Background

Note :Applicants who have previously applied do not need to re-appply

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. As a continuing government priority since April 2014, the reform is now under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) which heads the reform government program.

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 part 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, based on the law no. 13/2016, dated 18 February 2016 “On the way of delivering public services at front office level in the Republic of Albania”, includes the implementation of the separation of the front office (FO) from the back office (BO) in all central 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.

While it is establishing customer care standards in public service delivery as mandated by law, ADISA is ensuring their implementation though the separated front offices it manages, primarily in its one-stop-shop and in-one-place integrated citizen service centers (CSC), already opened in Kavaja, Kruja, Fieri and Gjirokastra, in addition to the service windows at the Tirana Office of Immovable Property Registration (ZRPP).

Since mid-2014, UN Albania has provided reform 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 current contributors to the pool fund are the Government of Italy, Government of Austria and the UNDP. Implementation follows UNDP’s national implementation modality. UNDP provides project and financial management support in accordance with UNDP’s regulations and rules for project management.

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.

A key activity under the service delivery standard implementation is the quality assurance and performance monitoring to bolder comprehensive and sustain adoption of such standards. With the Mystery Shopping assessment and service delivery indicator monthly reporting by central government institutions, ADISA has taken steps in these direction. The Deputy Prime Minister, as reform leader, has indicated this activity as a key priority, and has requested project assistance to move forward based on an action plan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of the assignment

To support the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister with compliance monitoring of public service delivery by state institutions based on the regulatory and standards requirements, organizational policies and procedures in place.

Description of Responsibilities

The Consultant shall support and work in close collaboration with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and perform the following tasks:

1. Review the service delivery quality assurance and monitoring framework in place and provide design and operational recommendations;
2. Work with the relevant project team and partners to identify high-value activities contributing to the attainment of compliance and monitoring goals;
3. Engage in short and medium-term planning on compliance and monitoring activities;
4. Prepare an inspection checklist, and engage in no less than fifteen inspection missions of public service delivery;
5. Collect and analyze data relative to the operations of integrated centers and delivery of public services, and help improve the service delivery data collection process;
6. Analyze and provide recommendations on issues related to improving service delivery based on data collected and analyzed from compliance and monitoring activities;
7. Ensure overall regular reporting and prepare topical presentations as needed by the Office of Deputy Prime Minister.

Expected Deliverables:

• Detailed work plan;
• Service Delivery QA and Monitoring framework review and design and operational recommendations;
• Inspection mission checklist and summary report;
• Overall data collection and analysis report;
• Final assignment report.

Reporting

The Consultant is expected to deliver monthly reports on the progress of the assignment to the UNDP indicating activities carried out and planned.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Integrity - Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
• Professionalism - Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
• Maturity and Discretion – demonstrate maturity and discretion in communicating the findings of compliance and monitoring reports.
• Cultural sensitivity and respect for diversity - Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Additionally, the individual should have an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Functional competencies:

• Ability to work well in teams and deliver under pressure;
• Ability to facilitate, consult and negotiate with a broad range of stakeholders;
• Excellent problem solving skills and organizational skills;
• Strong inter-personal and communication skills;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Excellent reporting and presentation skills;
• Ability to travel (day trips).

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Graduate degree in economics, management, business administration, finance, accounting, or social studies;
• Training/Certification in quality management is preferred.

Work experience:

• At least five (5) years of professional experience, that includes engagement in quality management;
• Sound knowledge and experience in compliance and monitoring in public or private sector;
• Experience in analytical studies is preferred;
• Experience with customer service is preferred.

Language requirement:

Fluency in spoken and written Albanian and English languages.

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: Compliant educational background/certification – max points: 20

Criteria B: Professional experience including engagement in quality management – max points: 30

Criteria C: Relevant knowledge and work experience – max points: 20

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

Candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) of the maximum obtainable points for the technical criteria (70 points) shall be considered for the financial evaluation.

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.
• Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability-please fill in the attached form... Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability. 
• Latest personal CV, including past experience from similar projects
• Financial Proposal in ALL* - specifying a total lump sum in Albanian Lek (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.  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.

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.