International Consultant on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The UN Global Compact (GC) objectives are to mainstream ten principles (in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anticorruption) in business activities around the world, and catalyze actions in support of broader UN goals including the MDGs. To achieve these objectives, the GC offers several mechanisms of engagement such as policy dialogue, networking, awareness raising, partnerships facilitation and learning. Global Compact has been structured as a public-private initiative, aiming to promote the GC’s principles among all stakeholders and to support the companies in their implementation. To accomplish these aims, different activities have been organized in close collaboration with the private sector, NGO’s, media, government and other international initiatives like seminars on ISO certification, facilitated the participation of the GC members to Black Sea Events, media trainings on CSR concepts. Activities carried out by UNDP Albania thus far have focused on outreach and providing assistance to existing participants on how to prepare the annual Communication on Progress (COP) reports. Since 2008, thematically the focus has been on promoting CSR in the areas of employment and environment. The GC initiative in Albania consists of 36 participants, which have joined in the 2005-2008 period. Out of the existing membership base, the majority attends on-going activities regularly; however, only 16 companies have submitted Communication on Progress (COP) reports, a key activity that members are to undertake annually and which is often indicative of their level of involvement. Within the existing membership base, it appears to be rather challenging to trigger a proactive approach of the leading businesses to maintain the network alive. In Albania, the private sector remains largely unaware of CSR as a potential source for competitive advantage. Existing CSR practices come mainly in the form of philanthropy, rather than representing an understanding of the private sector’s responsibility towards those they employ and the communities they operate in. The 2008 UNDP baseline study, suggested that whilst CSR activities were incorporated in general management approaches in only a small part of the sample of companies, many other companies were ‘on the way’ to incorporating CSR through a commitment in general to environmental protection, developing human resources, product responsibility and/or community donations. Whilst practices are most developed in branches of multinational corporations and in particular sectors, notably banking and telecommunications, the adoption of CSR practices is spreading to Albanian companies. As CSR gathers momentum in Albania, the need for transforming the Global Compact into a multi-stakeholder forum has been identified.The multi-stakeholder forum on CSR, anticipated to be launched in October 2011, will act as an advisory and consultative body promoting CSR in Albania and bringing all relevant stakeholders together. The mission of the Government of Albania is to create the best possible enabling environment for the adoption of CSR practices in companies operating in Albania, through ongoing, open and inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders. Whereas a strategy or legislative framework for the promotion and support of CSR initiatives has not been formulated, the Ministry of Economy, Transport and Energy (METE) with technical support from UNDP, is in the process of finalizing a detailed National Action Plan on CSR. The latter underpins a clear vision, in which Albania promotes CSR in ways which develop the sustainable competitiveness of companies, create social value for the long term prosperity and welfare of Albanian citizens, and protect the environment for future generations. Scope of work: In the frame of the Global Compact Project of UNDP, and in line with the goals of the Government of Albania in the field, the establishment of a national consensus on the measurement of CSR is a priority. This would entail the formulation of clear and concise indicators and benchmarks to assess performance within individual companies, key sectors of the economy, at the national level, and over time. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy has underscored that the existence of a national system of indicators, would allow for continuous monitoring of CSR implementation in the country, as well as evaluating investments made by the government in creating an enabling CSR environment. The establishment of such indicators (even at such an early stage of CSR practices in the country) has the potential to guide and stimulate company CSR practices, as well as serve as the basis for the National CSR awards. Furthermore, they would enable evaluation of progress of CSR practices at company level against certain objective criteria and provide a state level recognition and visibility to progressive CSR practices of companies. In this respect, UNDP is looking to contract an international expert who will be tasked with the formulation of a set of indicators to measure CSR performance at country level, and two sets of industry specific indicators. In addition, a methodology/guidelines for the measurement of such indictors should be developed with particular emphasis on the monitoring mechanisms that can be used for country level CSR performance indicators.

Duties and Responsibilities

The international expertwill be responsible for: Developing 10-15 macro level CSR monitoring indicators and an explanatory guide on how to collect and use these indicators. These indicators should be easy to understand, follow up and communicate. The list of proposed indicators should have a wide coverage of CSR issues and be in line with major CSR indicator systems, while ensuring applicability and maintaining meaningfulness in the Albanian context. Methodological aspects of collecting these indicators should be well elaborated and at a minimum indicate who will be responsible for the collection and management of the indicators; Developing sets of indicators for measuring CSR performance in two key sectors of the Albanian economy, namely the apparel and footwear industry and the tourism industry. With regards to the development of such indicators, the Contractor is expected to engage with relevant private sector intermediary organizations, and key stakeholders and development agencies/organizations working for the development of these sectors; Presenting the study to the Multi-stakeholder forum for further stakeholder dialogue on the indicators. Deliverables The expected outputs are: Brief report on CSR indicator monitoring systems; Draft sets of national and industry specific CSR indicators; Methodological guide on the collection of CSR indicators; Final report.

Competencies

Proven record of theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility; Proven communication and advocacy skills, and ability to work in an environment requiring liaison and collaboration with multiple actors including government representatives, donors and other stakeholders; High level of maturity, excellent inter-personal, negotiation and team leading skills required; Solid analytical and communication skills and ability to work in a team; Ability to work to tight deadlines and to handle multiple concurrent project components; Excellent computer skills (especially Microsoft office applications) and ability to use information technology as a tool and resource; Previous experience/familiarity with the work of the UN agencies is desirable.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Masters degree or Bachelor degree combined with qualifications/experience in the field of CSR; Experience: At least 5 years of substantive professional experience working on or directly related to project/programme management and development; Prior experience and familiarity with governance issues in the region preferred. Application Evaluation Process: Individual consultants are evaluated based on the Cumulative Analysis methodology (weighted scoring method), where the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation. Technical Criteria weight [70%] Financial Criteria weight [30%] The following criteria will be used in Technical Evaluation: Demonstrate proven achievements in the area of public sector reforms with specific experience in fiscal reforms of central government institutions; Proven ability and experience in guiding government/s in organizational change reform processes. Only Individual Consultants obtaining a minimum of 70% of the obtainable points of 100 points in technical evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. UNDP applies a fair and transparent selection process that would take into account both the technical qualification of Individual Consultants as well as their financial proposals. The contract will be awarded to the candidate obtaining the highest combined technical and financial scores. UNDP retains the right to contact references directly. 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. Qualified candidates are requested to apply online via this website. The application should contain: Cover letter stating your interest in and qualifications for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the "Resume and Motivation" section of the electronic application; Financial Proposal (USD daily fee). Please add in the "Resume and Motivation" section; Filled P11 form (blank form can be downloaded from http://www.undp.org.al/index.php?page=bus_center/vacancies)); please upload the P11 instead of your CV. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested materials.

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.

International Consultant on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)