National Monitoring and Evaluation Expert

Contract

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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 center of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.

Through its programmes and projects, UN Women is providing technical assistance to national partners (governmental and non-governmental) in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, it facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life. According to its mandate, UN Women works in five thematic areas, such as leadership and participation, women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women, women peace and security and governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for gender equality commitments. UN Women is also the lead Agency in coordinating the UN Country Team on gender equality and is chairing the UN Group on gender equality.

Rural women in Albania face many challenges to their economic security, such as: lack of financial support, a weak access to secure land rights, a limited understanding of which businesses are profitable, limited availability to enter the labor force due to disproportionate engagement in unpaid activities and, high dependence from family members. Women’s contribution to agriculture in Albania is vital, with 54 percent of employed women working in this sector. However, such contribution often remains invisible because of the high levels of informality, which often leaves them without protection or social benefits.

To address some of these challenges UN Women, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and with the support of the Government of Italy, will implement the Gender Rural Equality and Tourism (GREAT) project, a three-year initiative that will contribute to rural women’s empowerment in Albania and will strengthen women’s roles and contribution to rural development. The project will contribute to sustainable economic development of rural women in three targeted regions and their communities by increasing their income and ability to obtain work.

The project aims to develop the capacities of rural women to develop their own business, to self-organize and register as local groups and to improve their access to finance. Simultaneously, GREAT will support targeted municipalities to prioritize and promote rural women’s businesses, rural tourism and value chain development. The project will promote a policy and legislative environment to strengthen women’s economic empowerment and their access to and control over productive assets.

The GREAT project was developed based on the needs identified by UN Women and FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, following recommendations of different studies and country assessments undertaken these entities. Its main goals are aligned with the priorities of the Government and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS Tirana), in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its core principle of leaving no-one behind. UN Women is the implementing agency for this project with FAO as the main responsible party that will implement specific components. UN Women will engage relevant staff and expertise to ensure overall coordination, quality assurance, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the project.

To support the performance monitoring and evaluation of the project, UN Women Country Office Albania is seeking to hire a National Monitoring and Evaluation Expert to ensure adequate, quality and timely monitoring and evaluation of the project indicators and their reporting.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the UN Women GREAT Project Manager, and in cooperation with other project partners, the National Monitoring and Evaluation Expert is responsible for performing the below key activities:

1. Design and implement a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan with emphasis on results and impacts through the promotion of a results-based approach.
2. In close cooperation with the Project Manager, maintain an updated Performance Monitoring Framework (FPM) and indicator tracking sheet.
3. Collect project indicator data on a regular basis.
4. Validate and update the developed baseline and target data and continuously track indicators identified in the project document, with the aim of demonstrating results and impact.
5. Identify sources of data and collection methods, and in cooperation with the Project Manager decide on the frequency of collection and responsible party.
6. Contribute to the preparation of project progress reports by providing inputs deriving from the implementation of M&E activities, highlighting progress toward achieving project goals, potential bottlenecks in programme implementation and recommending actions to address the bottlenecks.
7. Contribute to the preparation of project progress reports by including an updated risk analysis and mitigation of such potential risks.
8. Participate and present results during project meetings as requested.

Main expected outputs/deliverables:

• A Monitoring and Evaluation Plan describing methodology, work plan and technical approach by the end of the first month of the consultancy.
• Project Monitoring Framework (PMF) updated within the first month of the consultancy and subsequently on a quarterly basis.
• Updated section on M&E of project narrative reports delivered on a quarterly basis.
• Updated project risk analysis and mitigation section of the report delivered on a quarterly basis.

Duration

The national consultant will be contracted for 40 (forty) working days to perform the specified tasks over the period August 2021 through 31 July 2022 (with possibility of extension).

Competencies

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: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and- competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Strong skills in developing, designing and preparing well-structured, logically organized reports, materials, overviews, briefs, and similar knowledge products.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to synthesize straightforward and clear content from a range of complex background documents.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both oral and written).
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with team members.
• Strong initiative-taker.
• Focuses on impact and results.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and with a positive, constructive, problem-solving attitude.
• Ability to handle conflict and sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner.
• Capacity to work under pressure and to meet strict deadlines.
• Strong inter-personal and communications (oral and written) skills, efficiency in a multi-tasking and multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to work and adapt to a dynamic working environment, judgment and results-orientation and ability to perform under pressure.
• Ability to organize and travel independently in intervention areas within Albania.

Required Skills and Experience

1. Qualifications

Academic/Education Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in economics, business administration, social/development studies, statistics or other fields related to the scope of the assignment.

• Professional qualifications/certifications in monitoring and evaluation would be an asset.

Work Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) in the development sector at the national or international level.
• A track record in designing performance monitoring systems and conducting project/programme evaluations.
• Experience in data collection methodologies, data analysis and results-based reporting.
• Experience in using statistical analysis packages (SAS, STATA, R) is considered an advantage.
• Previous experience with UN and/or other international organizations would be an asset.

Language Requirements: Fluency and excellent writing skills in both Albanian and English

Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

• Financial Proposal specifying the daily fee in Albanian Leke (ALL) for the tasks specified above. 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, travel to the targeted areas Puka, Leskovik and Elbasan, and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services).
• Payment will be made as per the payment schedule in the contract upon (i) satisfactory completion of tasks; (ii) provision of deliverables specified in the ToRs; (iii) submission of and approval by UN Women; and (iv) submission of the certification of payment.

Recommended Presentation of Offer:

Qualified and interested candidates are asked to submit their application no later than 26 July 2021:

• A Letter of Confirmation of Interest including a brief description explaining why the individual considers her/himself as the most suitable for the assignment.
• Completed and signed UN Women Personal History Form (P11) that can be downloaded at link: UN Women Personal History Form (P11) or http://www.unwomen.org/en/about- us/employment
• Financial Proposal specifying the total lumpsum in Albanian Lek (ALL) for the tasks specified in this assignment, following the instructions under the above section on Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments. The financial proposal should include travels expenses for one return travel (to and from) to each of the destinations a. Puka (Tirane-Puke-Tirane); b. Leskovik ( Tirane-Leskovik-Tirane; and c. Elbasan (Tirane-Elbasan-Tirane).
• Sample of a previous monitoring, evaluations and results-based reporting products drafted by the candidate.

Evaluation of applicants:

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Technical Evaluation –70 points:

• Master’s degree in economics, business administration, social/development studies, statistics or other fields related to the scope of the assignment. – 10 points.
• At least 5 years of experience in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) in the development sector at the national or international level. – 20 points.
• Experience in using statistical analysis packages (SAS, STATA, R). – 10 points.
• Track record in designing performance monitoring systems and conducting project/programme evaluations. Sample of a previous monitoring, evaluations and results-based reporting products drafted by the candidate. – 15 points.
• Experience in data collection methodologies, data analysis and results-based reporting. – 10 points.
• Previous experience with UN and/or other international organizations. – 5 points.

Financial Evaluation – 30 points

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

How to Submit the Application: To submit your application online, please follow the steps below:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), the Financial Proposal, the Letter of Confirmation of Interest and s****ample of your previous monitoring, evaluations and results-based reporting products 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.

Notes:

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications, we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
• The consultancy post is open to local (Albanian) individuals or foreign individuals with valid temporary or permanent residence in Albania.
• 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.