Transferable Skills Curriculum Development Consultant

Project background:

The project “Promoting the Right to Education for All- Investing in a Community of Educated, Autonomous Citizens in South Lebanon” aims at broadening the prospects for vulnerable populations in three communities in South Lebanon through improved access to education (Improving the learning performances, enhancing the learning environment, engaging the local community in the promotion of education).

The project will benefit 800 children, youth, and caregivers from the most vulnerable populations in South Lebanon. Of these 800, 600 will be children (between the ages of 6 and 14), 100 youth (between 15 and 24 years old), and 100 adults (25 years and older), mainly caregivers of the children participating in the activities.

The 600 children, 400 children attend school and 200 do not attend school (They are taught Basic Literacy and Numeracy (BLN) to give them the basic tools to continue their education).

The youth will participate in project activities, especially Youth Basic Literacy Numeracy (YBLN), transferable skills training, psychosocial support, and community committees and initiatives as needed. These are usually young people who have difficulties finding work or educational opportunities. The adults are targeted through project activities, especially Adult Basic Literacy Numeracy (ABLN), transferable skills training, psychosocial support, and community committees and initiatives as needed. The target group is illiterate adults who have not gone to school or have dropped out of primary Education. They will mostly be from the refugee community and will usually be the caregivers of the students enrolled in the project activities.

The aim of the assignment is to adapt and develop a comprehensive transferable skills package, ensuring it is contextualized for the local labour market and aligned with the livelihood goals of Amel’s programs. focusing on recreational and vocational skills. Additionally, the consultant will be responsible for training professionals to effectively deliver this package.

The aim of this assignment: The livelihood goals include enhancing employment opportunities by equipping individuals with marketable skills, improving income generation through formal and self-employment avenues, and promoting economic self-sufficiency to reduce reliance on external assistance. The focus is on facilitating career advancement and increasing workforce readiness by developing both vocational and soft skills relevant to the local labor market.

The Consultant will:

1. Develop a comprehensive transferable skills package for learners above 15 years old, engaged in YBLN: Youth Basic Literacy and Numeracy, and ABLN: Adult Basic Literacy and Numeracy programs to cover 80 sessions/45 minutes each. And the content will be based on their needs:

• Conduct a comprehensive desk review of existing transferable skills tools used by Amel in education and livelihood programs.
• Synthesize these tools through a literature review and an assessment of lessons learned into a contextualized and tailored package that meets the transferable skills needs of the target community. The curriculum will focus on a community-based (CB) approach to ensure applicability across programs and as a cross-cutting activity, focusing on the local labor market and livelihood opportunities to ensure relevance.
• Collaborate with Amel’s Livelihood Program to align the transferable skills package with their curriculum and ensure close coordination throughout the design and implementation phases. Regular meetings with the Amel Livelihood Program, which has a more advanced vocational curriculum, will help maintain coherence, and complementarity, and prevent overlap. Completion of this course serves as a natural transition to Amel’s livelihoods provision, with the skills acquired through Youth and Adult BLN and the Transferable Skills Package forming the foundation for Amel’s more advanced vocational courses. Education staff will actively refer students to these courses when relevant. This collaboration ensures that the new curriculum integrates seamlessly with existing programs supports a smooth progression for participants improves the efficiency of referrals and maximizes the impact of both programs, leading to better overall outcomes.
• Conduct consultations with relevant stakeholders to gather recommendations and enrich the curriculum.
• Engage community members and different target groups (particularly host and refugee communities, women, and youth), taking into account any legal restrictions on certain groups (mainly non-Lebanese), in the curriculum development process. Focus on including both genders from various age groups to gather input and facilitate broader adoption of the curriculum. This participatory approach ensures that the package addresses their needs and remains practical.
• Produce a draft transferable skills package/ curriculum and share it with relevant stakeholders for review and recommendations.
• Develop a transferable skills session plan that can be used in preparing sessions by the trainers.
• Before implementing the drafted curriculum, conduct a training session to guide trainers and familiarize them with the evaluation tools.
• Implement the drafted curriculum, gather feedback, and use it to refine the final curriculum.
• Conduct a training session before the implementation of the drafted curriculum to guide the trainers and train them on how to use the evaluation tools.
• Develop evaluation tools to enable trainers, field coordinator, project coordinator, and learning development coordinator to assess the effectiveness of the implemented curriculum
• Develop the final transferable skills package, incorporating feedback and obtaining approval from relevant stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is suitably designed 
  
