Background:
In the broader framework of the joint United Nations’ initiative on social inclusion in Albania, social exclusion is defined as the process whereby certain individuals and groups are pushed to the edge of society and prevented from participating fully by virtue of their poverty, lack of access to basic services and opportunities, lack of capabilities, and/or as a result of discrimination. This distances them from job, income and education opportunities as well as from social and community networks and activities.
Education, training, and employment represent central dimensions of social exclusion. These are interlinked, as limited access to educational and training services affects employability. Unemployment does not relate only to poor living conditions and inability to afford material goods, services and housing, but in itself it inhibits people’s ability to fully participate in society, build social networks and realize their potential.
The aim will be accomplished by focusing on four strategic directions:
• Generation of better and more reliable information on vulnerable and marginalised groups at risk of labour market exclusion
• Institutional capacity support to relevant institutions
• Advocacy, policy dialogue, and awareness raising
• Design of employment programmes in target municipalities
Description of assignment:
The two consultants will be engaged for 51 working days each (17 days/person for each of the 3 regions) as per the description of assignment below. Consultants will contribute to PSC meetings during the contract period, providing updates on data collection and analysis. They will also participate in additional meetings with UNDP and partners as necessary for coordination and quality control.
Qualifications or technical knowledge/experience required for the assignment:
Two national consultants will be hired for this assignment. The consultants should have a strong record and credibility of implementing information gathering/ data collection activities and display a good understanding of governance, public and local issues with a specific focus on labour market and VET area.
More specifically they must have the following qualifications and relevant work experience:
• Postgraduate degree in economics, public policies, statistics, social policies or any other relevant field
• At least 15 years of experience in economic and research.
• Extensive experience in designing and handling participatory, qualitative & quantitative research
• Good understanding of the vocational education and training sector in Albania and previous work with the central and local government.
• Previous experience in providing training on statistical tools and data collection
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in Albanian and English.
• Previous work with UN/UNDP desirable
Duration of Assignment:
51 working days for each consultant to perform the specified tasks from 1 June - 31 August, 2012
Deadline: 24 May 2012
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