Background

Albania’s vocational education and training (VET) and vocational skills development (VSD) system all too often has failed to equip students with the req­uisite knowledge, competences and skills for a suc­cessful transition into the labour market. This has resulted in an unsuitably qualified labour force, skills shortages and soaring youth unemployment. Recognizing the need to systematically address em­ployment by re-orienting the vocational education and training and vocational skills development sys­tem towards labour market needs, and modernizing and extending outreach of employment services, the Albanian government adopted the National Employ­ment and Skills Strategy 2014-2020.

UNDP globally and regionally has built a strategic vision that recognizes the importance of creating employment opportunities as a means to addressing both poverty reduction and inequalities and exclusion. Indeed, the first outcome of the recently adopted United Nations Youth System Wide Action Plan focuses on Employment and Entrepreneurship with the intention to ensure greater opportunities for youth to secure decent work and income over the life-cycle, contributing to a virtuous circle of poverty reduction, sustainable development and social inclusion. To support the integration of various youth employment policy objectives through coordinated action, UNDP Albania, in collaboration with other UN agencies has designed and implemented several skills development / employment related interventions.

After six years of experience addressing labor supply interventions, UNDP Albania’s strategic vision is to contribute to building a labour-market focused skills development system that is suited to enhance the employment and entrepreneurship aspects of the unemployed in urban and rural areas, while simultaneously addressing the skills needs of those employed in the formal and informal sectors and emerging entrepreneurs.

The ambition of the Swiss funded Skills Development for Employment (SD4E) Programme is to make a systemic contribution to the modernization of Al­bania’s VET/VSD system by addressing several key challenges: skills mismatch and unequal access to employment and training services; labour market challenges in rural areas; insufficient governance of funding for employment and training; lack of coor­dination / collaboration in the system; inadequate labour market information; and insufficient quality and relevance of VET and VSD providers and their programmes. The overall goal of the programme is that “more young women and men in urban and rural areas in Albania are employed or self-employed.” In order to achieve this goal, the programme focuses on four outcomes:

Outcome 1:       Improving and diversifying employment promotion measures, and advancing their governance

Outcome 2:       Improved environment and regulatory framework for up-scaling work-based learning schemes (elements of dual system)

Outcome 3:       Quality assurance and accreditation of VET/VSD providers

Outcome 4:       Anticipating skills needs in the short and medium term

Starting in the late 1990s, active labour market measures (ALMMs) have become an increasingly important employment policy tool in Albania. Their objective is to increase the likelihood that unemployed jobseekers will enter and be retained in the labour market. ALMMs implemented in the country have included job search assistance, on-the-job training, internships and job creation programmes (public works and wage subsidies). With economic reform, increasing liberalization of markets and growing concerns about the problems of unemployment, ALMMs have increasingly become an attractive option for policymakers. Despite labour market expenditures as percentage of GDP being significantly lower than European averages, funding for employment promotion programmes has been on a steady upwards trend from ALL 90 million in 2013, to ALL 270 million in 2014, ALL 450 million in 2015 and ALL 490 million in 2016. The increased funding requires management capacities that ensures its effectiveness, transparency and accountability. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of the assignment

The National Consultant for the evaluation of ALMMs implemented during 2014-2015 will work under the supervision of the Deputy Team Leader. The consultant is expected to carry out the tasks described below.

  • Review approved questionnaire for data collection of ALMMs;
  • Conduct data collection of approved questionnaire of ALMMs;
  • Produce a final data set in SPSS or STATA format for use of impact evaluation for ALMMs;
  • Prepare the necessary data to calculate the impact of the programs and cost-benefit analysis following propensity score matching techniques;
  • Calculate the impact of each ALMM;
  • Calculate heterogeneity of impact of each ALMM;
  • Calculate the cost-benefit of each ALMM;
  • Give relevant and applicable policy recommendations that follow from the calculation;
  • Produce a final report in English, which includes detailed explanations of the methodology and data used for the calculations, as well as differentials of the programs’ impact in the Albanian context, results, conclusions and recommendations.

Throughout this assignment, the consultant is expected to liaise very closely with the staff responsible for ALMM implementation and monitoring at the National Employment Services.

Deliverables

The expected deliverables for this individual consultancy will be as follows:

  • Final data set in SPSS or STATA format;
  • Draft ALMM evaluation report;
  • Presentation of the findings to the National Employment Service and other interested stakeholders;
  • Final report.

Competencies

Core Competencies

  • Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;
  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgement;
  • Self-development, initiative-taking;
  • Act as a team player and facilitate team work;
  • Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;
  • Creating synergies through self-control;
  • Managing conflict;
  • Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others;
  • Informed and transparent decision-making.

Functional Competencies

  • Strong communication skills (written, spoken, composing, presentation) and ability to share expertise for capacity building;
  • Substantive knowledge of econometrics;
  • Excellent skills in using STATA or similar statistical software;
  • Solid experience in impact evaluation, using the methodology propensity score matching and providing evidence-based policy advice;
  • Political and cultural sensitivity and commitment to UNDP’s development objectives in the country.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in economics, statistics, or other related field combined with relevant working experience.

Work Experience

  • Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience, preferably in the field of economics, econometrics, or statistics;
  • Prior solid experience in working with large data sets and carrying out impact evaluations;
  • Previous experience/familiarity with UNDP or other UN agencies is desirable.

Language

  • Full working knowledge of English and Albanian is essential.

 

Evaluation Procedure

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 whose offer:

  • Is deemed technically responsive / compliant / acceptable (only technically responsive applications / candidates will be considered for the financial evaluation)
  • And has obtained the highest combined technical and financial scores.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max points: 70

Criteria A: Practical familiarity with econometric analysis and carrying out impact evaluations – max points: 35

Criteria B: Educational background– max points: 15

Criteria C: Prior experience in ALMM evaluations – max points: 20

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

 

Application Procedure

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.

  • 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.