CON 2026/13 - Consultants / Albanian Diaspora Experts to enable progress on the path to EU accession

Introduction

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

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Project Context and Scope

Despite improvements and reforms in the region over the past decade, structural challenges and socio-economic hardships continue to drive an increasing number of people to leave Western Balkan (WB) in search of better opportunities. Labour market issues, gender dimensions, and demographic changes further exacerbate the situation, impacting key sectors like healthcare, education, and ICT where labour shortages are now common. As a result, one-fifth of the population of the region now lives abroad, mostly in the European Union (EU). At the same time, the diaspora can significantly contribute to the development of the Western Balkans by leveraging their skills, knowledge, and resources to support sustainable economic growth, innovation, and social development in their countries of origin.

As to Albania, Migration governance remains a top priority for the country. Despite the progress achieved in this area through the implementation of the National Strategy on Migration (2024-2030) and Action Plan (2024-2026), Albania continues to invest efforts to make further advancements in this area, especially considering ongoing EU accession negotiations that commenced in July 2022, imposing additional requirements on the Government of Albania and its institutions to meet EU standards in governing migration. Past efforts, including an EU fellowship scheme by IOM, has proven effective in leveraging diaspora expertise for Albania's EU accession.

The accession negotiations mark a significant step towards EU integration, requiring Albania to align its legislation, rules, and procedures with the EU Acquis, there's a pressing need to strengthen the capacities of line ministries for approximation. A crucial part of the European integration process is related to the preparation and the implementation of the National Plan on European Integration (NPEI)[1].

As an important document that serves as a roadmap providing for legal acts, measures, and institutional changes within the framework of Acquis approximation, technical assistance and increased capacities will be provided to enhance the monitoring of the National Plan for European Integration (NPEI), ensuring a qualitative assessment and reporting system is in place.

The Minister of State and Chief Negotiator (MSCN) has one of its primary responsibilities as the technical management related to EU Acquis approximation and the negotiation process, by providing technical leadership of the negotiations, ensuring internal coordination of the country's accession process to the European Union, and developing capacities of the administration to generate capabilities towards accession. The Department of Policy and European Integration (DPEI), in the Prime Minister’s Office, which serves as the EU Secretariat, provides technical support to the Minister of State and Chief Negotiator and the entire negotiation process, including the approximation of national legislation with the EU Acquis.

The Government of Albania has reiterated the need for support in implementing tools and processes to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills from Albanian diaspora professionals. This support is crucial for the ongoing processes of negotiations, gradual European integration, accelerated development, and convergence with European standards.

The project "Leveraging the potential of Diaspora to advance EU accession and labour mobility in the Western Balkans” funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, aims to create conditions for Diaspora members to fully support the sustainable and economic development of four selected Western Balkan partners: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and North Macedonia.

This is expected to be achieved through two outcomes, the first of which aims to leverage Diaspora engagement to enable progress on the path to accession to the EU. To do so, the project will facilitate knowledge and institutional and good-practice transfer between the WB4 and the EU, by strengthening the capacities of relevant institutional stakeholders for diaspora engagement and implementing fellowship schemes on EU accession related thematic.

In Albania, a final evaluation report of a previously IOM-implemented EU fellowship program, revealed a continuous need by government representatives for experts to assist in implementing activities due to limited resources. Working with Diaspora members within the framework of the EU fellowship scheme is needed in order to provide a different perspective and demonstrate the added value of Diaspora engagement. In addition, Diaspora skills transfers are part of the broader Diaspora engagement portfolio under the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MoEFA), following the restructuring of the Diaspora institutional framework and with the transition from the previous institution of State Minister for Diaspora to MoEFA,

With a focus on facilitating EU accession negotiations, and leveraging the diaspora's development potential for Albania's benefit, highly qualified members of the Albanian Diaspora (fellows/diaspora experts) with diverse backgrounds and expertise will be engaged (building upon previous initiatives), in targeted consultancy roles to support institutions in Albania with the EU accession and approximation processes through technical expertise, capacity building, and international knowledge transfer. The primary beneficiaries of technical assistance will be line ministries, agencies, and independent institutions involved in negotiations and implementation of the NPEI and its monitoring. Local government bodies, which play a crucial role in implementing 70% of the Acquis at the local level, will also benefit, with municipalities involved to strengthen their capacities.

Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing

The project "Leveraging the potential of Diaspora to advance EU accession and labour mobility in the Western Balkans” funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and implemented by IOM in Albania.

