UNDP Jobs - 99150- Senior Local Trainer on Project Cycle Management w

Senior Local Trainer on Project Cycle Management with ReLOaD2 Project

Location :

Prishtina, Kosovo, UNSCR 1244 (1999)

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

28-Jun-2021

Application Deadline :

06-Jun-21 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

28 June 2021 – 31 September 2021 (16 working days within this period)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

28 June 2021 – 31 September 2021 (16 working days within this period)

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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Regional Programme on Local Democracy in the Western Balkans 2 (ReLOaD2) is a continuation of the EU-UNDP partnership and previously supported initiative – ReLOaD1 implemented in the four-year period 2017 - 2020.

ReLOaD2 continues to strengthen participatory democracies and the EU integration process in the Western Balkans by empowering civil society and youth to actively take part in decision making and by stimulating an enabling legal and financial environment for civil society. The programme will be implemented in the following IPA beneficiaries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), North Macedonia, Kosovo?, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Working across the region, ReLOaD2 will enhance capacities of local governments and civil society organisations (CSOs) to engage in productive partnerships and contribute to improved service delivery and realisation of local priorities in line with development strategies.

ReLOaD2 in Kosovo will through competitive process select 7 new partner local governments and will focus on institutionalization of interaction between local governments and CSOs. It will incite partner local governments to use public funding for CSOs in a transparent and development-oriented manner, recognising local needs and embracing a project-based approach. Also, the Action will promote youth engagement and support implementation of youth initiatives and will work on improvement of their economic perspectives in partner localities.

In accordance with the main project objectives is the national Strategy for Cooperation with Civil Society 2019-2023 that has identified among major areas, the relevance of the civil sector participation in policy making, increasing accountability and transparency in public financing of CSOs. Furthermore, with the implementation of the Regulation MF – NR – 04/2017 on Criteria, Standards and Procedures on public Funding of NGOs, project aims to ensure municipal support for CSOs is in place and provides the Manual for distribution of public funds to CSOs which shall reflect also the recommendations from the LOD methodology. Nevertheless, there is still lack of application and capacity from municipalities and CSOs to properly implement such mechanism.

The project in Kosovo will partner with 7 new municipalities that will be selected in a competitive process. These municipalities will receive technical assistance and training to implement such transparent model of financing of CSOs. Municipalities continue to count on partnerships and additional external funding opportunities to implement their strategic priorities. Simultaneously, municipalities shall ensure efficient utilization of their own budgets as well as provision of municipal funds to CSOs in a transparent, competitive and project-based approach.

In this regard, a Senior Local Trainer will be engaged to provide trainings and enhance the capacities of municipal administration through Project Cycle Management (PCM) for efficient grant awarding. Specific focus shall be placed on problem identification, design of effective grant scheme, as well as crucial aspects of PCM, including grant implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

As an initial step, the engaged consultant shall prepare the training curricula based on the feedback and inputs from municipal officials received during capacity assessment sessions in each partner municipality. As such, the provision of trainings shall be conducted based on the developed curricula with extensive focus on critical PCM modules. To this end, the Senior Local Consultant shall receive substantial and technical support from an engaged Local Junior Trainer. Assignment will be conducted in line with UN 8 Point Agenda and the UNDP Gender responsive mandate.

Objectives of Assignment
The purpose of the assignment is to strengthen capacities of partner municipalities under the project to implement transparent and project-based disbursement of public funds to CSOs in line with the Regulation MF – NR – 04/2017 and its manual, LOD methodology and in line with best PCM practices and responding to their capacity gaps.

Duties and Responsibilities

The following tasks will be performed by the Senior Trainer in close cooperation with and under direct supervision of the ReLOaD2 Project Manager and Programme Analyst for the Sustainable Growth and Climate Resilience. Throughout the process, the Senior Trainer will be supported by the Junior Trainer.

1. Perform in-depth analysis and prepare training curricula for the 7 partner municipalities based on the existing PCM training materials as well as feedback and inputs of capacity assessments conducted in the 7 municipalities:

Review all documents and findings regarding the current situation of municipal capacities and experience in managing cooperation with CSOs;
Prepare concrete samples of projects, case studies, and group exercises to illustrate the relevant topics and provide hands-on examples;
Develop training curricula on PCM and the Methodology for allocation of public funds to CSOs that consists of the following five two-days training modules. The number of trainees for each training module should be in line with COVID 19 preventing measures. The foreseen modules are the following:

Module 1: Project Planning

Module 2: Logical Framework Analysis

Module 3: Preparation of Project Proposal

Module 4: Monitoring and Evaluation of CSOs projects

Module 5: Principles and procedures of transparent disbursement of public funding to CSOs project (practical application of the Methodology for allocation of public funds to CSOs considering both MF – NR – 04/2017 and LOD Methodology).

