Background

Albania is a middle-income country that over the past two and half decades has made a significant stride in establishing a consolidated market economy. Due to strong growth performance (annual growth rate at 6%), Albania grew from the poorest nation in Europe in the early 1990s to the status of middle-income country in 2008. Despite the growth trend, the structure of the country’s economy is dominated by small enterprises (95%), which even if substantially contributing in terms of both economic growth and employment have limited potential for job creation. With a narrow export and production base, and limited innovation capacities, the competitiveness of Albania’s economy is weak. The Albanian Government has committed to transforming the economy from an import-dependent, consumption-based, and informal economy, to one that is based on sustainable job-creation and increased productivity. As such, it has largely recognized the need to systematically address employment by re-orienting the vocational education and training system towards labour market needs and modernizing and extending the outreach of employment services.

The Skills Development for Employment (SD4E) programme of UNDP Albania will continue to support the Government of Albania in the national Vocational Education and Training (VET) and Employment reform through a comprehensive approach of institutional capacity building on a macro/policy level, enabling key actors (MFE, NES/NAES and NAVETQ) to deliver coordinated and demand-driven services. Responding to national priorities and the objectives of the National Employment and Skills Strategy, this Swiss funded intervention has the ambition to make a systemic contribution where the Albanian VET system and Employment Service supply the labour market with a skilled workforce that contributes to sustainable and inclusive economic development of the country.

To achieve the programme purpose and finally the programme goal, the programme focuses in 3 strategic fields that will aim to improve the governance and quality of service provision in VET and employment promotion in Albania:

1. Outcome 1: The institutional capacity of key actors in VET and Employment (Ministry, NAVETQ, NAES) is strengthened
2. Outcome 2: The employment service portfolio is based on a balanced demand-and supply-side oriented approach
3. Outcome 3: A standardized Quality Assurance (QA) framework is in place that improves the image of VET and fosters linkages between school and world of work.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of the assignment

Aiming for the quality assurance in VET, SD4E has supported the MoFE, NAVETQ and NAES towards the establishment of an integrated and comprehensive quality assurance framework, which include the self-assessment, inspection, monitoring and the accreditation functions. Based on this UNDP Albania in close cooperation with NAVETQ has developed the Accreditation model for VET institutions, including standards / criteria and guidelines. The accreditation model, which is consistent with the EU and international policies in VET and with the subsequent common policies on quality assurance in VET a complement to the self-assessment process, has already been presented to key stakeholders and validated, awaiting the ministerial order for piloting and further rolling out widely.

For the implementation of the accreditation system, standard instruments, guidelines for external evaluators and a roadmap for implementation has been designed by an international expert and discussed with NAVTEQ. A manual for the capacity building of the NAVETQ staff, external evaluators and VET providers representatives is designed and will be the bases of the capacity building plan and further piloting the accreditation process. Accreditation is a rather new topic in the national discussion on VET, in Albania, and there is no recent experience regarding this process. For this reason, the capacity building is needed for all stakeholders and institutions to play their roles in the accreditation process, both at central level (MoFE, NAVETQ and NAES) and at VET provider level.

Under the overall guidance of the Programme Specialist, and in collaboration with the SD4E Programme Coordinator and the team, the international consultant will perform the following tasks:

1. Outline of the work plan, including the methodology, instruments needed and capacity building plan for NAVETQ staff, external evaluators and VET providers;
2. Review and adopt the draft capacity development roadmap and outline the concept on the detailed capacity building plan, and specific actions focused on the readiness for piloting of accreditation model;
3. Guide and advise NAVETQ on creating the common data and information base and using these (at national and VET provider level);
4. Provide the guidance to NAVETQ on ensuring the necessary financial resources for the accreditation process (at national and VET provider levels) including recruitment, selection and training of the NAVETQ internal experts;
5. Support and coach NAVETQ specialists in drafting standardized procedures, documents and forms to be used for implementing accreditation: application, external evaluation, monitoring etc.;
6. Elaborate the procedure for the recruitment, selection and training of the NAVETQ external evaluators who support the accreditation process;
7. Prepare training materials (i.e modules, templates and other resource materials) for the training of NAVETQ staff (including ToT), external evaluators and VET providers on accreditation process;
8. Provide two training blocks for NAVETQ specialists on the standardized procedures, documents and forms to be used for implementing the accreditation; (if Covid 19 situation allows for the site visit and training on site). The first training block will be dedicated for the internal team of NAVETQ and the second one for the external evaluators. The trained staff will be equipped with all the necessary tools to deliver the new functions.
9. Evaluate the training effectiveness through comparison of the pre- and post-questionnaires and prepare the final report.

[1] The final  dates will be agreed mutually

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:

• Knowledge and expertise in VET polies and quality assurance frameworks;
• Strong communication skills (written, spoken, composing, presentation);
• Substantive knowledge of business administration and management;
• Political and cultural sensitivity and commitment to UNDP’s development objectives in the country.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications

• Post-graduate degree in education, economics or other relevant field is required;

Work Experience

• Minimum 15 years of professional experience in EU education and training and youth policies
• Significant experience in EU countries and/or EU accession countries in designing responsive VET quality assurance frameworks with a focus on accreditation of education and training providers;
• Knowledge of the Albanian VET system / regional context would be highly desirable

Language

• Full working knowledge of English is essential.

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: Post-graduate degree in education, economics or other relevant field – max 10 points

Criteria B:  Minimum 15 years of professional experience in EU education, training and youth policies – max 25 points

Criteria C:

Criteria D:Full working knowledge of English is essential - max 10 points

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

Application Procedure 

Interested applicants are advised to carefully study all sections of this ToRs and ensure that they meet the general requirements as well as specific qualifications described. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials. 

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. Download Here (kindly use FireFox Browser)
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. Download Here (kindly use FireFox Browser)

• Financial Proposal in USD*- specifying a Total Lump Sum in the United States Dollar 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 during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). 

• Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport. 
• Technical proposal – specifying the methodology which the consultant will employ to conduct this assignment.

*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.