Responsibilities

Priority Sectors

The engagement focuses on Albania’s priority areas as defined within Negotiation Positions for each cluster/chapter, EU Common Positions for each cluster, Albania’s National Strategy on Development and EU Integration 2022-2030, Albania’s National Programme for Accession to the EU 2024-2030 and the National Plan for European Integration 2024-2026, encouraging Albanian diaspora professionals to contribute with their knowledge and field expertise across different areas to aid negotiations, gradual EU integration, accelerated development, and convergence.

The fellows/experts specializing in different EU policy areas including the harmonization of the EU acquis in Albania will play a vital role in facilitating the country’s integration into the European Union. Their responsibilities involve meticulously translating the extensive body of relevant EU legislation, directives, and regulations into Albanian, ensuring accuracy and consistency with the original texts as well as their effective harmonization with national laws and policies as well as capacity building activities for the public administration in charge of the approximation and negotiations.

The fellows/diaspora experts will be engaged, time by time from this rooster of applications depending on the need identified by the office of the Minister of State and Chief Negotiator, and/or other relevant institutions (such as different Ministries, Agencies, INSTAT, Department of Public Administration (DAP), SASPAAC and the Agency of Public Procurement (APP) etc. During their engagement, they will closely collaborate with government institutions to deliver specified products aimed at effectively transposing the entire body of EU law.

The fellows/diaspora experts will prepare and submit deliverables in close cooperation with the government beneficiary institution(s), and the final products will undergo review and acceptance by the respective institutions and IOM before completion.

Core Functions / Responsibilities:

Under the overall supervision of the Head of Office, direct supervision of the IOM Program Coordinator, under the guidance of a team leader, the fellow/expert will be responsible for supporting the Line Ministries in strengthening the Albanian public administration (as the main beneficiary) in the process of the legal approximation and harmonization with the EU Acquis.

The Albanian diaspora experts engaged by IOM Albania will work closely with the Department of Policy and EU Integration/National Unit for EU Approximation within the Prime Minister’s Office and where necessary with other Albanian institutions in the above priority sectors and domains to provide strategic guidance, develop tools and frameworks, deliver capacity-building activities, and support internationalization efforts. All of the work will be conducted remotely, allowing flexibility for experts based abroad. Experts will contribute to the design and implementation of targeted actions that respond to institutional needs, support reform processes, and align with the national priorities defined as defined in the previous section.

The specific tasks of the legal experts consultants/fellows will include:

• Conducting a review and assessment on the EU priorities and EU Acquis and all relevant national legislation, to identify the gaps of national legislation with the EU Acquis.
• Advising the Line Ministries on the necessary steps to be taken to align the national legislation with the EU Acquis.
• Drafting the necessary legal framework (full legal package) for the acts that will be aligned with EU Acquis, based on the priorities of the National Plan for European Integration.
• Providing on the job training and capacity building to the Line Ministries staff on the EU Acquis and the process of legal alignment including the preparation of the tables of concordance between the proposed draft acts and the relevant EU Acquis.

In particular:

• Contribute to the development, implementation and monitoring of the Albanian priorities in the negotiation process with EU and National Plan on European Integration (NPEI):
  • Collaborate and coordinate with stakeholders for the fulfilment of the EU benchmarks (interim and closing), in the framework of the negotiation process.
  • Collaborate and coordinate with stakeholders for the development, implementation and monitoring of the NPEI, focusing on measurable milestones for effective implementation.
  • Monitor NPEI implementation progress against concrete objectives, accuracy and timeliness.
  • Provide technical assistance and training to improve qualitative monitoring and reporting of the NPEI.
• Provide targeted training and technical assistance to key departments within the Albanian Public Administration on EU integration processes and especially to enhance their alignment with specific EU Acquis requirements aiming to achieve a measurable improvement within a specified timeframe:
• Support the coordination of the EU Integration Processes:
  • Identify key institutions needing coordination support and define clear objectives for improvement.
  • Contribute on the organization of coordination sessions, and setting of communication channels and provide necessary training for personnel involved.
• Provide Methodological Support for effective approximation, harmonization and transposition of the EU Acquis:
  • Offer methodological support and guidance to accelerate legislative approximation.
  • Assess legislative approximation speed and quality improvements.
• Enhance Negotiation Capacities for EU Legal Approximation:
  • Contribute to the Increase of capacities of line ministries and key institutions involved in negotiation processes.
  • Evaluate negotiation effectiveness and capacity improvements.
• Contribute to the development of a comprehensive Compliance Assessment framework for aligning with the EU Acquis, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative measures.
  • Define specific qualitative and quantitative criteria for compliance assessment.
  • Develop checklist or scoring system for quantitative measurement.
  • Conduct regular progress reviews and updates as necessary.
• Conduct Comparative Analysis of National Laws with EU Member States:
  • Identify key areas of focus for comparison
  • Establish quantitative measures for assessing compliance, such as the number of laws aligned with EU directives and their level of implementation.
  • Develop a scoring system to measure the degree of alignment between national laws and EU Member States' laws.
• Contribute to the translation of EU legislation into Albanian, ensuring accuracy and consistency, and contribute to its harmonization with national laws through collaboration with stakeholders, drafting legal amendments and monitoring implementation.

