UNDP is the development arm of the United Nations system, with offices in 180 countries. Globally, the organization employs 17,000 people and manages a budget of USD 5 billion each year.

The UNDP office in Skopje employs a team of 65 and currently manages a portfolio of projects in environmental protection, good governance and social inclusion worth USD 18 million per year.

In a joint response to the stagnant integration of Roma, persons with disabilities and youth, as population segments exposed to multiple barriers in accessing the labour market, UNDP in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has launched at the beginning of 2019 the implementation of a new four-year project that will strongly focus on enhancing the employability and facilitating employment of the most vulnerable individuals.

The Project will offer innovative policy and programming solutions to activate Roma and persons with disability in the open labour market while promoting services for broader social inclusion. In addition, the project will provide creative solutions and new approaches to address the problem of youth unemployment. It will tackle economic reintegration of long-term unemployed, but also institutional and non-formal barriers and drivers of exclusion.

The core employment support activities addressing Roma and other persons at risk of social inclusion will be channelled through a network of NGOs active in providing labour market activation services to Roma and other groups at risk of social exclusion. It is expected that the services will be operational in 5 municipalities (to be additionally selected) with significant presence of the Roma population.

In preparation of the interventions in this field, the UNDP in partnership with Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) and SDC has conducted an assessment focusing on the topic of Roma employment and,  in early 2018, has issued a policy paper that, based on international best practices, has suggested the Spanish Acceder programme as a model of intervention in North Macedonia for ensuring decent work for Roma and reducing their vulnerable employment. An operating Manual for operationalisation of the employment support measures targeting Roma and other vulnerable persons in compliance with the guiding ACCEDER principles has been elaborated as well.

The engagement of NGOs implies among others collaboration based on their performance (results) as per the previously agreed pricing methodology. This is a first step in introducing NGOs as service providers in the area of employment-related services which at a later stage shall be complemented by legal arrangements for regulating the NGOs’ status as service providers integrated in the national system.

The UNDP is seeking a qualified national consultant with expertise and hands-on experience in developing methodologies for setting prices for social services and in implementing employment-related support services in the context of North Macedonia. The model should enable adequate remuneration for the services delivered, taking into account both the prevailing market rates and the possibilities for future public funding for these services.

Objective of the Assignment

The objective of the assignment is to determine a methodology for pricing a range of services that, based on the Spanish Acceder approach, will be delivered by NGOs as external service providers to support employment and social inclusion of Roma and other vulnerable persons.

For that purpose, the Service provider shall (1) review the recently developed methodology from the MLSP on setting pricing schemes for social services in relation to its applicability in determining  type and prices for social and employment-related services which are subject of this assignment; (2) if appropriate, elaborate adjustments of this methodology to reflect the specifics in pricing the social and employment-related services that are relevant for the Acceder model; (3) define key services for which the pricing scheme will be determined in consultation with the international consulting company, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) and the Employment Service Agency (ESA); and (4) propose range of prices for the defined social and employment-related services.

The pricing methodology shall take into account both the prevailing market rates for the same or similar types of services and, in line with the requirements for ensuring sustainability of these services, the level of prices acceptable for public funding through the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and/or the Employment Service Agency.

Scope of Work

Under the guidance of the Project Manager, the Service Provider will be responsible to:

• Review the recently developed methodology from the MLSP on setting pricing schemes for social services in relation to its applicability in determining prices for social and employment-related services which are subject of this assignment;
• If applicable, elaborate adjustments of this methodology to reflect the specifics in pricing these social and employment-related services;
• Analyse the current status of the public funding for relevant social and employment related services, the existing pricing methodologies and the relevant laws, bylaws, and documents in North Macedonia.
• Analyse the goal and content of the Acceder-based services as key inputs in defining key services for which the pricing scheme will be determined.

