New Career Opportunities at COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale

COOPI Cooperazione Internazionale, is a humanitarian, non-confessional and independent organization founded in 1965 in Milan, Italy. For more than 50 years we have been dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty and to supporting populations affected by wars, socio-economic crises or natural disasters in their path to recovery and sustainable development, by making use of the professionalism of local and international operators, and through our partnerships with public and private bodies and civil society organizations.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: BRICC Market Assessment Consultant

Location: Yobe

BRICC Overview
Building Resilience in Complex Crisis (BRICC) is a three-year European Commission (EC) funded program aimed at build the resilience of 26,875 households affected by conflict in Yobe State, North-Eastern Nigeria.

Background
The consequences of exposure to conflict shocks in Northeast Nigeria are severe, particularly for food security, inclusive economic opportunity and growth, and peace and stability1. Mercy Corps’ research on Boko Haram’s recruitment tactics found that extremist groups successfully recruited vulnerable individuals, and particularly youth, by exploiting grievances and frustrations over inequality by providing opportunities for youth to achieve their economic ambitions.

Mercy Corps’ study Motivations and Empty Promises: Voices of Former Boko Haram Combatants and Nigerian Youth found that many youth see Boko Haram and other violent extremist groups as an opportunity to get ahead, hanging their futures on the promise of business support. Many recruited youth saw Boko Haram’s financial services as more accessible than existing alternatives A WFP April 2018 study found that constraints to diversified livelihoods for respondents included lack of skills, lack of opportunities, and insecurity. Yobe State is among the worst performing states in the nation on a variety of education indicators that reflect a broader political, economic and social crisis. For vulnerable households and youth across Yobe, economic opportunity is scarce.

Despite the deleterious effects of conflict on household well-being, there is evidence of key characteristics that seem to make households more resilient to the effects of conflict . Building economic opportunity through off-farm livelihoods for youth can reduce the appeal of violent.

To address the limited economic challenges youths face in Yobe state, the Building Resilience in Complex Crisis (BRICC) Programme has incorporated youth entrepreneurship development as an integral component of the three-year program. The programme aims to ensure that 1,235 male and 1,235 female youth aged 18 to 24 have access to basic entrepreneurship training (inclusive of basic literacy and numeracy) and small cash-grants for small business development.

COOPI-Cooperazione Internazionale is seeking a consultant to lead a participatory Youth Labour Market Assessments, focusing supply side gaps and demand side opportunities.

Assessment Purpose:

• This assessment is intended to give an accurate picture of viable and sustainable labor opportunities and vocations available for youths in Yobe State
• The assessment is intended to identify supply side gaps and demand side labor opportunities for youths in the state
• It is envisaged that the primary output of the baseline will enable the consortium to set targets that assure improved access to economic opportunities for youths in the state.

Objective and sub-objectives of the Assessment:

• The objectives of the Assessment is to identify on-farm and off-farm livelihood opportunities and vocations for both skilled- and unskilled-youth that are demand-driven taken into consideration the different needs of young women and men.

Sub-objectives of the assessments are as follows:

• Identify formal vocational training institutions
• Identify informal vocational/skills training opportunities (e.g. artisans for placing apprentices)
• identify and analyze sectors with high potential for: i) Job creation for youths; and ii) Entrepreneurship opportunities, for the youth (demand side)
• identify the key capacities, constraints and incentives related to increased job creation and take-up of entrepreneurship opportunities

Coverage:

• The assessment will be conducted in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Yobe State. They include Damaturu, Geidam, Gujba, Gulani, Potiskum, and Yunusari

Technical Approaches
The Consultants will ensure the followings:

