UNDP Jobs - 63293- International Consultant for Timor-Leste’s Youth W

International Consultant for Timor-Leste’s Youth Wellbeing Report in the Framework of UNDP’s Human Development Report

Location :

Dili, Timor Leste

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

05-Feb-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

130 Days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

130 Days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Timor-Leste has one of the Asia-Pacific region’s youngest populations with approximately 70 percent of its population being below the age of 30. Youth unemployment is particularly high in urban areas with estimated youth unemployment rates ranging between 35 and 50 percent in the capital Dili (the definition of youth in Timor-Leste is 16 to 30 years old). And youth unemployment is on the rise. Given the age cohort and the relatively high population growth rate of 2.4 percent per annum, the new entrants into the labor market are as many as 16,000 per year, and they will soon reach 20,000 per year. The paid workers in the private sector are only 40,000, and a third of the population operates entirely outside the cash economy. This large number of young job seekers simply cannot be absorbed unless effective policies for job creation are in place, aside from improving employment quality in the small and medium enterprise sector which currently employs the majority of the youth. Skills continue to be a major issue—according to the 2010 Labor Force Survey, where only 2.5 percent of those aged 15 and over who completed university and poly-technique/diploma courses, and 0.79 percent of 20–25 year old Timorese were enrolled in tertiary education. Many of those who are in the labor market (262,000 people) after school are ill-equipped and lack basic numeracy, language and computer literacy skills, communication and networking skills and workplace skills that are required by the private sector. Skill mismatch—between what young people have acquired in school and that of the labor market requirements—is a very serious issue faced by the youth of Timor-Leste, which is also the cause of their unsatisfactory labor market outcomes. Education and skills development, therefore, need greater attention by the policy and decision makers, and should be complemented with strong industry cooperation, supported by an enabling policy environment focused on employment generation.
An absence of appropriate and decent work options pushes youth towards vulnerable employment, under-employment and labor migration, mainly to the capital. Yet, none of these options allow the job-seekers or workers to earn a sufficient living—despite the fact that the Government has recently announced the minimum wage of US$115 for unskilled labor—thus the cycle of poverty in the country remains seemingly unbroken. Added to that, in the case of labor migration, the potential for exploitation, abuse and a range of human rights violations is high. Labor migration ought to be an option for youth rather than the current situation where it is a compelling choice to escape poverty.
Recognizing the importance of investing in youth to allow them full realization and active participation in the development process, the Strategic Development Plan (2011-2030) sets a Youth Fund to provide support for projects that support young people and their development. The Plan also envisages a number of other strategic interventions up to 2015, such as support to the establishment of youth associations, continued support to the Youth Parliament, leadership training, and construction of youth centers. All these strategic interventions will be under the umbrella of social inclusion.

UNDP has been at the forefront in promoting progress towards MDG targets by advocating, monitoring and campaigning for the MDGs. It has also been the promoter of human development in Timor-Leste, publishing three National Human Development Reports since 2002; the first National Human Development Report (NHDR), Ukun Rasik A’an, The way ahead, was published in 2002, the second NHDR, Paths out of Poverty, was launched in 2006, and the third National Human Development Report (NHDR-3) which was launched in 2011.
These reports have successfully promoted policy discussions for national planning and policy formulation, and raised public awareness concerning human development situation in Timor-Leste.

In this regard, the fourth NHDR (A collaborative project between the Government of Timor-Leste, UNDP and Flinders University, South Australia) will contribute to further enhance human development in Timor-Leste, and to achieve future demographic dividend serving as a powerful tool for policy planning and raising public awareness and discussions regarding on of the critical areas of development i.e. employment. Aligning with the Integrated Work Plan (IWP), the NHDR will contribute to developing capacities to formulate policies within the government based on strengthened institutional capacity for poverty reporting and youth wellbeing reporting. It will also seek to provide stakeholders with a platform from which it can influence policies to be more human development friendly, namely will be focused on creating gainful employment particularly for young population and investing in youth to allow them full realization and active participation in the development process.

The Project Manager will be required to work in close consultation with, and under the direction of UNDP Programme Officer and the Flinders University Technical Team, and will work closely with the Ministry of Finance specially the National Directorate of Statistics. . The Project Manager is expected to be adaptable and responsive in responding to requests for support within the broad framework of tasks outlined in this ToR.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of this assignment is to support the Ministry of Finance through its National Directorate for Statistic to design, management and implementation of the Timor-Leste’s youth wellbeing report in the framework of UNDP’s Human Development Report system that will promote policy discussions for national planning and policy formulation, and raised public awareness concerning human development situation in Timor-Leste.

Scope of Work

Management function and direction of the project; including Developing ToRs for procurement of and supervising field workers and other research investigators;
Substantive technical oversight to implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project activities including fieldwork and research outputs leading to the successful production of the HDR;
Partnerships and Networking for Mainstreaming population dynamics, human development and youth wellbeing into planning and policy processes;
Advice the research team involved in the HDR and Youth Wellbeing project on economic and social issues, prioritizing issues requiring urgent attention;
Based on a solid grasp of the Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan, 2011-2030, and the current development context of Timor-Leste, offer strategic advice that offers clear pathways and milestones to achieving the longer term vision;
Liaise with appropriate government, NGOs, chapter writers and development partners to provide current and relevant information for decision-making purposes;
Support the HDR and Youth Wellbeing project research team with relevant materials and data (including analysis) for writing and production of the report; and
Effectively manage time to ensure that advice provided is timely and can be effectively acted upon.

Competencies

Excellent public speaking and presentation skills;
Excellent writing skills; and
Ability to work in team of diverse nationality and cultural background; and
Excellent writing and analytical skills demonstrated through publications/reports produced.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

A post graduate qualification (such as a Master degree or a PhD) in Population Studies or Development Studies or Economics from a recognized institutions;
Having a PhD would be an advantage.

Experience:

At least 5 years of experience in working on research related to population and social development;
At least 5 years of research experience in an academic or government, development institution or other relevant body;
In depth grasp of demographic, economic and social issues and an ability to synthesis large amounts of information;
A solid grasp of the Timorese development context, more specifically of human development and significant experience working in a developing country;
High level of skills in both quantitative and qualitative research, specially related to demographic analysis;
Familiarity working with multi-lateral and bilateral development institutions;
Adept with crafting economic and social policies and strategies;
Experience in managing field based research projects, especially in the context of developing countries.

Language skills:

Fluency in the English language is essential;
Knowledge of Portuguese,Tetun or Bahasa would be an asset.

TOR and application documents are available via this link http://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=27773.