Performance indicators for the evaluation of results:

Qualifications

Required Qualifications and Experience

Education

• Applicants must have obtained an advanced university degree from an accredited academic institution related to EU policy, EU Law or EU studies, relevant to the assignment; PhD degree will be considered a strong advantage.

Experience

• At least 3 years of relevant professional experience.
• Experience in conducting research in any relevant area is preferred.
• Experience in conducting similar assignments is an asset.
• Working experience with EU institutions and government institutions of EU member states is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience in analyzing institutional processes, drafting policy documents, and strategic documents, as well as in data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting, and delivering presentations.
• Strong interest and knowledge of EU-Albania relations.
• Experience in engagement with diaspora communities, authorities, and other stakeholders is an asset.
• In-depth knowledge in one or more areas of the Acquis Communautaire is an asset.
• Guiding and monitoring team-work engaged in research is an asset.
• Strong knowledge of the Albanian legal system

Skills

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Very good communication skills in written and oral form.
• High commitment, adaptability, and flexibility.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, team-working, and leadership skills.
• Ability to produce analytical work, including written reports and brief presentations of research.
• Effective communication skills with a wide range of stakeholders, including public authorities, local authorities, and the private sector.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain accuracy and confidentiality in performing responsibilities.
• Strong interpersonal and intercultural skills, with attention to detail.

Languages

For this consultancy, fluency in Albanian and English is required (oral and written)

Required Competencies

IOM’s competency framework can be found at this link. Competencies will be assessed during the selection process.

Values - all IOM staff members must abide by and demonstrate these five values:

• Inclusion and respect for diversity: Respects and promotes individual and cultural differences. Encourages diversity and inclusion.
• Integrity and transparency: Maintains high ethical standards and acts in a manner consistent with organizational principles/rules and standards of conduct.
• Professionalism: Demonstrates ability to work in a composed, competent and committed manner and exercises careful judgment in meeting day-to-day challenges.
• Courage: Demonstrates willingness to take a stand on issues of importance.
• Empathy: Shows compassion for others, makes people feel safe, respected and fairly treated.

Core Competencies – behavioural indicators

• Teamwork: Develops and promotes effective collaboration within and across units to achieve shared goals and optimize results.
• Delivering results: Produces and delivers quality results in a service-oriented and timely manner. Is action oriented and committed to achieving agreed outcomes.
• Managing and sharing knowledge: Continuously seeks to learn, share knowledge and innovate.
• Accountability: Takes ownership for achieving the Organization’s priorities and assumes responsibility for own actions and delegated work.
• Communication: Encourages and contributes to clear and open communication. Explains complex matters in an informative, inspiring and motivational way.

Notes

IOM covers Consultants against occupational accidents and illnesses under the Compensation Plan (CP), free of charge, for the duration of the consultancy. IOM does not provide evacuation or medical insurance for reasons related to non-occupational accidents and illnesses. Consultants are responsible for their own medical insurance for non-occupational accident or illness and will be required to provide written proof of such coverage before commencing work.

The expected candidates for this assignment are required to be accomplished professionals from the Albanian diaspora residing in an EU country, who are motivated to contribute their expertise to the country’s development and innovation agenda.

Any offer made to the candidate in relation to this vacancy notice is subject to funding confirmation.

Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, security clearances.

IOM has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and IOM, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination based on gender, nationality, age, race, sexual orientation, religious or ethnic background or disabilities.

IOM does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training or other fee). IOM does not request any information related to bank accounts.

IOM only accepts duly completed applications submitted through the IOM e-Recruitment system (for internal candidates link here). The online tool also allows candidates to track the status of their application.

No late applications will be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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