Background

Albania has made important steps towards establishing a democratic state, functioning market economy, maintaining a stable economic growth, and achieving human development. Nevertheless, the implementation of social policies for the inclusion of vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, remains problematic. In order to support improved social inclusion, UN Agencies have engaged in implementing “Leave No-One Behind” (LNB) Project, which pursues the following goal: Vulnerable persons and groups are empowered to have equal access to public services and opportunities and to have a voice in public decision-making affecting their lives. The project’s first phase (2017-2021) is designed to:

  •  strengthen the vulnerable population to request and receive adequate social services from local authorities that support their social inclusion,
  • help municipalities to effectively manage the provision of social services and promote social inclusion, and
  • support national institutions to implement their policy framework for providing social services and adequately fund social services. Governance and gender equality will be the project’s cross-cutting issues that are mainstreamed throughout outcomes under a human rights perspective.

The project’s target groups who will indirectly and directly benefit from improved social services, are the marginalized populations of Albania, with children and women often being the most vulnerable, and especially persons with disabilities, Roma and Egyptians. The improvement of their social inclusion will be supported by interventions at macro level (central authorities and services such as the Albanian Institute of Statistics), at meso level (municipalities and civil society organizations) and at micro level, actively involving the project’s target groups into the project’s implementation. The project will cover all of Albania, by improving social service provision in all 61 municipalities; specific geographic foci will be targeted by reacting to specific needs and challenges in selected municipalities.

The project’s implementation is the responsibility of the four UN agencies UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women and UNFPA, who will cooperate with state actors from central and local level, with civil society organizations and directly with target groups. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of the assignment

Albania ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in December 2012, while in July 2014, the Parliament adopted the Law on Inclusion of and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities. This Law, which was drafted with UNDP assistance and expertise, aims to enable full and effective participation of all persons with disabilities in all social spheres on an equal basis with others, transposing the CRPD to Albanian law.

The effective implementation of the Law requires the development and approval of a series of bylaws and other secondary legislation. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MoHSP), being the lead institution in guiding and coordinating the work for the development of the secondary legislation deriving from the Law, requested the UNDP/LNB programme to assist with technical expertise for drafting the by-laws related to independent living, personal assistance and supported decision-making provisions. Therefore, UNDP will contract an international expert in disabilities and a national expert in law to jointly work for developing four new pieces of legislation as specified below. While the international expert will be required to mainly contribute to the outputs’ content and the national expert to the outputs’ formulation, both consultants will have to prepare the full package of necessary and related legal and supporting documents for the implementation of these secondary legislation. The present vacancy announcement invites qualified experts to apply for the position of the international consultant.

Scope of work

Under the general supervision of the UNDP Programme Coordinator for Leave No One Behind, and with guidance and technical support of the staff of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the consultant will carry out the following tasks:

  1. Draft a work plan for the period of engagement with the key tasks to be carried out, the expected completion date for each task and deliverables and submit it to UNDP/LNB after obtaining pre-approval from the Deputy Minister of HSP. The work plan should include a list of key stakeholders to be consulted and all live or virtual meetings to be held with key stakeholders and the UNDP/LNB team. The work plan should be delivered within 2 weeks from the start of the contract.
  2. Become familiar with the national legal, policy and programme framework related to persons with disabilities.
  3. Coordinate, meet and share with the working group tasked by MoHSP to support and oversee the process as well as with other national and international experts, in order to create the necessary synergy.
  4. Develop 4 (four) by-laws foreseen in the Law no. 93/2014 on Inclusion of and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, namely: 1) the Decision of the Council of Ministers (DCM) on the modalities for providing personal assistance and the criteria on personal assistant selection;  2) the DCM on the rules, procedures and criteria for the provision of the services related to independent living; 3) the DCM on the rules, procedures and criteria for the provision of the services related to supported decision-making; 4) the Minister’s instruction on the modalities for persons with disabilities to benefit training on how to instruct personal assistants.  The process of developing each of the bylaws should comprise the following grouped tasks:
  • Identification of the scope/object of the bylaw;
  • Design of the structure of the selected bylaw;
  • Identification of relevant good practices and EU/international recommendations related to the scope of by-law;
  • Preparation of the first draft of the bylaw, including annexes (where applicable);
  • Preparation of the second draft of the bylaw, including annexes (where applicable);
  • Preparation of the final draft of the bylaw, including annexes (where applicable);
  • Draft analytical reports for each bylaw;
  • Draft a list of key recommendations from the consultations and discussions on the proposed bylaws with stakeholders and duty bearers;  
  • Finalise and submit drafts of four bylaws, the accompanying reports and any related supporting documents as specified in the agreed workplan.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables:

  1. Workplan for the period of engagement with the key tasks to be carried out, the expected completion date for each task and deliverables along with the list of key representatives from stakeholders and interest groups to be consulted;
  2. Draft bylaws formulated;
  3. Draft analytical reports for each bylaw;
  4. List of key recommendations from the consultations and discussions on the proposed bylaws with stakeholders and duty bearers;  
  5. Final drafts of bylaws and the accompanying reports.

Duration of the Work

The duration of this assignment is for a maximum of 25 days over the period of August-December 2019. The target start date is 5 August 2019.

Competencies

Core competencies:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modelling UN values and ethical standards;
  • Commitment to UNDP’s mission, vision and values; 
  • Commitment in promoting, protecting and ensuring disability rights;
  • Sensitivity to disability, gender, nationality, religion and age differences.

Functional competencies:

  • Thorough understanding of disabilities, human rights, social inclusion and related international development;
  • Very good drafting and reporting skills, team player and capacity to deliver as per deadlines;
  • Strong inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills, efficiency in a multi-tasking and multi-cultural environment;
  • Ability to work and adapt to a dynamic working environment, judgment, results-orientation, and ability to perform under pressure;
  • Knowledge of Albanian context and key legal documents on persons with disabilities would be highly appreciated.

Required Skills and Experience

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

  • Advanced degree in social sciences, law or other related fields.

Relevant work experience:

  • Minimum ten years of experience in designing and implementing policies, programmes and services with relevance to persons with disabilities;
  • Proved experience in providing expertise to governments on promoting the rights of persons with disabilities;
  • Very good understanding of legislative work, processes, function and structures demonstrated through personal contribution to the developments in this area;
  • Relevant experience with UN Agencies or other international organizations would be appreciated;
  • Relevant experience in Albania would be highly appreciated.

Language:

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.

Payment modality

  • Payment to the Individual Contractor will be made based on the actual number of days worked, deliverables accepted with prior approval of the Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection and upon certification of satisfactory completion by the LNB Coordinator.

 

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

Criteria A: Expertise in policy and programmes design and implementation for persons with disabilities – max points: 35

Criteria B: Educational background– max points: 15

Criteria C: Relevant experience in providing expertise and working with international organizations and past relevant experience in Albania – max points: 20

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

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

 

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...http://www.un.org.al/doc/PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Letter%20to%20UNDP.docx
  • Latest personal CV, including past experience from similar projects or completed and signed UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SC) and Individual Contracts (IC) – Blank form Download here.
  • Financial Proposal - specifying a total lump sum amount in USD for completion of the tasks specified in this announcement. The financial proposal should indicate an all-inclusive fixed total contract price and all other travel related costs (such as flight ticket, per diem, etc), supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template attached to the Letter of Confirmation of Interest template.  If an applicant is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the applicant must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 
  • Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport.

How to Submit the Application:

To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

  • Merge your CV or P11, 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.