Background

Although the Government of Albania has been successfully implementing important political, social and economic reforms, Roma and Egyptian face direct and indirect barriers in accessing public services, stemming from an eligibility criterion they cannot comply with, lack of information or understanding of administrative procedures, as well as stigma and frequent discriminatory attitude from the majority population. Long-term exclusion has affected the living conditions of Roma and Egyptians, treatment by the majority population and relationship with government institutions. Studies show that the level of poverty among Roma is twice as high as the majority population. Regardless of their recognition as minority, Roma are both marginalized and socially excluded communities.

This project that is funded  by the European Union and aims to further improve the social inclusion of most vulnerable communities consisting of Roma and Egyptians in Albania, with focus in the regions of Tirana, Durrës, Shkodra and Berat. The project’s purpose is to promote the economic and social empowerment of Roma and Egyptian communities in Albania by standardizing an innovative and integrated new approach at the policy and programming level and to provide integrated social inclusion models at sub-national level focusing in the regions of Tirana, Durrës, Shkodra and Berat.

This will be achieved by facilitating the horizontal and vertical communication and cooperation of the different stakeholders, including the target groups, at the national and sub-national/local level and implementing innovative tools, new models in flagship initiatives for increasing employment and vocational training opportunities, improving access to basic social services, strengthening institutional capacity, and establishing supportive mechanisms for those who live under severe circumstances. In the long term, this aims to lift the Roma and Egyptian families out of poverty and support their sustainable inclusion in the Albanian society and labor market.

The project is composed based on four (4) project objectives formalized in four (4) work packages, introduced below.

Objective 1 – Increased employment and skills development opportunities accessed by Roma and Egyptian women and men reduce the employment gap between R&E communities and the majority of the population.

Objective 2 – Community Led Local Development (CLLD) for R&E inclusion at the local level through integrated, inclusive and sustainable development.

Objective 3 – Procedures, models, tools and guidelines established and made operational based on the Integrated Approach and a Behavioral Change Model to support better access of Roma and Egyptian communities to basic equitable, inclusive and decentralized services and to foster a tolerant and inclusive society in Albania.

Objective 4 – The National Action Plan for Roma and Egyptian Integration in the Republic of Albania, 2015-2020, supported for implementation, monitoring and evaluation at the national, regional and local level.

The methodology selected is based on hands-on support to active participation in community development activities and businesses required and selected by the beneficiaries. Through this methodology it has been calculated that the impact will be stronger and the interest of different stakeholders higher and more sustainable in the long term.

In order to secure that outputs and results of project are disseminated in an effective way, a Communication Strategy and Action Plan will address the specific communication, dissemination and knowledge management activities of the project.

Purpose of the communication Strategy and its action plan

The Communication Strategy to be produced will identify the objectives, target audiences, messages per audience, the communications channels to be deployed to reach the target audience, monitoring and evaluation tools and indicators. The communications strategy will be accompanied by a strategic action plan to implement the strategy.

The Communications Strategy and Action Plan  will specify the information and communication tools to be used for implementing a comprehensive educational awareness and advocacy campaign focusing on the rights and values of  Roma and Egyptian communities in Albania as well as for disseminating and informing about the results of the Project. Voices of the project beneficiaries should be the main highlight of the communications strategy.

The communication strategy should detail a social media outreach plan on behalf of the project

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the ESERE Project Manager, and guidance of the Communication Unit at UNDP CO, the qualified consultant is responsible for developing a Communication Strategy and measurable Action Plan for the ESERE Project. Moreover the plan will be shared with the EU Delegation Office in Tirana to get their feedback and comments before finalizing the product. While designing the communication channels with the respective target audiences, the Communication Strategy and Action Plan should be crafted in full compliance with the Communications and Visibility Manual for European Union External Action 2010, Joint Visibility Guidelines for EC-UN Actions in the field, EU Communications and Visibility Toolkit for UNDP Country Offices (December 2015), UNDP Communication Strategy Framework and ESERE Project Document.

More specifically the consultant is responsible for:

Drafting a communications strategy and action plan which will identify the goals and objectives, activities and resulting outputs, specify the target audiences, channels of communications to reach those audiences, messages to be used per audience as well as identify monitoring and evaluation tools.

  • Propose a list of public information activities and materials to be produced throughout the implementation of the programme.

  • Propose innovative usage of instruments such as infographics, the usage of social media, etc., mainstreamed in every project work package to resulting outputs and targeted audiences.

  • Propose innovative ways for promoting Roma and Egyptian role models.

  • Identify creative social events to attract the attention of distinguished journalists and media personalities.

  • Detail a social media strategy and action plan.
  • Designing a press and media database.

Outputs/deliverables:

  • Development of the methodology for preparing a Communication Strategy and Action Plan;

  • Prepare first draft of Communication Strategy and Action Plan, for discussion within the programme team.

  • Communication Strategy and Action Plan reflecting the comments provided ;

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 favouritism.

Core competencies:

  • Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity
  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment
  • Self-development, initiative-taking
  • Acting as a team player and facilitating team work
  • Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal 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.
  • Creating synergies through self-control
  • Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member.

Functional Competencies

  • Good understanding of social inclusion of Roma and Egyptians and overall development issues in Albania.
  • State-of-the-art knowledge in the field of advocacy, communications and media relations with an ability to address a range of issues related to UNDP information requirements, including taking a lead in feeding public information directly into media channels;
  • Substantial and diverse experience in all facets of communications and public information, and proven ability to place UNDP successes and achievements into different media avenues to ensure coverage;
  • Seasoned ability to develop communications products for global audiences;
  • Ability in production, sub-editing, and editing; and to write quickly, clearly and concisely;
  • In-depth knowledge of political trends, public attitudes, local conditions and developments;

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

  • Masters degree in media and communications preferably with significant exposure to human rights, development studies, or equivalent.

Experience:

  • At least 7 years, of progressively responsible experience in PR and media relations;

  • Proven skills to draft communications strategies on behalf of international organizations, private sector.

  • Must possess a solid understanding of social inclusion and development issues affecting Roma and Egyptian communities in Albania;

  • Ability to work in a pressured environment with strict deadlines;

  • Previous experience/familiarity with UNDP and / or other UN agencies particularly in EU-Funded projects is an asset.

Language skills:

  • Excellent working knowledge of English and Albanian.

5. Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultant will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ fulfillment of technical criteria 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 points: 70

•        Criteria A: Professional Experience related drafting communication strategies and research – max points: 30

•        Criteria B: Educational Background– max points: 10

•        Criteria C: proposed methodology  – max points: 30

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:

  • A brief presentation explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position, to be entered in the first part of "Resume and Motivation" (max 1000 characters)
  • Your word format resume in the following box, under"Resume and Motivation".
  • Filled UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs); form to be downloaded at link: http://www.al.undp.org/content/albania/en/home/operations/jobs.html . Please upload the P11 instead of your CV.
  • Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability-please fill in the attached form...
  • 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);
  • Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SCs) and Individual Contracts (ICs), Financial Proposal, Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availibility 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.