Background

The Goverment of Albania (GoA) has recently approved a new law on protected areas and over the long-term, this should result in a significant improvement in the overall management effectiveness of the country’s system of protected areas, covering 460,060 ha of marine and terrestrial habitats.

The current funding baselines for the PA system, and the capacities to administer and improve PA revenue streams, are still well below the levels required to ensure that the protected area system can properly serve its function as an important tool to protect biodiversity. So, if the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and its agencies is to fulfil its protected area mandate, it will need to have the ability to: (i) secure sufficient, stable and long-term financial resources for protected areas; (ii) allocate these resources in a timely manner and appropriate form to cover the full costs of protected areas; and (iii) ensure that the protected areas are managed effectively and efficiently with respect to conservation and other complementary objectives.

This project seeks to assist the GoA in reducing existing funding gaps for the system of protected areas, improving the management of individual protected areas, improving cost-efficiencies in individual protected areas and building the financial management capacities of protected area nationwide by increasing the capacity of the central and local staff. Therefore, it focuses activities at two levels of support: (i) building the financial management capacities of the agency responsible for administering the system of protected areas; and (ii) demonstrating the efficacy of different financing strategies in a sub-set of individual protected areas.

One of the project components is focused on implementation of mechanisms to improve revenue streams on three National Parks: (i) Dajti National Park (DNP); (ii) Divjaka-Karavasta National Park (DKNP); and (iii) the Llogara-Karaburuni protected area complex (LKC).

Divjake–Karavasta National Park (DKNP) is located along the west coast of Albania, some 90 km from the capital, Tirana. The park was proclaimed in 1966 and later listed as a Ramsar site in 1995. It covers a total area of 22,230 ha. The DKNP is bounded by Shkumbini River in the north, Divjaka hills in the east, Myzeqe canal and Semani River in the south, and abuts the Adriatic Sea in the west. The predominant vegetation of the park - Mediterranean Pine forest - is the last-remaining tract of undisturbed forest in the country. The Karavasta lagoon (4,200ha) harbors the only coastal breeding site of Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus), a globally threatened species. The park also hosts the highest concentration of wintering (~51,000 individuals) and nesting (~500 pairs) water birds in Albania.

Duties and Responsibilities

A Local Moderator that will be under the overall supervision of the Project manager and directly reporting to her, providing continuous performance of the tasks assigned for implementation at local level, to ensure participation, involvement and liaison among local partners, stakeholders and local institutions concerned, facilitating project activities in Divjaka-Karavasta National Park, particularly local authorities, local users, fishery associations, NGOs and economic operators acting in the coastal area whose activities, plans and goals relate to area management, planning and conservation. His/her role is indispensable particularly in maintaining dynamic links and communication locally, particularly to:

• Facilitate the information exchange process with local authorities and institutions to get acquainted with the project strategy and activities
• Coordinate the meetings of project team with PA regional Administration, Local Government Authorities and other local institutions
• Encourage and ensure participation, involvement and liaison among local stakeholders, local institutions concerned, particularly local authorities, local users, fishery associations, NGOs and economic operators acting in the coastal area;
• Update the list of stakeholders in Divjaka area.
• Liaise and collaborate with the project’s key partners at the local level in Divjaka Municipality, and Administrative Units surrounding the NP to ensure the full support and involvement of local stakeholders and private sector, resource users, etc.
• Support the work of consultants or contracted organizations at local level and provide technical inputs where appropriate.
• Prepare the minutes of the local meetings and other documents required for the efficient monitoring of project activities. Write and/or contribute to the preparation of the necessary reports upon request of the Project Manager regarding the implementation status of the project activities at local level.
• Oversee effective ongoing project activities whereby the project assesses best practices and gains experience. Encourage the application of participatory rural appraisal techniques to increase the adaptive management in the project area.
• Assist the project team to conduct the participatory approach of local stakeholders, capacity building and awareness increasing activities at the local level.
• Prepare public information materials.

Deliverables

• Prepare and update the list of stakeholders (2 months from start of the assignment)
• Prepare information on other projects ‘activities in Divjaka Municipality, specifically concerning the protected areas (4 months from start of the assignment)
• Organize at least 3 events on education and awareness with the primary schools of the area (9 months from start of the assignment)
• Final Report on all activities during the assignment (at the end of the assignment)

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

• Ability to use creative and effective communication tools that captures the attention of non-technical stakeholders;
• Computer literacy (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Power Point etc.);
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, strong cultural sensitivity and ability to work in multi-cultural environments
• Strong interest in working with projects in Environment and Tourism fields, particularly with marine and coastal protected areas projects;
• General competence and command of main office software programmes
• Internet communication and searching skills
• Reporting and documentation skills
• Knowledge about existing institutional set up in the Divjake-Karavasta area
• Be resident in Divjaka Municipality region
• Excellent link and approaches to local institutions and local authorities

Required Skills and Experience

• University degree in the fields of environmental economics, PA management or related fields
• At least 5 years of experience in environment and/or environment projects in local level  
• Involvement on former UNDP and GEF programs in that area and previous experience and involvement as facilitator is an advantage
• Good working knowledge of English and Albanian

Evaluation Procedure

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would consider 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

 Combined weighted scoring: Technical (70%); Financial (30%).

o   Educational background                                                                          20 points

o   Professional experience and experience in similar assignments            30 points

o    Experience on Protected Areas , specifically in Divjaka-Karavasta        20 points

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

Candidate obtaining the highest combined scores in the combined score of Technical and Financial evaluation will be considered technically qualified and will be offered to enter into contract with UNDP.