TERMS OF REFERENCE
Expert (or team of experts)
To lead a training workshop and to develop a Risk Management Protocol
for LGBTIQ+ Shelters in Albania and Kosovo
(call open to Albanians and/or international experts) Application deadline : January 18th 2021
Due to the Pandemic, we are open to a very flexible approach with the possibility to adapt the mission if in-country travel is not permitted or health conditions do not allow in-person meetings.
1. Context of the mission
Presentation of the project: The PRIDE+ project aims to build the capacity of 4 LGBTI organisations and their allies to effectively promote the acceptance, inclusion and protection of the LGBTI minority in Albania and Kosovo
Main issues / challenges to which the project intends to respond: In 2019, out of 49 countries ranked in the ILGA Europe’s “Rainbow Europe Index” for LGBTI legislation, Albania was ranked 23rd and Kosovo 28th. Although the legal framework in Albania and Kosovo is relatively favourable to the LGBTI community, the authorities are showing too little investment in its implementation, hampering a real change in the access to rights of LGBTI people and in the evolution of mentalities of the general population. Only 1% of LGBTI people who visit Aleanca Community Center in Tirana have disclosed their sexual orientation to those around them, because of the risk of being rejected. Young LGBTI people – especially transgender people – live in extreme precariousness: Most of them are obliged to become sex workers because they are expelled from their homes; or forced to flee far from their homes because of physical and psychological violence. Living at the hedge of society, they become extremely vulnerable. Shelters such as Streha in Albania offers them an opportunity to reintegrate society with the help of a dedicated team/

2. Objective and description of the mission
Streha, Aleanca and CEL provide vital support to the most vulnerable and marginalized LGBTI people in Albania and Kosovo. The various traumas (psychological and physical violence, harassment, rejection, discrimination, etc.) faced by the members of the community who frequent these structures have strong consequences on their emotional and mental well-being. Many of them suffer from severe personality disorders, chronic depression, anxiety, stress, suicidal thoughts. This leads to aggressive behaviour towards themselves or others, or addictive via the abuse of drugs and/or alcoholic drinks, or even destructive by committing suicide attempts, self-harm and/or scarification, etc. The experience of the partner organisations has shown that they do not always have the full knowledge and/ or capacity to deal with these situations and/or that the employees do not have sufficient knowledge and skills to manage these extreme cases. Hence, the partners have expressed the need to be trained on these questions but also to develop a protocol for managing the riskiest situations.
The mission of the expert will be of two-fold:

Organise a 4 to 5-day workshop (ideally in Tirana, but the format may have to evolve depending of the pandemic) on how to manage at-risk cases when providing basic services if you are a Shelter or a community Centre.

Develop a protocol based on best practices in terms of managing the riskiest situations. The protocol will be adapted to the specific needs and services provided by the different organizations.

Expected results:
At the end of this activity, the partners will be able to set up clear instructions and will be able to adapt their operational manual thanks to the protocol. Each organization will also be in capacity of training its employees (caretakers, etc) in the use of this protocol.

Expected Deliverables
The following deliverables are expected from the expert:

A training plan and methodology (done following close consultations and pre- discussions with partners)

A workshop is organised in Tirana with the project partners

A protocol for managing the riskiest situations is developed

An activity report
3. Location,dates and public
Location: Tirana (Albania)
Dates: December 2020 to February 2021
Targeted beneficiaries: Staffs from the identified organisations (Aleanca LGBT and Streha Shelter in Albania, and CEL Kosovo in Kosovo)
4. Calendar

Description

Responsibility

Estimated Deadline

Re-Publication of the ToR

IREX-Europe

December 9th 2020

Deadline to apply

Candidates

January 18th 2020

Recruitment and signature of contract with the selected expert

IREX-Europe and partners

January 25th 2020

Submission of training plan and methodology

Expert

February 1st 2020

Training workshop

Logistics by IREX Europe and partners with delivery of workshop by Expert

Before March 15th2021

1st draft of the Risk Management Protocol

Expert

Before March 31st 2021

Final draft of the Risk Management Protocol and final report

Expert

Before April 16th 2021

5. Qualifications
We are looking for individual(s) or organisation(s) with proven experience in:

Risk Management in centers, shelters, etc. welcoming population at risk of hurting themselves and/or others, and/or in drafting risk management protocols.

Working with LGBTIQ individuals

Delivering training to civil society organisations

Working in Albania and/or Kosovo preferred

Proficiency in Albanese and/or English
6. Application
All interested experts or team of experts are invited to submit their technical and financial offer to popajelvis@gmail.com ; pzanetti@erim.ngo and before January 18th 2020.
NB: Application will be reviewed on a rolling basis and we reserve ourselves the right to contract an expert before the aforementioned deadline.