UNDP Jobs - 4070- Consultant: Poverty Reduction ( Re

Consultant: Poverty Reduction ( Re - Advertised)

Location :

Thimphu, BHUTAN

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jun-2008

Application Deadline :

15-May-08 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Duration of Initial Contract :

2 Months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

2 Months

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

The Royal Government of Bhutan has invariably placed human resource development high on agenda in all its five year development plans. Despite these efforts, one of the issues currently faced concerning human resource development is the absence of a single coordinating body that is necessary to ensure all HRD related activities are geared towards a common goal. There are several agencies responsible for human resource development activities at different levels. For example, Ministry of Education is responsible for general education starting from elementary education to higher secondary and undergraduate studies scholarships; the Royal University of Bhutan is responsible for the diploma level and undergraduate level education that are offered by various institutions established within the country; the Royal Civil Service Commission Secretariat is responsible for regulating training for in-service civil servants; and Ministry of Labour and Human Resources is responsible for in-country vocational training programmes and HRD for private and corporate sectors’ employees. Similarly, the ministries of agriculture, education, and health have a direct administration over training institutions, which train manpower required for the respective sectoral consumption.

Furthermore, the human resource development interventions have been more of supply driven than demand based. This has resulted in a situation where on one hand there is acute shortage of manpower in the private sector and on the other hand, there is a large number of educated unemployed youth.

With the current system of dealing with the HRD matters, it would be difficult to address the existing problem of mismatch of skills and to adequately meet the demand for human resources requirement of the country without being guided by a comprehensive national human resource development (NHRD) policy. In view of this, in pursuance to the Royal Command of His Majesty the King, the Gross National Happiness Commission has delegated the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources to take a lead role in developing a policy on human resource development of the country.

Objective

The overall objective of the consultancy is to develop a NHRD policy suitable for that will serve as an umbrella policy encompassing human resource development activities at all levels. The policy must provide overall direction to all concerned agencies in their efforts towards fulfilling the future human resource needs of the country.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will work closely with the Policy and Planning Division of the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources.

Activities
The consultant will carry out the following activities:

Review the existing HRD related policies and strategies developed by various ministries/agencies (e.g General education policy, Tertiary education policy, Labour policy, Vocational Education and Training Policy, etc.);
Study the industrial development policy;
Study future development plans of the country;
Study labour statistics generated from the Labour Market Information System (LMIS) and National Statistical Bureau.
Based on information from (i) – (iv), prepare NHRD policy that clearly spells out specific policy statements that will dynamically respond to the country’s future human resources needs;
Identify appropriate strategies for translating the policy statements into implementable programmes.
Conduct series of consultative workshops with various stakeholders to finalize the policy.

Competencies

At the end of the project period, the consultant will deliver to the Ministry:

Comprehensive NHRD policy document.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications and requirements:

Advanced Degree in human resource development;
5-8 years relevant working experience as a HRD expert
Have excellent writing/policy drafting skills;
Fluency in English Language;
Must meet deadlines in a professional manner