Background
The local government system in Albania is going through series of structural and institutional reforms. These changes began at end of 2013 with the launch of the administrative and territorial reform and led to the reduction/consolidation of the local governments from 373 to 61. Several policy developments of key relevance to strengthening the local government institution and local governance in general have followed suit in the last couple of years. Among those, of direct relevance are the Decentralization and Local Governance Strategy and the Law on Local Government as well as the Public Administration Reform Strategy.
The new Crosscutting Strategy on Decentralization and Local Governance 2015-2020 fits the new context of local government organization and has the ambition to create an efficient system of local self-government where the latter is empowered and able to provide quality services and manage the territorial development sustainably. The Strategy reiterates the aim for the consolidation of local human resources and their skills: “empowering the local administration [through] the establishment of a non-bureaucratized, professional and transparent public administration … able to respond to the expectation of the business and the community for public services [and the development of] a special “performance monitoring system” for the LGUs … to guarantee the accountability of the public administration and ensure efficient delivery of services at the local level”.
In a further articulation of the above strategic objectives, the new Law on the Organization and Functioning of Local Government introduces several novelties regarding the definition of local government functions, decentralization of new competencies to the local level, the roles and competencies of the elected and executive levels in the new municipal structures, including the administrative units, new requirements on service provision and the necessity to apply service standards, a new concept of determining the level of local finances and obligations for enhancing local democracy and good governance through improved transparency, accountability and participation.
Likewise, the Public Administration Reform states as part of its aims the “development of public administration, which provides high-quality services for citizens and businesses in a transparent, effective, and efficient way…”. The recently approved National Strategy for Integration and Development (2015-2020) commits to developing a “public administration … in accordance with the European Administrative Space … to provide high quality services to citizens and businesses in a transparent, effective and efficient way, through the use of modern technologies and innovative services … through impartial and professional civil employees as part of efficient structures”. Also, the NSDI commits to substantially advance the administrative and fiscal decentralization agendas for empowering local governments to foster sustainable local development with a high institutional integrity that enjoy public trust, [and] guarantee quality services.
This is the context within which the present STAR2 project is developed as a collaborative effort of international partners, under national leadership, to support the implementation of the reforms at the local level and thus assist in the further consolidation of the local governance system.
The predecessor of STAR2, was the STAR project (Support to Territorial and Administrative Reform), consisting in a pooled donor funding (Italy/Italian Cooperation, Sweden/Sida, Switzerland/SDC, UNDP, and US/USAID), subsequently co-funded by the Government of Albania, to support the development and implementation of the administrative and territorial reform. The project was implemented by UNDP in accordance with UNDP’s project management framework, under the leadership of the Minister of State for Local Issues (MSLI), during the period November 2013 – July 2016. Through STAR, UNDP offered project management and implementation and helped manage donor contributions for the reform. From the beginning, the project was devised as an instrument for providing, through the MSLI, technical, operational and logistical support to the reform process along the implementation.
Similar to its predecessor, the present STAR2 project constitutes the due process and fund management support to the MSLI provided by the international community in Albania (European Union, Italy/Italian Cooperation, Sweden/Sida, Switzerland/SDC, UNDP, and US/USAID), with additional co-financing from the government of Albania. The MSLI is the leading national institution with a direct oversight on policies for local governance reforms.
The project will provide assistance at two levels: at the local level for systematic and inclusive capacity building for all local government administrations, and for organization of public service delivery systems for a more integrated, innovative, transparent, and accountable ways to the benefit of men, women and marginalized; and, operational and organizational support to the Minister of State institution to enable leadership and coordination of this assistance.
The present STAR2 project is developed in continuity of the results of its predecessor STAR as well as in complementarity with the assistance of various partners for strengthening the institutional and administrative capacities at local level. In full account of these considerations, STAR2 project will have a national coverage and benefit all 61 LGUs, with its assistance designed to unfold along three main components:
- Strengthening institutional and administrative capacities of LGUs
(Including support for the implementation at the local level of the legislation related to the Civil Service, Labor Code, and adoption of the Code of Administrative Procedures, local finances, LGU strategic management, integrity, and transparency)
- Improving service delivery at LGUs level
(Including reorganization of service provision at the local level, establishment of service delivery monitoring parameters and targets, provision of services through one-stop-shops, digitalization of administrative records, civic engagement in the design and implementation of services, etc.)
- Increasing good governance through citizen oriented and meaningful participatory decision-making.
(Including support for the implementation of the legislation on public consultations, promotion of participative decision-making practices, development of transparency and accountability systems such as definition and regular publication of municipal information in the municipal websites, support for the development and adoption of public review or scrutiny mechanisms, support for the establishment and functioning of community structure, etc.)
Similar to the predecessor STAR project, the present STAR2 project will employ a dual project management structure: a Project Management Team (PMT), working closely with the MSLI and extending its capacities to guide and implement the assistance across the LGUs, and a Project Coordination Unit (PCU), established at UNDP, to ensure the project is implemented in compliance with UNDP’s project management rules and regulations and provide day-to-day support and quality assurance.
The PMT will be structured in accordance with the three project components, including a National Project Manager (NPM) and three Team Leaders/Coordinators for each of the components who will directly report to the NPM. The PMT will operate under the supervision of UNDP and the National Project Director (NPD), the latter being the government official designated by the implementing partner (MSLI) to have full oversight of the Project, be responsible for the achievement of project objectives, have the authority to request payments, contracts and be the liaison between the government counterpart and UNDP to ensure proper project execution.
