Consultancy - Youth-Led Market Assessment

Applications are accepted ONLY via this link on RecruiterBox:https://mercycorps69469.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0fvtl Program Summary: Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps is committed to generating positive opportunities for women, men, boys and girls from Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian communities, with a strong focus on engaging youth. Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping build secure, productive and just communities. We do this through: Addressing the humanitarian and protection needs resulting from crisis situations for the most vulnerable communities Enabling local communities, civil society and government to better prevent and respond to conflict, address needs and deliver sustainable development solutions Promoting economic growth and catalyzing economic opportunities for vulnerable, under-employed groups in Lebanon The Mercy Corps Lebanon team consists of over 180 staff working across five offices throughout Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, Tripoli and the Bekaa Valley. With the support of the Government of Canada, Mercy Corps is implementing the Youth for Tomorrow program in Saida, Mt. Lebanon, and Tripoli. This three-year program is part of a regional initiative by Mercy Corps, funded by the Government of Canada, in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to build improved, evidence-based provision of psychosocial support and market-driven skills to vulnerable youth in the region. The program will benefit from regional synergies to increase impact and will contribute to improving the evidence base for interventions of this type. The program will engage Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese adolescent boys and girls, between the ages of 12 – 18 who are not currently enrolled in school or are at high risk of dropping out. The program will also engage young adults between the ages of 19 – 35 from among refugee and host communities to act as mentors and facilitators within the project. Youth for Tomorrow will provide adolescents on-going psychosocial support and market-driven skill-building opportunities while building an enabling environment for young people through community engagement and provision of enhanced adolescent and youth services. Overview: Vulnerable adolescents often have limited access and awareness of safe and decent employment opportunities which can further hinder their ability to set long-term goals and meet their psychosocial needs. To better support young people to identify and access these opportunities Mercy Corps aims to provide additional guidance and support through conducting regular youth-led labour market assessments (YLMA) as part of the Youth for Tomorrow program. The YLMA will be conducted at the beginning of the program and subsequently in year 2 to identify specific gaps, needs, growth sectors and other information so that young people will have more complete knowledge of their local markets, skills required to engage with market actors and opportunities to connect with the private sector. MC will lead the process in year 1, and will develop the capacity of CBO partners to lead and manage the entire process  in year 2. The YLMA will be informed by a market mapping exercise, stakeholder mapping exercise and assessment of training providers and/or employment agencies. In addition to creating linkages with key stakeholders and market actors, the YLMA will provide youth with 1) stronger networks in the community, 2) an understanding of private sector, civil society and government actors that offer services transferable skills, where they can get support, and 3) labour market demands for skills needed in the market, both technical and transferable. Following the YLMA the youth will present findings to their Hubs integrating a “pay it forward” model. The results of the YLMA will also be shared with Vocational Training Providers (VTPs) and employment agencies openly to inform their services are demand driven and they will be invited to the Hubs for the youth presentations of the YLMA findings. Consultant’s Responsibilities: The Consultant will provide technical assistance to identify specific gaps, needs, growth sectors and other information to inform the YLMA and to support the roll-out of the YLMA across the local markets in the targeted 3 areas (Mt. Lebanon, Saida and Tripoli) for the  Youth for Tomorrow program, ensuring that:   In this regard, the consultant will support Mercy Corps staff in conducting a number of tasks, including: Desk review & scoping research to identify target markets (Market leaders, stakeholders & Vocational Training Provider (VTPs)) to focus youth-led market assessment Market mapping exercise to support identification of key markets/ sectors/ opportunities for the YLMA and future engagement of the program Stakeholder mapping to identify business owners, VTPs and services managed by other stakeholders (including public, private and civil society actors) to participate in YLMA and engagement in program implementation Participation in the YLMA Training of Trainers with Mercy Corps staff: Presentation about the labor market and current situation in the targeted areas Support and co-lead on certain critical sessions if needed Participation in preparation of training material for Youth to: Develop engaging and informative presentation on the labor market to support youth to understand the labor market they are trying to enter, gain first-hand exposure to the market or business environment and potential employers, understand the labour market opportunities that are safe, decent and appropriate Support youth to understand existing skills among the targeted populations is a useful first step in identifying the most likely business sectors of opportunity Support the design and implementation of the YLMA based on desk review and scoping research that will inform quality and impactful program design Review methodology, employer survey and key informant interview questions Develop a list of the appropriate sectors, businesses and stakeholders in Lebanon with safe and decent job opportunities for youth through desk research and follow-up youth-led market assessment Review data and coordinate with YLMA teams to ensure quality Manage analysis and develop the final youth led market assessment report. Present the final results with Youth for Tomorrow team for MC management, stakeholders, and partners Planning and Logistics: A maximum of 30 days, according to the following estimated breakdown of activities:  Activities Workdays Familiarization with the project (document review, meetings with team members, review of existing MC YLMA from the region, etc. 1 Desk review of secondary information, researches, reports assessments, etc… 3 Complete market and stakeholder mapping for the 3 governorates and synthesize findings into clear list of sectors, businesses and relevant stakeholders to be targeted in YLMA. Set up KII interviews schedule for each region. 9 (3 for each location) - TBC Conduct KII in the three regions with key stakeholders 3 (1 for each location) Participate in YLMA TOT 1 Participate in Youth Training 1 Attend post data debrief collection debrief in each region and conduct initial data analysis. Develop draft outline. 3 (1 for each location) Analyze YLMA data (business surveys, FGDs); consolidate and write up first draft report  7 Based on Mercy Corps team feedback, consolidate and write up the final youth led market assessment report 1 Presentation of the findings and recommendations to MC team 1   Reference materials: The Consultant will review the following materials related to this assignment (note this is indicative and others may be added): Program proposals and materials; Program, implementation plan; Program training materials; Program publications, brochures, booklets… etc. Profound Stress and Attunement overview Regional project YLMA final report and other supporting documents Labour Market Assessments conducted by other programs, donors or INGOs in the target areas, including Mercy Corps. Any other document necessary for the successful execution of the assignment as assigned by MC project team Deliverables: Inception report, detailing the findings from the desk review as well as the scoping of the assessment, including the selected sectors to be included in the assessments, the areas to be covered in each region, etc… Mapping of the selected businesses to be included in the assessment in each region as per the selected sectors Schedule of KII interviews. Preliminary outline of 1-2 page long short version of the report presenting a snapshot of main findings Final YLMA report Final YLMA “snapshot” document and PowerPoint presentation Qualifications: Post Graduate degree or equivalent in development studies, research methods, statistics, economics, social sciences, monitoring and evaluation, project management or other relevant field required. Demonstrated experience conducting assessments in similar environments. Experience with theoretical and practical background in research or MEL and knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methodologies and techniques required. Knowledge of major aspects of program development, implementation and documentation and excellent verbal and written communication skills required. Excellent quantitative skills and experience with Excel and statistical packages. Experience with data management including the ability to structure and collate data sets for ease of analysis. Demonstrated understanding of intermediate statistics and ability to summarize and make predictions from multiple data sets. Experience with mobile data collections tools. Experience conducting similar surveys in Lebanon. Excellent report writing skills. The consultant is subject to Mercy Corps’ Code of Conduct, any violation of this Code of Conduct will result in immediate termination of the contract. Supervision: The Consultant(s) will report to the Livelihoods Coordinator for Youth for Tomorrow  The Consultant(s) will work closely with:  Youth for Tomorrow Program Manager, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Advisor, Director of Programs, Program Performance and Quality Manager, MEL Coordinator, MEL Officer, MEL Assistant, Project Coordinators and Livelihood Officers.