NEW Consultant for facilitating a regional meeting of We Effect’s Partner organisations and developing project concept notes linked to Women Economic Empowerment and Access to finance Consultancy – Consultancy We Effect Closing in 9 days Remote | Pogradec

I. Background 

We Effect is a Swedish development organisation present in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Our work focuses on reducing poverty and inequality by strengthening the ability of member organisations to enable women and men, girls and boys living in poverty to improve their living conditions, defend their rights and contribute to a just society. The work is focused on the following areas: rural development, housing, gender equality and financial inclusion. In Europe, We Effect is present in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo1, Moldova, and North Macedonia. 

Target groups of We Effect’s development cooperation are We Effect’s partner organisations, mostly represented by member-based organisations active in rural development, farmers associations, producers’ groups and cooperatives. We Effect applies a rights-based approach where development interventions are the results of the dialogue with our partner organisations, with strong local ownership, characterized by accountability, transparency, non-discrimination, and meaningful participation.  

The programme works on transforming gender inequality concerning women’s restricted access to land and control over resources, financial services, and decision-making processes, at both community and organisational levels. Through technical support, ROEU enhances the capacities of partners for analysis of gender and social norms. This is introduced as a baseline to pinpoint areas for transformation during the programme period. Based on the analysis, partner organisations are supported in developing methodologies for action, based on which they will plan their future work to tackle and change the position of women in everyday life, especially in business. Through this approach, future interventions will be based on community-specific and community-owned gender-inclusive and participatory actions, considering different community and country-specific realities, capacities, and levels of development. This approach will enable men, especially young men, and boys, to engage as allies, actors, and participants in gender transformative processes and activities.  

One of the cross-cutting issues in the programme is the financial inclusion of rural poor i.e. increased financial sustainability for small-scale farmers, especially women and youth, through enhanced and more equitable access and usage of financial services. The We Effect’s approach to this subject focuses on increasing financial literacy, sharing information about available financial sources for rightsholders, assisting in applications for commercial loans and/or state support programs etc.   

Therefore, we are seeking a consultant from the region (North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina) who will be supported by We Effect ROEU and partners to facilitate a workshop. The facilitation should supply sufficient information and set a basis for developing concept notes for the project proposals for an unknown donor and call.  

The workshop (Parner’s meeting) is a two-day event organised periodically for the We Effect Partner organisations from North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia & Herzegovina including the regional office staff.  

II. Objective of the assignment 

The main objective of the assignment is to: 

• facilitate a two-day co-creative workshop with We Effect partner organisations related to resource mobilization in the areas of Women Economic Empowerment and Access to finance; and 

• develop two concept notes according to the Annex 1 Template for Concept Note (based on a template from EU IPA calls), one in the area of Women Economic Empowerment, and another in Access to finance. The concept notes i.e. the project ideas will be defined in line with the partners’ interests, capacities and readiness of Partner Organisations to carry on a future project 

The consultant should utilise the collective experiences, expertise, and perspectives shared during the facilitation and together with the participants develop the frame and draft concept notes that address the specific needs of the partners’ organisations.  

It is important to build consensus, ownership, and commitment towards the basic project idea and anticipated outcomes that will be presented in the concept notes. 

The workshop’s target audience is the We Effect partners in North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These are member-based organisations working in rural development-related areas.  

Method and tool 

In coordination with We Effect, the selected consultant will develop an agenda/methodology for the workshop sessions’ facilitation. The workshop should at minimum consist of: 

• Brainstorming sessions where participants can freely exchange ideas, insights, and experiences to develop project ideas. 

• Ensuring a common understanding of the problems to be addressed and the goals to be achieved. 

• Serving as catalysts for new ideas and approaches by providing hands-on activities and design thinking methodologies. 

• Supporting building consensus, ownership, and commitment to the basic project idea and anticipated outcomes. 

