Antecedentes

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the: elimination of discrimination against women and girls;  empowerment of women; and achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

One of the priority areas of UN Women in Albania is to support the government and other stakeholders to address violence against women. The country has made important steps in this area and is party to key human rights treaties, including the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). Albania has also adopted a national legal framework to address domestic and other forms of violence against women, starting in 2006 with the first Law on Domestic Violence, which was later amended in 2010 and 2018 to bring it in conformity with the Istanbul Convention. In 2008, the Law on Gender Equality came into effect and included the establishment of the national gender machinery. In addition, women survivors of domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking are one of the main groups to benefit from both a free legal aid system and expanded protection measures for victims of crime — the result of a revised Law on Free Legal Aid (1*) and amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedures.(2*) In April 2020, the Criminal Code also was amended to recognise dating violence as a form of domestic violence offence, following similar amendments that took place in 2018 amendments in the Law on Domestic Violence.

This legislation has created the basis for the country’s coordinated community response to domestic violence, structured around the establishment of the referral mechanisms at the level of each municipality. Local referral mechanisms (LRM), which function based on the Council of Ministers Decision MD No. 334/17.2.2011 consist of representatives of different sectors (municipalities, the police, the courts, including prosecutors and bailiffs, health offices, employment offices, educational offices) and NGOs specialized in violence against women. With the support of international donors, UN agencies and NGOs, LRM have been already established in 55 out of the 61 municipalities in the country. Despite many challenges they face and varying degrees of effectiveness, the LRM remain “the centerpiece of the country’s coordinated multi-agency response to violence against women”. (3*)

Supporting the Government of Albania to expand and strengthen the existing local referral mechanisms is one of the main priorities of the UN Joint Programme “Ending Violence against Women” (UNJP on EVAW) funded by Government of Sweden and implemented by UNDP, UN Women and UNFPA in partnership with Albanian Government. The Joint Programme is in line with Output 2.5 of the UN’s Programme of Cooperation for Sustainable Development (PoCSD) with the Government of Albania (GoA) and aims at: (i) strengthening the normative and accountability framework related to gender-based violence; (ii) improving institutional practices, services and coordination for survivors of violence; and (iii) challenging norms pertaining to violence against women at the state, community and individual levels.

UN Women is providing support to several municipalities to establish or revitalise their local referral mechanisms through technical assistance and capacity support for the staff of municipalities, members of the technical multi-agency groups of local referral mechanisms and services providers from different sectors. In this context, UN Women requires the engagement of a national consultant to support the process of establishment or revitalization of coordinated referral mechanisms in at least 10 municipalities of Albania (Berat, Vlore, Lushnje, Gjirokaster, Tropoje, Kruje, Cerrik, Prrenjas, Librazhd, Peqin) Other Municipalities may be added  during the consultancy upon request from the government.  For some of these municipalities, UN Women is collaborating with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that focus on the provision of services to women victims of violence. Therefore, the consultant is also expected to collaborate and coordinate the work with these CSOs in the respective municipalities where they operate.

This intervention contributes to Outcome 2 and Output 2.1 - Capacities of state and non-state service providers across sectors at national and local levels are improved – of the UNJP on EVAW.

Although, the Albanian legislation related to the coordinated multi-agency response to violence focuses primarily on domestic violence, it is important that services at the local level are provided to survivors of all forms of violence against women. This is an obligation stemming from the Istanbul Convention and one of the key recommendations of GREVIO in its first baseline assessment report addressed to Albania in 2017. Thus, this intervention will support the coordinated multi-agency response in targeted municipalities to address all forms of violence against women.

(1*) Law 117/2017 “On State guaranteed legal aid”

(2*) Law No.35/2017 “On amendments the law No.7905/21/03.1995 on the Code on Criminal Procedures”.