• Define key services for which the pricing scheme will be determined in consultation with the international consulting company, the MLSP and the ESA, and in accordance with the activation process of the Guaranteed Minimum Income recipients regulated with the new law on Social Protection. Existing employment and social services provided through public institutions/organizations shall be taken into account to prevent overlapping and to explore synergies.
• Analyse the content and complexity of the defined services to determine the time and level of expertise needed for successful delivery and the related material costs incurred for each service. The activities involved in the delivery of the services are presented below and are identified as per the Operational manual developed for implementation of this Project component (to be given to the selected consultant). However, this list is for indicative purposes only and shall be considered as draft version, which will be further developed in coordination with the international consultants.
• As per the existing methodology for pricing of social services, the methodological approach shall include the following elements:

• Definition of the cost unit (e.g. beneficiary, days, hours, etc.) for each service; 
• Definition of at least two quality standard levels for each service;
• Calculation of the price for each type of service which shall be result-based. A special attention shall be paid to incorporating services that cannot be clearly quantified in the overall pricing structure. Where applicable, solutions for flexible pricing approaches shall be proposed as well.
• Detailed explanation of the approach and the adjustments (if needed) of the calculating procedure to enable autonomous and correct use of the pricing methodology.
• Methods for verifying the service delivery and the quality of delivered service according to the defined quality standards.

• Prepare pricing list for the social and employment-related services that will be defined in consultations with the international consulting company and propose range of acceptable price fluctuation. 

The activities are structured in line with the six-phase Individualized employment pathway approach which forms the essence of the Acceder programme. The pricing methodology shall combine the services in a logical set of activities that are easy to follow, are verifiable and can be validated by the public institutions.

• Phase one - Dissemination of the programme and its services among possible participants and community, and outreach of participants:
• Dissemination of the programme and its services among possible participants and community via effective dissemination channels;
• First-hand information and clarification of the programme opportunities to the potential candidates,
• Setting up of the first appointments with the Centers for Social Work, the respective Center for Employment, and the NGO – service provider
• Phase two - First individual interview to pre-assess the current status and needs – to be done by the Professionals / Case Managers from Centres for Social Work and the Professionals in the Employment Centers together with the NGO representative:
• Collection and recording of candidate’s data;
• Assessment of existing barriers for accessing the labour market - addictions, housing situation, economic resources, health situation, etc.); employability potentials (skills, education, work experience); Motivation to take part in training programmes;
• Baseline analysis of personal, family and professional variables (initial assessment: assessment of conditionalities regarding family responsibilities, family support, motivation towards employment, time availability to search for a job and to work, labour and training experience, etc.);
• Combine information regarding potential set of services that are relevant for interviewed person, offered through the programme and other programmes;
• Upload information into the database;
• Elaboration of baseline action plan in line with the Acceder approach.
• Phase three - Employability assessment, expectations adjustment and outlining individual employment pathway:
• In-depth interview: recording and assessment of variables related to: needed health service, personal and for the family members, including services for family members with disabilities; certified diplomas (formal education or courses); skills, motivation, ability to work and professional work experience; some kind of verification of informally gained skills; any work-related trainings.
  • Design or pre-design of person’s professional desirable target/s;
  • Design or pre-design actions in order to build the pathway among the Professionals / Case Managers from Centres for Social Work, the Professionals in the Employment Centers, the NGO representative and the participant;
  • Referral to appropriate national institution or partner NGO for complementary support services;
  • Record of relevant data for subsequent phases and for tracing development through of the process;
  • Monitoring session (individual interviews between the case manager and participants to update the employability assessment card and progress achieved through the activities carried out.
• Phase four - Labour counselling including training in soft skills and competences, adjustment of personal expectations:
• Actions to learn how to use surroundings resources (and refer participants to them when convenient);
• Groups meetings about information on labour market (general and by occupational sectors);
• Actions for job search techniques: self-candidacy; search for job offers in newspaper; search for job offers in virtual job-search websites; training in filling out employment forms and applications; analysis of lists of businesses offering job placement or internship; training in telephone calls to get an interview; training in the selection interview process;
• Group job seeking actions: internet job seeking workshops, labour counselling sessions focusing on a specific professional sector, Counselling and professional information modules included in the vocational training courses.
• Phase five - Training for acquisition of basic skills, cross-cutting and professional skills, abilities and habits:
• Soft skills and vocational training through ALMMs and/or in-house training by the NGO – service provider
• Referral to outside training resources providing formal and non-formal trainings;
• Certified Delivery / organisation of training customised to the specific needs of the candidates;
• Specific training agreed with companies (formal and non-formal);
• Access to employment measures in: occupational training, vocational training, subsidized employment, self-employment.
• Phase six - Labour insertion through inter-mediation or via active own job search, and follow up:
• Preparatory activities: labour market assessment to get sound knowledge of the labour situation; establishment of a positive relationship with companies based on mutual trust;
  • Support to participants to find and access job offers in the labour market for themselves including through subsidized employment, self-employment and other related ALMMs.
• Detect job opportunities and their matching with profiles in the Acceder data base;
• Job seeking skills building;
• Monitoring/Follow-up job placement (of both enterprises and participants).

      EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

      The consultancy is expected to deliver the following deliverables:

• Deliverable 1: Report including (1) a brief presentation of the current status of the public funding for relevant social and employment related services; the existing pricing methodologies; the key provisions of the relevant laws, bylaws, and documents in North Macedoni?; and existing employment and social services; and (2) list of the defined social and employment-related services along with the estimates of their content and complexity which shall be presented in time units, level of expertise needed and material costs incurred for each service.

• Deliverable 2: If applicable, elaborated adjustments of the MLSP methodology on setting pricing schemes for social services  to reflect the specifics in pricing the defined social and employment-related services;
• Deliverable 3: Pricing list for the social and employment-related services, once it is fully defined in consultations with the International consulting company, MLSP and ESA.

The Payment will be made in 3 instalments. Each installment will be paid upon confirmation of UNDP on the satisfactory completion of the respective deliverable.

 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT

The consultant will work under direct supervision by the Project Manager. He/she will be in regular communication with the supervisor and will provide update on the progress achieved on a regular basis. All communication and reports will need to be prepared in English language.

In course of performing his/her job, the consultant will need to meet with the international consulting company, the MLSP and the ESA. The UNDP office will assist with scheduling these meetings.

DURATION OF THE WORK

      The duration of the Consultant’s work is estimated to up to 35 working days in the period 5th of November to 20th of December 2019. 

DUTY STATION AND TRAVEL

The assignment will include home-based work and work in Skopje, North Macedonia.

If unforeseen travel is requested by UNDP and not required by the Terms of References (ToR), such travel shall be covered by UNDP in line with applicable rules and regulations and upon prior written agreement.

• Strong research, analytical, reporting and writing abilities.
• Ability to work under pressure, uses time efficiently. Identifies priority activities and adjusts them as required.
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results.
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
• Sensitive to issues of concern to youth and other vulnerable groups.
• Strong interpersonal skills. communication and diplomatic skills.

The selected candidate shall possess:

• Master’s degree in Economics or other social discipline relevant to the position. PhD in Economics or other social discipline relevant to the position is considered as an asset.
• At least 5 years of professional experience in developing methodologies, studies, analyses and research with focus on employment issues.
• Experience in definition and pricing of employment and social services for vulnerable categories.
• Experience of working with ministries and other state institutions.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF BEST OFFER

The award of the contract shall be made to the offeror whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) Being responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) Having received the highest score based on the following weight of technical and financial criteria for solicitation as per the schedule below:

* Technical criteria weight: 70%

* Financial criteria weight: 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70%) in the technical evaluation shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

For the considered offers in the financial evaluation only, the lowest price offer will receive 30 points. The other offers will receive points in relation to the lowest offer, based on the following formula: (Pn / Pl) * 30 where Pn is the financial offer being evaluated and Pl is the lowest financial offer received.

Technical Criteria:

Interested offerors are invited to submit the following documents/information to be considered:

1. Offeror’s letter, as per the following form LINK;
2. Most updated CV with focus on required qualification as well as the contact details of at least three (3) professional references;
3. Financial Proposal: The financial proposal must be expressed in the form of a lumpsum all-inclusive cost, supported by breakdown of costs as per template provided in MK Denars for this consultancy.

The financial proposal must take into account various expenses that will be incurred during the contract, including: the daily professional fee; cost of travel out of Skopje duty station (if required); communications, any other expenses related to this assignment.