Two national consultants to support Ministry of Health and Social Protection for sharing information and knowledge on enterprise start-ups

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Government of Albania has made progress towards the national and international commitments in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women especially those under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Istanbul Convention as well as the EU gender equality aquis.

The UN in Albania is coordinating efforts with state institutions to fulfill obligations deriving from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are integral to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda is a call for action to all stakeholders, including business, government, youth and civil society.

In the framework of the UN Joint Programme “Leave no-one behind”, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MoHSP) and UN Women have strived to create an enabling environment for the development of Social Entrepreneurship.  In June 2016, the adoption of the Law on Social Enterprises marked a step forward in setting the legal arrangements and mechanisms for the establishment and functioning of social enterprises. This law provides alternative measures to promote disadvantaged individuals’ social and economic reintegration into society, especially women and youth, so that no one is left behind.

UN Women supported MoHSP to enable the implementation of the law and therefor draft a package of six by-laws which are now approved and entered into force (2019). These by-laws regulate the Registration of Social Enterprises, determination of the Periodic Reporting Forms, the types of activities exercised and the categories of the targeted persons to be employed and Promotion of the Development of  Social Enterprises. In addition, UN Women supported the Ministry to design a funding mechanism that will support social enterprises, through subventions via state budget.

However, the lack of information, promotion, capacity strengthening programs and trainings still remains a huge concern which UN Women and MoHSP aim to address in order to create a more enabling environment for the development of social enterprises in Albania. Social enterprises and their activity are very little known to institutions of central and local government, to other social actors and to the community in general. For this reason, promoting social enterprise activity and increasing knowledge of state institutions, business, civil society and community as well as developing programs to strengthen the capacity of potential Social Enterprises to align their social missions with business models is of high importance.

Against this background, building capacity of the existing and potential social entrepreneurs on social inclusion and business development is key. This includes promoting business development and management competences, so that social challenges, including economic empowerment and social re-integration of vulnerable populations, can be tackled in a sustainable way. It is also necessary to enhance capacities of public sector stakeholders to support and promote social entrepreneurship within their respective mandates, building on international good practices.

UN Women and the Ministry have identified concrete entry-points to support the development of social entrepreneurship in Albania. The overall objective is to enable social enterprises to generate results in terms of the social (re)integration of vulnerable sectors of the Albanian population

UN Women in Albania is committed to supporting the process and for this purpose is seeking to employ 2 (two) national consultants to assist the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to share information and knowledge on enterprise start-up as an innovative approach to address exclusion of vulnerable women and girls.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objectives of the assignment

UN Women is seeking to recruit two national consultants to assist Ministry of Health and Social Protection to share information and knowledge on enterprise start-up at national level as an innovative approach to address exclusion of vulnerable women and girls. The national consultants will work in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection but will also coordinate efforts with targeted local government units of selected municipalities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). NGO partners will be identified based on their demonstrated expertise in areas of inclusive growth, gender equality, economic empowerment and (re)integration of marginalized groups, and community mobilization.

Work will focus on two main components:

• Support and capacitate Social Entrepreneurs to create sustainable business models and launch social enterprises;
• In coopertion with dedicated team from MoHSP, raise public awareness about the potential and benefits of social entrepreneurship and enhance capacities of public stakeholders at the local level to support and promote social enterprises and inclusive economy in their respective mandates, in line with the national legal framework requirements;

Description of tasks:

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the direct supervision of the UN Women National Program Manager, the two consultants will work as a team with each having the below profiles (refer also to Qualifications section below):

A) One National Consultant with a (social) business/enterprise development background;

B) One National Consultant with gender equality and women’s empowerment background;

Their tasks will consist of the following:

• Prepare work plan and methodology in close coordination with MoHSP designated staff and UN Women;
• Support and capacity build Social Entrepreneurs to create sustainable business models and launch social enterprises:

1. Mapping potentioal organizations interested to obtain the social enterprise registration status and develp respective social enterprise models;
2. Mentoring up to 10 identified potential social enterprises in developing business plans as per law criteria and support their registration as social enterprises.

• Raise public awareness about the potential and benefits of social entrepreneurship and enhance capacities of public stakeholders at the local level to support and promote social enterprises

1. Conduct desk work and consultation meetings (including mission trips to target municipalities) for the preparation of the information session modules
2. Revise the existing UN Women capacity building plan to connect to local development plans of the target municipal plans, like social care plans, Gender action plans, rural development plans etc.
3. Draft modules of information sharing for responsible local institutions, public officials, stakeholders and civil society on the benefits of social enterprises and green economy;
4. Facilitate jointly with MoHSP a series of information sessions to responsible local institutions, stakeholders and civil society in the target municipalities.