(3*) GREVIO first basline evaluation report on Albania, 2017

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the supervision of the UN Women’s Project Manager on EVAW, the consultant will be responsible to:

• Conduct an assessment of the level of functioning of local referral mechanisms in the targeted municipalities and of their capacity needs. (This includes identifying the municipalities where the local referral mechanism has not been established or need to be reactivated and those where CRM function but need to be strengthened.) The assessment will be based on existing reports of different stakeholders as well as data collected through consultations, interviews and questionnaires addressed to relevant local authorities of the selected municipalities. For the municipalities where UN Women is collaborating with CSOs, the consultant will also collaborate with representatives of these CSOs to conduct the assessment.
• Prepare a referral mechanism profile for each Municipality based on the assessment providing a short history, status, needs and proposed plan of action including  capacity building and other interventions, tailored to their specific capacity needs. The workplans will be developed in close collaboration with gender equality employees that operate at the municipality level, UN Women partner CSOs (for the municipalities where they operate) and UN Women.
• Provide technical expertise and guidance to targeted municipalities and UN Women partner CSOs to implement the interventions identified in the relevant Workplan with the main goal of establishing, reactivating, or strengthening of existing LRM. The expertise should include: orientation and advice to gender equality employees and/or DV coordinators, organization of training sessions and other informative meetings with members of the CRM and other providers of services to women victims of violence from other sectors, support for the organization of awareness raising and advocacy campaigns, preparation of materials to promote CRM at the local levels and other tasks.
• Support selected municipalities to establish specialized support services for victims of gender-based violence, including emergency shelters, rape crisis centers, as well as rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators. This should include support for the preparation of relevant documentations, fundraising and other necessary steps.
• Liaise regularly with UN Women partner CSOs, and local authorities and visit project sites for monitoring and assistance purposes.
• Work closely with other UN Women consultants and its CSOs partners to coordinate this intervention with other ongoing initiatives being implemented at the national and local levels.
• Other tasks as assigned by the Project Manager on EVAW.

Final products / Deliverables 

• Assessment of the level of functioning of local referral mechanisms in the targeted municipalities (RM profile) and their capacity needs;
• Workplan of capacity building interventions for targeted municipalities as agreed upon with respective staff of municipalities, UN Women CSOs partners (where they operate) and UN Women;
• Training modules and other capacity building materials developed to increase capacities of municipal staff, members of the CRM and other local service providers;
• Monthly reports (in English) highlighting the consultant’s work, achievements, lessons learned, list of stakeholders met, pictures of activities organised,
• A final report (in English) highlighting overall progress of the CRM in the municipalities, steps taken to build and consolidate the system, barriers encountered, lessons learned and recommendations for future similar interventions.

Duration of the Work

The consultant will be contracted for a maximum of 60 days over a period of 12 months starting from the signature of the contract.

Competencias

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Proven research, analytical and drafting skills,
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with various public and non-public stakeholders including in the areas of gender equality and violence against women;
• Strong facilitation and training skills;
• Excellent writing skills in English and Albanian;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Strong initiative-taker;
• Focuses on impact and results for the partner;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Qualifications/Education

• Master’s degree in development-related disciplines (international development, gender and social studies, law, economics, public administration or any other social science related to development).

Work Experience

• At least 7 years of relevant professional experience in the areas of gender equality and violence against women;

• Specific experience with the legal and policy frameworks related to the functioning of coordinated community response to domestic violence;
• Experience of collaboration with local government units in implementation of gender equality and violence against women projects and provision of support, including training to local referral mechanisms and other service providers on violence against women;
• Previous experience with UN system or similar international organisations would be an advantage.

Language requirement

• Proficiency in written and spoken English and Albanian

Schedule of Payments:

Payment will be made as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs; (iv) submission of the respective invoice.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their application no later than 23 October 2020

The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining the applicant’s interest in applying for the position.
• Filled Personal History Form (P11 form) including past experience in similar assignments and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from: http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment/); please upload the P11 instead of your CV
• Financial Proposal - Financial proposal specifying the daily fee in Albanian Lek. Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall consider various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). in case of any in-country travel the costs  will be covered by UN Women separately

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and

Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Applications will be assessed according to the following Technical Criteria:                      

• Master’s degree in development-related disciplines (international development, gender and social studies, law, economics, public administration or any other social science related to development) (10 points);
• 7 years of relevant professional experience in the areas of gender equality and violence against women (20 points);
• Specific experience related legal and policy frameworks related to the functioning of coordinated community response to domestic violence (20 points);
• Experience working in collaboration with local government units in implementation of gender equality and violence against women projects and provision of support to local referral mechanisms on violence against women; (15 points);
• Previous experience with UN (5 points)

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

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. The calculation formula applied is as follow:

p = 30 (µ/z); where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated; µ = price of the lowest priced proposal; z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, 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.

Notes:

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.

• The consultancy post is open to local (Albanian) individuals or foreign individuals with valid temporary or permanent residence in Albania.
• Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract.