UNDP Jobs - 72604- Individual Consultant - Project Manager

Individual Consultant - Project Manager - Apprenticeship - (Open to Indian Nationals Only)

Location :

Mumbai, Maharashtra, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

19-Jun-2017

Application Deadline :

08-Jun-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six months – (maximum of 22 days in a month)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Extendable

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

India presently faces a dual challenge of a severe paucity of trained, quality labour, as well as non- employability of large sections of the educated workforce that possess little or no job skills. The National Skill Development Policy (2015) of the Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) indicates that on the demand side, there is an additional net requirement of 11.92 crore skilled manpower in twenty-four key sectors by 2022.

India has less than 3 lakh youths undergoing apprenticeship training at present, though the Apprenticeship Training Scheme has been functional since 1959 on a voluntary basis. On the other hand, countries like Germany, Japan and China to cite a few examples have 30, 100 and 200 lakh apprentices that aptly demonstrate the superior skills profile of these nations. Challenges that hamper the growth of Apprentices in India include lack of awareness among the target audience regarding apprenticeship opportunities available, inadequate participation from the MSME sector, poor state machinery to deal with the subject and lack of incentives for participation of women and Persons with Disabilities to avail apprenticeship opportunities.

In December 2014, the Government of India made significant amendments to the Apprentices Act, 1961 with the view to creating an enabling environment conducive for the active participation of the private sector in particular the small scale industries. The Apprentices (Amendment) Act 2014, was introduced with revised provisions that allow for a greater allocation of financial resources towards support for basic training, better stipend coverage, flexibility to pool resources of smaller units in a cluster and softening the terms of punitive action among others. These changes are expected to improve the quality and the uptake of apprenticeship in the country that has remained largely stagnant over the previous decades. In 2008-09, only 215,000 persons have undergone apprenticeship training against a seating capacity of 320,000. At present, only 220000 lakhs persons are reported to be enrolled in apprenticeship training against the seating capacity of 395000 lakhs. In view of these challenges and recognizing the importance of Apprenticeship Training, the Cabinet approved a new scheme: “National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme” (NAPS) in August 2016. UNDP has partnered with the MSDE for the implementation of the NAPS, to enlarge the outreach and uptake of the apprenticeship program across 11 states in India. The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme is aimed at supporting the MSDE’s strategy for scaling up the Apprenticeship opportunities in the country by strengthening State mechanisms and RDATs and meeting the aforesaid challenges.

It is now widely recognized that apprenticeships have a positive impact not only on the level of skills and work-readiness of the apprentice but also on the business productivity, among other things. Such a scheme could hold potential in reducing youth unemployment, improve the transition from school-to- job and careers, upgrade skills, raise wages of young adults, strengthen a young worker’s identity, increase productivity, achieve positive returns for employers and workers, and reduce government spending. Thus, apprenticeship promotion among youth, is becoming one of the focus areas of UNDP’s engagement with the Government of Maharashtra.

Since apprenticeships are the best way to provide more opportunities for women and youth to be skilled and placed in jobs that correspond to their needs and aspirations, UNDP has committed its own financial resources to directly complement the work done under the project “Strengthening Apprenticeship Ecosystem in Maharashtra”.

UNDP’s approach to support the Government of Maharashtra in its effort to promote the uptake of apprenticeships in the state following the launch of National Apprenticeships Promotion Scheme in August 2016 will be organized around three major strands of interventions:

Developing a communication and outreach strategy aimed at employers and potential apprentices
Institutional strengthening of the State Implementation Machinery to upscale the implementation of NAPS
Review of the Policy/legal/administrative arrangements

In order to support Government of Karnataka in its implementation of the NAPS, as part of the state mandate, UNDP proposes to set up a Project Management Unit (PMU), in consultation with the state government. The PMU will be established to support operationalizing the Government’s agenda on the NAPS programme, and will receive operational guidance from the State Apprenticeship Advisor. The consultant will be responsible for all preparatory interventions alongside the UNDP team, to provide human resource and operational support to the UNDP team to set up the PMU and the apprenticeship apparatus in the state. The consultant will be reporting to the Apprenticeship Promotion Expert, UNDP, CO and working closely with the DISHA state team in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance and direct supervision Apprenticeship Promotion Expert, UNDP India, and in close co-ordination with the state team the consultant will be responsible for:

Setting up the State Project Management Unit to support the Deputy State Apprenticeship Advisor, to ensure the strengthening the State’s capacity to upscale the NAPS in the state;
Coordination with MSMEs, industry clusters; business and cluster associations, training provides, third party aggregators and other stakeholders in the State to create a buy-in for NAPS;
Identify and analyze challenges and opportunities faced by each stakeholder, present workable solutions along with the government to resolve the challenges;
Establish strong linkages with other skill development training mentioned in the NAPS including ITI s, PMKVY, MES to ensure enrollment in the programme is broadened as envisaged in the scheme, introducing new industry led courses where necessary;
Create an annual work plan in agreement with the State and UNDP clearly detailing the mechanism on the support required by the State unit in matching the right employer training with the prospective candidates; assistance to both employers and candidates register on the NAPS website and issuance of the apprenticeship contracts as per the guidelines notified by the Government;
Identify growing subsectors within the services industry to map employers or clusters that could be interested in providing apprenticeships particularly with a focus on women;
Identify clusters in the state, reach agreement on cluster specific private sector/employer engagement strategies working closely with associations and Apprenticeship Promotion Expert;
Create local industry linkages for apprenticeship placements ensuring there are enough employers offering apprenticeships, supporting them in putting in place soft and hard infrastructure for training and mentoring at the work place;
Draw up communication strategies for reaching out to the possible employers clusters among the identified industry segments to improve uptake, clearly articulating the strategic benefits of apprenticeships to the business; strong advocacy with prospective employers to troubleshoot concerns on uptake if any;
Conduct field studies and organize road shows and high-engagement workshops for clusters and sector specific associations dominant in the State, for creating awareness about NAPS among the cluster members and wider dissemination of best implementation practices;
Develop a mechanism to reach out to the targeted audiences for awareness and exchange information and promote dialogue with schools/institutions to enhance local awareness about the scheme using forums like DISHA chat, print, radio, mobile platforms etc;
Formulate an outreach strategy for prospective students; designing content, suitable instruments and innovative medium detailing out the entire communication pack to increase the enrollment of students, with appropriate approvals from the State and UNDP;
Ensure the communication campaign at the State level is closely aligned with MSDE’s national campaigns on NAPS;
Establish a help line for the students as they enroll for the ITI course with information and counseling on prospective job opportunities post training, with a focus on women to enroll in non- traditional sectors; develop content with information on career prospects for the ITI websites;
Assist in designing appropriate communication modules, knowledge products and information briefs;
Putting together systems in place to assist the State machinery in ensuring the quality of training and placements are to the desirable standards;
Closely work with champion employers and successful apprentices in the state to gather factual evidence on the factors crucial for ‘ease of business or implementation’;
Regular coordination with national team and other team members in UNDP for regular reporting progress of the project share lessons and experiences;
Develop innovative mechanisms for enhanced opportunities for women, SC/ ST and PwDs by bridging the information and awareness gap that exists amongst the under-privileged sections;
Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual reports on implementation progress and be responsible for project financial management and reporting, agreeing the annual work plan and formats for MIS with the state and UNDP during the inception phase;
Set up project Steering Committee at the State level and ensure periodic project review and reporting;
Support the state in setting up a robust monitoring and reporting system to ensure quality of training and timely delivery and uptake of the programme;
Other duties as assigned by the Apprenticeship Promotion Expert, UNDP.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Overall understanding of Apprenticeship training, Skill development, Entrepreneurship related issues is essential;
Good Knowledge about the Apprentices (Amendment) Act 2014, National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and the mission and the functioning of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will be an added advantage;
Exposure to working with the Central/State Government is essential;
Ability to work with minimal supervision is important;
Strong ability to establish, build and maintain effective working relationships with project staff and clients to facilitate the provision of required support.
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, experience in handling of web based management systems is desirable.

Communication skills

Sound communication, interpersonal skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.
Excellent analytical, interviewing and writing skills.

Core Competencies:

Demonstrates/safeguards ethics and integrity
Works as a team member
Ability to work independently and under pressure
Travel extensively

Required Skills and Experience

Academic:

Post-graduate Degree or equivalent in Business Management, Economics, Social Sciences, Development Studies or in related fields from a reputed university.

Experience:

A minimum of 7 to10 years of experience of which five years were at a senior level of responsibility in relationship building, conducting research studies/preparing training modules/assessing labour markets and managing projects at the state or national level. Significant experience in the area of skill development, enterprise development, livelihood and labour policies is essential.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and Hindi (or language of the duty station) is essential;
Knowledge of regional language(s) where project plans to be operated will be an asset.

Selection Criteria:

The consultant would be selected based on the following criteria:

Technical Expertise: 70 points
Financial quotation: 30 points

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

Criteria for Technical Evaluation would be as under:

Short Technical Proposal with project strategy, components, methodology to implement National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme in the state (not more than 5 pages) - 30 Marks
Minimum seven years of demonstrable project management experience in managing large multi-stakeholder projects at the state and national level with large budgets – 10 Marks
Experience of working with the government and or international agencies/multilaterals - 10 Marks
Masters degree in management, economics, development studies from reputed national or international universities - 10 Marks
Knowledge of the skilling sector will be strongly preferred - 10 Marks.

Payment Terms:

Payment will be made for the actual number of days worked in a month (maximum of 22 days in a month) based on submission of invoice and attendance sheet signed by Apprenticeship Promotion Expert, UNDP, New Delhi.

(Kindly note: Only outstation travel with prior approval, boarding & lodging expense will be reimbursed as per actuals in line with UNDP rules.)

Reporting requirements:

The Project Manager will report to the Apprenticeship Promotion Expert, UNDP, New Delhi.

Documents to be submitted by Consultants:

A technical proposal with project strategy, components, methodology to implement National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme in the state (not more than 5 pages) - there is no standard template for this;
Offerors Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual Contractor Assignment. Kindly quote your lump sum consultancy fee only. The payment shall be made based on specific deliverables of the assignment. (Kindly note: prior approved travel, boarding & lodging expense will be reimbursed as per actuals in line with UNDP rules. Please do not include these in your lumpsum consultancy fee);
Completed and signed P-11 form for ICs.

Forms / templates can be downloaded from:

http://www.in.undp.org/content/india/en/home/operations/careers/

Note:

1. Any kind of miscellaneous charges i.e. internet, phone, relocation charges etc. would not be reimbursed;

2. Travel, lodging and boarding as per UNDP rules subject to prior approval;

3. Individuals working with institutions may also apply, contract would be issued in the name of institution for the specific services of individual;

4. Please note proposals without financial proposal will not be considered.

Important Note: Please ensure all the documents to be uploaded should be clubbed in one PDF file for uploading, as the system has provision for uploading only one file.

For any clarification please write to: manikandan.srinivasan@undp.org.