Conduct a pre-training and exit-tests with respective municipal officials to evaluate the knowledge acquired by the trainings;
Produce trainings packs for each participant, including relevant supporting materials (presentations, hands-out, pre-and-after trainings tests, group experiences, exercises for individual work, reference materials, evaluation forms etc.);

Note: The trainings shall be prepared and delivered in a form that the municipality is a funding authority, rather than a project applicant. Training materials developed will be printed out by UNDP.

1. Produce a work plan and provide the trainings:

Prepare a work plan for the provision of trainings in accordance with the modules and respective curricula;
Submit the training packages and work plan to the ReLOaD2 project staff for approval;
Deliver trainings as per the requested modules. The trainings will be module-based and conducted for combined groups of representatives of all 7 partner municipalities.

2. Produce and submit a comprehensive report:

Draft a comprehensive report that shall include, but not limited to: training goals and results achieved, number of trainees, analysis of pre- and after- training knowledge, lessons learned and recommendations, training performance evaluation, FAQs sheets, etc.

The Senior Local Trainer will be required to organize his/her own travel and accommodation arrangements to training venue that will be determined by the project team.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Training curricula for the 7 partner municipalities developed, based on the feedback and inputs of capacity assessments conducted, and based on an in-depth analysis of relevant materials performed (2 working days).
Training materials with concrete samples of projects, case studies, and group exercises to illustrate the relevant topics and provide hands-on examples prepared and submitted (2 working days).
Work plan and trainings to municipal officials submitted and conducted on the following modules:

- Module 1: Project Planning (2 working days).

- Module 2: Logical Framework Analysis (2 working days).

- Module 3: Preparation of Project Proposal (2 working days).

- Module 4: Monitoring and Evaluation of CSOs projects (2 working days).

- Module 5: Principles and procedures of transparent disbursement of public funding to CSOs project (practical application of the Methodology for allocation of public funds to CSOs considering both MF – NR – 04/2017 and LOD Methodology) (2 working days).

Comprehensive report that shall include, but not limited to: training goals and results achieved, number of trainees, analysis of pre-and-after training knowledge, lessons learned and recommendations, training performance evaluation, FAQs sheets, etc. drafted and submitted, and validated by UNDP (2 working days).

Deliverables Expected

1) Training curricula for PCM and the Methodology for allocation of public funds to CSOs that consists of the five two-days training for 5 modules prepared and submitted.

2) Work plan and trainings to municipal officials submitted and conducted on the 5 respective modules.

3) Comprehensive report that shall include, but not limited to: training goals and results achieved, number of trainees, analysis of pre-and-after training knowledge, lessons learned and recommendations, training performance evaluation, FAQs sheets, etc drafted and submitted, and validated.

Remuneration - Lump Sum Amount

The Contract is based on lump sum remuneration and shall be processed subject to deliverables as per the schedule listed below:

First tranche (30%) to be transferred upon successful completion of the training curricula and delivery of the first training module;
Second tranche (40%) to be transferred upon successful completion of the other four training modules;
Third tranche (30%) to be transferred once final report is submitted and validated.

Required Presentation of Offer:

The following documents must be submitted:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability
Personal CV and P11, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Offeror and at least three (3) professional references;
Sample methodology on the approach to the assignment;
Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.
Financial proposal, that indicates professional daily fee including total amount for whole duration of the assignment.
Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer

Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UN/UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional competencies

Demonstrate modern approach to delivery of policy/technical advice, and experience of working with ministries and local self-governance structures;
Proven skills related to designing and delivering of training/mentoring sessions;
Ability to identify beneficiaries’ needs, and to match them with appropriate solutions;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
Good analytical and report writing skills;
Ability to synthesize research and draw conclusions on the related subject;
Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
Ability to pay attention to details.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in public policy, public administration, or a related social science field is required. A valid trainer certificate in the field of PCM would be considered as an asset.

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in delivering trainings in PCM is required.
Thorough understanding/knowledge of PCM, with focus in project application preparation, and monitoring and evaluation of projects is required.
Relevant experience in training central and local level institutions as well as CSOs is considered as an asset.

Languages:

Fluency in spoken and written Albanian and English is required. Knowledge of Serbian is a strong asset.

Application Instructions:

Click on the "Apply now" button.
Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation; You can type in, or paste your short Resume into the last box.
Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload your Resume.
System will only allow one attachment. All docs (CV; P11; financial offer; list of similar profiles should be included as one attachment).
Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.