Background

The United Nations has had a country presence in Albania for over 25 years. The UN communications strategy, which supports coordination of the communication efforts of the UN Country Team in Albania concentrates on the attainment of two long term goals (1) increased awareness of the work of the United Nations in Albania as an authoritative, unified and effective partner contributing to the development objectives of the government and people of Albania by creating positive public perceptions related to the UN’s brand and values and (2) increased public profile of the United Nations System of Agencies in Albania. A key activity of the strategy is to ensure that a well-functioning UN Albania website is designed and maintained with updated information on the work of the resident and non-resident UN agencies which contribute to the Government of Albania-UN Programme of Cooperation (2017-2021).

The layout and content of the UN Albania website was designed several years ago with the aim to standardize web management and improve UN Albania’s image. The UN’s targeted audience, especially young people, development experts, policy makers, researchers and technical specialists, have adopted new ways of networking and seeking information. Additionally, transparency has taken an increasingly important role. Taking all those emerging factors into consideration, there is a need to design a more contemporary web presence, which allows for all the above mentioned elements to occupy central stage.

Thus, UN Albania wishes to redevelop its current website into an information hub and resource center, where UN’s targeted audiences can find relevant information, news, achievements, reports and relevant research related to UN Albania’s work.

The UN Albania website serves the following purposes:

  • Provide updates on programmes and initiatives, which inform partners and stakeholders, and increase the UN’s credibility.

  • Promote transparency, which includes but is not limited to: insights on how UN Albania carries out its business and how donor/partner resources are being spent.

  • Serve as a one stop shop for storing information (reports and other publications) from UN agencies including those which do not have a web presence in Albania.

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Albania have several digital communication vehicles: the United Nations Albania website, websites of some UN agencies and social media channels including Twitter, Facebook. UN Albania’s website is the main showcase of the organization’s activities on the ground.

 The UN in Albania would like to hire a consultant to implement several duties:

Under the supervision and guidance of UN Communication Specialist and IT Specialist as well as in consultation with the Resident Coordinator Office, the contracted consultant will undertake the following duties:

  • Design the website, in close partnership with the IT Specialist, in a user-friendly way to allow easy access to information and browsing.

  • Proposes new website design ideas (two samples) and approaches.

  • Align the website with UN Albania’s updated priorities especially the financial transparency element.

  • Programme front end to match the new design.

  • Programme back end to allow updating information easily for non-expert users.

  • The site must be compatible with all the latest internet browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.).

Deliverables

  • A new web design allowing for all the above mentioned elements to take central stage.

  • At the end of the assignment, the UN Albania website must be fully updated reflecting new clustering; all the multimedia tools will have been linked to the corresponding website.

  • All current information and the new one, which will be made available to the expert should be migrated into new design.

  • Back end must be fully programmed to allow updating of given sections and management (editing) of current content and multimedia

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 favoritism.

Core Competencies:

  • Communication - Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
  • Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals in line with agreed strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks and makes allowances accordingly.
  • Organizational Awareness - Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
  • Teamwork - Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
  • Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost and quality standards.

Functional Competencies:

  • Hands on experience with web designing
  • Hand on experience with web content management systems
  • Advanced knowledge  of web programming and mark-up languages HTML, DHTML, PHP, Java Script, AJAX and CSS

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications/Education:

  • University degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science/Arts or any relevant area

Work Experience:

  • The expert should have at least 7 years of web design and management experience.

Language skills:

  • Excellent working knowledge of English and Albanian

Evaluation of Applicants

The 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 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 consultants/companies 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 experiences in web designing and management. (30 points).

  • Proven ability and experience in content management and web development. (30 points).

  • Proven record in writing and reporting in English language. (10 points).

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

Application Procedure

The application should contain:

  • Cover letter and methodology explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and how you plan to implement the requested deliverables. 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...attached form...
  •  Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. Download here.
  •  Financial Proposal in ALL* - specifying a total lump sum in Albanian Lek  for the tasks specified in this announcement.  The attached template may be used - http://www.un.org.al/editor-files/file/Financial%20Offer%20template.doc. Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services)
  • *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.

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 Availability 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.

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

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