Digital Skills Gap Analysis- Welthungerhilfe

Job Summary

Location: Harare

About
Welthungerhilfe is one of the largest and respected private organisations in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid in Germany; We carry out projects in 39 countries and campaigns for fairer cooperation within developing countries; Primarily in cooperation with local partner organisations, our task is to contribute to the improvement in nutritional and income base for the low-income populations in Africa, Asia and Latin America; Welthungerhilfe has been implementing projects in Zimbabwe since 1980; Sector focus is on Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Food and Nutrition Security, Livelihoods and when necessary, Emergency response.

Position summary
The project focuses on providing training in digital and supporting skills (over a five-month period with a mentorship component and facilitated access to online and offline local labor markets; Welthungerhilfe seeks to engage a consultant who will determine the domestic labor demand for digital skills and determine skills that are valuable for graduates / young people seeking to generate income opportunities; The consultant will propose relevant self-taught short courses which will be taken by the trainees, the courses should be taken within a period of five months; Please kindly refer to the Terms of Reference for more information on this advert.

Terms of reference
Welthungerhilfe is implementing the WFP Urban Resilience Building project with an overall aim to strengthen the resilience of most vulnerable households to climate and economic shocks and their impacts on food security and livelihoods; The project is an integral part of WHH’s overall urban portfolio building on and deepening our existing work in urban areas and our relationship with WFP; For over 20 years, WHH has been implementing resilience building and food security projects in rural and urban areas which include but are not limited to Midlands, Matabeleland North, and Matabeleland South provinces; The Digital Skills Training project, which is part of the Urban Resilience Building Project is being implemented in Harare, targeting 200 young people in the age range of 18–35 years.

Duties And Responsibilities

The consultant will conduct a labor market audit specific to digital skills to determine the availability and viability in Harare; The audit and its findings will inform valuable skills (such as graphics designing, digital marketing, software development, mobile and web development,) for graduates / young people seeking to generate income opportunities; He / She will produce a report with recommendations on the most viable digital skills to be delivered to the trainees and opportunities that exist in the immediate environment.

Specific responsibilities and duties will cover the main areas of activities
Conduct a labor market analysis in the area of digital skills to assess the skills gap available amongst young people in Harare and the skills demanded by employers as well as digital skills required to start small businesses; Interviewing a representative sample of outsourcing companies and large enterprises to determine the most demanded digital skills locally; Providing recommendations to address the gap in skills demanded by employers as well as digital skills required to start small businesses; The recommendations should be addressed to, implementing partners, relevant Government ministries and to the actors within the labor market; Produce a detailed report of skills gaps identified, and the required courses that should be taken by the trainees to address the skills deficit; For each digital skill gap identified, there should be a corresponding short course which can be completed within a 5 month period.

Key deliverables
Inception report detailing the methodology including the main research methods, the sampling framework, proposed sources of data, and a detailed timeframe. The proposed research tools will be discussed and approved by Welthungerhilfe before data collection commences; Detailed report of skills gaps identified, and the training required to address the skills deficit; For each digital skill gap identified, there should be a corresponding proposed course which can be taken within a period of 5 months; A comprehensive list of tools (hardware and software) required for the training; An online repository with training material; A final presentation of the overall findings to Welthungerhilfe senior management, WFP and key stakeholders.

Methodology
The consultant is expected to come up with the best methodology for undertaking this task. However, the following guiding principles should be taken into consideration: Desk review of secondary data including project documents, reports, assessments, evaluations and previous similar research; Interviews with private sector employers, young people searching for jobs, and relevant government ministries; Focus group discussions with young people in Harare to determine digital skills hindering them from getting employment and starting entrepreneurial businesses; Interviews with key Welthungerhilfe project staff to gain more insights about the project; Interviews with recent graduates and young people in Harare to explore what trainings worked and what did not yield employment to avoid those that did not work well; Any other suitable methods.

Timeframe
The consultancy assignment should be conducted within the time span of a maximum of 20 working days; Details of the assignment schedule are to be provided by the consultant(s), taking into consideration the above-mentioned scope of consultancy activities, and after consultation with the relevant Welthungerhilfe focal points; Any major obstacles or delays in delivery of the defined key deliverables should be immediately communicated to Welthungerhilfe; Any significant changes to the agreed-upon timetable should be communicated to Welthungerhilfe in advance.

Qualifications And Experience

Qualifications and experience required
A Professional with Post-Graduate qualifications in education, human resources, ICT, youth development or related field; Over 5 years of substantive experience and expertise working in a non-government organization in a senior research capacity; Experience in conducting youth research projects and / or labor market assessments; Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify problems and solutions; Demonstrated skills and experience in report writing and conducting stakeholder consultations; Products’ rights and ownership; The ownership of the draft and final documentation remains the property of WHH; Any documents or publications related to the research will not be shared publicly by the consultant.

Submission of proposals
Prospective Consultants are to submit both a Technical and Financial proposal as separate documents; The Technical Proposal should comprise: Understanding of the Terms of Reference; A research method showing how they plan to handle the assignment; Allocation of Consultancy days; Indicative timetable for completion of the assignment; Detailed CV and, and profile of firm or organization (if relevant); 3 traceable references of previous supervisors / employers; 2 reports of previous similar work done; A Financial Proposal should be submitted with a budget breakdown.

Evaluation criteria
The Consultant will be evaluated based on qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications / requirements section of the ToR; In addition, the Consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology: Technical Criteria weight 70%; Financial Criteria weight 30%; The award of the contract shall be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: responsive / compliant / acceptable; and having received the highest score out of a predetermined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the Terms of Reference.