Monitoring Expert on Social Protection

Background

“Improving Municipal Social Protection Service Delivery” joint programme focuses on catalyzing a step-change in the quantity and quality of delivery at local (municipal) level of integrated social care, as part of an effective integrated social protection system.  It builds upon the vast experience of the UN in addressing social inclusion, protection and the needs of the most vulnerable groups including Roma, refugees and migrants, persons with disabilities, vulnerable children, elderly, rural women, and women at risk of Gender Based Violence. Its duration is during Jan 2020- Jan 2022.

The programme supports the implementation of the newly shaped vision of the social sector in Albania, in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the country’s aspirations towards European Union (EU) integration. The programme avails of technical expertise and know-how of UN agencies aiming at allowing for greater impact and outreach by focusing on the municipal level and its linkage to the national level.

The programme’s goal – contribute to support Albanian Government translate the policy intent into proper local actions so that men, women, girls and boys living in poverty, or vulnerable situation have access to integrated, quality social care services- supports the vision of an overall inclusive Albania. The joint programme supports Albania’s progress in view of achieving SDGs - being directly related to social protection/inclusion - especially SDGs 1-5 (no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, 10 (reduced inequalities), and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).

In order to achieve the goal, the programme focuses on the following outcome: “All women, men, girls and boys, especially those from marginalized and vulnerable groups, are exercising their entitlements to equitable quality services, in line with human rights; and more effective and efficient investments in human and financial resources are being made at central and local levels to ensure social inclusion and cohesion.”

The “Improving Municipal Social Protection Service Delivery” programme is implemented through the modalities of the Delivering as One (DaO) mechanism, under the Programme of Cooperation for Sustainable Development 2017-2021, with the joint participation of UN agencies, including UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA, UNHCR, WHO and ILO, and in close partnership with relevant governmental bodies at the central and local levels.  UNDP is the lead UN agency for the overall implementation and coordination of the Programme.  Joint Programme Outputs include:

1. Integrated social care services, institutional arrangements and coordination mechanisms functional with clear roles and responsibilities at local level in 6 municipalities.
2. Municipal and national institutional capacities strengthened through training and mentoring for the development of social care plans and accessing the Social Fund.
3. Innovative models of integrated social care services piloted, including established local linkages between health and social protection services.
4. Vulnerable communities (disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, disability etc.) are empowered to actively participate in decision making and make institutions accountable.
5. Financing options for extending social protection coverage and benefits developed and assessed at the national and municipality levels.
6. Joint Programme Managed.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Monitoring expert on social protection will work under the direct supervision of the Joint Programme Manager to perform the tasks described below.

 

1. Collect latest available data and provide national monitoring for the SDG Indicator 1.3.1: Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable.

This indicator reflects the proportion of persons effectively covered by a social protection system, including social protection floors. It covers the main components of social protection: child and maternity benefits, support for persons without a job, persons with disabilities, victims of work injuries and older persons, with an aim of providing at least a basic level in all main contingencies along the life cycle.

 

Indicators will be measured in close partnership with the Institute of Statistics- INSTAT as follows:

1. Proportion of the population protected in at least one area: Proportion of the total population receiving cash benefits under at least one of the contingencies (contributory or non-contributory benefit) or actively contributing to at least one social security scheme.

 

b. Proportion of children covered by social protection benefits: ratio of children/households receiving child or family cash benefits to the total number of children/households with children.

 

c. Proportion of women giving birth covered by maternity benefits: ratio of women receiving cash maternity benefits to women giving birth in the same year (estimated based on age-specific fertility rates published in the UN’s World Population Prospects or on the number of live births corrected for the share of twin and triplet births).

 

d. Proportion of persons with disabilities receiving benefits: ratio of persons receiving disability cash benefits to persons with severe disabilities. The latter is calculated as the product of prevalence of disability World Social Protection Report 2017–19: Universal social protection to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 200 ratios (published for each country group by the World Health Organization) and each country’s population.

 

e. Proportion of unemployed receiving benefits: ratio of recipients of unemployment cash benefits to the number of unemployed persons.

 

f. Proportion of workers covered in case of employment injury: ratio of workers protected by injury insurance to total employment or the labor force.

 

g. Proportion of older persons receiving a pension: ratio of persons above statutory retirement age receiving an old-age pension to persons above statutory retirement age (including contributory and non-contributory).

 

h. Proportion of vulnerable persons receiving benefits: ratio of social assistance recipients to the total number of vulnerable persons. The latter are calculated by subtracting from total population all people of working age who are contributing to a social insurance scheme or receiving contributory benefits, and all persons above retirement age receiving contributory benefits.

 

 

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

 

1. Inception report outlining the methodology, workplan and analyses on the scope of the assignment- at least 2 weeks from the signature of the contract.
2. National Monitoring report for the SDG Indicator 1.3.1: Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, new-borns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable, validated with INSTAT- at least 3 months from the signature of the contract.
3. Methodology designed for the assessment of the level of implementation of the local social care plans- at least 3 months from the signature of the contract.
4. Presentation of the key findings of outputs number (two) 2 and (three) 3 listed above through two workshops with key stakeholders- during the two final weeks of the assignment.

 

Duration of the Work

The duration of this assignment is for 10 person-days over the period of February 2022 – March 2022. The target start date is February 1, 2022.

Competencies

Core Competencies

• Innovation Ability to make new and useful ideas work
• Leadership Ability to persuade others to follow
• People Management Ability to improve performance and satisfaction
• Communication Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform
• Delivery Ability to get things done

 

Functional Competencies

• Minimum 7 years’ of progressively responsible, professional-level experience related to social statistics, program assessment, monitoring, and evaluation including designing monitoring systems, indicators, developing AME plans, data quality assessments, survey techniques, qualitative investigation, and statistical analysis
• Familiarity with the administrative, social and economic context of the country
• Analytical, communication and presentation skills
• Strong report writing and editing in English
• In-depth knowledge on development issues
• Attitude and approach Positive, constructive attitude and consistently approaches work with energy
• Computer proficiency MS Office

 

Recruitment Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Social Studies, Social Statistics or related field (i.e., social work, psychology, management, economics, and public policy) is required.
• A minimum of seven (7) years’ experience in social protection and working on related projects is required.
• Hands on experience of monitoring and evaluation methodologies commonly used in development and humanitarian projects, and project design steps and process preferable within UN system is an advantage.
• Fluency in English and Albanian is required.

Required Skills and Experience

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: Experience working with UNDP/ UN on monitoring and evaluation – max points: 35

Criteria B: Relevance of prior working experience on social protection – 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. 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 & Detailed Financial Proposal - 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*- Specify a Total Lump Sum in Albanian Lek for the tasks specified in this announcement. The attached template may be used - Download Here (kindly use Firefox browser) Please note that the financial proposal is all-inclusive and shall consider 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); In the P11 Form make sure to include Email Addresses of the Persons who are willing to provide References on your past experience in working with them.
• 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.