International expert for developing the national strategy on integrated water resources management

EU4Rivers Project

ADA Contract Number: 6532-00/2023 SUB 05/2026

Terms of Reference

International Expert for developing the national Strategy on Integrated Water Resources Management

Objective: The primary objective of the consultancy is to provide expertise on updating the IWRM Strategy for Albania in full harmony with the implementation of the EU principles and national official policy requirements.    

• Commissioner: EU4Rivers Team Leader
• Timeframe: June 2026 – February 2028 (85 days)

Location: Albania

1. Background                 

Austrian Development Agency (ADA), as the Operational Unit of the International Partnership Austria, has been delegated by the European Union (EU) to implement the “EU4Rivers” project in Albania from October 2023 to September 2028. The lead Beneficiary is the Albanian Water Resources Management Agency (AMBU).

The overall objective is to enhance the implementation of the National Water Reform and Albania’s progress towards meeting EU water legislation requirements, resulting in increased capacities for managing the sector in line with EU policies. The specific objective is to increase Albania’s approximation with the EU water acquis and Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

The project Outputs are:     

• Output 1: The overarching Integrated Water Management legal and institutional framework is substantially enhanced in accordance with the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and other water-related directives.
• Output 2: The Implementation of River Basin Management (RBM) is increased in all river basins in line with the requirements of the WFD.
• Output 3: Water monitoring, reporting and enforcement are sustainably enhanced in line with the requirements of water-related EU Directives.
• Output 4: The strategic and institutional framework for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive is established.

2. Objective and description of the assignment

The aim of this assignment is to support AMBU and the relevant institutions involved in the water resources management with the development of the new Strategy for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), fully aligned to the EU Water Resilience Strategy, Green Deal approach and the EU legislation in particular, the requirements and principles of the Eu Water Framework Directive. The content of the new Strategy shall build on the findings and recommendations made during the evaluation phase of the existing IWRM Strategy (Fitness Check process), on the recommendations provided by the institutional assessment reports related to water monitoring and other key analysis/assessment prepared, but not limited to, with the support of the EU4Rivers Project.

This assignment shall contribute toward the achievement of project Output 1.

3. Approach and Methodology

The Contractor shall operate under the overall guidance of the EU4Rivers project Team Leader (TL) and play the role of the key expert for developing the updated IWRM Strategy for the sector. During the initial phase of the work, the Contractor shall coordinate closely with the International key expert for River Basin Management and International key expert for Economic Assessment of water use in harmonising the approaches in the sector, formulating a clear vision for the coming years and setting environmental objectives. The Contractor shall be supported by various national experts responsible for different individual tasks, in particular for:

• Environmental strategic objectives and measures,
• Scenarios and Costing the action plan, and
• Stakeholders Consultation (SEA process).

This assignment shall be performed under a phased approach, as tentatively presented below:

• PHASE I (June – September 2026): focus on screening official documentation, reports relevant for the sector, Strategic papers and reports, databases of relevance (technical, socio-economic), etc.
• PHASE II (October – December 2026): focus on baseline scenario finalization in consultation with the ECO international expert and finalizing the stakeholder matrix. The international expert shall work closely with the national expert to elaborate and define a Vision and a set of strategic objectives for the new IWRM Strategy in full alignment with the EU principles and national policy.
• PHASE III (January – May 2027): focus on designing the Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy, utilising the main input and contribution of various experts engaged under the EU4Rivers project and the budgeted programme of measures from the RBM-related group of experts. The Action plan shall cover a period of 15 years of implementation.
• PHASE IV (April – September 2027): focus on drafting the IWRM Strategy Report and supporting, in parallel, the stakeholders’ consultation phase. Consultation meetings shall be conducted under the framework of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Process, performed by dedicated national expertise.
• PHASE V (September 2027 – February 2028): support the stakeholders’ consultation process at both national and international/transboundary levels and address the feedback to finalise the package of the new IWRM Strategy.

The Contracted Expert shall prepare a workplan of activities in consultation and agreement with PMT and AMBU team to ensure that all the Recommendations of the Fitness Check Report are addressed accordingly. All the activities to be performed shall be consulted in advance with AMBU team to ensure full alignment with the EU approaches and policy commitments of the sector. Any meetings with stakeholders shall be discussed within the project team and AMBU and planned in advance.  The new IWRM Strategy shall be fully aligned to the principles of the EU Water Resilience Strategy, the Green Deal approach and the EU legislation, in particular the requirements and principles of the EU Water Framework Directive, and the national reference official policy documents, e.g., the sector Strategies, Directive Specific Implementation Plans and River Basin Management Plans.

