As the country pushes towards the European Union and strives to align with EU standards and the aquis, this is a crucial momentum. The importance of upgrading business practices and the national business legislation to more sustainable models has become paramount.

The United Nations Joint Project “Business Partnerships & Solutions for SDGs”, building on the success of its pilot phase, aims to address these issues through a multifaceted approach. It focuses on enhancing the private sector’s capabilities for a successful transition to sustainable and SDG-aligned practices. Additionally, the project complements technical capacity building with interventions in awareness raising, trade facilitation and policy support to create an enabling environment for companies to thrive.

Positive effects of increased implementation of sustainable business practices in Albania include: the creation of decent jobs translating in decreased migration and mitigation of labor shortages, an increased alignment with EU standards in preparation for EU integration, a higher added value in local production and higher quality of goods produced which translates in higher competitiveness and increased exports and business opportunities. Furthermore, the implementation of sustainable business practices contributes to the reduction of environmental damages caused by business activities and to an improved human health due to production processes with fewer residues.

The direct beneficiaries will be Albanian companies, namely their owners and their workforce as well as local and central government institutions. The indirect beneficiaries of the project will be the people of Albania.  Specific attention will be paid to targeting women, young people and vulnerable groups. Other relevant stakeholders will be sectoral associations, chambers of commerce, international companies, universities and financial institutions.

In line with this rationale, the project support is proposed to contribute to the following two outcomes:

• Outcome 1 – Technical Capacity – Companies are equipped with technical knowledge and skills to implement sustainable practices and move towards higher value-added business models.
• Outcome 2 – Enabling environment- Companies are aware of sustainable practices, connected to academia and to national and international business opportunities to upgrade them as well as in active communication with policymakers while consumers increasingly value sustainability.

The project will be jointly implemented by the specialized United Nations Agencies FAO, ILO, and UNIDO with UNDP being the lead agency.

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the Inclusive Growth and Jobs Programme Specialist, in close cooperation with the UNDP Programme and Operations Units, national authorities, and the respective institutions, the Project Manager will be responsible for the project implementation, including planning, financial delivery, recruitment of the experts/consultants, procurement of goods and services, and reporting. The work will be carried out in line with the Project Document and in full compliance with UNDP Rules and Regulations.

Implementation of project activities:

• Day-to-day management of project activities, monitoring the financial performance of the Project according to the project budget;
• Coordinate with relevant implementing partners and responsible parties to ensure that the expected outputs are delivered in a timely manner, according to the project document;
• Ensure that the project is implemented in compliance with UNDP Procurement, Financial and Human Resources rules and regulations;
• Ensure that the project is implemented according to work plans and within the established budgets;
• Ensure the implementation of the project communication plan and visibility requirements;
• Ensure the results-based implementation of project activities;
• Act as project assets custodian and ensure the project assets are properly inventoried and reported;
• Provide professional advice based on his/her specific area of expertise that is relevant to the project activities’ goals and objectives.

Implementation of reporting, monitoring and evaluation policies and strategies:

• Lead, supervise and monitor the project implementation process, including effective monitoring of the project work plan and relevant activities as per outputs;
• Assess the programmatic impact and oversee the appropriateness and the accuracy of methods used to verify progress and the results, undertakes the project’s independent mid-term and final evaluations;
• Ensure timely submission of semi-annual and annual financial and activity progress reports on the financial and operational status of the project, as well as on adequate financial management of allocated resources;
• Ensure the timely preparation of reports to donors and the Project Steering Committee;
• Provide periodic analytical updates on the situation in respective sectors of the project;
• Collect, analyze and consolidate general and issue-specific materials, and documentation, and contribute to the preparation of policy papers, corporate planning and reporting tools, resource mobilization and advocacy materials.

Liaison, partnerships and coordination with external and internal partners:

• Maintain and develop new partnerships with government institutions, development partners, private sector, and civil society in the relevant thematic areas based on strategic goals of UNDP, country needs and donors’ priorities;
• Analyse and research information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office efforts in resource mobilization, and maintain close relationships with donor partners;
• Closely liaise with other teams to ensure coherence and synergy among all projects of UNDP Albania;
• Closely liaise with UNJP implementing agencies to ensure coherence and synergy among all programme activities.
• Advise team members, management and other UN implementing agencies on new developments regarding key partners and stakeholders.

Knowledge building and management:

• Facilitate knowledge building and management in the areas of the project interventions;
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned;
• Make sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice including corporate communications repositories;
• Contribute to the design and implementation of appropriate learning strategies for stakeholders and target groups.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making

UNDP People Management Competencies can be found in the dedicated site.

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies:

• Working with evidence and data:
  • Ability to inspect, cleanse, transform and model data, with a goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making.
• Effective Decision-Making:
  • Ability to make decisions in a timely and efficient manner in line with one’s authority, area of expertise and resources.
• Communication:
  • Ability to communicate in a clear, concise, and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
  • Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels
• Relationship management:
  • Ability to engage with a wide range of public and private partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust, and mutual understanding
• Business Acumen:
  • Ability to understand and deal with a business situation in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome.
  • Knowledge and understanding of the operational frameworks in the organisation and ability to make good judgments and quick decisions within such frameworks.
• System Thinking:
  • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.
• Private Sector Engagement:
  • Ability to identify, conduct outreach, and relationships with the private sector

• Master´s degree in political or social science, development, law, economics or a closely related field is required.
• Bachelor´s degree with additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of Master´s degree.