Background

In the broader framework of the joint United Nations’ initiative on social inclusion in Albania, social exclusion is defined as the process whereby certain individuals and groups are pushed to the edge of society and prevented from fully participating in it by virtue of their poverty, lack of access to basic services and opportunities, lack of capabilities, and/or as a result of discrimination. This distances them from job, income and education opportunities as well as from social and community networks and activities.

Albania experienced remarkable economic growth in the past decade. Reforms have been launched in all sectors of the economy as well as in basic services such as education, health and increasingly for social care, insurance and other protection systems. Nevertheless, government structures cannot respond adequately to the needs of marginalized and vulnerable groups due to limited financial and human resources as well as inefficient institutional capacities. In the broader framework of the joint United Nations’ initiative on social inclusion in Albania, social exclusion is defined as the process whereby certain individuals and groups are pushed to the edge of society and prevented from participating fully by virtue of their poverty, lack of access to basic services and opportunities, lack of capabilities, and/or as a result of discrimination. This distances them from job, income and education opportunities as well as from social and community networks and activities. They have little access to power and decision making bodies and thus often feeling powerless and unable to control over the decisions that affect their day to day lives. People with disabilities are among those facing multiple barriers to social inclusion.

The government of Albania is embarking on the implementation of the Social Inclusion Policy Document (SIPD) 2016 – 2020 and the Strategy on Social Protection (SSP) for 2015-2020. These new policy documents are an integral part of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI) 2013-2020 and are responsive to the EU2020 perspective of “Increased Social Inclusion through Development of Labor Market and Social Welfare,” ensuring coherence with the European strategic planning frame in line with the new financial planning period of EU Assistance (IPA 2014-2020). With respect to vulnerable groups, such policies articulate the group-specific dimensions and implementation measures necessary to ensure that the strategies are not “blind” to the group specific characteristics.

United Nations Support to Social Inclusion in Albania Programme (UNSSIA) aims at assisting in the effective implementation of the Government of Albania's new Policy Document for Social Inclusion and the Strategy for Social Protection. It seeks to support the development of capacities of Albanian institutions at central and local levels for advancing the national social inclusion agenda with a view to ensure that government policies and programmes are consistent and coherent in achieving the maximum possible effect for the social inclusion of people at risk.

The UNSSIA interventions aim at: generating knowledge for evidence-based social inclusion policies; strengthening policy management capacities of Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth (MoSWY), line ministries and de-concentrated units to implement the Social Inclusion and Protection Strategy; enhancing implementation capacities of regional and local governance mechanisms to implement inclusive policies; and supporting marginalized groups to demand and exercise their rights to equal access to services.

Support for the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has a special focus in the programme. While the policy level work target mainstreaming disability issues in the common policies, legislation and programmes, capacity support interventions address a wide range of government and non-government partners at national and local level to be able to carry out the country’s commitment towards more inclusive policies for people with disabilities.

The programme is funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) and is part of the   Government of Albania - UN Programme of Cooperation 2012-2016. It is implemented by UNDP and other UN agencies, in partnership with Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth.

1. Objective of the assignment

In Albania, persons with disabilities face barriers in entering the labour market because of low average level of education and professional qualification, as well as discrimination from employers.

According to Census 2011, disabled adults are much less likely to be participating in the labor market than their non-disabled peers. 8 in 10 disabled working-age adults are out of the labor force, i.e. neither working nor looking for work. Disabled adults are 5 times less likely to be working than the non-disabled population. There are no stark gender disparities, as both non-disabled men and women are both 5 times more likely to be engaged in employment as respectively disabled men and women. In addition, it is useful to recognize the heterogeneity among the disabled population in this context, because some of the disabled may be more disadvantaged in terms of employment compared to the rest. Those with cognitive, self-care and communication restrictions emerge as the most disadvantaged in terms of employment prospects. Individuals with physical restrictions are more likely to work, and also more likely to want to work: people with vision, hearing and mobility impairments are 2 to 3 times more likely to be employed than people with severe difficulties in concentration, self-care and communication.

The Law on Inclusion of and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the Albanian Parliament in July 2014, guarantees the right to independent living, including access to employment. The Labour Code prohibits any form of discrimination in the field of employment and occupation. The Law on Vocational Education and Training specifies “special groups” (interpreted as including persons with disabilities) among beneficiaries. Persons with disabilities benefit from free courses, but the premises of VET centres are mostly inaccessible, the centres do not have any guidelines for adjusting curricula to the needs of disabled participants and their staff have not been trained in this field. The Law on Employment Promotion introduced employment quotas for persons with disabilities for private and public sector employers, but the applicable penalties for employers who do not comply with the quota are not enforced. At the by-law level, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision “On employment promotion programs for employment of persons with disabilities” in 2014. The programme was piloted in Tirana and Elbasan with 14 beneficiaries in 2014, then introduced nation-wide in 2015 with 31 beneficiaries as of September. This framework prevents discrimination and provides incentives for employers who hire persons with disabilities. Despite the existence of the above legal framework, actually the number of employed persons with disabilities, in particular of persons with intellectual disabilities, remains very low.

In terms of social protection, in addition to financial allowances, persons with disabilities are also entitled to social care services. The service providers offer rehabilitation, self-service and education for the integration of persons with disabilities under 25 years old in community life. Nevertheless, persons with intellectual disabilities benefiting such services have a lot of difficulties to be integrated in the community life.

Yet, experience in many countries shows that, with the right training, support in the workplace as required, and the right opportunities, persons with disabilities, including those with intellectual disabilities, can make valued contributions in the workplace and to a country’s economy.

The Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth in Albania which is the leader institution in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating disability-related policies, programmes and services, intends to examine employment options for them, with special emphasis on Sheltered Employment models, with a view to enhance employment opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities.

The Government of Albania, through the ratification (in December 2012) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has declared its commitment to the goal of inclusion of persons with disabilities. This said, the Albanian Government is aware that the CRPD provisions, in relation to training and employment, call on providing opportunities for disabled people alongside non-disabled people. The Convention emphasizes “the right…to gain a living by work freely chosen or accepted in a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities”. Though the sheltered employment is not referred to in the UN CRPD, the expertise of sheltered employment in disability issues is stressed by other instruments, serving to the implementation of the UN CRPD such as: - Action Line nr 5 (Employment, vocational guidance and training) of the Council of Europe Disability Action Plan which recognizes the function of sheltered employment in guaranteeing work to persons with disabilities; - The European Disability Strategy which refers to sheltered settings in light of the development of intra-job mobility in the labour market; the Resolution of 25 October 2011 of the European Parliament which recognizes the role of sheltered workshops in acting as facilitators towards progression to the open labour market;  and - the Conclusions of European Council (2011) regarding support of the implementation of the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020, which calls for an increase of employment opportunities, including sheltered employment solutions.

In these circumstances, the Government of Albania will conduct a very careful and critical analysis of both, the national context and examples of sheltered employment across middle- and high-income countries so that it makes informed decisions on the convenience or not of sheltered employment models in Albania. Albanian State Social Service (SSS) - an executive institution under the authority of the MoSWY, - is in charge to coordinate the work for assessing the employment options for persons with intellectual disabilities, identifying the framework conditions for implementing sheltered employment in Albania and formulating the necessary recommendations for implementation. All recommendations will consider sheltered employment as a way of rehabilitation geared toward transition into the open labor market, the final goal being the development of inclusive employment options for this category of persons with disabilities. 

UNDP/UNSSIA programme will support this undertaking by providing technical assistance to the Albanian State Social Service, hence the Programme is inviting interested international consultants to apply for providing advice on employment options for persons with disabilities, with special focus on sheltered employment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UNDP Programme Analyst for Social Inclusion, and the direct supervision of the National Programme Manager for the UNSSIA Programme, the international consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Become familiar with the situation of people with disabilities, in particular of those with intellectual disabilities, in Albania.

• Become familiar with the social and employment legislation and other relevant policy and programme documents regarding persons with disabilities in Albania.