Task 1 – Information Screening and data Validation (Phase I & II 10 WD)

The Contractor shall screen all the available information as collected through previous projects and actions in the sector, various papers, studies and assessments prepared with the support of EU4Rivers project, etc. All the information will be harmonized, structured and integrated under individual chapters of the draft IWRM Strategy. The information themes to be screened shall cover:

• Baseline data and background information provided in existing national policy reports
• Water quality and quantity data series/sets
• Pollution (discharges), pressure assessments performed at river basin level
• Hydrological, geological description, flood and drought management description and climate change scenarios
• Main sector Gaps and Challenges (in harmony with findings from the DSIP reports).

This phase shall be characterized by intensive consultations with AMBU team, international key experts and various national experts in order to validate all the information collected, available and harmonize, to the best extent, in order to feed individual chapter of the draft IWRM Strategy. Regular meetings shall be established to ensure that all partners involved are informed in due time about the activities and steps to be taken.

During this phase I and II the Contractor shall support the key international expert for the Economic assessment to finalize together the baseline scenario, the overall estimations regarding future water demand and the related gap for the upcoming years in the sector.

Upon completion of this Task, the Contractor shall be able to deliver a Summary report on the existing situation and, in particular, highlight the interlinkages to the existing national policy documentation, such as linkages to the DSIP reports prepared for the relevant EU Directives requesting a transitional period and the RBMPs prepared and under preparation. 

Task 2 – Define the Vision, Objectives and design the Action Plan (Phase III 30 WD)

Based on the results from Task 1, the Contractor is expected, together with other key international experts, to formulate and propose the vision and strategic Objectives for the new IWRM Strategy, in full alignment with the national policy and EU principles as stipulated in the key sector policy (EU Water Resilience Strategy, EU Water Acquis, etc).

The Contractor is expected to lead the work for preparing and elaborating the Action Plan for the implementation of the new IWRM Strategy. The Plan shall be fully aligned with the actions proposed in the national official sector strategies, including also DSIP Reports for relevant EU Directives and shall cover a period of 15 years of implementation, proposed in various time shifts (short, medium and long-term implementation). 

The Contractor is expected to support the preparation of a methodology and the respective details for the calculation of the performance indicators. The methodology can be incorporated in the new IWRM Strategy report or be included as a separate Annex.

The action plan shall include, at least:

• Thematic-type measures
• List of actions proposed for the next 15 years
• Realistic timelines for each action proposed
• Progress Indicators for performance control
• Assigned responsible institutions for each action proposed
• Associated costs/Budget.

Upon completion of this Task, the Contractor is expected to deliver a draft Action Plan with relevant costs and budget estimations, together with the Performance Indicators and the Methodology for their calculation (including relevant formulas).

Task 3 – Draft Report of the new IWRM Strategy (Phase IV 30 WD)

The Contractor is expected to compile all the information (Tasks 1 and 2) and draft the new IWRM Strategy report. Based on the national legal requirements and as highlighted above in full respect to the principles and requirements of EU policy and strategies relevant for the sector, the structure of the draft report shall include information on:

• Current situation (incl. but not limited: legal and institutional framework, background information of the sector, water quality and quantity overview, water balance at river basin and national level, Pollution (discharges) and pressures overview at national level, Hydrological assessment and climate change overview, geological description, flood and drought management description, sector gaps and challenges, etc.)
• Proposed Vision for the future of the sector
• Strategic Objectives
• The Action Plan (with Short, Medium and Long-Term measures) covering a period of 15 years of implementation
• Performance Indicators and the Methodology for their calculation
• Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Strategy
• Financial Resources, Scenarios for investment and Costs/Budget estimations ⁽¹⁾
• SEA Report including Stakeholders Consultation Report ⁽²⁾

(1) The Scenarios and Budget planning and costs shall be prepared by ECO-dedicated experts to ensure alignment with the RBM process and programme of measures at the river basin level, and shall be an integral part (Annex) of the final IWRM Strategy. 

(2) The SEA Report (incl. also the Stakeholders Consultation Report), shall be prepared by a dedicated national expertise, following the national legal framework requirements, and shall be an integral part (Annex) of the final IWRM Strategy. The Contractor is expected to continue to support this process at the transboundary level if/as necessary (see Task 4).