The PCU at UNDP will provide quality assurance and project support, including dedicated administrative, logistic and financial management for the implementation, in addition to the provision of common services for human resource mobilization, procurement and logistics.
In this context, UNDP Albania is seeking to hire a qualified candidate for the position of Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist. The candidate must have sound experience in gender and social inclusion matters and be knowledgeable/familiar with the area of local governance.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist will work under the overall coordination of the Minister of State on Local Issues/the designated National Project Director and in close cooperation with the UNDP’s STAR2 project management. The Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist will report to the National Project Manager, work closely with UNDP’s Project Coordination Unit, and with support from the Project Management Team, will perform the following duties:
Assist the NPM and the Team coordinators, while developing the inception phase and detailing implementation actions, to make the activities gender and socially sensitive by paying attention to inclusion, effect and evidence;
Advice the three project teams during the implementation and make sure activities conceived and undertaken are gender sensitive, involve gender participation and seek or produce disaggregated data;
Lead capacity building support in the area of gender mainstreaming and social inclusion through identifying themes and engaging himself/herself or specialized expertise, if and when required
Ensure that gender is mainstreamed across the project, including training materials, monitoring, and design activities that target women within the scope of the project;
Collaborate with the Data Analyst for determining and ensuring the necessary data sets related to gender and social inclusion
Ensure that each subproject and activities under the project is subjected to the Project Social and Environmental Standards (SES) processes and procedures;
Support the establishment of systemic performance monitoring of gender and social policies at the local level
Utilize available and active women’s networks and organizations in the planning and implementation of project activities
Review and provide input to project work plans, with attention to gender dimensions of technical activities and operations, and discuss gender issues and priorities with project senior management and specialists
Maintain an up-to-date and thorough understanding of gender and youth issues related to project components
Undertake other duties as per the requirements of the project or as directed by National Project Manager
Deliverables
Draft an implementation action plan and make it part of the inception phase detailing how to make the activities gender and socially sensitive by paying attention to inclusion, effect and evidence;
Collaborate with the Data Analyst and project manager to establish indicatorsrelated to gender and social inclusion and ways of collecting information on the indicators
Quaterly monitoring and report preparation ensuring activities conceived and undertaken are gender sensitive, involve gender participation and seek or produce disaggregated data;
Support the establishment of systemic performance monitoring of gender and social policies at the local level
Lead capacity building support in the area of gender mainstreaming and social inclusion through identifying themes and engaging himself/herself or specialized expertise. Training curricula and reports on the training sessions will part of the deliverables.
Review and provideinput to project work plans, with attention to gender dimensions of technical activities and operations, and discuss gender issues and priorities with project senior management and specialists.
Competencies
Core Values
Demonstrating/safeguarding UN core values on accountability, integrity, transparency, mutual respect, professionalism, and results orientation
Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results
Displays cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability
Core competencies
Facilitates and encourages open communication in the team, communicating effectively
Able to identify priorities and plan/organize efficiently in line with agreed approach/framework
Demonstrates self-initiative and responsibility in carrying out tasks
Demonstrates the ability to act as a team player and facilitate team work in a multicultural environment
Shows readiness to self-development, sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others
Functional Competencies
Demonstrated ability to plan, organize, direct and control
Ability to work well with multiple stakeholders
Ability to encourage others to work as a team towards a goal
Interpersonal skills, coaching, delegation and follow-up
Excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as ability to analyze, write, edit and conduct presentations
Result oriented and ability to define problem areas, brainstorm solutions, and take decisions based on evidence, consultations and sound analysis
Familiarity with and extensive ability to network with key stakeholders
Ability to deliver under tight deadlines
Proficient with standard computer applications
Commitment to UNDP’s development objectives in the country.
Required Skills and Experience
Education/Academic Qualification
University Degree in international development, international affairs, gender, or a related field is required;
Master’s Degree in international development, international affairs, gender, or a related field is desired.
Work experience:
Seven or more years of experience working in gender and youth integration;
At least five years of relevant work experience in programme and policy development with governmental or preferably multilateral organization
Experience in working with local governments and local stakeholders is preferable
Experience designing and facilitating trainings on gender and gender integration processes and techniques
Strong negotiations and communications skills, and effective report-writing skills
Language requirement:
Excellent communication and report-writing skills in English and Albanian
Evaluation of applicants
Applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies specified above. UNDP applies the ‘Best value for money’ approach - the final selection will be based on the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.
The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
a) Responsive, and
b) Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Individual consultant will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.
Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max points: 70
Criteria A: Compliant educational background– max points: 20
Criteria B: Professional experience in the required area - max points: 30
Criteria C: Experience in working with local governments and local stakeholders and experience in designing and facilitating trainings on gender and gender integration processes and techniques : 20
Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – max points: 30
30% or 30 points: - Analytical capacity and ability to synthesize relevant legal and policy acts with previous experience in legislation and report writing
20 % or 20 points: -At least 5 years of relevant professional experience with proven experience in implementing similar tasks preferably in Albania or the Region
20% or 20 points: - Good knowledge on policies undertaken from the Albanian Government related to conventions in the last 3 years;
General Conditions of Contract for the IC
The application should contain:
- A Brief Methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
- Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability-please fill in the attached form...
- Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. (a template can be downloaded from http://europeandcis.undp.org/files/hrforms/P11_modified_for_SCs_and_ICs.doc)
- Financial Proposal* - specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this announcement. *Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.
*Kindly note that Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal are two separate documents and should be both part of your application.
Please note that UNDP is not in the position to accept incomplete applications - please make sure that your application contains all details as specified below in this notice.
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