• Discuss with Albanian State Social Service, Albanian National Employment Service and other relevant stakeholders including civil society organisations, various widely-known employment options for persons with disabilities, in particular for those with intellectual disabilities, such as day programmes/centres, sheltered employment, supported employment, integrated day habilitation centres, social enterprises or others. Enlighten Albanian stakeholders on the goals, objectives, targets, efficiency and impact of the different employment options. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of these options and highlight their compliance or non-compliance with international treaties.

• Provide Albanian stakeholders with more detailed information on existing models of sheltered employment for people with intellectual disabilities, drawing from examples in both middle - and high-income countries. Make reference to factors facilitating and/or posing challenges to the development of sheltered workshops.

• Support the State Social Service in analyzing the political, economic, social and cultural Albanian context to assess whether the sheltered employment models are suitable or not for people with disabilities in Albania.

• Support the State Social Service with examining the Albanian policy, legal and institutional framework from the perspective of introducing sheltered employment practices, and identifying the needed changes and adjustments, as well as with assessing cost implications. Provide advice on whether sheltered workshops should be public or private entities, subsidized or not from the State budget, regulated in terms of work relations by the labour or social protection legislation, exempted or not from national and local taxes. Depending on the status of persons with disabilities in the sheltered workshops (as clients or employees), provide advice on their eligibility and admission criteria, on their regime of payment (wages or social protection allowances or combination of both) as well as on their rights and obligations.

• Provide the model of a sheltered workshop by indicating the mission, goal, objectives, targeted beneficiaries, status of beneficiaries, sector of activity, funding sources, organizational chart, personnel composition and qualifications and responsibilities, management and functioning rules, expected outcomes for beneficiaries and the latter’s steps for phasing out toward open labour market.

• Present the study findings to Albanian stakeholders and summarize them in an assignment report.

   

Deliverables:

• Inception report including the initial outline of the study and the suggested work plan and timeline;
• A report highlighting the outcome of discussions with Albanian stakeholders on employment options for persons with disabilities across different countries with special emphasis on sheltered employment (to be submitted at the end of the first mission in Tirana).
• A report assessing the Albanian context from the perspective of introducing sheltered employment practices for persons with intellectual disabilities, and suggesting the framework conditions for the implementation of this employment model (to be submitted before the second mission in Tirana). The report shall also include the model of a sheltered workshop.
• Presentation of the report findings to the relevant Albanian stakeholders and discussion of the suggested sheltered workshop model in small or large group meetings (to take place during the second mission in Tirana);
• An assignment report summarizing all consultancy inputs and outputs.

All outputs will be agreed with and approved by UNDP/UNSSIA team.

Time-lines/Schedule

The work is expected to be completed within 18 workdays over a period of 4 months from the contract signature date. The inception report shall be submitted within three weeks from the contract signature.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;

• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;

Functional Competencies 

• Demonstrable ability to maintain effective communications with different stakeholders;
• Good presentation and reporting skills;
• Thorough understanding of disability issues, human rights, social inclusion and international developments regarding persons with disabilities;
• Creativity skills;
• Excellent inter-personal and teamwork skills, networking attitude;
• Capacity to deliver as per deadlines;
• Displays disability, gender, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Fluency in written and spoken English

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Postgraduate degree in social sciences, social economy, human rights, international development, or other related fields with proven excellent analytical and report writing skills;

Work Experience

• Minimum ten years work experience in designing and implementing service policies and programmes with relevance to persons with disabilities;
• Proven experience in providing consultancy services on promoting disability;
• Relevant experience with UN Agencies or other international organizations would be appreciated;
• Relevant experience in the region would be highly appreciated.

Individual consultant will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

Evaluation of Applicants

Individual consultant 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 points: 70

Criteria A: Expertise in designing and implementing service policies and programmes on persons with disabilities – max points: 30

Criteria B: Educational background – max points: 15

Criteria C: Analytical and report writing skills – max points: 25

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:

• 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 of referees
  (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.undp.org.al/index.php?page=bus_center/vacancies; please upload the P11 instead of your CV).
• Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availibility-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).

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Qualified individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.