Re-advertisement -National Consultant – Bylaws on Vocational Education and Training

Background

Albania’s vocational education and training (VET) and vocational skills development (VSD) system all too often has failed to equip students with the req­uisite knowledge, competences and skills for a suc­cessful transition into the labour market. This has resulted in an unsuitably qualified labour force, skills shortages and soaring youth unemployment. Recognizing the need to systematically address em­ployment by re-orienting the vocational education and training and vocational skills development sys­tem towards labour market needs, and modernizing and extending outreach of employment services, the Albanian government adopted the National Employ­ment and Skills Strategy 2014-2020.

UNDP globally and regionally has built a strategic vision that recognizes the importance of creating employment opportunities to addressing both poverty reduction and inequalities and exclusion. Indeed, the first outcome of the recently adopted United Nations Youth System Wide Action Plan focuses on Employment and Entrepreneurship with the intention to ensure greater opportunities for youth to secure decent work and income over the life-cycle, contributing to a virtuous circle of poverty reduction, sustainable development and social inclusion. To support the integration of various youth employment policy objectives through coordinated action, UNDP Albania, in collaboration with other UN agencies has designed and implemented several skill development / employment related interventions.

The ambition of the Swiss funded Skills Development for Employment (SD4E) Programme is to make a systemic contribution to the modernization of Al­bania’s VET/VSD system by addressing several key challenges: skills mismatch and unequal access to employment and training services; labour market challenges in rural areas; insufficient governance of funding for employment and training; lack of coor­dination / collaboration in the system; inadequate labour market information; and insufficient quality and relevance of VET and VSD providers and their programmes. The overall goal of the programme is that “more young women and men in urban and rural areas in Albania are employed or self-employed.” In order to achieve this goal the programme focuses on four outcomes:

Outcome 1:       Improving and diversifying employment promotion measures, and advancing their governance

Outcome 2:       Improved environment and regulatory framework for up-scaling work-based learning schemes (elements of dual system)

Outcome 3:       Quality assurance and accreditation of VET/VSD providers

Outcome 4:       Anticipating skills needs in the short and medium term

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of the assignment

The Skills Development for Employment Programme intends to support the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth in improving the regulatory framework both for the implementation of work-based learning in Albania and the establishment of a quality assurance system.

The new VET law was approved in February 2017 and is shaped as an open framework which aims to transform the VET system further by establishing a unified VET system that responds to social - economic and technological changes in compliance with the domestic and global market needs. The law is based on the fundamental principles of inclusiveness, autonomy, quality, cooperation, ensuring participation, mobility and continuity, and diversity. The new VET law needs to be complemented with the secondary legislation and by-laws which will enable the implementation of the law by the end of 2017.

To this end, the SD4E programme, seeks to contract a local consultant who will be responsible for drafting, developing and elaboration of selected by-laws for the new VET law.

Deliverables 

The main deliverables include:

1. Draft by-laws related to the Decisions of the Council of Ministers, addressing the organization, functioning and competencies of the National Employment and Skills Agency, the organization and operations of the National Agency of VET and Qualifications, the field of activity of the National VET Council etc.

2. Draft the instructions for the Minister responsible for VET, defining the way of organization and activity of VET institutions, the mode of organization and the activity of VET institutions, the criteria for participation in the Steering Board, the organization, and functioning of the Steering Board, reorganization and shut down of the public VET providers etc.

3. Draft a joint instruction of the responsible Minister for VET and the Minister of Finances on the mode of financing from the State Budget.

4. Draft a joint instruction of the responsible Minister for VET and the Minister of Education and Sports on the conditions and procedures for transferring from general education to vocational education and vice versa.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity;

• Demonstrate sound judgement;

• Self-development, initiative-taking;

• Act as a team player and facilitate team work;

• Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively;

• Creating synergies through self-control;

• Managing conflict;

• Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others;

• Informed and transparent decision-making

Functional Competencies:

• Strong communication skills (written, spoken, composing, presentation);

• Substantive knowledge of VET legislation and reforms on VET system in Albania;

• Previous experiences in carrying out similar tasks and assignments;

• Political and cultural sensitivity and commitment to UNDP’s development objectives in the country.

• Excellent analytical skills;

• Excellent communication and report-writing skills in English

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications

• Advanced University Degree in Law

Work Experience

• At least 10 years of relevant working experience, particularly in relation to administrative/ legislative changes and progress on the VET legal framework and Employment legislation;

• Substantial knowledge of the legislative issues related to Vocational Education and Training, Social Services legislation and the Labor Code;

• Previous experience/familiarity with UNDP or other UN agencies is desirable;

Language

• Full working knowledge of English and Albanian is essential.

Evaluation Procedure

UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would consider 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: Practical familiarity with Vocational Education and Training legal framework and reform in the country – max points: 35

Criteria B: Relevance of prior working experience – max points: 20

Criteria C: Educational background– max points: 15

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

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...http://www.un.org.al/doc/PSU_%20Individual%20Contract_Letter%20to%20UNDP.docx
• Filled P11 form including past experience in similar projects and contact details of referees, please upload the P11 instead of your CV. Download here.
• 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 - http://www.un.org.al/doc/Financial%20Offer%20template.doc 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.

*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.