Background

The Government of Albania is reforming its public service delivery through “Innovation against Corruption: Building a Citizen Centric Service Delivery Model in Albania” (ISDA) initiative. This reform led by the Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration (MIPA) represents the Government’s determination to improve service access and quality for citizens and businesses and increase efficiency in the Albanian public administration as a means to strengthen the rule of law and fight corruption, foster a customer-care culture, strengthen compliance with the EU integration agenda, and align with Southeastern Europe regional initiatives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ commitments. The pillars of this reform are: (i) Front Office (FO) – Back Office (BO) separation and centralized service delivery; (ii) Re-engineering of service processes through standardization and simplification; (iii) Digitization and online services; and (iv) Performance monitoring and citizen feedback.

As part of the reform, in October 2014, ADISA, the Agency for the Delivery of Integrated Services in Albania, was established to manage the centralized public service delivery to the citizens. Its expanded mandate includes the implementation of the separation of the front office (FO) from the back office (BO) in all central institutions. This process entails the overhaul of public service delivery in Albania with the establishment of service standards for the citizens and performance monitoring for service window clerks, based on a customer-care culture. Key institutional partners include also the Delivery Unit at the Prime Minister’s Office (DU), and the National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI).

The reform program is supported by World Bank financing as well as donor assistance including the EU, Government of Italy, UNDP, OSCE and others through the IPS II Trust Fund.

Since mid-2014, UN Albania has provided support through provision of technical assistance, which has been structured within a donor pool fund project format under the name of “Support for Innovation against Corruption: Building a Citizen Centric Service Delivery Model in Albania (ISDA Support Project)”.

The Project focuses on:

  • The development of a long-term public service reform policy document;
  • The design of the Front Office - Back Office separation model and its piloting;
  • The establishment of service delivery standards;
  • Institutional capacity building for ADISA to implement the service delivery reform;
  • Technical assistance for MIPA in reform management and monitoring.

The implementation is financed through a pooled fund, the current contributors being the Government of Italy, the UN and UNDP. Implementation follows UNDP’s national implementation modality, with the Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration (MIPA) in the leadership, while UNDP provides project and financial management support in accordance with UNDP’s regulations and rules for project management. In this respect, UNDP’s support includes engagement of expertise identified as necessary by the MIPA and in accordance with the project’s agreed objectives and plan of activities. In addition, UNDP provides project support through administrative, procurement and financial management for the implementation.

As part of the project support for the GoA’s service delivery reform program, communication activities are becoming increasingly important, including also those targeting international audiences. In this context, UNDP Albania is seeking to hire a qualified international expert to work with MIPA and the DU.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

Prepare two (2) case studies for the service delivery reform in Albania and performance by the DU, respectively and support MIPA in reaching out to international audiences on the Albanian experience. 

Description of Responsibilities

The Consultant will work under the overall guidance and management of the MIPA’s ISDA Program Director, and will collaborate closely with DU and ADISA.

During the engagement period, the expert shall work from home and perform the following tasks:

  • Present outlines of the case studies and finalize them based on the provided feedback;
  • Prepare the first drafts based on the content provided by the beneficiaries;
  • Identify areas where additional information is required;
  • Produce an initial draft, a revised draft based on additional information and consolidated comments provided by the relevant offices; and a third draft incorporating final style changes and factual corrections
  • Submit the finalized case studies;
  • Support MIPA in identifying media outlets in print and online that cover international developments issues and where articles on the Albanian experience could be placed.
  • Engage as needed with the beneficiaries for an in-depth understanding of the two cases;

Expected deliverables

  1. The case study for the service delivery reform in Albania in English;
  2. The case study on the performance by the DU;
  3. List of media outlets in print and online that cover international developments issues and where articles on the Albanian experience could be placed.

Note: Payment will be in four installments, as follows:

- 30% after the submission of the first draft of case study 1;

- 20 % after the submission of the final case study 1;

- 30% after the submission of the first draft of case study 2;

- 20 % after the submission of the final case study 2 and list of media outlets.

Competencies

Core values:

  • Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards;
  • Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Core Competencies:

  • Communication: Excellent communication 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;
  • Client orientation: Ability to establish and maintain productive partnerships with national partners and pro-activeness in identifying of beneficiaries and partners’ needs, and matching them to appropriate solutions;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
  • Analytical skills, initiative, sound judgment, results-oriented and efficiency in a multi-tasking environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

  • Degree in social sciences;

Experience

  • At least 20 years of experience, including in international media, of writing on international development issues;

  • Familiarity with public administration reform themes and experience in communications and media relations with special focus on the issues of international development is a must;

Language

  • Excellent writing skills in native English for PR purposes

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: Experience of writing on development issues: 35% or 35 points

Criteria B:Familiarity with public administration reform and experience in communications and media relations with special focus on international development: 25% or 25 points

Cirteria C: Native English language PR writing skills: 10% or 10 points

 Financial Criteria - 30% of total evaluation – Max points: 30 Points

Application Procedure

The application should contain:

  • Cover letter explaining why you are the most suitable candidate for the advertised position and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (if applicable). Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
  • Completed and signed UN Personal History Form (P11) for Individual Contracts (IC) – Blank form Download here.
  • Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability - please complete the attached form...
  • Financial Proposal - specifying a total lump sum amount (working days, travel, per diems, and any other possible costs) 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/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of service, etc.). All envisaged international travel costs should be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel .http://www.un.org.al/editor-files/file/Financial%20Offer%20template.doc.

* Kindly note that Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal are two separate documents and should both be part of your application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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 a 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.