Background

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; the empowerment of women; and the 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 center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality are translated into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts while building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. UN Women in Albania operates in four core areas, focused on women’s economic empowerment, promoting women in decision making and their active political participation, eliminating violence against women and supporting gender responsive national planning and budgeting

The Government of Albania has made national and international commitments to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women in many different areas of life. Several international conventions and platforms, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Beijing Platform for Action, demonstrate Albania’s commitment to the realization of women’s rights and the achievement of gender equality. Albania is signatory of CEDAW and has committed to the UN Beijing Platform for Action. Implementation of those commitments at national level can be achieved only if adequate budgets are allocated.

Over the past years, UN Women has provided support to central government institutions in strengthening democratic governance and advancing women’s rights through initiatives aimed at mainstreaming gender in policy planning and budgeting. Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) has been identified as important tool for advancing gender equality in key national documents as in accordance with existing Albanian national policy documents on social inclusion and gender equality. In the frame of the Regional Project on ‘Promoting Gender Responsive Polices in SEE’ financed by Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and Swiss Development Agency (SDC) and with technical expertise of UN Women, as well as in accordance with GoA’s priorities stated in the national and local plans and strategies, UN Women has been supporting government efforts -at central and local level- in using GRB as a tool to advance gender equality and ensure that women’s needs are incorporated in policies and related budgets.

To support Albania’s international commitments to the implementation of international human rights standards, gender equality, environmental sustainability, and development of national capacities the Government of Albania and the United Nations signed in 2016 the Programme of Cooperation 2017-2021. While UN agencies will be required to mainstream gender in all their activities and projects, the Programme also envisages interventions focused entirely or considerably on gender equality issues, organized in all three outcomes of the Programme of Cooperation.

UN Women intends to implement activities of Gender Responsive Policies, Planning and Budgeting Programme and deliver assistance under these outcomes building on the results, lessons learned and challenges of the previous UN assistance to GoA’s efforts in addressing gender inequalities, discrimination and implementation of its international commitments and the National Strategy and Action Plan on Gender Equality 2016-2020. Further UN Women is also tasked with coordinating gender mainstreaming in PoC outputs and outcomes as well as ensuring that its activities are implemented in the framework of a comprehensive two-year Gender Equality Programme, as per UNWomen Strategic Plan (2017-2021).

To this end, UN Women will need the services of a Project Support Consultant for the implementation of the Gender Responsive Policies, Planning and Budgeting Programme.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the GRB Regional Manager and the National Programme Manager, the Project Support Consultant will be responsible for assisting implementation, coordination, monitoring and reporting of all activities related to Gender Responsive Policies, Planning and Budgeting Programme, work-plans at local and central level in relation to the relevant outcomes and outputs of the Government of Albania and the UN Programme of Cooperation 2017-2021. In particular, the Project Assistant will be undertaking the following tasks:

  • Monitor and report on various sub-contracted activities and services in accordance with the program plans and needs;
  • Update calendar of events/activities, schedule meetings for Planning and Budgeting Programme;
  • Assist in the organization of field visits, special events, meetings, conferences, staff missions, and trainings including with the logistics, budgets, reproduction of background documentation, preparation of list of participants, and the drafting of minutes;
  • Assist in drafting routine correspondence, and translates, as necessary following and ensuring standard corporate and UN requirements;
  • Support proper record keeping and filing of Planning and Budgeting programme and office related documents;
  • Assist in monitoring and evaluating the performance of implementing partners and service providers under contracts;
  • Support continuous monitoring of progress on above-specified work, - and communication with project partners and consultants, as requested;
  • Support in correspondence as necessary, and provide needed input to donor reports, UN and HQ reports on the programmes;
  • Assist in compiling reports in coordination with participating agencies on the implementation of the Work-plans, as per the schedule agreed to with the One UN Team, the One UN’s Administrative Agent and donors;
  • Support budget monitoring and preparation of reports for the programmes;
  • Support preparations and logistics for annual reviews and evaluations, as needed.
  • Any other responsibilities as assigned by NPM.

Deliverables:

  • Monthly calendar of events/activities completed and updated;
  • Tracking and monitoring tools/tables completed and updated;
  • Reports on the field visits, special events, meetings, conferences etc. drafted and disseminated for review;
  • Monthly budget reporting completed;
  • Filing system updated weekly;

Competencies

Core Values:

  • Respect for Diversity
  • Integrity
  • Professionalism

Core Competencies:

  • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
  • Accountability
  • 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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

  • Excellent analytical, facilitation and communications skills and ability to negotiate amongst a wide range of stakeholders
  • Excellent analytical, writing and communication skills in both Albanian and English;
  • Demonstrated ability to produce high quality evaluation reports;
  • Understanding of the Albanian context with specific regards to the gender equality priorities and role of UN Women;
  • Knowledge of issues concerning women’s human rights and gender equality including specifically in the area of women’s leadership and political participation;
  • Possesses the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
  • Possesses the ability to work independently.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • University degree in Social Sciences, Business Administration, Economics or other related field.

Experience:

  • A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in project implementation and in operating with project budgets and financial management;
  • Previous employment experience with international organizations is an asset
  • Experience in using proficiently computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.)

Language Requirement:

  • Fluency in Albanian and written and spoken English is required.

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

  • Financial Proposal specifying the total monthly fee in Albanian Lek for the tasks specified above. 

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 and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). Other travel costs different from the above will be covered by UN Women separately.

  • 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; (iii) submission of and approval of final draft; and (iv) submission of the respective invoice.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their application no later than 11 April 2018:

  • A Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability including a brief description explaining why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment.
  • Personal History Form (P11) including past experience in similar assignment. Can be downloaded at: UN Women Personal History Form (P11)  or http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
  • Financial Proposal specifying the total monthly fee in Albanian Lek for the tasks specified in this assignment.

 

Evaluation of applications:

UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process. Applicants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications/skills and their financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the junior specialist whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

•  Responsive to and compliant with the ToR; and

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

The award of the contract will be made to the junior specialist whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight – 70%

* Financial Criteria weight – 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation will be considered for the Financial Evaluation

Technical criteria: Weight 70%   Max. Points 70

  • Education: 20 Points
  • A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in project implementation and in operating with project budgets and financial management: 30 Points
  • Previous employment experience with international organizations: 10 Points
  • Experience in using proficiently computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) 10 Points

Financial Criteria: Weight 30% Max. Points 30

 How to Submit the Application: 

To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

  • All online applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from UN Women Personal History Form (P11)  or http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment   
  • Merge all the required documents above (P-11, aggregated financial offer and Evaluation report sample) 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
  • Please enter the CV or Resume in the Resume Section of the online application format
  • click 'Submit Application;'
  • Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (indicated above);
  • You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.
  • Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Applications submission deadline: 11 April 2018.

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.