Upon completion of this Task, the Contractor is expected to deliver the draft IWRM Strategy Package containing the information as above, in full alignment with all the recommendations made under the Fitness Check Report and including all the related Annexes.

Task 4 – Support Stakeholders Consultation Process (Phase V 15 WD)

The Contractor shall support the stakeholders’ consultation process in various aspects and dimensions. Considering that Albania is now in the phase of advancing the negotiation/integration process with the EU Commission, many policy-related official documents are being screened and evaluated, upon request, by the EU Commission. In that regard, the Contractor shall be expected to support addressing the feedback from EU partners in the final IWRM Strategy package/report.

In addition, as part of the SEA process, the Contractor is expected to participate in an additional consultation meeting at the transboundary level, if this shall be needed and/or requested by relevant neighbouring countries. In that regard, the Contractor shall also address the feedback in the final IWRM Strategy package accordingly. 

Upon completion of this Task, the Contractor is expected to deliver the final IWRM Strategy Package which incorporates the feedback received during the consultation process as mentioned in this Task, as necessary.  

4. Deliverables

The Contractor shall provide the respective deliverables as per the timelines given below:

5. Location and Duration of the assignment

The assignment is planned to commence in June 2026. The duration of the assignment is 85 working days over a period of 20 months.

A detailed draft of the work plan for the assignment shall be prepared in consultation and agreement with PMT and AMBU team.

In case of changes in the overall project implementation and changes to the work plan in line with project needs/requested by the TL, this will not affect the total number of working days for the assignment.

This assignment shall be implemented through a combined modality, consisting of both missions to Albania and home-based work, to ensure continuous support in performing the tasks described above.

• Travel Frequency: The Contractor is expected to travel to Albania every 6–8 weeks, amounting to approximately 5–6 missions during the assignment period.
• Duration of Missions: Each mission should preferably involve an extended presence of at least 5 working days.
• Home-Based Work: A maximum of 25 working days (WD) out of the total 85 WD may be performed remotely. The majority of the work volume under Task 4 may be performed remotely. Physical presence will only be required (if necessary) to attend a dedicated consultation meeting at the transboundary level.

6. Reporting

In addition to the deliverables foreseen in Chapter 3, the following reporting should be done:

A draft work plan shall be submitted for approval to the TL within two weeks of the contract’s entry into force. The work plan describes the tasks, activities, meetings/workshops, reports/deliverables, and any other inputs to be performed during the assignment. All the tasks shall be discussed and agreed upon in advance with the TL.

Progress Report(s) will be prepared monthly and submitted to the TL, which describe the accomplished work, and the progress achieved towards the agreed tasks/outputs, and any risks that may compromise the project implementation. Each report should also include the number of working days performed in the preceding month.

A Final report shall be submitted at the latest two weeks after the end date of implementation of the services as defined in the Service Contract. The report includes a description of the delivered outputs, all tasks carried out, as well as recommendations/observations made related to the project implementation.

All reports and any other documentation to be produced as part of this assignment shall be submitted in English.

7. Requirements for the contractor

Qualifications and General Professional Experience

• Master’s degree or higher level of education in water resources management, environmental studies or equivalent;

• Understanding the requirements of the EU water and environmental Acquis;
• Minimum ten (10) years of professional experience working in the water and environmental management sector;
• Good understanding of the River Basin Management process, planning and programming measures;
• Proven experience in working with stakeholders for sector planning and policy drafting;
• Proven experience in working with cross-cutting data and information harmonization.  

Specific professional experience

• Minimum seven (7) years of significant experience in designing and developing strategic documents and policy papers related to the water and environment sector.
• Demonstrated knowledge in designing action plans and performance indicators portfolio.

Additional Requirements

• The Contractor must be independent and free from conflicts of interest in the responsibilities defined by the Terms of Reference;

Every eligible offer submission will be evaluated according to the following award criteria and the associated weights as indicated in the tender documents point 5.

9. Representation

Any kind of representation of ADA / the EU4Rivers Project and EU Delegation by the Contractor is excluded from this agreement.

10. Publication

The Contractor agrees that the following information will be made public as required by the General Conditions of the European Union Contribution Agreement: title and type of the contract, name, address and nationality of the contractor, and amount of the contract.

The deadline for submission of applications is 18 May 2026 Time 23:59. 

Should you/your company be interested in this contract, please submit your offer to eu4rivers@ada.gv.at.