About the Project

The “Partnerships for Syunik: Enhanced Community-Based Social Services” project is a Team Europe initiative funded by the European Commission. The project aims to support the development of a more resilient and sustainable social service system in Syunik, Armenia. The implementing organizations for the project are People in Need, in partnership with the “WINNET Goris” Development Foundation and the “Armenian Caritas”.

The project’s three main outputs focus on building the capacity of Civil Society Organizations to deliver high-quality social services, developing sustainable mechanisms for participatory planning and delivery of services in partnership with local authorities, and engaging in policy dialogue and advocacy campaigns for sustainable funding of community-based social services. Through these outputs, the project aims to support the shift from a reactive, ad-hoc assistance system to a more integrated, shock-resilient social service system that better serves the needs of vulnerable populations in Syunik.

 

Background

The Government of the Republic of Armenia, through the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MLSA), supports the development and implementation of social services aimed at improving the well-being of vulnerable populations. Within this framework of “Partnerships for Syunik: Enhanced Community-Based Social Services” project, there is a need to develop high-quality, compliant, and costed social service package that can be submitted to MLSA for consideration as a new service developed based on the models piloted by Syunik CSOs.

 

Main objectives

Armenian Caritas is looking for a skilled expert or a team of experts to develop comprehensive social service package in line with MLSA standards, regulatory requirements, and best practices in social service delivery. The main objective of the task is to develop complete and submission-ready social service package for development of Menu Database for Elderly Care Institutions.

 

Scope of Work

The selected expert(s) will be responsible for the following tasks:

  • To analyze the best practices and lessons learned from international and local experiences, with an aim to identify the most relevant components for the local context.
  • To develop service models based on the identified needs and lessons learned from international and local practices.
  • The designed model should include components related to operational, methodological, and administrative aspects of the service provision.
  • Ensure compliance with MLSA regulatory and methodological standards: service description, methodology, operational manual, service quality standards, competencies for the personnel.
  • Develop service delivery models, including service description, methodology, operational models and costing.
  • Consulting with Caritas Armenia, PIN and WINNET Goris, local actors, and relevant stakeholders as needed.
  • Give consultancy to the Syunik-based project targeted 1 to 2 CSOs for submitting the package to MLSA for getting state accreditation.
  • Finalizing the package based on feedback and ensuring they comply with MLSA submission requirements.

Deliverables

The expected deliverables include:

  1. Inception note outlining methodology and work plan;
  2. Draft version of social service package;
  3. Finalized MLSA-compliant package for 1 service which should include: service description, methodology, operational manual, service quality standards, personnel competencies, and cost calculation.

 

Specific positions to fill include

The following package must be developed and submitted by the expert(s):

 

Development of Menu Database for Elderly Care Institutions

Purpose

The purpose of this is to develop a menu database for elderly care institutions in compliance with the requirements of the applicable legal regulations.
The database should enable meal planning as well as the calculation of financial costs for food provision based on suppliers’ price quotations.

Scope of Work

The following tasks should be performed:

  • Develop a menu database for elderly care institutions.
  • Ensure that the database complies with dietary requirements established by current legal regulations.
  • Include menus for all daily meals in the database:
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Afternoon snack
    • Dinner
  • Each menu should include the corresponding dishes with their ingredients and quantities used.
  • Develop cost calculation mechanisms to calculate the cost of food preparation based on price quotations provided by suppliers.

Structure and Functions of the Database

The database should provide the following capabilities:

  • Include all menus with their respective dishes and ingredients.
  • Provide the possibility to choose between alternative ingredients required for preparing certain dishes.
  • Provide the possibility to choose between different dishes.
  • Automatically calculate the final cost of the dish and the menu based on the selected ingredients or dishes.

As a result of ingredient selection, the price of each dish within the menu should be formed automatically.

Calculation System

Separate calculation sheets should be created in the database for each meal type, for example:

  • “Breakfast – Calculator”
  • “Lunch – Calculator”
  • “Afternoon Snack – Calculator”
  • “Dinner – Calculator”

These sheets should include the corresponding dishes of the menus along with their ingredients and exact quantities used.

The calculation system should ensure automatic calculation of the total quantity of ingredients required to prepare the menu, based on the portion size defined for each dish.

Principles of Menu Development

The database should allow the creation of a balanced daily diet through various combinations of breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner options.

The database should ensure:

  • A wide selection of menus,
  • A flexible and easy-to-use system,
  • Not fixed 1–2week menus, but continuously changing and non-repeating menu options.

All menus should have approximately the same nutritional value corresponding to the given meal type.

Equivalent nutritional values of the menus should allow them to be combined in different ways without violating daily nutritional standards.

Content of the Diet

The database should ensure a wide variety of foods. It should include both traditional national dishes and new recipes. Daily menus should include foods from all main food groups.

Expected Result

Upon completion of the work, a complete and practically applicable menu database should be delivered, enabling:

  • Planning of balanced diets for elderly people,
  • Ensuring food diversity,
  • Conducting accurate calculations of food preparation costs.

 

Duration and Timeline

The expert work is expected to be completed within a period 2.5 months the date of contract signing. A detailed timeline will be agreed upon during the inception phase.

 

Required Qualifications and Experience

  • Proven experience in social service development and social protection systems of RA;
  • Strong knowledge of MLSA regulations and standards;
  • Strong knowledge of state accreditation procedures and requirements proposed by MLSA;
  • At least 5 years of experience with a focus on policy development;
  • At least 5 years of experience in the area of social protection and social services;
  • At least 5 years of professional experience in social services, social policy development, or service package design;
  • Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex legal and policy concepts to a variety of stakeholders in a clear and concise manner;
  • Practical experience in legal and policy analysis, including the ability to identify gaps and inconsistencies in legal frameworks and propose appropriate revisions;
  • Experience working with government agencies, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to develop and implement policies and regulations;
  • Ability to work independently and deliver high-quality outputs within deadlines;
  • Demonstrated analytical and report-writing skills;
  • Fluency in Armenian and English, both written and spoken.

 

Reporting and Coordination

The expert(s) will work under the supervision of the contracting organization and in close coordination with relevant stakeholders. All deliverables will be submitted for review and approval prior to finalization.

 

Application Procedure

  • Interested applicants are invited to submit;
  • CV(s) demonstrating relevant experience;
  • A brief technical proposal outlining the proposed approach and methodology;
  • Financial proposal;
  • At least one sample of previous similar work (if available).

 

Reporting Requirements

  • The expert(s) will report directly to Caritas Field Coordinator
  • All deliverables must be submitted in Armenian.
  • Regular brief updates will be provided during the assignment.

Payment Schedule

Payments will be made upon submission and approval of the following:

  • 40% upon approval of deliverables.
  • 60% upon submission of final

 

How to apply

Those interested in applying should provide a submission package containing:

  • CVs;
  • Technical proposal including work plan;
  • A cover letter indicating the candidate'(s) experience in conducting work in the social protection sphere;
  • Financial proposal (including a detailed breakdown of costs).

 

 

The application package should be submitted via emails: info@caritas.am and d.miribyan@caritas.am, indicating “Social service package” in the subject line no later than 7th of April, 2026.

Both individual experts and companies would be eligible.