Knowledge Management Consultant - Mitrovicë, Ferizaj

TERMS OF REFERENCE

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT

1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Around 61% of youth (15-24 years old) in Kosovo are currently unemployed, with 56% of men and 71% of women (according to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, 2014), which gives Kosovo the lowest labour force participation rates for youth in the Western Balkans. A third of the Kosovo youth are neither employed nor attending education nor training (NEET). Around 20.000 young people enter the Kosovo job market every year. According to the 2010 World Bank assessment of youth labor market outcomes, school-to-work transition is rare among young women, while it takes young men around 10 years.

Caritas Kosovo jointly with the Centre for Employment of Ferizaj, which is member of the national network of Centers for Employment operating in all Kosovo under the Ministry for Employment, have been implementing the project ‘’Supporting women and youth toward employment in Mitrovica and Ferizaj regions’’ since the 1^st of January 2019. This project is being supported by the European Union, and Secours-Catholique-Caritas France (SC-CF), which has been an important support of Caritas Kosova over the years.

The specific project objective is:

To support (self)-employment through the training, mentoring, networking, internships, and material support to vulnerable women and youth looking for a job or willing to launch or develop their income generation activity / business

And the project is divided into 3 components, with the following results:

• Result 1 - At least 50 women and youth have been supported to start or develop their own activity by the end of the action
• Result 2 - At least 120 unemployed women and youth acquired certified skills in an on-demand area, and 100 of them successfully acquired their first professional experience
• Result 3 – At least 5 Professional associations in Mitrovica and Ferizaj regions are created or strengthened

The project puts a strong emphasis on supporting individuals from marginalized groups which are traditionally not being supported by similar projects or the government (people – especially women and youth - with a low education level, from rural areas, from communities, from difficult socio-economic backgrounds…)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the delays it caused in the implementation of the activities, the initial end date of the project has been postponed from the 31^st of December 2020 to the 30^th of June 2021.

1. OBJECTIVES

The objective of this consultancy is to learn from this project, as well as other initiatives led by CK in the field of youth and women employment, and identify good practices, share these practices within the partners, and make the most of the investments of all stakeholders. More concretely, the goal is as follows: Support Caritas Kosova in a knowledge management process with a special focus on the changes produced in the field of youth and women socio-professional insertion. This will be done through highlighting and disseminating good practices in term of integrating vulnerable youth and women into the job market, and recognize the innovative and/or successful practices and working methods developed by the project.

More specifically, CK would like the KM consultant to focus, among others, on answering the following questions:

What are the good practices in term of:

• reaching marginalized individuals and accessibility of the project to these groups (outreach and communication on the project)?
• selection of participants to the project?
• facilitating internship schemes?
• grants giving (amount and type of grants, selection process and follow up) to better support people starting their small business?
• advocating for the integration of marginalized individuals into the job market?
• monitoring of the activities and regular communication with the beneficiaries and various stakeholders
• participation of the beneficiaries and various stakeholders into decision-making regarding the project (ex: representativity of the Management Committee)

Which stakeholders are the most adapted to support youth and women entering the job market?

Is mentorship a useful way to support jobseekers and people starting their business?

What is the cost-effective way to support more young people through training?

III. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONSULTANT(S)

The Knowledge Management Consultant(s) will be engaged to plan and implement the activities related to the collection of data and writing of practical research on lessons learned and good practices of the project ‘Empowering Youth and Women towards employment in Ferizaj and Mitrovica Regions’, to be used for Caritas Kosova and SC-CF future projects.

More specifically, and in coordination with project team at Caritas Kosova and in link with SCCF,

• Design a detailed plan and methodology for the task, including a work plan for its implementation
• Define criteria for identification of good practices
• Organize a training workshop on the basics of knowledge management for the project team
• Collect the necessary information through desk research, interview and focus groups with relevant stakeholders
• Draft a report on the good practices and lessons learned on how to support young and women toward employment and self-employment, in the Kosovo context and beyond.

1. METHODOLOGY

The choice of methodology is left to the initiative of the consultant(s) and will be an integral part of his technical proposal, on which the offer will be judged. It will then be discussed and validated with SCCF and Caritas Kosova. It should at least include:

• Scoping meetings (which can be conducted remotely), and regular exchanges with the Project Coordinator and project team,
• A desk study of secondary data transmitted by SCCF and Caritas Kosova,
• A field mission with the establishment of a work plan previously validated by the project team
• Collection and analysis of primary data through meetings with key stakeholders of the EU project, in Mitrovica and Ferizaj regions, and with some stakeholders of other CK projects in the field of employment
• Drafting and submission of the draft report for validation.
• Organization of a feedback workshop with main project stakeholders

All the above specified activities should be conducted professionally, while respecting values of non-discrimination, fairness, transparency. The consultant(s) will have to tailor the training content based on the level of the participants, to ensure that no one is left behind.

As knowledge management is not a well-known concept in Kosovo and within Caritas Kosova project staff, we would expect the consultant to provide the team with a short training, and mentor and support them along the process on what is expected of them.

1. DELIVERABLES

• A detailed implementation plan and approach for the consultancy assignment to be approved by CK and SCCF
• A good practices and lesson learned report including fact sheets, recommendations for future implementation, and on dissemination of the lessons learned and good practices in Kosovo (not exceeding 15 pages) and an executive summary of 2 pages maximum

1. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS OF THE CONSULTANT(S)

Requested profile: a consultant or a team of 2 consultants with expertise in the fields of youth socio-professional insertion, and the following:

• Solid experience gathering lessons learned and good practices
• Specialization in youth socio-professional insertion, entrepreneurship, employability development
• Background in gender, diversity, and/or inclusion of vulnerable groups
• Facilitation skills, and familiarity in-depth interview techniques
• Good knowledge of the current context in Kosovo
• Excellent English writing skills and analytical skills
• Knowledge of local languages (Albanian and Serbian) a strong asset

1. EXPECTED TIMEFRAME

The consultancy will be implemented between March and April 2021. It will include at least one field mission in Kosovo.

VIII. APPLICATION PROCESS

To apply, please submit a proposal, including (i) short narrative (1 page maximum) detailing your suitability and approach to the assignment; (ii) a technical proposal (5 pages maximum, presenting the methodology and attempted work plan of activities); (iii) a financial proposal for the assignment; (iv) CV (2 page maximum per CV), (v) at least two professional references (name, relationship, and email and contact number) that can be easily contacted by CK.

The maximum allowed budget for this consultancy is 4500 euros (inclusive of all taxes, travel and accommodation costs in Kosovo)

All proposals should be emailed to michel.koneski@caritaskosova.org by February 19^th, 2020 16:00h