• Incorporate Youth Led Labor Market Assessment (YLLMA) approach by involving and engaging youth in data collection and analysis
• Mainstream gender and protection in the youth labor market assessment and ensure Gender is incorporated as cross cutting component into study
• Identify and analyze sectors with high potential for: i) job creation; or ii) entrepreneurship opportunities, for the youth (demand side) by:
  • Identifying the current situation and trends in employment and self-employment, as well as areas for potential future growth;
  • Interviews with ‘Third Party Experts’, such as government, NGOs, Universities etc.;
  • Discussions with unemployed youth, to understand their interest and preferences in potential sectors;
  • Identification of ‘high-potential’ sectors;
  • Interviews with employers in high-potential sectors, to understand their perceptions and challenges in recruiting employees the youth.
• Analyze the selected sectors, identifying the key capacities, constraints and incentives related to increased job creation and take-up of entrepreneurship opportunities through:
  • Interviews with employers and sector experts, to understand constraints hindering enterprise expansion and job-creation (in high-potential sectors for employment);
  • Assessment of constraints on entrepreneurship and micro-enterprise start-up, looking at market linkages, skills, access to capital etc.
  • Determine the gaps in training interests of youths (male/female) and where they correspond with the demands of local economy to ensure adequate vocational training and employment opportunities (supply side);
  • Determine the gaps in training interests of youths (male/female) and where they correspond with the demands of local economy to ensure adequate vocational training and employment opportunities
• Identify relevant functions of the market system for labour market and entrepreneurship services by:
  • Identifying relevant market system actors and other stakeholders, and map the relationships between them (market actor map);
  • Identify potential new providers of technical/business training ; and (d) identify potential actors to develop job-matching services suitable for the youth
  • Through interviews with existing actors providing labor market and entrepreneurship services, including technical skills training providers, business development services (BDS) and business skills training providers, job-matching and employment information actors, financial institutions providing start-up capital;

Youth Labour Assessment Methods
The Youth Labor Market Assessment will be led and facilitated by an external consultant or consulting firm. The following methods may be used to conduct the baseline study:

Selected literature Review:

• To contextualize the implementing environment, program staff will provide selected relevant and up to date reports and studies.

Quantitative and Qualitative Techniques:

• The consultant will employ both quantitative and qualitative techniques in undertaking the study. The study will start with the analysis of relevant secondary information (including contextual analysis and programme documents, as well as available reports and publications) and go on to a series of semi-structured interviews, and, if applicable, focus groups discussions and stakeholder meetings with key informants from youth, the main groups of market actors, and their associations, relevant government agencies.

Private Sector Survey:

• It is expected that the consultant will design specific questionnaire for private sector survey

Business Survey:

• The consultant is expected to design business survey questionnaire to be administered during the assessment

Framework and Questionnaires:

• The consultant should provide an information-gathering framework and questionnaires for various groups of market actors; these will be discussed with the team in detail in a half day workshop at the start of the study.

Data Collation:

• The consultant should ensure data/information gathered is periodically collated, processed and analyzed, with the seconded team member involvement, and necessary adjustments are made.

Pre-assessment Training:

• The consultant will conduct a pre-assessment training for the assessment team, to familiarize team with the assessment tools and data collection technique

Validation Workshop:

• The consultant will facilitate a half a day workshop, to pull together and assess/validate the findings and work towards recommendations.

Note: These should include particular focus on learning from positive deviants (very successful youth entrepreneurs). Community and stakeholder participation is a crucial element hence; the consultant should ensure the inclusion of all relevant stakeholders’ views and ideas in the study.

Expected Output
The Consultant will be expected to produce the following outputs:

• Inception report including the detailed methodology, data collection tools, list of stakeholders targeted for participation and timeline that will be followed.
• A draft report detailing the process, findings and analyses, conclusions and recommendations of the analysis in separate sections for each recommended activity.

Key Deliverables:

• Debriefing at the end of fieldwork with relevant COOPI staff.

The Consultant will also be required to submit to COOPI all assessment materials including:

 

• All filled data collection tools and data recording materials.
• Soft copies of all data sets.
• Other non-consumable documents/items that will be used in the course of the planned consultancy.
• PowerPoint presentation of the draft assessment report used for feedback workshop.

Time Frame:

• The assessment is expected to be completed in one month beginning July 15, 2019. This includes presentation of Inception Report, design and planning of assessment, data collection, data analysis, and Report writing.

Existing Sources of Program Information:

• Program Narrative
• Results Framework
• Reports:
  • Northeast Nigeria Joint Livelihoods and Market Recovery Assessment
  • COOPI Livelihood Market Assessment in Damaturu

Qualifications, Skills and Experience
COOPI seeks expressions of interest from individual/ companies with the following skills/qualifications:

• An Advanced University Degree or equivalent in either Entrepreneurship, Business Studies, Agric-Economics, Economics, Statistic or other fields related to micro and small enterprise development and or vocational training;
• Knowledge of the Yobe state, small and micro enterprise sector and vocational training and placement.
• Ability to work independently and achieve quality results with limited supervision in a complex and security sensitive environment;
• Proficient knowledge and ability to understand and speak the following local language; Kanuri, Hausa.
• At least 5-10 years of relevant experience and proven expertise in conducting assessments and studies in relation to micro and small enterprise development and vocational skills training and placement;
• Demonstrated strong quantitative and qualitative research skills and writing skills;

Deadline: 6th July, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online