Background

Local governments in Albania have been subject to considerable Technical Assistance (TA) in the past decade, encompassing the full range of needs from administrative and institutional building, service delivery improvement, local finances and good governance. Within the limits of specific TAs, such assistance has been varied, geographically limited and despite the development of several good models, tools or practices, most often, such experiences have not been scaled up, continued or absorbed as applicable standards. To this adds the unsystematic and partial TAs offered from different development partners and schemes through a multitude of programmes and projects that propose original, yet not integrated, solutions to local challenges, which often target the same groups of local stakeholders.

Moreover, the 2015 Administrative and Territorial Reform which brought to life 61 new and larger municipalities, has created some new challenges for the LGUs. One of the challenges of the new administrative division is the transfer of six new functions to the local government in 2016 in accordance with the Law 139/2015 on Local Self-Governance, including staffing of preschool and secondary education, forest and pasture management, rural roads management, secondary irrigation and drainage infrastructure management, social services management and fire protection and rescue. The transfer has not been smooth and it is still ongoing for some functions. The main challenge remains the completion of the legal framework for the full transfer. In parallel, low levels of local institutional capacities to deal with the delegated new functions and lack of a proper planning for managing those functions effectively are yet to be addressed.

STAR2 builds on the national commitment to reform and strengthen local governance and public administration in general, enhance the efficiency and transparency of public institutions for an effective response to public expectations and fight against corruption, make citizens central to service delivery transformation and modernization, and create a climate of trust, cooperation and democratic decision-making for a healthy and sustainable development.  STAR2 has 3 main specific objectives, namely:

1. Strengthening institutional and administrative capacities of LGUs;
2. Increased local service delivery, efficiency, quality, coverage, accessibility and inclusiveness for men and women;
3. Enhanced local democracy through fostering citizen -oriented governance and participatory decision – making, leveraging the roles of women as actors of change.

In accordance to Law 139/2015 “On Local Self – Governance”, six new functions have been transferred to the local government and specifically: staffing of pre-school and secondary education, forest and pasture management, rural roads management, secondary irrigation and drainage infrastructure management, social services management and fire protection and rescue. STAR 2 project recognizes that ’municipalities are struggling to restructure service provision in accordance with the new responsibilities they have over the territory and within the financial limitations. They should find ways to ensure a better coverage, improve citizens’ access to services, and contain and estimate necessary financial resources for the implementation. It is essential to link these efforts to effectiveness, that is moving away from the traditional emphasis on managing inputs (budgets and staff) and processes (rules and structures) if the aim is to seek for a service that is provided with efficiency, effectiveness and is responsive to the needs of all women and men wherever they live within the LGU territory”.  

STAR2 aims to improve the delivery and management of services, inducing new competences, through the implementation of the following 3 activities:

1. Improve the way services are planned, organized, managed and delivered
   • Introduce to local service delivery providers of the current progress of the national service delivery reform and recent legislation
   • Introduction of service delivery principles, standards and options of delivery
2. Address challenges and capacity building for a full takeover of new delegated functions
   • Assessment of new services’ transfer problems
   • Develop the modalities for a full takeover of new functions
   • Provide capacity building on delivery of new functions
3. Assist in re-organization of selected services in terms of efficiency and standards
   • Selection of services and municipalities to implement re-organization process
   • Provide capacity building for relevant municipal staff and enable peer to peer exchange

Currently the project team is working on activities 1 and 3. For the latter, an International Legal Expert is on board, who is currently looking into the legal and institutional frameworks and the specifics regarding possibilities for the reorganization of public services.

In view of the above, STAR2 is seeking to identify a National Expert on Local Public Services whose work will mainly focus on the implementation of Activity 2 (see above) “Address challenges and capacity building for a full takeover of new delegated functions”. 

