Framework Agreement for a consultant to support the reporting process of the UN Joint Programme Leave No One Behind Phase 2

Background

The LNB second phase programme goal is: “Vulnerable persons and groups have improved access to gender responsive public services that support their social rights, social inclusion and well-being, and are empowered to have a voice in public policy decision-making affecting their lives, and to hold decision-makers accountable for policy implementation”. To achieve this, the programme pursues three objectives:

to empower beneficiaries in need of measures for their social protection to access and to contribute themselves to their social inclusion;
to capacitate municipalities/ regions and service providers to provide services and to promote social inclusion;
to capacitate state authorities in the further development and implementation of policies relevant for social inclusion and to further operationalize/ develop social inclusion funding mechanisms, including scaling up of the Social Fund.

While the programme will cover all of Albania, by empowering vulnerable people and by promoting systemic reform of social service and inclusion provision countrywide, the programme adopts geographic foci to ensure that 30 (of a total of 61) municipalities are suitably capacitated to provide a system of integrated social services to cover the needs of the vulnerable population. The programme will primarily use instruments for capacity building and organizational development. Sustainability of the programme investments and effects and scaling up of successful practices will be a constant concern of the programme.

The Leave No One Behind Joint Programme (second phase) is being implemented through the Delivering as One (DaO) mechanism, within the Government of Albania-UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026, with the joint participation of four UN agencies of UNDP, UNICEF, UNWOMEN and UNFPA and in close partnership with relevant governmental bodies at central and local level. The programme is funded by SDC, and the funds are allocated through the SDG Acceleration Fund. The program started on 1 August 2021 and will be implemented for a period of 4 years, up to 31 July 2025.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant to support the reporting process of LNB2 Programme will work under the guidance of Programme Specialist for Social Inclusion and the direct supervision of the LNB2 Programme Coordinator. The Consultant is expected to:

Get acquitted with the LNB2 Programme Document and its Monitoring and Evaluation framework that emphasizes results and impacts through the promotion of a results-based approach;
Become familiar with the existing baseline/ midline data identified in the project document with the aim of demonstrating impact;
Conduct meetings with UN participating agencies and partners to identify other data sources available and needed to measure the baseline and subsequent annual values of the indicators.
Report writing: Review reports provided by participating agencies and prepare semi-annual and annual progress report(s) highlighting progress toward achieving LNB2 programme goals and objectives, the potential bottlenecks in programme implementation and recommending actions to address the bottlenecks;
Prepare a summary of M&E framework which is an annex to the semi-annual and annual reports;
Provide support for updating risk analysis and follow-up of the mitigation measures (which is an annex to the semi-annual and annual reports) for each following year of the programme (s) cycle;
Based on the input provided by participating agencies to the semi-annual and annual progress report, provide suggestions on how activities can further advance the programme’s cross-cutting issues of governance and gender equality in the social service sector in Albania.
Support LNB2 activities aiming at improvements in the social inclusion legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks, including the integration of human rights principles and standards and relevant recommendations of human rights mechanisms addressed to Albania.
When necessary, participate in meetings of the LNB technical committee to share the M&E framework and associated guidelines for UN Agencies.

Expected Deliverables and Timeline

Deliverables (outputs)

Deadline and level of effort

LNB2 semi-annual reports (three) including a summary of M&E framework and updated risk log.

(June 2022 – December 2024)

LNB2 annual reports (three) including a context update, a summary of M&E framework and updated risk log.

(June 2022 – December 2024)

LNB2 final report including all its annexes.

(July 2025)

Competencies

Corporate competencies:

? Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;

? Commitment to UNDP’s vision, mission, and strategic goals;

? Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

? Treats all people fairly without favoritism;

? Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional competencies:

? Significant experience in data-collection and analysis and preparation of reports for large international donor funded projects in the areas of social policies or closely related field;

? Strong inter-personal and communication (oral and written) skills, efficiency in a multi-tasking and multi-cultural environment;

? Ability to work and adapt to a dynamic working environment, judgment, results-orientation, and ability to perform under pressure;

? Self-motivated and able to recommend options for resolution of issues.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic qualifications:

An advanced university degree in social policy, public policy, law, politics, development studies business administration, international relations or related field.
Qualification specifically in social inclusion legal, policy, and regulatory frameworks is an advantage.

Years of Experience:

A minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible experience in project management particularly for large scale interventions funded by international donors.
Proven experience and knowledge in data-collection and analysis and preparation of reports.
Experience with social inclusion / social protection programming or related policies and programmes is preferable.
A good understanding of gender equality and of the social inclusion issues and challenges in the Albanian context would be highly desirable.
Previous experience/familiarity with UNDP or other UN agencies is desirable.

Language requirements:

Full working knowledge of English, including excellent report writing and presentation skills in English.

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.