• Developing draft concept notes together with the workshop participants 

After the workshop, the Consultant shall prepare two final concept notes, one for Women Economic Empowerment and another for Access to finance. The concept notes are not necessarily intended for a specific call. It can be seen as a basis to be used by We Effect and/or its Partner Organisations, to apply for any call by any donor, with appropriate adjustment.  

We Effect will share a list of participants with the selected consultant. The total number of participants is estimated to be around 20 to 25 people. Two-day workshop should be held starting from 09:00 – 17:00 including lunch and coffee breaks.  

We Effect ROEU staff will participate and actively contribute to the facilitation and objectives of the assignment. 

III. Deliverables 

Timeline and deliverables 

IV. Duty travel & accommodation 

The assignment requires one travel in Pogradec, Albania, where the workshop will take place.  

The travel should be organized by the Consultant in coordination with We Effect. All travel related expenses and meals should be calculated within the lump sum of the Financial proposal. The costs for accommodation during the event in Pogradec are covered by We Effect. 

V. Coordination & Reporting  

The selected consultant will work under the direct supervision of We Effect’s Programme Officers. The programme officers will be responsible for sharing the available assignment-related documents with the consultant and replying to the question/s that the selected consultant might have. The programme officers will also guide the consultant through the process of development of the document, review the drafts of the concept, and provide comments and approval of the document. 

Logistical and technical support to the consultant is expected to be delivered by the We Effect Regional Office in Skopje. 

The consultant will be reporting directly to the Programme officer. 

VI. Qualification requirements 

Eligible to apply are consultants – resident of one of the countries where We Effect Regional Office is operating (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia). 

The consultant shall hold the following skills and experience: 

• Overall professional experience in Social Sciences, Economics, Rural Development or similar 

• Vast experience in development of project proposals 

• Experience in facilitating training/workshops/meetings 

• Preferably having experience in working with women economic empowerment and/or access to finance 

• Proficiency in written and spoken English language 

The contracted expert will be obliged to perform the following competencies: 

• Demonstrate professional competence and efficiency in meeting commitments. 

• Observing deadlines and achieving results. 

• Display cultural, gender, ethnic, religious and age sensitivity and adaptability. 

The selected consultant will be requested to communicate with We Effect’s programme officers about any unclear situation or challenge that the consultant might face during the implementation of the tasks, especially the challenges in practising the above-mentioned competencies. If the consultant believes that the challenge has not been properly addressed or recovered, she/he is encouraged to communicate the situation with We Effect’s programme director. 

VII. Application and evaluation procedure: 

By October 17th, 16:00 CET, interested applicants should submit their applications to the following email addresses [email protected] and [email protected]   

To secure multilevel integrity of the process, applicants should submit two separate email messages for application (both shared in one minute period, if applicable): 

Email 1 should contain:  

• Cover Letter,  

• CV. The CV should: 

• reflect the required information stipulated in section VI. Qualification requirements  

• include a list of assignments (dates, topic, client and role) relevant to this call. 

• Declaration for relationship (see section X. Declaration of relationships) 

Email 2 should contain:  

• Financial proposal – lumpsum in Euros including all applicable taxes and travel costs (see section IV. Duty travel & accommodation) valid for the entire assignment. Offers submitted in currency other than EUR, for the purpose of evaluation, will be converted by We Effect into EUR as per OANDA’s average daily rate applicable for the day of the submission. 

Preferably, all documents should be attached as PDF format. 

By October 21st, the evaluation of offers is expected to be conducted and selection made. 

By October 25th, the contract is expected to be developed and signed by both parties (Consultant and We Effect). 

VIII. Evaluation of the offers 

Incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline for submission will not be taken into consideration. 

The evaluation of offers will be based on the “best value for money principle” by using a weighted scoring method to evaluate the combination of the applicants’ qualification (70%) and financial proposal (30%). 

