Project Specialist, Tirana, Albania UNDP Europe & the CIS Closing date: Tuesday, 31 January 2017

Project Specialist, Tirana, Albania
UNDP Europe & the CIS
Closing date: Tuesday, 31 January 2017

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Background
	The local government system in Albania is going through a series of reforms. These changes began at the end of 2013 with the launch of the administrative and territorial reform and led to the reduction/consolidation of the local governments from 373 to 61. Since, several policy developments of key relevance to strengthening the local government institution and local governance in general have followed suit. Among those, of direct relevance are the Decentralization and Local Governance Strategy and the Law on Local Government as well as the Public Administration Reform Strategy. The new Crosscutting Strategy on Decentralization and Local Governance 2015-2020 has the ambition to create an efficient system of local self-government where the latter is empowered and able to provide quality services and manage the territorial development sustainably. The Strategy reiterates the aim for the consolidation of local human resources and their skills: “empowering the local administration [through] the establishment of a non-bureaucratized, professional and transparent public administration … able to respond to the expectation of the business and the community for public services [and the development of] a special “performance monitoring system” for the LGUs … to guarantee the accountability of the public administration and ensure efficient delivery of services at the local level”. In a further articulation of the above strategic objectives, the new Law on the Organization and Functioning of Local Government introduces several novelties regarding the definition of local government functions, decentralization of new competencies to the local level, the roles and competencies of the elected and executive levels in the new municipal structures, including the administrative units, new requirements on service provision and the necessity to apply service standards, a new concept of determining the level of local finances and obligations for enhancing local democracy and good governance through improved transparency, accountability and participation. The Public Administration Reform states as part of its aims the “development of public administration, which provides high-quality services for citizens and businesses in a transparent, effective, and efficient way…”. In this context, the present UNDP STAR2 project is developed as a collaborative effort of international partners, under national leadership, to support the implementation of reforms at the local level and assist in the further consolidation of the local governance system. STAR2, launched in July 2016, will provide assistance at two levels: at the local level for systematic and inclusive capacity building for all local government administrations, and for organization of public service delivery systems for a more integrated, innovative, transparent, and accountable ways to the benefit of men, women and marginalized;  and, operational and organizational support to the Minister of State for Local Issues institution to enable leadership and coordination of this assistance. The present STAR2 project is developed in complementarity with the assistance of various partners for strengthening the institutional and administrative capacities at local level. In full account of these considerations, STAR2 project will have a national coverage and benefit all 61 LGUs, with its assistance designed to unfold along three main components: (1)  Strengthening institutional and administrative capacities of LGUs (Including support for the implementation at the local level of the legislation related to the Civil Service, Labour Code, and adoption of the Code of Administrative Procedures, local finances, LGU strategic management, integrity, and transparency)   (2)  Improving service delivery at LGUs level (Including reorganization of service provision at the local level, establishment of service delivery monitoring parameters and targets, provision of services through one-stop-shops, digitalization of administrative records, civic engagement in the design and implementation of services, etc.) (3)  Increasing good governance through citizen oriented and meaningful participatory decision-making. (Including support for the implementation of the legislation on public consultations, promotion of participative decision-making practices, development of transparency and accountability systems such as definition and regular publication of municipal information in the municipal websites, support for the development and adoption of public review or scrutiny mechanisms, support for the establishment and functioning of community structure, etc.)  The project will employ a dual project management structure: A Project Management Team (PMT), working closely with the MSLI and extending its capacities to guide and implement the assistance across the LGUs, and a Project Coordination Unit (PCU), established at UNDP, to ensure the project is implemented in compliance with UNDP’s project management rules and regulations and provide day-to-day support and quality assurance. In addition to quality assurance, the PCU at UNDP will also provide project support through dedicated administrative, logistic and financial management for the implementation, in addition to the provision of common services for human resource mobilization, procurement and logistics. In this context, UNDP Albania is seeking to hire a qualified candidate for the position of Project Specialist who will work at the PCU under the direct supervision of the National Project Coordinator. The candidate must be very knowledgeable/familiar with the area of local governance and have a sound experience of working with various local governments in the country.
	Duties and Responsibilities
	The Project Specialist will work closely with UNDP’s Project Coordination Unit, and with support from the Democratic Governance and Rule of Law Program Officer, will perform the following duties: Support the PC team and especially the NPC in coordinating and managing various project activities from a substantial/content viewpoint Assist in the preparation of different ToRs for different positions/processes that require information on LG operations and structure; Review and assess from a technical viewpoint the various project deliverables and advise on eventual action for their improvement/finalization before such deliverables are shared with external stakeholders Support the PC team in briefing, coordinating and facilitating the work of various national and international short term experts; Prepare project briefs to feed the project newsletter and/or website with updated information; Ensure due project visibility is in place and complaint with requirements, especially in respect to the EU Communication and Visibility Plan Liaise with the CO Communication Manager and be responsible for project compliance with CO communication requirements and tools Take leadership in designing concept notes for research to be undertaken under the project Provide inputs for training materials and other tools from an expert viewpoint Be responsible for the regular update of the project quality assurance, progress and risk log off-line Assist the PC team in preparing progress and technical reports related to project implementation; Keep the project updated with ongoing and forthcoming assistance in the local governance area and advise the project and UNDP on ways to coordinate and synergize as well as complement such assistance; Identify/propose ways in which lessons and practices coming out of such information-sharing and consultation settings are to be adopted and integrated with project implementation activities; Identify and suggest linkages and synergies among CO projects, contributing to coherence in promotion of democratic governance, rule of law and anticorruption; Be responsible for the regular update of the project quality assurance, progress and risk log off-line Perform other duties of a reasonable nature as and when required
	Competencies
	Corporate competencies: Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards; Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Display cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability. Functional Competencies: Demonstrated ability to work harmoniously in a multi-cultural environment; Ability to work on own initiative as well as a member of a team and to work under pressure; Excellent relationship management; Excellent communication, facilitation, presentation and reporting skills;
	Required Skills and Experience
	The desired ideal candidate’s profile in terms of educational background and minimum required qualifications would be that of an expert with significant hands-on experience in public administration and especially local governance. The candidates will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria: Academic Qualifications/Education: Master degree in public/business administration, public policy, development or other related fields Work Experience: 7 years or more of relevant experience in or contributing to strengthening public administration through project/programme support services Demonstrated/track record experience and knowledge in the fields of public policy analysis / development organizations / public administration Work exposure to areas related to local governance, local government capacity building, local government finance, local economic development or similar  Familiarity with the major current public administration reforms at central and local levels as well as the political, economic and social context of country Experience of working with relevant stakeholders such as policy-makers, local government representatives and civil society organisations is required Language skills: Excellent knowledge of English language, both spoken and written