Background

Governance reforms are at the heart of the European Union (EU) accession process and have been prioritized as key to addressing Albania’s socio-economic challenges. Major investments have therefore been made by the Government of Albania (GoA) in reforming the public administration, the judiciary, and the social sector in efforts to reduce corruption, strengthen the rule of law, and enforce fundamental rights for social inclusion and protection. Delivery of quality and inclusive public services, including at local level, is one of the many important interventions the GoA is intensively working on to meet obligations that arise from international legal instruments as part of the EU accession Agenda.

Organic laws that regulate public service provision to citizens, including the law on social care services, social assistance and the free legal aid were reviewed and adopted. In particular, the Law No.121/2016 on Social Care Services and Law No.57/2019 on Social Assistance and its relevant sub-legal acts set out the foundations of a system of integrated social-care services and assistance significant for alleviation of poverty and social exclusion transforming this social protection scheme into an active scheme, targeting economic assistance beneficiaries. However, little is known about their coverage, efficiency and the impact they have on achieving equity.

In the Albanian legislation “social assistance” is defined by the Law No.57/2019 on Social Assistance as: "A payment given to vulnerable individuals and families specified in the law”. Despite adoption of this Law and its bylaws application in practice of the social assistance subsidy schemes has shown to be somewhat challenging from the perspective of accessing social assistance cash benefits administered by social assistance offices at local government units.

In addition, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) such as the People’s Advocate (PA) and the Commissioner for Protection against Discrimination (CPD) annual reports and data show that the criteria for benefiting from social assistance conflict with the needs of the vulnerable categories and do not take into account the poverty line, which has led to further exclusion of these categories from basic social support aiming a reasonable standard of living that complies with human dignity and human rights.

According to the PA’s 2019 Report[1] on this subject area several complaints were registered, filed by citizens on issues such as termination of economic assistance, non-entitlement and exclusion from economic assistance schemes, and low economic assistance, as issues persisting through the years. Cases of exclusion or non-entitlement from parallel assistance transfers have been referred to PA and CPD by vulnerable groups in general and female family heads, Roma women or women from other vulnerable groups, including victims of domestic violence or human trafficking in particular. Therefore, an evaluation of the implementation in practice of the social assistance legislation and overall social assistance system is considered decisive for identifying main issues/barriers to access and household use of cash transfers from families in need and individuals with special status.

To support the Albanian NHRIs in their mission and role to influence policy change based on accurate and timely data, as well as to respond to the need for an objective assessment on the structural barriers to the access and household use of cash transfers of persons in need, UNDP will support the PA and CPD to conduct an assessment report on the implementation in practice of the social assistance legislation enabling parallel access of social assistance beneficiaries to the social assistance scheme, considering it  necessary for future policy and legal interventions and measures for developing effective social protection and inclusion policies and enabling legal framework to protect human rights, dignity and legal interests of individuals. Improving the quality and effectiveness of social protection and inclusion measurement will enhance the administration’s capacity to appraise policy and to carry out broader sector reviews.

UNDP Albania in close collaboration with the PA and CPD and all relevant stakeholders, will be providing support in development of this assessment report in the frame of UNDP Access to Justice initiatives that aim at providing support to equality bodies like PA and CPD in upholding human rights standards, strengthening rule of law and access to justice of the most vulnerable populations.

Considering all the above, UNDP will need the services of a team of 3 experts from the legal, social and economics sectors to provide support to PA and CPD as per the below duties, responsibilities, and deliverables.

