Background

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit Albania on 26 November 2019, has left 51 people dead and injured at least 913 others. Eleven municipalities situated in three prefectures (Tirana, Durrës and Lezha), with an approximate population of 1,185,286 persons, have suffered to varying degrees from the earthquake with 202,291 people affected directly or indirectly. According to government sources, around 17,090 affected inhabitants had to vacate their homes. For the first time in recent history, the Government of Albania announced a State of Natural Emergency in the three prefectures. According to the Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA), damages were reported to 321 educational institutions (including crèches, pre-schools, basic schools, secondary schools, vocational and education training schools, high education schools and dormitories) in the 11 affected municipalities, representing 24% of all educational establishments. About 90% of damaged institutions are in the public sector. Furthermore, 60% of destroyed and damaged schools are in rural areas. In addition to infrastructure, the earthquake also damaged physical assets such as furniture, labs, ICT equipment, libraries, textbooks, and other learning materials.

The action aims to support national and local governments in reducing further social and economic losses, and to accelerate the recovery process through educational facility repairs and reconstruction. The specific objectives are: (i) To support repairing/retrofitting and rebuilding, including basic furnishing, of education facilities in municipalities affected by the earthquake according to international standards; (ii) To offer better education services in creches, pre-schools, basic schools and secondary schools, for children and students, girls and boys, in areas affected by the earthquake; and (iii) To provide increased transparency, accountability and inclusiveness to the recovery process of education facilities.

“EU4Schools” Action, is funded by European Union, as response after the earthquake to support Albanian citizens in the most affected municipalities. It is focused in education sector and the total budget funded by EU, is EUR 15 mln. “EU4Schools” Action is part of the financial package committed by European Union during the donor conference, organised in Brussels on 17 February 2020.  Through this EU support, 22 education facilities will be repaired and reconstructed initially in five municipalities: Durres, Kruja, Kavaja, Kamza and Kurbin. The Action is funded by EU and will be implemented by UNDP in collaboration with Albanian Government

The action is based on Build back better principle, considering safety and health at work as a crucial element. In this context, two consultants on health and safety will be hired to support the programme team during implementation of the programme. The consultants’ services should be in compliance with provisions specified in the Albanian Law No. 10 237 dated 18.02.2010 “For safety and health at work” and with the OHSAS 18001 procedures and standards.

Taking into consideration the pandemic situation due to Covid-19, the consultant should review and comment on the Action Plan and the Emergency Response Plan prepared by the Contractor, that Covid – 19 precautions are being followed by all workers/staff including social distancing and use of protective measures.

Duties and Responsibilities

The health and safety experts will be responsible for monitoring and supervision the Health and Safety issues in all the construction sites including the performance of the Civil Work Contractors and Site Supervisors based on the application of the safety culture at the workplace and the implementation of Zero Accident Vision. The candidates are expected to perform the following tasks:

1. Monitor and supervise the implementation of the civil works on site is in compliance with the EU and national standards on health and safety at work.

Under this task, the consultant is expected to review and oversees safety procedures based on OHSAS 18001. He/she will review risk assessments, inspections, incidents investigations and other reports and offer advice to field teams to ensure that good practices are upheld in all sites. Th consultant will carry out site safety inspections, audits and fact findings and assists field teams to correct deviations from health and safety requirements including managing breaches of requirements and poor performance by personnel and contractors and their subcontractors. On the other side the consultant will monitor the traffic management and will ensure that the contractor’s H&S Method Statements are implemented effectively. Considering the situation, the consultant must advice/ensure that Covid – 19 precautions are being followed by all workers including social distancing and use of protective measures. The consultant must advise contractors on the site and in writing on how to prevent any high-risk activity and advises on corrective actions and manage the collecting of accident and incident investigation documentation and associated records, tracking investigations and actions to completion, enabling appropriate lessons learnt to be cascaded.

2. Enhance capacities on health and safety principles

The consultant is expected to promote and develops a proactive and positive safety culture in line with international standards. He/she will prepare a manual and deliver H&S induction trainings/info sessions in all sites at the beginning of each construction contract to the Supervision staff and Contractor staff available at that stage. Local authorities can be invited to participate as well. The manual prepared by the consultant will be used by contractors and/or supervisors to provide the induction trainings for new staff mobilized in various stages during civil works and whenever deemed as necessary. .  The consultant is expected to prepare safety alerts and assists on formal correspondence with regard to the H&S as required.

Under this assignment the consultants are expected to travel initially in five targeted municipalities: (i) Durres, (ii) Kruje, (iii) Kurbin, (iv) Kavaje and Kamza, including administrative units of these municipalities with a preliminary travel plan arranged in collaboration with programme team. Each of consultant will be assigned to 10-11 educational facilities. The cost of travel must be included as part of lump sum offer.

3. Develop a user-friendly guide on issues of health and students for teachers and students

In line with national and EU standards on health and safety in the educational facilities, the consultant will prepare a “Health and Safety Guide” for the teachers and students of all educational facilities outlining the key health and safety considerations in the use of rehabilitated or newly build facilities.  The ‘Health and Safety Guide” prepared for every school will be rolled out by the project team (community coordinator and engineers) once the construction works are finished and the facilities are handed over to the respective authorities.

Deliverables and timeline

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

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;
• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and highest standards of integrity, discretion and loyalty.
• Act as a team player while also taking individual initiative to complete outlined tasks;
• Sharing knowledge - across the action in particular and the organization in general -through supporting the building of a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
• 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 standards.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent communication skills (written, spoken, composing, presentation) and ability to share expertise for capacity building;
• Has deep knowledge of health and safety country laws and regulations;
• Political and cultural sensitivity and commitment to UNDP’s development objectives in the country;
• In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices;
• Ability to manage competing demands and meet deadlines;
• Proven networking, teambuilding, organizational and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced degree in engineering or any other related field.
• International or national safety qualifications and/or licenses;

Experince:

• At least 5 years of experience in occupational safety and health in working with community infrastructure projects, an added advantage if working on infrastructure projects of educational facilities;            
• Proven experience in occupational safety hazards and risks, safety risk management, occupational safety inspections and audits, formal investigation of an incident;
• Excellent knowledge of health and safety standards and legislation;
• Experience as safety manager or safety coordinator managing contractors is an asset;
• Previous experience/familiarity with UNDP and/or other UN agencies is an asset.

Language Requirements

• Excellent English and Albanian communication skills.

Evaluation Procedure

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would take into account 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: At least 5 years of experience in occupational safety and health in working with community infrastructure projects, an added advantage if working on infrastructure projects of educational facilities; Proven experience in occupational safety hazards and risks, safety risk management, occupational safety inspections and audits, formal investigation of an incident; Excellent knowledge of health and safety standards and legislation – max points: 50
• Criteria B: Educational background– max points: 20

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

Application Procedure

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.
• Latest personal Curriculum Vitae (CV) including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, including past experience from similar projects or 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 fill in the attached form...  www.un.org.al/sites/default/files/IC_Offerors%20Letter%20to%20UNDP%20Confirming%20Interest%20and%20Availability.docx
• Financial Proposal in ALL - specifying a total lump sum in Albanian Lek
  http://www.un.org.al/doc/Financial%20Offer%20template.doc (The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable -qualitative and quantitative- deliverables . Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR.  In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount-including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).- Please note that with regard to travel component you may provide an average estimated travel cost for one circuit with and without accommodation.
• 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:

• Merge your CV or P11, 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