Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the Timor-Leste economy where poverty is 30%, multidimensional poverty is 46%, 20.3% of youth are not in employment, education nor training, and the economy is projected to be contracting by 6.8% because of the pandemic. COVID-19-related factors have negatively impacted small farmers, people living in remote areas, urban settlements with limited infrastructure, and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and amplified the challenges caused by climate change, inadequate social safety net, and poor governance.

In such a context, UNDP Supporting Entrepreneurship and Employment for Women and Youth Project (SEEWAY) is a response to this current situation and support for recovery in terms of access to finance to MSMEs and enhancement of employability and readiness for the labour market of young men and women in Timor-Leste. This project will focus on the following: (i) better preparedness and recovery of MSMEs from COVID-19 impacts; (ii) provide additional income and employment opportunities to vulnerable groups, including women, people with disability, poor, and unemployed youth; (iii) follow up COVID-19 Socio-economic Impact Assessment conducted, and findings shared. The “Building an Innovation Ecosystem for Youth Entrepreneurship in Timor-Leste” initiative (under component i and ii) combines a solution-oriented initiative with innovation and service delivery to transform Timorese young people particularly those who are unemployed and are economically inactive in to ‘change makers’ or social entrepreneurs creating jobs/livelihoods towards achieving economic transformation. The project involves strategic partnerships with private sectors, government authorities, local leaders and community, civil societies, and relevant institutions.  ?

Duties and Responsibilities

The National Business Development Specialist will work in the following areas under the direct supervision of the SEEWAY Project Manager and in collaboration with all other SEEWAY team members. business development particularly provide training on Business plan, Setting up the business, support business registration in SERVE, Business counselling and support Youth Co:Lab in Innovation Challenge activities such as;

• Provide inputs to business plans of the participants who have received business training from UNDP

• Developing training materials and delivering trainings on business registration, legal and regulatory framework, business tax policies, administrative procedures to follow for business registration and about SERVE, , , etc.
• Prepare an easy-to-follow step-by-step guideline for businesses to register in SERVE for publication, and support businesses to get registered by reviewing their applications, documents, etc. so that at least 40 businesses get registered by June 2022.  
• Prepare training materials or took kits and provide training on marketing, market surveys, market data, market updates, branding, etc. to start-ups, particularly those who have received business training, equipment support from UNDP and MTCI, and those who have set up their new enterprises.
• Mentorship, selection of viable business ideas, develop & mature business ideas, prepare docs for granting. 

• Provide services to potential microentrepreneurs in various areas including support development of business plans, incubation, technology support, financial management and various training on overall business development.
• Organize training, workshop, and information sessions to improve knowledge and capacities of youth on related thematic areas.
• Lead to organize business networking and day/night/weekend markets to give opportunity to the new businesses to network and showcase their products and services.
• Support in organizing innovation and entrepreneurship workshops and challenge events.
• Identify training needs of local businesses and facilitate capacity building of small enterprises to address identified weaknesses.
• Any Others business to support require by the team.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

The selected consultant will work under the Project Manager for SEEWAY project and in close coordination with the entire SEEWAY team. The consultant should use his/her own computer/laptop for the assignment, the office will provide access to internet to facilitate communication. Other logistical costs (local transportation, communication, etc.) must be included as part of the financial proposal of the consultant). 

DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT

The assignment will be for a period of 6 months between January 2022 to June 2022 in Timor-Leste.

The consultant must be available for regular meetings with the programme unit in the UNDP Country Office in addition to regular meetings with the SEEWAY team.  Arrangement for such visits will be coordinated by the consultant with the project team based on project work plan/schedule.

DUTY STATION

Dili, Timor-Leste with travel to other municipalities. Travel costs to other municipalities will be covered by SEEWAY separately.

Competencies

Other Competencies:

• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills, including the ability to liaise effectively at project management levels.
• Ability to communicate and function effectively in an international, multicultural environment.
• Ability to work effectively in a team.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelors degree in business administration, marketing, enterprise development, international business, finance, and any other relevant field. Masters degree will be an advantage.   

Professional Experience:

• At least 4 years of working experiences related to entrepreneurship development particularly in providing business counseling and various incubation services.
• Knowledge on business registration procedures and requirements, Timor-Leste labour law, and other related rules/regulation.
• Proven experience in developing training packages and delivering training in areas relevant to this assignment (e.g. business planning, marketing, financial management, etc.)   
• Previous experience with United Nations/INGO youth innovation and entrepreneurship program would be an advantage.
• Experience working with government counterparts, international organizations, etc. is an advantage

Language Requirements:

• Fluent in spoken and written English and Tetun.

SCOPE OF PRICE PROPOSAL AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS

Lump Sum Amount

The financial proposal must be expressed in the form of a lump sum all-inclusive cost linked to deliverables specified in TOR Section D, supported by a breakdown of costs as per the template provided.  If an Offeror is employed by an organization/company/institution, and he/she expects his/her employer to charge a management fee in the process of releasing him/her to UNDP under Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA), the Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 

RECOMMENDED PRESENTATION OF OFFER

Individual consultants interested in the assignment must submit the following documents to demonstrate their qualification:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP.
2. Personal CV or P11, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
3. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE BEST OFFER

Individual consultant will be evaluated based on the following methodology:

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight 70%

* Financial Criteria weight 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Technical Evaluation (70%)

Qualification, Experience and Competencies (70 marks):

Financial Evaluation (30%):

The following formula will be used to evaluate financial proposal:

p = y (µ/z), where

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

Annexes (click on the hyperlink to access the documents):

• Annex 1 - IC Contract Template (for information);

• Annex 2 -  Financial Proposal Template using the template provided by UNDP ;
• Annex 3 – IC General Terms and Conditions (for information);
• Annex 4 – RLA Template (if consultant wishes to be recruited through an employer) - (for information).

Incomplete applications will not be considered and will be disqualified automatically.