  2- Provide the necessary training to the team members:
• Develop a training package on the transferable skills package;

• Facilitate the training to the professionals/trainers;

Responsibilities, Tasks and Duties:

The Consultant will:

1. Develop a comprehensive transferable skills package for learners above 15 years old, engaged in YBLN: Youth Basic Literacy and Numeracy, and ABLN: Adult Basic Literacy and Numeracy programs to cover 80 sessions/45 minutes each. And the content will be based on their needs:

• Conduct a comprehensive desk review of existing transferable skills tools used by Amel in education and livelihood programs.
• Synthesize these tools through a literature review and an assessment of lessons learned into a contextualized and tailored package that meets the transferable skills needs of the target community. The curriculum will focus on a community-based (CB) approach to ensure applicability across programs and as a cross-cutting activity, focusing on the local labor market and livelihood opportunities to ensure relevance.
• Collaborate with Amel’s Livelihood Program to align the transferable skills package with their curriculum and ensure close coordination throughout the design and implementation phases. Regular meetings with the Amel Livelihood Program, which has a more advanced vocational curriculum, will help maintain coherence, and complementarity, and prevent overlap. Completion of this course serves as a natural transition to Amel’s livelihoods provision, with the skills acquired through Youth and Adult BLN and the Transferable Skills Package forming the foundation for Amel’s more advanced vocational courses. Education staff will actively refer students to these courses when relevant. This collaboration ensures that the new curriculum integrates seamlessly with existing programs supports a smooth progression for participants improves the efficiency of referrals and maximizes the impact of both programs, leading to better overall outcomes.
• Conduct consultations with relevant stakeholders to gather recommendations and enrich the curriculum.
• Engage community members and different target groups (particularly host and refugee communities, women, and youth), taking into account any legal restrictions on certain groups (mainly non-Lebanese), in the curriculum development process. Focus on including both genders from various age groups to gather input and facilitate broader adoption of the curriculum. This participatory approach ensures that the package addresses their needs and remains practical.
• Produce a draft transferable skills package/ curriculum and share it with relevant stakeholders for review and recommendations.
• Develop a transferable skills session plan that can be used in preparing sessions by the trainers.
• Before implementing the drafted curriculum, conduct a training session to guide trainers and familiarize them with the evaluation tools.
• Implement the drafted curriculum, gather feedback, and use it to refine the final curriculum.
• Conduct a training session before the implementation of the drafted curriculum to guide the trainers and train them on how to use the evaluation tools.
• Develop evaluation tools to enable trainers, field coordinator, project coordinator, and learning development coordinator to assess the effectiveness of the implemented curriculum.
• Develop the final transferable skills package, incorporating feedback and obtaining approval from relevant stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is suitably designed.

2. Provide the necessary training to the team members:

• Develop a training package on the transferable skills package;
• Facilitate the training to the professionals/trainers;

Deliverables and Work Plan:

Deliverable 1: Drafted curriculum, a template session plan, and evaluation tool for sessions’ effectiveness ( From Oct 1, 2024-Dec15, 2024 )

Deliverable 2: Refine the drafted curriculum based on the collected feedback ( From Dec16, 2024- Jan 30, 2025 )

Deliverable 3: Train the professionals/trainers; and relevant team members on the developed curriculum. ( From Feb1, 2025- March 31, 2025 ) 

Qualifications, Skills and Requirements: 

• A Master’s degree in Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• A Minimum of 2 years of experience in research and/or development of educational materials.
• Advanced English in reading, writing, and speech;
• Good knowledge of the educational context / the vocational institute in Lebanon will be an asset;
• Autonomy, creativity, pragmatism, and orientation towards results;
• Reliability: fulfilling obligations in a highly responsible manner;
• Self-control and maintaining composure;
• Cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural skills (religion, ethnicity, gender);
• Attention to details, proper information management;
• Tolerance and adaptability.

Salary :  4000 USD (lump sum divided into two payments; the first payment would be 2000$ after submitting the first draft of the transferable package/ curriculum, and the last payment 2000$  after submitting the final version and finishing all the required deliverables including the training and the reporting.

Location :

• Amel Association International HeadQuarters, Mussaitbeh, Beirut
• Visits to the centers (Haret Hreik and Bazourieh) when needed