considered key for the competitiveness support as well as reaching out to local businesses for a transparent disbursement of its funds.

Scope of Work:

The Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA) in the framework of its mission to support and encourage the development of Albanian companies will perform a sectoral analysis of leather and footwear industry in Albania, specifically in the regions of Tirana, Shkodra, Vlora, Korca and Gjirokastra. The availability of local resources and the growing demand for leather products in key export markets and the low labor cost are some of the main factors affecting the development of leather and footwear industry.

The study aims at analyzing the current situation of leather and footwear industry and its effectiveness, with the intention to determine the optimal way to increase the value of the leather raw material through increasing its domestic processing and usage in the regional market and beyond. Simultaneously, it will serve as the basis for further cooperation with AIDA to prepare technical - commercial offers for promotion and stirring of investor interest to invest in the utilization of these assets, enabling not only growth of exports values, but also an increase of employment opportunities and contribution to GDP.

At the same time, this process will contribute to better know the Albanian companies and their products and facilitate the contacts between buyers and sellers within the country and abroad. It will also provide another opportunity for the national companies to present their profiles and become part of the updated list of the Albanian exporters.

Deberes y responsabilidades

UNDP is looking to hire and expert to support AIDA with the following tasks related to this study:

• Conduct an analysis of the leather raw material production (by type) in the country,  leather utilization (by field), level of leather production and trade in the domestic market and exports data based on the information received from the responsible structures, such as operators, entities, customs and tax offices and compare it with the regional market;
• Identify the number of leather goods manufacturers (which produce footwear and other leather products) and collect/analyze data on the needs of the industry to produce footwear and leather products (domestic and import based);
• Explore and identify potential technological schemes to increase the level of leather collection, processing rate and use of the raw material based on the best practices that ensure high quality and competitive production and compliancy with health and environmental parameters envisaged in the national legislation of EU;
• Identify and present the main comparative advantages and potential incentives to encourage businesses to invest in the leather and footwear industry;
• Suggest specific interventions and actions concerning businesses and public administration in facilitating the bureaucratic barriers for existing operators and potential investors;
• Get accurate data and information on the employment rate from the entities that collect and process leather as opposed to those that produce shoes or other leather products;
• Rate the quality of leather based on proper scientific and laboratory analysis at mechanical-physical and chemical laboratories of the Department of Textile and Fashion accredited as per the international standard ISO 17025 from the Accreditation Directorate at the Ministry of Economy, which is the National Accreditation Body.

Methodology:

The consultant has to use several methods of data gathering in order to have the complete information for drawing credible quantitative and qualitative findings and mapping the current situation of leather and footwear industry in Albania. Desk review methodology and stakeholders’ surveys might be combined to capture information and assess the business situation in the leather and footwear industry over the years. A more precise methodology of the exercise will be finalized and agreed upon with the selected consultant.

Timeframe and Deliverables:

The main output of this individual consultancy – spread out as support over the period of March – June 2016 would be a policy paper based on the following outline:

• The current situation of the leather and footwear sector in Albania; detailed analysis of the sector and its growing potential;
• A plan for the development and promotion of leather and footwear sector by the Albanian Government;
• Recommendation of new interventions/schemes in the leather and footwear industry

Supervision/Performance Evaluation:

The consultant will be under the immediate supervision of the UNDP Programme Specialist/ Advisor and the performance of work will also be validated by the Director of AIDA.

Competencias

Core competencies and values:

• 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:

• Good technical knowledge of leather and footwear manufacturing industry;
• Good knowledge of Albania’s economic development context;
• Drafting and reporting skills, team player and capacity to deliver as per deadlines;
• Strong interpersonal and communication (oral and written) skills, efficiency in a multi-tasking and multi-cultural environment;
• Results-orientation and ability to perform under pressure.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Advanced University degree, preferably in Economics, Business Administration, Marketing and/or other relevant fields;

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in sector based analysis - preferable in leather and footwear industry or other related disciplines, Foreign Investments, International Trade, Private Sector development, International Economics etc.
• Proven records of previous analytical and research work/experience;

Language requirement:

• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing skills.

Evaluation of applicants:

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies specified above.

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

• Relevance of education in the relevant fields – 15 points;
• Relevance of specific professional experience in the relevant fields - max. 35 points;
• Record of experiences in analytical/research work and drafting policy papers and high quality products – max. 15 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.

Application Procedure:

Qualified and interested candidates are requested to apply by 19 February, 2016, 16.30 hrs. Please submit the following to demonstrate your interest and qualifications by explaining why you are the most suitable for the work:

• Completed and signed UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SC) and Individual Contracts (IC) – Blank form Download here.
• 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 (daily consultancy fee and any other costs such as per diems, travel and incidental expenditures in project sites as well as any other cost related to the completion of tasks).

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), Financial Proposal 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.

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.