LEAP for Her: Lifelong Empowerment for Rural Women through Skills and Inclusion Project (Albania)

Deadline: 21 July 2025

The UN Women will engage a civil society organization (CSO) based in Albania as Responsible Party to implement “LEAP for Her: Lifelong Empowerment for Rural Women through Skills and Inclusion”.

The work will focus in three municipalities. The intervention is designed to directly benefit vulnerable women and girls in rural areas by strengthening their access to employment opportunities and skills development in alignment with labour market demands. UN Women will engage stakeholders through roundtables and focus groups with representatives from the care, hospitality, and tourism sectors especially companies that are signatories of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) as well as with rural women and communities, to jointly identify skill gaps and future needs.

Description of required services/results

• The project aims to strengthen Albania’s social protection system, focusing on expanding coverage and integrating child benefits, family support, and improving care services’ quality and outreach. It also aims to increase employability and access to decent work opportunities for marginalized groups, particularly women and youth, in rural areas. The project seeks to address skill gaps by providing tailored training to equip marginalized populations with tools and knowledge to improve employment opportunities and achieve financial empowerment.
• The selected CSO must collaborate with women-led and community-based civil society organizations (CSOs) operating in the targeted municipalities or nearby regions. These partner organizations must be clearly identified in the proposal, with supporting documentation such as Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) or Letters of Commitment. Partnerships should ensure meaningful engagement with local communities, especially rural women and caregivers, to help achieve the dual project goals: expanding access to integrated social protection and increasing employability for marginalized women.
• The CSO will implement the following activities aligned with the project outcomes:
  • Extended coverage and integrated Social Protection System:
    • Job Placement and Career Counseling Services: The CSO will establish services for caregivers, ensuring 30 caregivers are placed in jobs and are financially empowered.
    • Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship Workshops: The CSO will deliver workshops targeting 50 women caregivers, improving their financial and entrepreneurship skills to enhance employment opportunities.
    • Outreach on Training Programs and Dissemination of Knowledge Products in remote and rural areas: The CSO will ensure that 500 rural women and women living in remote areas in three target municipalities have increased access to the project’s resources and knowledge products.
  • Increased employability and access to decent work opportunities for marginalized groups, particularly women and youth:
    • Stakeholder Engagement: Organize roundtables and focus groups with industry representatives (care, hospitality, tourism) and rural women to identify skill gaps and future needs, aligning training programs with industry demands.
    • Curriculum Development: The CSO will develop curricula reflecting industry requirements and rural women’s needs, particularly focusing on digital skills.
    • Training Programs and Delivery: The CSO will implement six mobile training units (MTUs) and establish one online learning platform to deliver training to rural women.
    • Partnerships and Collaboration: The CSO will foster public-private partnerships to co-design training programs and mentorship opportunities, ensuring at least 200 rural women are trained and mentored.

Funding Information

• The budget range for the proposals submitted under this Call for Proposal should be maximum of $136,000.

Duration

• For a period up to 17 months

Competencies

• Technical/functional competencies required
  • Civil Society Organizations qualify for applying as Responsible Party/ies for this Call. The Responsible Party/ies can enter into partnership with other CSOs. Partnerships with local proponents and/or community organizations are highly encouraged in the context of this call. The Responsible Party/ies and its implementing partners applying in this call should comply with the following requirements
  • Proven experience in training delivery, advocacy, and empowerment programs targeting women, caregivers, and marginalized groups at both local and national levels, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
  • Capacity to implement awareness and social mobilization campaigns focused on financial literacy, digital skills, entrepreneurship, and access to labor markets for women and youth.
  • Demonstrated networking and collaboration with public institutions and grassroots actors, including municipalities, local government units (LGUs), local councils, community-based organizations, women’s groups, and national networks of CSOs.
  • Track record in participatory program design and delivery, especially in collaboration with CSOs and local partners to co-create training and employment services.
  • The applicant must demonstrate the following technical capabilities:
    • Expertise in developing and delivering capacity-building tools and training strategies tailored to local administration, rural women, and CSOs in areas such as career counseling, financial empowerment, and digital literacy.
    • Experience implementing employment-focused projects for women at the community level, including mentorship, entrepreneurship, and digital inclusion interventions.
    • Knowledge of social protection, labor market activation, and local economic development policies, including experience working with marginalized women in job placement or vocational training initiatives.
    • Experience conducting training needs assessments and labor market studies, particularly those that integrate community feedback and gender-sensitive approaches.
    • Competence in participatory governance and community engagement, including the design of inclusive consultation and feedback mechanisms at the municipal level.

For more information, visit UN Women.