CONSULTANCY - TERMS OF REFERENCE
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. For its local team, UNRWA is seeking to employ a qualified:
Consultancy for the Development of a Business Model for the
Technical and Vocational Education and Training Programme
UNRWA Jordan Field Office
BACKGROUND
The Agency’s Medium Term Strategy (2016 – 2021) has highlighted the Agency’s intention to contribute to sustainable livelihood options for Palestine refugees. Its technical and vocational education and training programme (TVET) is well placed to open up employment opportunities for young refugees as they are being equipped with required skills to join the labour market. The Agency completed a TVET strategy in 2015, which identified the following building blocks to strengthen quality and relevance of the programme:
a) Access, placement and career guidance.
b) Labour market relevance and responsiveness.
c) Developing and delivering TVET programmes.
d) Human resources development.
e) Sustainability, quality assurance.
d) Governance and structures.
e) TVET in emergencies, crises and wars.
The TVET programme in the Jordan field, established in 1953, provides technical and vocational training for approximately 2,200 students in two training centres located in Amman. The centres offer vocational and trade courses and boarding for a limited number of students that cannot provide for daily transportation. Courses currently have a duration of 1 or 2 years. Employment levels of students are above 80 per cent in the first year after graduation. However, the proportion of students coming from the most vulnerable refugee group is still not exceeding 25 per cent, a benchmark that is expected to be surpassed.
Reviews of the TVET programme carried out in 2011 and 2012 have found several areas where improvements could be made, but have lacked the provision of technical support to improve those areas, which remained largely unaddressed since. The Jordan field now seeks technical assistance to provide guidance and tools on how the structural and strategic recommendations of the TVET strategy are to materialize in light of the field specific opportunities in Jordan including related to trends in the local economy and the state of the public education sector. To note, the Jordan field runs a so-called “parallel education programme” that charges – albeit at a much reduced level compared to public sector institutions in the country - an accreditation fee to cover its expenses. If well invested, these could be additional resources to reckon with for further quality enhancement of the Jordan field TVET programme.
Description of Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall supervision of the Deputy Director of UNRWA Operations (Programmes), the consultant is to develop a comprehensive business plan for the TVET programme, Jordan. The consultant will work closely with the Chief, TVET (Jordan field) and related programme advisory and management staff, as well as an audit and compliance unit, and in addition to the education and TVET team at UNRWA headquarters, Amman. The consultant will be further relying on recommendations provided by the outcomes of a programmatic assessment taking place on the quality and relevance of the TVET programme.
Duties
The consultancy is to review the current revenue and expenditure practices for the TVET programme alongside the regular budget allocated. It is then to develop a business plan that considers adequate levels for investment for TVET along the various categories required. The business plan should be modeled against requirements for quality assurance, consistent capacity building and development of human resources of the programme, sufficient tools and equipment as well as infrastructure. The consultancy will further support the development of an oversight and compliance framework for the revenues generated.
· Review budget allocations and expenditures for the TVET programme with a focus on the parallel education programme;
· Determine appropriate income and expenditure models for the parallel education programme related to student intake, course lengths, teaching requirements and other investment costs;
· Present the suggested models for consideration and decision by senior management;
· Suggest financial control and oversight procedures for the revenue generating programme and recommend measures of risk management with respect to functions and roles of stakeholders;
· Submit a final business model and governance framework for the parallel education programme revenue management.
Qualifications and Experience
· A university degree from an accredited educational institution in economics, finance, comptrolling and audit or related field;
· At least 10 years of experience in programme audits, development of business plans or financial management;
· Demonstrated ability to produce complex analytical and finance related assessment reports and/or business models for applied use.
COMPETENCIES
· Excellent analytical skills;
· Very good interpersonal skills;
· Very good communication and presentation skills in writing and oral.
dESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
· Knowledge of the UN work environment;
· Knowledge of Arabic is an asset;
· Knowledge of humanitarian/development programming.
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
· The duration of the assignment is 8 weeks;
· Based atUNRWA Jordan Field Office, Bayader, Wadi-Seer, Amman - with regular visits to UNRWA’s TVET centres in South Amman and Bayader itself.
· Remuneration for this consultancy will depend on the qualifications and experience of the candidate.
· Interested candidates are required to submit a short implementation proposal and tentative budget.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via clearly indicating the title of this consultancy “Development of a Business Model for the TVET Programme” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 25/03/2016 (late applications will not be considered).
UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.