Background

Albania has made important steps towards establishing a democratic state, functioning market economy, maintaining a stable economic growth, and achieving human development. Important progress is achieved in establishing relevant institutional and policy frameworks for achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with international, regional, and national gender equality standards and obligations. Despite significant efforts, the inclusion of vulnerable groups, particularly Roma and Egyptian communities, persons with disabilities and vulnerable women, remains problematic. The legislative framework has gaps, institutional response mechanism face challenges to improve and strengthen inter-institutional co-operation in preventing and handling violence against women (VAW) cases. Therefore, in order to ensure an effective response, it is critical to mobilize government, empower civil society and people in local communities to act in unison to fulfill national and international obligations and to have a voice in public decision making affecting their lives.

In line with current challenges Albania needs to address, and the Outcome 2 of the UN’s Programme of Cooperation for Sustainable Development (PoCSD) with the Government of Albania (GoA), the UN is engaged in two Joint Programmes (JP):

• The “Leave No One Behind” (LNB) designed to: (1) strengthen the vulnerable population to request and receive adequate social services from local authorities that support their social inclusion, (2) support municipalities to effectively manage the provision of social services and promote social inclusion, (3) support national institutions to implement their policy framework for providing social services and adequately fund social services. 
• Ending Violence Against Women in Albania (EVAWIA) designed to: (1) a strengthened normative and accountability framework related to GB-VAW; (2) improved institutional practices, services and coordination for survivors of GB-VAW; and (3) to challenge norms pertaining to GB-VAW at the state, community and individual levels. These results aim at bringing institutional and behavioral change in preventing and responding to GB-VAW, thereby contributing to freeing women and girls from all forms of GB-VAW and from the threat of such violence.                

The programmes’ target groups, who will indirectly and directly benefit from improved social services, improved legislative framework, policies and institutional coordinated response practices are the marginalized and vulnerable persons of Albania, and especially women survivors of VAW, persons with disabilities, and Roma and Egyptians. A specific focus of these JPs will be the hard to reach communities that have been marginalized because of age (elderly women), ability (persons with disabilities), minority status (Roma, Egyptian), sexual orientation (LGBTI), and place of residence (rural and remote areas of the country).

These JPs are implemented through the modalities of the Delivering as One (DaO) mechanism, under the Programme of Cooperation for Sustainable Development 2017-2021, with the joint participation of UN agencies, including UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women and UNFPA, and in close partnership with relevant governmental bodies at the central and local levels.  UNDP is the lead UN agency for the overall implementation and coordination of both JPs.

Both programmes use various methods for capacity building and organizational development. One of them comprises funding innovative small local projects through Community-Based Social Services Grants Scheme and creating access to use additional financial resources i.e. through implementation of different donor supported projects. During 2018 - 2019 UNDP organized professional trainings for social services and finance departments focused on project writing proposals and access to funds. According to the needs and issues raised during these trainings by local government staff and considering the challenges faced during the implementation, especially in terms of finance reporting and use of funds, UNDP will seek the services of a financial expert to provide support, guidance and mentoring to municipal finance employees and prepare a module/guide on the use of additional financial funds through donor supported projects.

Duties and Responsibilities

The financial expert will work under the guidance of Programme Specialist for Social and Economic Inclusion and the direct supervision of the programme coordinators of each Programme (EVAWIA and LNB) to undertake the following duties and responsibilities:

1.      Review the existing regulations and legal framework on local budget implementation with particular focus on the duties and responsibilities of the finance employees within the municipalities.

2.      Prepare a draft module / guide to be used for finance employees within municipalities.

3.      Consult the draft module / guide CCRs (herein after CRM[1]) coordinators, finance employees and other relevant stakeholders and review according to implementation needs.

4.      Conduct a technical meeting for a final consultation with CRM local coordinators and financial specialists.

5.      Deliver at least 4 workshops with participation of CRM local coordinators/social services staff and financial employees involved in managing project funds through letter of agreement modalities.

6.      Mentor remotely financial officers responsible for managing project funds through letter of agreement modalities and local domestic violence coordinators that will establish CRMs and/or consolidate CRM mechanisms with UNDP support.

The list of final deliverables:

• A final module/guide for on the use of additional financial funds through donor supported projects and social budgeting (in Albanian).
• Handouts of the trainings/workshops and all related written materials and reports on the workshops for both programs.
• Progress report on the tasks performed as per ToRs and engagement in each of the programmes (in English).

[1] Coordinated community response mechanisms (CCRs), herein after will be referred as the Coordinated Referral Mechanism of Cases of Domestic Violence (CRM) as per the latest legislative changes. Council of Ministers Decision no. 334 date 17.2.2011 on “The set up and proceedings of the Coordination and Referral Mechanism of Domestic Violence Cases”.

Competencies

Corporate 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 favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Analytical skills, initiative, sound judgment, results-oriented and efficiency in a multi-tasking environment
• Good inter-personal and teamwork skills, networking attitude, ability to work in multi-cultural environment
• Ability to work under pressure in complex situations
• Ability to work in an independent manner, set priorities and organize the workflow efficiently
• Willingness to travel around the country to coordinate, attend and monitor project activities
• Full working knowledge of English, including excellent writing and presentation skills
• Fluency in Albanian
• Very good computer skills and ability to use information technology as a tool and resource.

Required Skills and Experience

The consultant is expected to have the following qualifications to complete the task successfully:

Academic qualification/Education

• University Degree in Finance, Economics or related fields.

Work experience:

·        Minimum of 7 years of professional experience.

·        At least 7 years of experience in working with finance issues and local government.

Language skills:

·        Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills in English and Albanian is required.

5. Evaluation of Applicants

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

The award of the contract should be made to the individual consultant 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.

Only the highest ranked candidates who would be found qualified for the job will be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

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

·        Criteria A: Compliant educational background - max points: 35

·        Criteria B: Demonstrated knowledge and experience as per the respective ToRs - max points: 15

·        Criteria C: Experience in working with finance issues and local government - max points: 20

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