UNDP Jobs - 75913- Public Service Innovation International Expert

Public Service Innovation International Expert

Location :

Home-based with one 10-day mission to Albania, ALBANIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

01-Dec-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

15 working days (during 11 December 2017 – 30 January 2018), at least ten (10) of which in Tirana

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 Government of Albania is reforming its public service delivery through a citizen-centric approach. The reform represents the Government’s determination to improve service access and quality for citizens and businesses and increase efficiency in the Albanian public administration as a means to strengthen the rule of law and fight corruption, foster a customer-care culture, strengthen compliance with the EU integration agenda, and align with commitments under Southeastern Europe regional initiatives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The pillars of this reform are: (i) Front Office (FO) – Back Office (BO) separation and centralized service delivery; (ii) Re-engineering of service processes through standardization and simplification; (iii) Digitization and online services; and (iv) Performance monitoring and citizen feedback.

Conducted in implementation of the Cross-Cutting Public Administration Reform Strategy (PAR) 2015–2020, which constitutes the overall framework for the modernization and transformation of institutions and practices of public administration in the country, as well as the Cross-Cutting Strategy “Digital Agenda for Albania” (DAA) 2015–2020, while in line with the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI) 2015–2020, the reform is guided by the Long-term policy document on the delivery of citizen-centric services by central government institutions in Albania (LTPD) approved by the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 384, dated 25 May 2016.

As the champion institution of the reform, in October 2014, ADISA, the Agency for the Delivery of Integrated Services in Albania, was established to manage the centralized public service delivery to the citizens. Its expanded mandate includes the implementation of the separation of the front office (FO) from the back office (BO) in all central government institutions. This process entails the overhaul of public service delivery in Albania with the establishment of service standards for the citizens and performance monitoring for service window clerks, based on a customer-care culture.

Based on the decision of the Council of Ministers no. 343 dated 4 May 2016 in implementing the Law on public services no.13, dated 18 February 2016, ADISA is the overall standards authority in public service delivery, and as such is it issuing such standards, implementing them in integrated physical front offices, already opened in four locations, as well as ensuring performance monitoring.

The reform program is supported by World Bank financing as well as donor assistance including the EU, Government of Italy, Government of Austria and UNDP.

Since mid-2014, UN Albania has provided support through technical assistance, which has been structured within a donor pool fund project format under the name of “Support for Innovation against Corruption: Building a Citizen Centric Service Delivery Model in Albania (ISDA Support Project)”.

The ISDA Support Project results include:

Long-term public service reform policy document;
Design of the Front Office - Back Office (FO-BO) separation model and its piloting;
Establishment of service delivery standards;
Support for the development of multi-channel service delivery, including online;
Institutional capacity building for ADISA to implement the service delivery reform;
Technical assistance in reform management and monitoring.

As part of the capacity building support, the project is assisting ADISA in establishing an innovation lab. This is a recent endeavor, with ADISALab being less than six-months old.

Based on the overall mandate of the Agency, ADISALab, the first of its kind in Albania’s public administration, is focused on developing innovative ideas and solutions for improving public service delivery based on the needs of citizens and businesses in Albania. The current focus of its work includes:

Conceptualizing ADISA’s Mobile Units as a means for bringing public services closer to each and every citizen by offering accessibility of services for rural and remote areas, with the support of identified expertise;
Conceptualizing ADISA’s Mobile App as a tool for providing information about services and enhancing access thereto, including by offering the possibility of booking service tickets for expedited service acquisition at ADISA’s Integrated Service Centers;
Redesigning ADISA’s Service Information Passports for simplifying the information contained therein, aiming at developing an easy to read, user-friendly format to the benefit of citizen access to information about services.

Two other projects in the pipeline related to ensuring access to the hearing and sight impaired persons at ADISA centers, service re-engineering implementation, as well as expedited/premium service delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

The consultant is expected to guide and support ADISALab in this initial phase to set up and implement the tools and organizational structures needed to play an innovative and effective role in Albanian public service delivery reform.

Description of Responsibilities

During the engagement period, the Consultant shall perform the following tasks:

Assess skills and methods at ADISALab and recommend a capacity building plan;
Guide and mentor ADISALab team through an innovative problem-solving exercise from problem statement to innovative solution identification and implementation planning;
Document, help improve and firmly anchor innovation process approaches within the team;
Provide the team with useful tools and ‘hacks’ to support their work;
Help the team prepare a detailed work plan for the next year;
Produce a practical comprehensive operational manual for ADISALab;
Participate in stakeholder meetings to help raise awareness on the role of innovation lab;
Facilitate contact and knowledge sharing with other public service innovation labs.

Expected deliverables

Operational manual for ADISALab, in English and Albanian;
Overall assignment report to include recommendations on the next steps for ADISALab, in English.

Competencies

Core competencies and values:

Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modeling UN values and ethical standards;
Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
Display cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional competencies:

Ability to lead teams and drive results;
Excellent inter-personal and communication skills;
Strong motivation and ability to work with various levels of government officials;
Organizational skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

University degree in social sciences, economics, business administration, or other related fields.

Work experience:

At least five (5) years of professional experience in Innovation for Government, Government Labs, Design for Pubic Services, Design for Governance, Social Innovation, Organization development or Public Administration and Development;
Proven experience with consulting and/or managing innovation labs or similar;
Experience with public administration and service delivery reform;
Demonstrated experience in facilitating design and innovation process workshops.

Language requirement:

Fluency in oral and written 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: Experience with innovation labs – max points: 30

Criteria B: Professional experience – max points: 20

Criteria C: Experience with service delivery reform – max points: 20

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 and a brief methodology on how you will approach and conduct the work (if applicable). Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application.
Completed and signed UN Personal History Form (P11) for Individual Contracts (IC) – Blank form Download here.
Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability - Please download form at this link - http://www.un.org.al/doc/PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Letter%20to%20UNDP.docx
Financial Proposal - specifying a total lump sum amount (working days, travel, per diems, and any other possible costs) 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/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee, health insurance, vaccination and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of service, etc.). All envisaged international travel costs should be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel. The attached template may be used - http://www.un.org.al/doc/Financial%20Offer%20template.doc
Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport

* Kindly note that Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal are two separate documents and should both be part of your application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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 a large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.