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Negotiation ID: UNDP-HQ-00093

Applications received out of the system WOULD NOT BE considered.

Background

Since 2011, the Syrian Civil War has forced millions of people to seek refuge in neighboring countries. Amongst the states bordering Syria, Turkey has experienced the largest influx of refugees, with over 3.7 million Syrians living in the country. The large influx of refugees has created significant demands for employment in host countries. Turkey provides an enabling legal environment for refugee employment. Turkey adopted the Regulation on Work Permit for Foreigners under Temporary Protection in 2016 and extended to refugees under international protection afterwards. However, due to the lack of employment opportunities, current economic outlook and skills mismatch, refugees struggle to find employment opportunities in Turkey. Lack of employment opportunities increase the tension between host community members and refugees and further increase the vulnerability of refugees.

The outbreak of COVID-19 further increased the vulnerability of host community members and refugees. The lockdowns, temporary shutdowns and suspension of business activities significantly affected the economy. Vulnerable groups are the first to experience the negative effects of the pandemic which further limits their access to livelihoods and employment opportunities.

Entrepreneurship plays a critical role in addressing such challenges, accelerating economic growth and provide income generation activities for underserved populations in any country and region around the globe. Refugee entrepreneurship plays a crucial role to provide sustainable livelihoods opportunities and self-resilience for refugees while contributing to social cohesion. To cope with the lack of employment opportunities, Syrians in Turkey have turned towards entrepreneurship. Turkey provides an enabling environment for refugee entrepreneurship along with support programmes by public institutions, (I)NGOs, UN organizations, and other stakeholders. As of December 2019, for example, businesses established by Syrians exceeded 10,000 in Turkey. 

Refugee entrepreneurship programmes showed an increasing trend in the latest years. While related programmes started to increase with the civil war in Syria, programmatic activities reached to a recognizable peak in 2016. ILO and UNDP have been working on enhancing entrepreneurial capacity for refugees and affected host community members. In this regard, both organizations conducted various programmes and supported sustainable livelihoods for refugees and host community members, and now the two organizations have teamed up to conduct a joint study on "Research on Refugee Entrepreneurship: Good Practices and Policy Recommendations from Türkiye's Experiences".

Overall objective of the consultancy is to conduct a research study with a structured methodology to identify
a) good practices on refugee and host community entrepreneurship;
b) key factors, interventions and policies in the operational environment that hinder and/or facilitate entrepreneurship among refugees and host communities that engage in entrepreneurial activity for target populations in refugee contexts;
c) strategic approaches to successful program examples, including the approaches employed or abandoned over time to promote the ecosystem; and,
d) prepare policy recommendations for the governments and the UN agencies to support the creation of facilitators in third countries with similar contexts based on Turkiye’s experiences.

The report will present and analyse the achievements of refugees and host community businesses in Türkiye and identify lessons learned from the Türkiye’s experience in refugee entrepreneurship. Besides the study will support creation of enablers for refugee and host community entrepreneurship in other countries with similar context. The report will provide policy and programmatic recommendations based on the lessons learned from Türkiye’s experience related to refugee entrepreneurship

Under the supervision of the Technical Specialist, the consultant is responsible for the following tasks:

• Collect and study relevant background documents;
• Develop and finalize a research methodology;
• Develop and finalize a case selection methodology and ranking system to select the cases;
• Conduct a literature review of existing work around the issue of refugee entrepreneurship in Turkiye
  • Map out existing research, tools, and resources that indicate current situation, including the most promising sectors for refugee entrepreneurship in Turkiye and the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Türkiye;
  • Map out policy interventions of public organizations (i) incentives that leverage or practices that discourage refugee entrepreneurship and (ii) incentives provided for certain sectors for refugee entrepreneurship;
  • Map out interventions of ILO and UNDP as well as of other organizations and public private partnership practices conducted to advance refugee entrepreneurship in Turkiye;
  • Map out and create a pool of good practices and case studies on refugee entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills development of refugees in Turkiye; key factors, interventions and policies in the operational environment that hinder and/or facilitate entrepreneurship and their strategic approaches
• Collect and analyse relevant data (statistics, figures, etc.)
• Interact with identified refugees and host community businesses and stakeholders to obtain necessary input;
• Develop a comprehensive report in English including case studies, good practices, recommendations for private and public sector, local authorities and civil society organizations;
• Ensure better interpretation of the findings, data visualization is important;
• The consultant shall consider comments of UNDP/ILO to the draft report. If needed, UNDP/ILO has the right to comment on the second draft report and expect that the consultant incorporates the comments in the final version.
• Discuss with the Technical Specialist to have the best understanding of report requirements; 
• Prepare and submit the first draft of the report at the validation meeting with the participation of the relevant stakeholders and constituents for presentation and discussion of the initial result of the Study.
• Review the draft based on comments/feedback from the validation meeting.
• Submit a final report, including proper layout and formatting as per UNDP and ILO standards, to the UNDP Technical Specialist

Corporate Competencies

• Commitment to UNDP mission, vision and values;
• Sensitivity to cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age differences.

Functional Competencies

• Strong communication skills, including writing, speaking, non-verbal and visual communications;
• Strong analytical skills, including ability to produce high quality reports and knowledge products with a focus on entrepreneurship, digital transformation and skills development;
• Experience in entrepreneurship programmes;
• Strategic sense for understanding multiple audiences;
• Experience in knowledge management and global development issues;
• Familiarity and experience of UN Agencies;
• Ability to function in a diverse, multicultural team environment;
• Flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit to deliver outputs under sometimes tight deadlines.

Behavioural Competencies

• Productive and efficient worker, highly motivated;
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks;
• Performance-oriented and focused on results;
• Persistence and willingness to follow through;
• Strong interpersonal skills and flexibility;
• Ability to take instructions and to learn on the job;
• Curiosity and desire to work a complex, international environment.

Academic Qualifications/Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations, Economics/Management, Development Studies, or related field. Master’s degree will be an added value.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of experience experience in international development, including private sector development or private-public sector programmes and entrepreneurship related work.

• Experience in writing research papers/development reports with ability in editing and writing in English is required;
• Track record of research on the private sector’s role in development, preferably in human capital development, skills development, employment, entrepreneurship, refugee entrepreneurship, and impact is an asset.
• Experience in working with international organizations is an asset.

Language skills:

• Excellent written and verbal skills in English and Turkish.
• Working knowledge of Arabic is an asset