UNDP Jobs - 89641- Technical Specialist – Vocational Education and La

Technical Specialist – Vocational Education and Labour Market

Location :

Home based consultancy with up to two missions to Tbilisi and Sukhumi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

30-Jan-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

up to 30 working days including up to 15 travel days for two missions

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

Within the framework of EU-UN Joint Programme on Improving Vocational Education in Abkhazia and in line with the specific objective on assessing the ways to improve the management and delivery of VET, the Programme seeks an experienced international consultant for carrying-out Comprehensive Labour Market Demand Survey.

The aim of the assignment is to carry out a comprehensive survey of the labour market demand in Abkhazia to see if there are gaps and challenges in interlinkages across the private and public sectors as well as to identify the extent of mismatch between the demand and supply. The survey will show whether there is demand of workers with certain skills and competences the education sector is not producing or vice-versa. Findings of the survey will help the programme to map the growing or declining demand for respective skills and professions on the local labour market for current and future need.

The programme promotes integrated, comprehensive and sustainable solutions that ensure greater coherence and stronger impact by mapping the concrete needs in the VET sector and the labour market in Abkhazia. The programme aims at identifying the gaps and challenges and their interlinkages across sectors and establishing comprehensive responses by three UN agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Duties and Responsibilities

The international technical specialist is supposed to:

Carry out a comprehensive survey of the labour market demand in Abkhazia to see if there are gaps and challenges in interlinkages across the private and public sectors as well as to identify the extent of mismatch between the demand and supply and to development of set of recommendations on how to cover the needs and fill-in the gaps in short and long-term perspectives and how to build links and achieve milestones with the VET sector
Conduct a follow-up assessment to identify the progress of the suggested set of recommendations from the Institutional Assessment (by the end of year 2020 or beginning of 2021)

The exercise shall be carried out with involvement of international technical specialist in the capacity to provide the overall oversee of the survey process while the fieldwork will be done by the local partner organization. Findings of the survey will help the programme to map the growing or declining demand for respective skills and professions on the local labor market for current and future need.

Comprehensive Survey of the Labor Market demand:

To carry out a comprehensive Survey of the Labor Market demand in Abkhazia by:

Identifying the gaps and challenges in the interlinkages across private and public sectors;

Identifying the extent of mismatch between the demand and supply within the local labor marker. This should show whether there is demand of workers with certain skills and competencies the VET education sector is not producing and vice-versa;
Assess the availability of resources to fill-in the identified gaps in labor market development and cover the needs and accessibility of the VET education, taking into consideration geographical balance;
Development of set of recommendations on how to cover the needs and fill-in the gaps in short and long-term perspectives and how to build links and achieve milestones with the VET sector.

The fieldwork will be done by the local partner organization, while the international technical specialist should provide the overall oversee of the survey process.

Follow-up assessment to identify the status of progress:

The follow-up assessment should analyze the progress of the project activities in improving vocational education in Abkhazia;
Identify whether the progress of respective component of the intervention responds to the suggested set of recommendations, and needs;
The follow-up assessment to be done during intensive phase by the end of second year or beginning of third year of the programme implementation.

Arrangements:

The Consultant will work under overall guidance of CPR Team Leader at UNDP and under direct supervision of the Project Manager and in close coordination with the VET project team. UNDP will support with local transportation and arrangement of meetings in Sukhumi and target districts.

Missions: The Consultant is expected to complete assigned deliverables through traveling to Tbilisi and Abkhazia - up to 2 missions (with up to 15 travel days) within the period of the assignment.

Total number of working days: In total, up to 30 w/days for the duration of March 2020 – February 2021, out of which up to 15 w/days are envisaged as travel days during the mission to Tbilisi and Abkhazia and up to 15 w/days are envisaged for home-based work prior and after the mission trips to Tbilisi and Abkhazia

Deliverables and timeframe:

Consultation with UNDP staff in Tbilisi and Sukhumi; briefing the expert on current state of affairs for better understanding of the context as well as estimated outputs he/she is expected to produce; reading and analysing the prodoc as well as assessments and strategic papers, prepared under other related projects: 4 w/days (home-based)
Preparatory works for the Labour Market Demand Survey, including the survey design (inception report) as well as coordination with local partner organization: 4 w/days (home-based)
Field visit to Abkhazia to carry out labour market demand survey (pending on clearance of access to Abkhazia): 8 work/travel days
Logistical support to travel to Abkhazia and transportation within Abkhazia will be provided by UNDP; Drafting and finalization of the labour market demand survey: 5 w/days (home-based)
Visit to Abkhazia with stop-over in Tbilisi for follow-up assessment of progress of recommendations; (pending clearance of access to Abkhazia): 7 work/travel days (including 2 travel days for stopover in Tbilisi + trip to Sukhumi)
Drafting and finalization of the report on progress of previously set recommendations: 2 w/days (home-based)

Accordingly, the financial proposal should be submitted for up to 30 days of fee-paid expert work. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well.

Payment Modality:

The consultant shall be paid lump sum in installments (according to deliverables stated in ToRs) after the satisfactory completion of each task as certified by UNDP.

Upon receipt of Labor Market Demand Survey report: 60% of total consultancy fee
Upon receipt of follow-up visit summary report: 40% of total consultancy fee

Travel costs will be paid per conducted mission and deliverable as specified above. Additional travel related costs will be paid by the UNDP projects.

Competencies

Core competencies

Display cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Self-development, initiative-taking;
Ability to manage conflicts at workplace and with partners/stakeholders;
Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others;
Informed and transparent decision making

Functional competencies

Excellent drafting skills and ability to collect field data;
Strong analytical and quantitative and qualitative research skills;
Ability to prepare and follow a delivery schedule;
Ability to follow standard safety procedures and regulations;
Willingness, enthusiasm and ability to meet the assigned task within time

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Master’s degree in Management, Business Administration or other relevant areas in Social Sciences. Bachelor’s Degree may be accepted provided that the applicant can demonstrate at least 7 years of relevant work experience (minimum requirement: Master's degree - 5 poitns, PhD - additional 3 points).

Experience

At least 4 years of relevant experience in a governmental or multilateral organization in a multi-cultural setting in the field of education, business planning, entrepreneurship or strategic planning (minimum requirement: 14 points);
Demonstrable managerial and team building capacities (minimum requirement: one relevant experience - 9 points, more than one - additional 5 points);
Working experience in the UN system will be an asset;
Working experience in the post-conflict set-up will be an asset.

Language Requirements:

English – professional/fluent oral and writing skills in English.
Russian-oral skills in Russian will be an asset.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on Cumulative scoring analysis, against combination of technical and financial criteria. Technical evaluation stage encompasses desk review of offers and interviews. Offerors not meeting any of minimum technical qualification requirements will be automatically excluded from the list of offerors for further technical evaluation. In addition, offerors not meeting Language requirements will as well be disqualified. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which the total score for technical criteria (desk review and interview) equals to 70 points (70%) and for financial criteria 30 (30%). Offerors who meet language requirements and pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores as a result of desk review (i.e. 40 x 70% = 28 points) will be considered as short-listed Offerors, and will be invited to the interview. Those offerors passing 70% threshold of maximum obtainable scores as a result of the interview, i.e. obtain minimum 21 points will be shortlisted and requested to provide financial proposal.

Financial proposal:

Short-listed Offerors will be requested to provide financial proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount (with indication of specific sub-components of the payment, including daily fee, travel costs, living allowance etc.), and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include a breakdown of all cost components required to perform the deliverables identified in TOR.