Background

Although the Government of Albania has been successfully implementing important political, social and economic reforms, Roma and Egyptian face direct and indirect barriers in accessing public services, stemming from an eligibility criterion they cannot comply with, lack of information or understanding of administrative procedures, as well as stigma and frequent discriminatory attitude from the majority population. Long-term exclusion, treatment by the majority population and the relationship with government institutions has affected the living conditions of Roma and Egyptians. Studies show that the level of poverty among Roma is twice as high as the majority population. Regardless of their recognition as minority, Roma are both marginalized and socially excluded communities.

The "Economic and Social Empowerment for Roma and Egyptians- a booster for social inclusion" (ESERE) project is funded by the European Union and aims to further improve the social inclusion of most vulnerable communities consisting of Roma and Egyptians in Albania, with focus in the regions of Tirana, Durrës, Shkodra and Berat. The project’s purpose is to promote the economic and social empowerment of Roma and Egyptian communities in Albania by standardizing an innovative and integrated new approach at the policy and programming level and to provide integrated social inclusion models at sub-national level focusing in the regions of Tirana, Durrës, Shkodra and Berat.

This will be achieved by facilitating the horizontal and vertical communication and cooperation of the different stakeholders, including the target groups, at the national and sub-national/local level and implementing innovative tools, new models in flagship initiatives for increasing employment and vocational training opportunities, improving access to basic social services, strengthening institutional capacity, and establishing supportive mechanisms for those who live under severe circumstances. In the long term, this aims to lift the Roma and Egyptian families out of poverty and support their sustainable inclusion in the Albanian society and labour market.

The project is composed based on four (4) project objectives formalized in four (4) work packages, introduced below.

Objective 1 – Increased employment and skills development opportunities accessed by Roma and Egyptian women and men reduce the employment gap between R&E communities and the majority of the population.

Objective 2 – Community Led Local Development (CLLD) for R&E inclusion at the local level through integrated, inclusive and sustainable development.

Objective 3 – Procedures, models, tools and guidelines established and made operational based on the Integrated Approach and a Behavioural Change Model to support better access of Roma and Egyptian communities to basic equitable, inclusive and decentralised services and to foster a tolerant and inclusive society in Albania.

Objective 4 – The National Action Plan for Roma and Egyptian Integration in the Republic of Albania, 2015-2020, supported for implementation, monitoring and evaluation at the national, regional and local level.

All of the above will be supported by a comprehensive communication and visibility strategic plan. The methodology selected is based on hands-on support to active participation in community development activities and businesses required and selected by the beneficiaries. Through this methodology it has been calculated that the impact will be stronger and the interest of different stakeholders higher and more sustainable in the long term.

Duties and Responsibilities

ESERE project is seeking a consultant, who will work to provide capacity development training to local and a few central government officials aligned with the territorial and social care reform and strengthen their capacity to include and address adequately Roma and Egyptian inclusion as part of the regular working program under the social care sector. 

The implementation of the administrative and territorial reform caused significant changes in the set-up of Local Government Units (LGUs). The primary focus of the newly established municipalities rests in securing access to services and meeting the basic needs of their citizens/residents. They are being focused on reorganization of service provision in line with the new responsibilities and their expanded working territory.  On the other hand, the social care reform has dictated the roles and responsibilities of the LGUs and de-centralized offices of central government at the local level regarding delivery of inclusive services.

The LGUs increased responsibilities and diversity of services both in rural and urban areas, brings the need to further improve local service delivery efficiency, coverage and inclusiveness, especially for vulnerable groups which are often underrepresented and not considered a priority. In this contest, capacity building support will be provided to the existing and new structures to enable them to deal with specific issues of Roma and Egyptians inclusion in social care service provision.

The consultant will work under the direct supervision of UNDP Project Manager and in close cooperation with Social Inclusion Coordinator and Local Coordinators based in Tirana, Durres, Shkodra and Berat.

Reporting to the Project Manager, the consultant will assume the followings: 1) Prepare a concept note for the capacity development training for local and central government officials aligned with the territorial and social care reforms. Including the workplan; 2) Design and develop a training module on improving capacities of public officials to deliver inclusive social care services at the local level, in line with the Territorial and Administrative Reform And the new law on Social Care services; 3) Deliver at least  five (5) one-day training sessions to approximately 80 public officials from central and local level.

In particular, the Consultant will be responsible for:

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Develop and deliver for approval, to UNDP/ESERE project the assignment concept note, including the methodology and workplan (max 4 pages), within two weeks after start of the assignment.
• Review of relevant background documents for development of the training module including: The Law 115/2014 “On the territorial and administrative division of local government units in the Republic of Albania”, Law no. 121/2016 on Social Care Services in the Republic of Albania, The Crosscutting Strategy for Decentralization and Local Governance 2015-2020 (NSDLG), National Action Plan for Integration of Roma and Egyptian in the Republic of Albania 2016-2020, Strategy of Social Protection 2015-2020 etc.
• Design and develop the draft training module in the first month of the assignment and provide it for feedback and comments to UNDP/ESERE project.
• Finalize the training module and preparation of training materials and handouts.
• Organize and deliver in cooperation with ESERE project team five, one (1) day training sessions to approximately 80 public officials from central and local government institutions of Tirana, Berat, Durres and Shkodra.
• Prepare final report of the assignment as agreed with UNDP/ESERE project which will include also lessons learned  and recommendations for future actions.

Expected deliverables:               

• Concept note including methodology and workplan approved by UNDP.
• Draft Training module outline (in English language).
• Final training module, training session materials and handouts approved by UNDP (in Albanian Language)
• Five (one day) training sessions delivered with 80 public officials from central and local government (in Albanian Language).
• Report on the assignment performed as per ToRs including what was achieved during the training sessions and recommendations for the way forward (in English language).

Competencies

Corporate and 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.
• Organizational Awareness - Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• 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:

• Ability to work well with multiple stakeholders;
• Ability to deliver under tight deadlines;
• Creativity skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University degree in Social Science, Public Administration or any other related field.

 Work experience:

• At least 10 years of professional experience in the development of training materials, modules or curricula.
• Demonstrated experience in the development and implementation of trainings or capacity building programs for government institutions.
• In depth understanding and knowledge of territorial and administrative as well as social care reform in the country will be highly desirable.
• Knowledge of the national institutional, legal and policy frameworks in social inclusion of Roma and Egyptian communities.
• A prior experience in similar assignments will be considered an advantaged.

Language requirement:

• Fluency in written and spoken Albanian and English.

 6. Evaluation of applicants:

Applicants will be screened against qualifications and the competencies specified above. UNDP applies the ‘Best value for money’ approach - the final selection will be based on the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

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

a) Responsive, and

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

Individual consultant will be evaluated based on a cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal.

Technical Criteria - 70% of total evaluation – max points: 70

Criteria A: Compliant educational background– max points: 20

Criteria B: Relevant experience in training or capacity building program development for public administration sector - max points: 20 Criteria

Criteria C: Approach & Methodology proposed for conducting the assignment - max points: 30