[1] Annual Report 2019.pdf (avokatipopullit.gov.al), pg 78

Duties and Responsibilities

The expert together with two other experts from legal and social field will provide the following:

• Prepare a detailed work plan (with activities and implementation timeframe) for the delivery of the Assessment Report;
• In close cooperation with the PA and CPD staff develop the assessment report methodology by employing a mixed method analysis consisting of a desk review of national policies and legal documents governing social protection and the institutional arrangements for the delivery of social assistance and transfers to individuals, households and families, with special focus on women as heads of households, victims of domestic or gender-based violence or women from other vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities; a quantitative analysis of available nationally representative household expenditure datasets, including an analysis of (available) administrative data for 2019 and 2020; interviews with key government officials, NHRI’s regional staff, and with recipients of social protection transfers regarding the main issues/barriers to access and household use of cash transfers;
• Gather and process information and data for the period 2019-2020 pursuant to the agreed methodology and develop the draft Assessment Report;
• Produce draft Assessment Report, documenting data as well as practices in implementation of the social assistance and transfers in different LGUs and provide concrete recommendations for interventions based on generated data to inform social policies and legal framework on social assistance;
• In close cooperation with the PA and CPD working group conduct consultation rounds with a wide range of stakeholders, as agreed with PA and CPD, to validate and finalize the Assessment Report;
• Support PA and CPD in preparing visual presentations and infographics etc., based on the findings and recommendations of the Assessment Report;  
• Support PA and CPD in developing a plan of interventions to tackle main issues/barriers to access and household use of cash transfers from families in need and individuals with special status targeted to legislative, executive bodies, CSOs and development partners;
• Other tasks related to the project as requested.

The list of final deliverables:

• Draft Assessment Report on implementation in practice of the Social Assistance Legislation focused on access and household use of cash transfers from families in need and individuals with special status;
• Statistical data provided as per the need and requirements of PA, CPD and UNDP to inform social policies and legal framework on access to social protection subsidy schemes by vulnerable groups to alleviate poverty and to advance the national development agenda;
• A presentation prepared with key data and findings, as well as recommendations from the Assessment Report;
• Handouts necessary for the consultation rounds of the Assessment Report;
• A policy paper developed with recommendations based on generated data to inform social policies and legal framework on access and household use of cash transfers from families in need and individuals with special status to alleviate poverty;
• Advocacy plan developed for PA for adequate follow-up actions to the legislative, executive bodies, CSOs and development partners;
• Final Assessment Report on implementation in practice of the Social Assistance Legislation and access and household use of cash transfers from families in need and individuals with special status in Albania for the period 2019-2020.

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 experts are expected to have the following qualifications to complete the task successfully:

Academic qualification/Education

• Master’s in one of the following fields is required: Economics, Finance and Public Policy. Postgraduate degrees are an asset.
• Certified trainings in the area of national financing, social inclusion programmes and/or systems and especially in human rights.

Work experience:

• Minimum 10 years of relevant professional experience working in the rule of law, national financing, social inclusion programmes and/or human and gender rights issues, in particular;
• Proven professional experience in providing technical support to government and/or independent human rights institutions in drafting research, policy briefs and advocacy plans;
• Excellent knowledge of the institutional and political landscape in Albania, in particular sound knowledge of and the social protection system.
• Sound experience working with a wide range of stakeholders including government institutions and civil society organizations, focused mainly on the rule of law, human and gender rights, and social protection and inclusion areas;
• Proven professional experience in conducting evidence- based reports and/ or assessments/monitoring work in the related areas;
• Sound experience in legal and human rights sector on coordinating group work of inter– institutional actors;
• Excellent analytical, writing and reporting skills;
• Availability and willingness and personal initiative to travel and engage in field work with the project’s partners;
• Prior experience with UN or international organizations devoted in the field of rule of law and human rights is an asset.

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: 15
• Criteria B: Demonstrated research experience - max points: 25

• Criteria C: Experience in working with different stakeholders including government, human rights bodies, civil society and international organizations especially in the social justice and human rights sector - max points: 30

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

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. Download Here (kindly use Firefox browser)
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. Download Here (kindly use Firefox browser)

• Financial Proposal in ALL*- specifying a total lump sum in Albanian Lek for the tasks specified in this announcement. The attached template may be used - Download Here (kindy use Firefox browser) Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). 

• Copy of Diplomas and copy of Passport. 
• Technical proposal – specifying the methodology which the consultant will employ to conduct this assignment.

*Kindly note that Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability and Financial Proposal are two separate documents and should be both part of your application. 

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. 

Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process. 

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.