The award of the contract will be made to the bidder whose offer has been evaluated as:  

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and  

• Having received the highest combined score out of a weighted technical and financial evaluation specific to the solicitation 

Technical evaluation (70%): 

The technical evaluation of the received offers will consist of:  

• Evaluation of overall professional experience [maximum 20 points] 

• 18 years of experience and more [max 20 points] 

• 13 to 17 years of experience [16 points] 

• 8 to 12 years of experience [12 points] 

Note: Consultants under 8 years of professional experience will be eliminated from further evaluation. 

• Evaluation of experience in writing project proposals [maximum 20 points] 

• 10 and more assignments in writing project proposals [20 points] 

• 5 to 9 assignments in writing project proposals [16 points] 

• 2 to 4 assignments in writing project proposals [12 points] 

Note: Consultants having less than two assignments will be eliminated from further evaluation. 

• Evaluation of experience in facilitating trainings/workshops/meetings [20 points] 

• 15 and more facilitated trainings/workshops/meetings [20 points] 

• 10 to 14 facilitated trainings/workshops/meetings [12 points] 

• 5 to 9 facilitated trainings/workshops/meetings [12 points] 

Note: Consultants having less than five facilitated trainings/workshops/meetings will be eliminated from further evaluation. 

• Evaluation of experience in Women Economic Empowerment and/or Access to Finance-related assessments [10 points] 

• 6 and more assignments [10 points] 

• 1 – 5 assignments [6 points] 

Note: This criterion is not mandatory. Consultants who have not met this criterion will not be eliminated from further evaluation. 

Only the candidates who will reach the threshold of minimum 42 points (out of 70 points available for the technical evaluation) will be considered for the financial evaluation. 

Financial evaluation (30%) 

The financial offers are expected to be delivered in a separate email that will not be considered for evaluation before receiving the results of the technical evaluation. 

Once the technical evaluation is finalized, the consultants that gain at least 42 points are going to be subject to financial evaluation.  

The email with a financial offer of the consultant who is being technically evaluated as not responsive (gained under 42 points in technical evaluation) will not be opened, but will be screenshotted in the list of emails received, filed in the procurement file and further deleted without being opened. 

For those that will pass the minimum threshold (42 points and more), the evaluation of the financial offers will be conducted in the following manner: 

• The offer with the lowest price shall receive a total of 30 points 

• The other offers with higher prices shall receive the respective score according to the following formula: 30 * (Lowest Price / Proposed Price). 

The final evaluation will be the sum of the points generated in the technical and financial evaluation. The consultant who gained the best score in the final evaluation will be offered a contract with We Effect for the implementation of the assignment. In case the consultant is prevented from signing the contract, We Effect is going to offer a contract to the consultant that gains the second-best score in the evaluation process. 

IX. Terms of payment 

The terms of payment for this assignment will be specified in the Service Contract and its respective annexes. Payment will be made via bank transfer in one instalment upon approval by We Effect of the submitted deliverables. 

The payment request should be sent to the officer responsible for supervision of the assignment. The email should contain the following: 

• Official request for payment. 

• Approved Final Concept Notes. 

X. Declaration of relationships 

Declaring any relationship shall NOT disqualify the Applicant from the procurement but rather contribute to more transparent evaluation process. 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to describe in a free from any present or past business or personal relationships with: 

• closely associated party from We Effect; 

• We Effect’s Regional Office in Skopje; 

• We Effect’s employees; 

• We Effect’s governing bodies 

A closely associated party (persons, physical or legal) as per We Effect’s definition is considered person who has the possibility to exert control over, or significant influence on, the other person when it comes to financial and operative decision-making concerning an activity.  

Business relationships do not refer solely to framework contracting arrangements but also to one-off engagements. Personal relationships do not refer solely to immediate family, but also to extended relatives, friends, and acquaintances. 

The purpose of the Declaration is to disclose such information which makes the application and evaluation process more transparent and supports the bids in its relevance according to conditions on the open market. 

MISCONDUCT 

If you want to alert We Effect on suspected discrimination, corruption or other serious misconduct during the procurement process, do not hesitate to use our Whistleblowing System.