Background

The Goverment of Albania (GoA) has recently approved a new law on protected areas and over the long-term, this should result in a significant improvement in the overall management effectiveness of the country’s system of protected areas, covering 460,060ha of marine and terrestrial habitats.

The current funding baselines for the PA system, and the capacities to administer and improve PA revenue streams, are still well below the levels required to ensure that the protected area system can properly serve its function as an important tool to protect biodiversity. So, if the Ministry of Tourism and Environment and its agencies is to fulfil its protected area mandate, it will need to have the ability to: (i) secure sufficient, stable and long-term financial resources for protected areas; (ii) allocate these resources in a timely manner and appropriate form to cover the full costs of protected areas; and (iii) ensure that the protected areas are managed effectively and efficiently with respect to conservation and other complementary objectives.

This project seeks to assist the GoA in reducing existing funding gaps for the system of protected areas, improving the management of individual protected areas, improving cost-efficiencies in individual protected areas and building the financial management capacities of protected area nationwide by increasing the capacity of the central and local staff.

The project will focus project activities at two levels of support: (i) building the financial management capacities of the agency responsible for administering the system of protected areas; and (ii) demonstrating the efficacy of different financing strategies in a sub-set of individual protected areas.

Duties and Responsibilities

The scope of work will vary depending on the specific assignments, but would include one or various of the below deliverables:

The protected areas expert will provide analytical and technical support to the implementation of the project and will work under the guidance of the Programme Officer for Environment and Climate Change and direct supervision of the Project Coordinator within Environment and Climate Change Unit.

The consultant will work closely with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, the National Agency of Protected Areas (NAPA) staff, and local targeted authorities, and other government/ institutions as relevant to project activities on financial mechanisms for protected areas.

Review structures, task descriptions and capacities of the Environment Section of ESPRIT project and make recommendations to ensure maximum effectiveness for coordination and execution of required protected area management tasks for the three pilot sites. 

Identify training needs (both inside and outside the pilot sites) and develop and contribute to programmes to upgrade protected area-related management skills among relevant staff and stakeholders. 

Review and provide recommendations and support for improved operational processes for protected areas, including: communications and awareness activities, management, monitoring and reporting. 

• Conduct a review of equivalent global best practice in the institutional arrangements for protected areas management, and their efficacy in the Albanian context;
• Conduct a review for identification options for operational partnerships in protected area management with practical guidelines and tools based on a best practice review;
• Identify training needs (both inside and outside the pilot sites) and develop and contribute to programmes to upgrade protected area-related management skills among relevant staff and stakeholders. 
• Review and provide recommendations and support for improved operational processes for protected areas, including: communications and awareness activities, management, monitoring and reporting.
• Support development of materials for raising awareness of protected areas (brochures, information boards, posters, annual report, web sites etc).
• Document all field-based experiences and lessons learned;
• Ensure the timely and cost-effective implementation of all components of the project;
• Assist relevant government agencies and project partners - including donor organizations and NGOs - with development of essential skills through training workshops and on the job training thereby upgrading their institutional capabilities;
• Coordinate and assist scientific and academic institutions with the initiation and implementation of any field studies and monitoring components of the project;
• Provide professional advice based upon his/her specific area of expertise that is relevant to the project activities’ goals and objectives and prepare Terms of Reference, inclusive of all the necessary narrative and technical details,
• Coordinate organization of project related activities, ensure timely and appropriate delivery of services meeting satisfaction level requirement and consistent with plans, objectives, rules, regulations and allocations;
• Support field work/missions and interaction at local level with consultants and sub-contractors;
• Other duties as required in implementation of the project.

Competencies

CORPORATE & CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.
• Communication - Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
• Planning & Organizing – Develops clear goals in line with agreed strategies, identifies priorities, foresees risks and makes allowances accordingly.
• Teamwork - Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Accountability – Takes ownership of all responsibilities and delivers outputs in accordance with agreed time, cost and quality standards

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

• Thorough understanding of disability issues, human rights, social inclusion and social services
• Excellent inter-personal and teamwork skills, networking attitude;
• Capacity to deliver as per deadlines;
• Ability to pick up new terminology and concepts easily.
• A basic understanding of UNDP development mandate;
• Willingness to undertake occasional field visits and interact with different stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to deal with and build collaboration among development stakeholders;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
• Results-oriented and good analytical skills;
• Full computer literacy;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University Degree in natural sciences, environmental sciences, environmental engineering, agro- environment, agro-economy, conservation studies, or relevant fields.

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years of work experience in environmental field with technical expertise in protected areas with special attention to management and planning.
• Good knowledge on the Government of Albania environmental legal initiatives from the last 5 years with relation to environmental acquis and environmental conventions
• Previous work experience with Albania’s system of protected areas, with knowledge on relevant conventions for PAs such as CBD, RAMSAR, or relevant
• Demonstrated ability to deal with and build collaboration among development stakeholders in the management of protected areas;

Language:

• Full working knowledge of English language is essential.

Evaluation Procedure

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would consider 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 -30% or 30 points: Relevant educational background with at least 5 years of work experience in environmental field with technical expertise in protected areas with special attention to management and planning.

Criteria B -20% or 20 points: Good knowledge on environmental legal initiatives from the last 5 years with relation to environmental acquis and conventions with demonstrated ability to deal with and build collaboration among development stakeholders in the management of protected areas;

Criteria C- 20% or 20 points: Previous work experience with Albania’s system of protected areas, with knowledge on relevant conventions for PAs such as CBD, RAMSAR, or relevant

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

Application Procedure

Interested applicants are advised to carefully study all sections of this ToRs and ensure that they meet the general requirements as well as specific qualifications described. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

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.
• Completed and signed UN Personal History Form (P11) for Service Contracts (SC) and Individual Contracts (IC) – Blank form Download here.
• Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability - please complete the attached form...
• Financial Proposal in ALL - specifying a total lump sum amount in local currency (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.).
• 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.

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.

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.