Duties and Responsibilities

The Expert will work in close collaboration with PMT (Project Management Team) and will especially engage in the following activities:

1. Develop Terms of Reference for assessing challenges related to the adoption of new delegated functions by municipalities. The TORs should include, inter-alia, the following:
   • Assessment of main challenges and problem patterns municipalities are facing with service delivery and especially with the new delegated functions;
   • Development of actions to respond to the identified challenges and address municipal and approach with regard to service delivery, especially for the new functions;
   • Design approaches and interventions aimed at improved service delivery results, by proposing innovations, identifying local, municipal and other best practices, ways to promote peer to peer exchange amongst municipalities etc.
2. Develop Terms of Reference on the provision of Capacity Building for the takeover of new delegated functions, outlining clear technical requirements on:
   • Capacity building approach and methods
   • Curricula standards (inclusive of ASPA CB standards)
   • Target Groups
   • Monitoring / Evaluation and expected impact
3. Provide Quality Assurance to the implementation of the above two assignments as per the requirements stipulated in the ToRs.
4. Synergize with the PMT, through understanding and providing advice and inputs to the project activity 1 (Improve the way services are planned, organized, managed and delivered) and 3 (Re-organization of services in terms of efficiency and standards) so as to help build cohesion among project interventions.

Main Deliverables and Outputs

• Terms of Reference for assessing challenges related to the adoption of new delegated functions;
• Terms of Reference on Capacity Building for the takeover of new functions.
• Quality Assurance Reports with regard to the implementation of the two subcontracts;
• Written inputs/feedback contributing to the implementation of activities 1 & 3. 

Institutional arrangements

The Consultant will work under the close supervision of UNDP’s Cluster for Governance and Rule of Law and in close collaboration with STAR 2 Project Management Team. For contract matters, the consultant will coordinate with Project Coordination Unit/UNDP. In terms of support, UNDP and its STAR2 Project Management Unit will facilitate the Consultant’s meetings with relevant stakeholders. 

Duration of the assignment and schedule of payments

The assignment will consist of 75 working days, within the period of mid-October 2017 – March 30 2018, at the end of which the Consultant should have submitted the required deliverables. 

UNDP shall effect payments to the Consultant after acceptance by UNDP of the deliverables (with a prior clearance from the PMT), submission of the corresponding invoices submitted by the Consultant, and in accordance with the following schedule of payments corresponding to the achievement of the indicated milestones and deliverables

Indicative activity timeline and schedule of Payments

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards;
• Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability;
• Shows strong corporate commitment.

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to facilitate carrying out of analytical work and presentation of consolidated conclusions/recommendations
• Ability to generate creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations
• Strong technical and practical knowledge in issues related to local governance and its multi-level assessment for effectiveness and responsiveness
• Ability to establish strong working relationships with government and local government officials, civic leaders, business people and international donors.
• Ability to work well in multi-disciplinary teams
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to write in a clear and concise manner
• Excellent interpersonal skills and objectivity.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Degree in public administration, law, economics, development studies or other relevant fields.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years progressively, responsible and relevant professional working experience in the area of service delivery at local level, more specifically in:
  • Designing and organizing public services, based on strategies, development policies and needs;
  • Proposing strategic plans to ensure the improvement and development of services at local level;
  • Engaging in assessment activities in view of public service provision; 
  • Proposing recommendations for improving public services by evaluating various options of partnerships;
• Proven track record in provision of technical assistance in the area of reforms in public services at local level, institutional development, analyses of service delivery framework, standards definition and/or criteria setting related to service provision at local level;
• Prior experience as executive in public services would be an asset; 

Language Requirements:

• Excellent command of written and spoken Albanian and English.

Evaluation Procedure

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would take into account 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:            Professional experience in the required areas – max points: 35

Criteria B:            Educational background – max points: 10

Criteria C:            Adequacy of brief proposed methodology – max points: 25

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

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. 
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. Download here.
• Financial Proposal in ALL* - specifying a total lump sum in Albanian Lek  for the tasks specified in this announcement.  The attached template may be used - http://www.un.org.al/doc/Financial%20Offer%20template.doc. 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)

*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.