Consultancy - Labor Market Assessment

Background:   Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. The agency pursues its mission through emergency relief services, sustainable community development, civil society and economic development initiatives. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya.   Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has implemented community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they emerged in the country.  In 2012, the program portfolio shifted in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria and Mercy Corps in Lebanon has solidified its emergency response programming while integrating longer-term development programming by focusing on key sectors: Protection, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Governance and Conflict, and Livelihoods.    Purpose / Project Description:   With funding from Netherlands MoFA, Mercy Corps is launching a three-year program designed to reduce inter-communal tensions between refugees and host communities by alleviating competition over livelihoods. The program Fostering Resilience by Strengthening Abilities (FORSA) will focus on expanding economic opportunities of vulnerable Lebanese communities as well as Syrian and Palestinian refugees by improving access to employment, supporting MSME, and building technical capacity of private and government run vocational training centres.   Within the first two months of the programme, Mercy Corps seeks an individual to support a labor market assessment in all project locations. The consultant will work closely with program staff to collect information in the target geographic areas and provide recommendations to inform future activities related on the following:     Consultant(s) Tasks:   -       Review and summarize existing research on Lebanese labor market; -       Provide an overview of current labor market trends and snapshot of businesses opinions on hiring needs (profile of anticipated employees, skills and abilities); -       Identify employment and self-employment opportunities for the three target populations (Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian) by project location and by sector; -       Identify constraints and barriers for the target population to gain employment or start business; -       Identify specific skills / capabilities needed for the target populations to engage in potential opportunities; -       Map private sector partners to employ and / or train beneficiaries; -       Assess capacity building needs of specific TVET service providers in relation to the provision of identified market-demanded courses. -       Ensure information collected includes gender perspective to capture how relates to both women and men;   The study may include other actors that interface with jobseekers or employers, for example private employment agencies, NGOs, business associations and local authorities, which often have a good understanding of jobseekers in their area. The mapping process will capture geographic range and also inter-relationships between actors. The selected consultant(s) will work very closely with the Mercy Corps programme team, will be expected to provide regular feedback to the research throughout the research period. The consultant should expect Mercy Crops staff to have a major role in the data collection and interviews.   Methodology:   The Consultant is expected to come up with the best approaches for undertaking this labor market assessment; however this should include at least the following:   1-     Desk review of secondary data including evaluations and previous labor market surveys; 2-     Interviews and / or FGDs with private sector employers, relevant government ministries and industries; 3-     Interview with key Mercy Corps staff.   Key Deliverables:   Desk review report; Tools and questionnaires for interviews and FGDs; List of key contacts consulted during mapping, including businesses; Recommendations for future intervention to inform FORSA design, including labor market opportunities in each project location, identified gaps and constraints.     The Consultant will work closely with:   Economic Market Development Senior Technical Advisor FORSA Program Manager   Qualifications:   Candidates should have a master’s degree or higher in economics or related field and at least 5 years of experience in the development  of TVET development, skills training programmes and Labor Market Assessments. Knowledge of constraints of the labor market for Syrian and the Palestinian is an asset. Must have excellent and demonstrable English report writing skills     Application Procedure and Requirements: Candidates interested in the position are expected to provide the following documentation: -       A technical proposal with detailed response to the ToRs, -       Initial work plan based on the methodology outlined; -       A financial proposal detailing the daily rate expected; -       CV including a minimum of 3 references.