• Prepare a final report (in English) on the activities conducted including: Recommendations and lessons learned and Monitoring impact of engagement and activities in target municipalities;

Expected Deliverables:

• Plan and methodology developed (in Albanian and English);
• Final list of mapped potential social enterprises interested to obtain the SE registration status.
• Capacity building plan for the 10 identified potential social enterprises accompanied by needs assessment and mentoring modules.
• Minutes of meetings with stakeholders;
• 10 business plans drafted closely with the beneficiary organizations and in line with SE law criteria;
• Presentations for planned information sessions;
• A final report on the activities conducted including recommendations, lessons learned and monitoring findings with particular focus on the gender considerations and inclusion of vulnerable women;

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Results driven, ability to work under pressure and to meet required deadlines;
• Possesses the ability to work independently;
• Good knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues; women’s economic empowerment;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Good understanding and practice of capacity development;
• Ability to analyze, review and explain to different audiences relevant legal documents, including national laws and policies/programmes, reports about government services, infrastructure, institutional mechanisms and relevant information particularly on social rights issues, women’s rights, and social enterprises;
• Excellent communication skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A) For National Consultant with a (social) business/enterprise development background

• Master’s degree in Economy; Business Administration, Public Policy, or related fields.

B) For National Consultant with gender background

• Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Political Science, Social Sciences, or related fields.

Experience:

A) For National Consultant with a (social) business/enterprise development background

• At least 5 years of experience in developing business plans, mentoring businesses and start-ups
• Experience in developing adult learning cycle and participatory methods, provision of trainings and awareness raising activities;
• Previous work in the areas of social inclusion polices and strategies at the central and local level in Albania;
• Previous experience or familiarity with the UN system or other international organizations would be desirable;

B) For Nationla Consultant with gender background

• At least seven years of experience on issues related to gender equality, women’s empowerment, women’s social inclusion and women economic empowerment;
• Experience in developing adult learning cycle and participatory methods, provision of trainings and awareness raising activities;
• Previous work in the areas of social inclusion polices and strategies at the central and local level in Albania;
• Previous experience or familiarity with the UN system or other international organizations would be desirable; 

Language requirements

Fluency in spoken and written Albanian and English.

Duration

The completion of this consultancy assignment will take up to 30 working days per each consultant in the estimated period between August – December 2019.

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. The evaluation of technical criteria will include interviews with the candidates, to confirm their experience in the areas of gender equality, women’s empowerment and ending violence against women. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive to and compliant with the ToR; and

• Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

* Technical Criteria weight – 70%

* Financial Criteria weight – 30%

 Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% (49 points) in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.

Technical Criteria:   Weight 70%   Max. Points 70                                                                             

For National Consultant with a (social) business/enterprise development background

• At least five years of experience in developing business plans, mentoring businesses and start-ups; 25 points
• Experience in developing adult learning cycle and participatory methods, provision of trainings and awareness raising activities; 20 points
• Previous work in the areas of social inclusion polices and strategies at the central and local level in Albania; 15 points
• Previous experience or familiarity with the UN system or other international organizations would be desirable; 10 points

For National Consultant with gender background

• At least seven years of experience on issues related to gender equality, women’s empowerment, women’s social inclusion and women economic empowerment; 25 points
• Experience in developing adult learning cycle and participatory methods, provision of trainings and awareness raising activities; 20 points
• Previous work in the areas of social inclusion polices and strategies at the central and local level in Albania; 15 points
• Previous experience or familiarity with the UN system or other international organizations would be desirable; 10 points

Financial Criteria: Weight 30% Max. Points 30

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. The calculation formula applied is as follow:

p = 30 (µ/z); where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated; µ = price of the lowest priced proposal; z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

Application Procedure:

Qualified candidates are requested to apply online. The application should contain:

• Cover letter explaining the applicant’s interest in applying for the position.
• Filled Personal History Form (P11 form) including past experience in similar assignments and contact details of referees (blank form can be downloaded from: http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment/); please upload the P11 instead of your CV

Financial Proposal - specifying a total lump sum amount in Albanian Leks (ALL) for the tasks specified in this announcement. Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultant/contractor during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services). The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount in Albanian Leks: daily rate and number of anticipated working days, travel and other related costs for 50 km, 100km and 200km, as well as accommodation and subsistence expenses for 10 (ten) days at minimum.

Payments will be made only upon confirmation of UN Women on delivering on the contract obligations in a satisfactory manner based on produced deliverables and the submission of time-sheets.

UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.

Important Notes:

• The consultancy post is open to local (Albanian) individuals or foreign individuals with valid temporary or permanent residence.
• Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract.