Consultant (m/f)

Young Africa is recruiting a Consultant (m/f) for conducting a baseline and market needs for the Youth Power for Peace and Prosperity Project, to be based in Maputo, Mozambique.

Description

• Consultancy Terms of Reference: Conducting a baseline and market needs for the Youth Power for Peace and Prosperity Project
• Young people in Southern Africa face numerous challenges in their daily lives. The most common of these challenges being unemployment, associated with, among other factors, lack of job skills and/or employment opportunities, poverty, forced school dropouts - as their caregivers may not afford to pay school fees. According to 2014/2015 IOF Survey , Sofala and Manica rank 6th and 9th respectively, in terms of poverty calculated based on consumption. The low education levels are a major hindrance to employment and productivity, especially of the youth population, while the fast-growing population (estimated to be 2.8%) is pushing unemployment rates higher, in particular for the growing youth bulge. Youth unemployment is at 30% and 64% of the workforce is self-employed. This is more pronounced in Sofala and Manica Province where youths are engaged in low-quality jobs. Youths tend to be very vulnerable to (minor) shocks, and therefore the employment situation of the majority of youth and women in the two Provinces is particularly fragile and volatile . Reports have shown that the natural, economic and social crises in the past years did not only increase poverty levels and social insecurity, but also instability and violence. The poor living conditions that emerge from these situations are known to have impacted the psycho-social distress of youth in Mozambique . Socio economic grievances, political ideological differences have also contributed to local drivers of insurgency of violence among youth in Manica and Sofala provinces . Where unemployment, social exclusion, lack of access to basic services have been key drivers of youth violence. Protracted unemployment and lack of opportunities for youth has further exacerbated youth disenfranchisement which has led to social unrest and political instability. Young Africa (YA) International is implementing a 18-month pilot project (November 2019-May 2021) titled, “Youth Power for Peace and Prosperity (YP3)” in Mozambique ,Sofala and Manica Provinces. The project seeks to socio-economically empower at least 706 young people who are survivors of disaster and conflict, rural adolescent girls and young women, rural adolescent boys and young men and youth with disability facing intersectional socio economic vulnerabilities
• Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET), integrated with Entrepreneurship and life skills education (integral TVET) together with transformational leadership and citizenship will be core in this project. The project will be implemented in three TVET centres, YA Beira Centre, YA Dondo Centre, and IAC Manica Centre, where integral TVET, citizenship, transformational leadership and social mobilization for youths action on issues that affect them will be key. The Project is being implemented by Young Africa International as the lead organization, Foundation for Community Development and Young Africa Mozambique being implementation partners, as a consortium. The project is part of the Instrument contributing to Peace and Stability (IcSP), which is funded by the European Union under the Foreign Policy Investment (FPI)
• The action is designed to foster the protection of the rights of vulnerable youths in line with the global objective of the, (Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace - IcSP) which is supporting CSOs in the peace and security agenda. Being consistent with the aims of Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP), the project is strategically hinged on recognizing youth’s essential role in peace building processes, while being active citizens who are economically empowered to contribute to economic activities of their local economies in two Provinces (Sofala and Manica) of Mozambique. This action is funded by the European Union (EU) under its Foreign Policy Investment (FPI), in Nairobi Kenya

Project Summary

• The overall objective of the project is to contribute towards 706 economically active youth with active citizenship and leadership capacity to participate in peacebuilding and stability actions in their communities
• It is envisaged that through the action, the following outcomes will be achieved:

Project Outcomes

• Outcome 1: Enhanced youth employability potential and income earning capacity for 706 youths in two Provinces of Sofala (Dondo, Beira, Gorongosa) and Manica (Vanduzi, Chimoio, Sussundega).
• It is expected that 706 youths will have increased entrepreneurship and employability skills while strong linkages with the labour market are enforced throughout the process
• Outcome 2: Youths are empowered to make positive life choices while being active citizens who participate in the local processes (economic development, governance and peace building). The project will build 706 young people’s advocacy capacity to foster active citizenship while it amplifies their voices on issues that pertain to their development within their local communities and at national level

Outputs under the project outcomes

Outcome 1

• # of beneficiaries receiving TVET and entrepreneurship training
• % & # of young people who have completed training in integral TVET
• # of young people enrolled for TVET disaggregated by gender and course and location

Outcome 2

• % of young people who actively participate in advocacy to foster active citizenship while amplifying their voices on issues that pertain to their lives
• # of functional platforms established which foster collective action for social action and participation in peace building, stability and transformational leadership
• # of youths who demonstrate knowledge on Human rights, peace building and transformational leadership
• # of young people trained in advocacy to foster active citizenship
• # of youths who received psycho-social support

Purpose and Scope of the baseline study and market survey

• The purpose of the baseline for the Youth Power for Peace and Prosperity project is to provide an information base against which the project’s progress and effectiveness can be assessed and monitored during the project and after its completion. It’s a study of the current situation of the indicators at both output and outcome level, developed in each project area of the project’s implementation and will be composed of both qualitative and quantitative information

Objective of the baseline and market study

• This assignment will serve two components i.e the market study and baseline survey (that will give an understanding of the pre-intervention scenario)

Centre Based training

Baseline study

• To provide a base measurement (quantitative and qualitative) of the beneficiary status with reference to the results matrix of the project
• Assess knowledge and participation levels to Human Rights linked with Peace building, citizenship and transformational leadership for project beneficiaries
• Identify existing interventions that the project can leverage on to increase its efficiency, effectiveness and impact
• Recommend changes if any to the indicators, project design and or activities
• Ascertain extend of damage of the Cyclone Idai on YA Mozambique centres equipment, whilst providing recommendations on equipment for re-tooling the centres

Market study

• To provide an overview of current labour market trends and snapshots of businesses’ opinions on training and strategic skill needs as well as an overall assessment of economic, social and technical drivers of market growth
• To find out the relevance of skills training courses currently offered at Young Africa centres to market needs and job opportunities

Duties

Scope of the Market and baseline study

• The consultant will:
• Find out skill gaps in the market uncovered by Young Africa’s skills centres in Beira, Dondo and Manica in Mozambique, this should be classified into: a. Specific type of jobs available and locations. b. Level and kind of skills required, including attention to aspects of gender and location to inform any curriculum changes necessary to ensure that the training offered speaks to the job markets
• Visit and hold discussions with private employers to find out their attitude towards provision of internships, and recommend ways to create stronger linkages between employers and TVET graduates
• Establish knowledge levels on Human Rights, Citizenship and Peace building amongst project beneficiaries, status and perception of peace building and challenges or barriers faced by targeted beneficiaries
• Find out on the income and resiliency levels of project beneficiaries
• Make recommendations for the project; to inform project design, targeting, monitoring and evaluation and especially how to strengthen relevance of TVET to local job markets as well as how to strengthen employability opportunities for graduates

Methodology

• As mentioned above, the undertaking of the study will be done in three centres to align with the design of the project. The study will target beneficiaries enrolled for the centre-based training in in Beira, Dondo and Manica (IAC) (Mozambique). The approach should take into account the following aspects
• That the assignment is supposed to serve two purposes i.e the market survey and baseline study and the approach is slightly different for both purposes in the two phases
• The assignment is supposed to measure the extent of damage to tools and equipment for YA Centre workshops while providing recommendations in terms of priority for re-tooling
• The project is addressing two thematic areas i.e economic empowerment and citizenship and participation outcomes (as explained in the project summary) and as such, this should be explicitly articulated in the approach, at the same time showing the nexus between the two
• A longitudinal data collection approach that the project will use for the 18 months as well as a progress baseline strategy which will target beneficiaries enrolled in the programme as well market survey which will inform the courses to be offered
• Guided by the outline provided in 3.1, the consultant is expected to outline in detail the proposed methodology that will be applied in collecting data for the particular purpose (baseline and market study) as well as the different themes (economic empowerment and citizenship and participation outcomes)

Deliverables

• The following deliverables are expected:
• Baseline and market study reports (this should be two separate reports but speaking to each other). Market study report should clearly show the courses that can be trained for, equipment required and detailed budget to set up
• Summarized power-point of baseline evaluation and market research findings
• Baseline and market study datasets and analysis in accessible format
• Presentation of baseline and market survey findings to key project personnel and stakeholders

Estimated timetable

• The baseline and market needs survey should be concluded in 40 days cumulatively with each phase being covered in 20 days including travel dates. Below is tentative timetable
• Work Plan breakdown Structure, # of days, timelines and Notes
• Advertisement of Expression of Interest 5 August July 2020
• Selection and Engagement of Consultant By 12 August 2020

Phase 1

• Inception and Planning meeting – ½ – 13 August 2020 – This will include planning for both baseline and market study
• Production of Inception report – 1 – ½ – 14-15 August 2020
• Designing of data collection tools, review and finalisation of tools – 4 – 17-20 August 2020 – This is inclusive of tools for both baseline and market study
• Training of Enumerators – 2 – 21-22 August 2020
• Data collection in Beira, Dondo and Manica – 9 – 24 August -2 September 2020
• Data Analysis and report writing for the market study and Baseline study  – 7 – 2-9 September 2020
• Presentation of baseline and market survey findings – 1 – 10 September 2020
• Produce draft report, review and finalisation of report – 5 – 10-15 September 2020
• Total – 30
• Take note that data collection dates include travel dates

Requisites

• Post-graduate degree in Social Sciences, Business, Economics, Statistics or related field
• Minimum of 10 years relevant professional experience in research and labour market studies
• Strong background and experience in data collection and analysis
• Technical expertise in assessing issues of labour market demand and supply in Mozambique, and the ability to draw strong and valid conclusions
• Strong knowledge of TVET programs is essential
• Fluent in Portuguese and English
• Excellent communication and report writing skills
• Have vast experience in working in Mozambique with adequate understanding of the Mozambique working landscape

Notes

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted
• Indicate the source of this job post: emprego.co.mz

How to Apply

1. Documentation

• Candidates interested in the position are expected to provide the following documentation:
• A technical proposal with detailed response to the TOR, with specific focus on the understanding of the ToR and scope of work, methodology to be used and key selection criteria for respondents
• Initial work plan based on methodology outlined, with estimated costs and indication of availability
• Company profile and CV of key personnel involved in the study
• 3 references

2. Application

• Send your Documentation to YP3baseline@youngafrica.org with the Subject line “Consultant”