Feasibility and Project Design Consultant At Near East Foundation

Exploring the Viability & Effectiveness of Supporting Refugee Youth Programing in Jordan

1. Introduction and Background

The Near East Foundation (NEF) is empowering civil society to advocate for and deliver vocational, entrepreneurship and life/soft skills, financial literacy, productive asset protection and development, group support, and savings for highly vulnerable Syrian refugees and Jordanians. NEF has worked with partner CBOs to establish revolving credit funds to advance the growth of micro-enterprises owned and operated vulnerable Jordanians through loans and non-financial services tailored to the conditions of vulnerable entrepreneurs. The aim is to reduce highly vulnerable refugees’ and Jordanians’ vulnerability to social protection risks, and increase their knowledge and social and productive capital.

NEF seeks a local consultant to work closely with its staff to explore new opportunities for programming and partnership, consistent with NEF’s mission and strategy in Jordan. This will involve conducting an analysis of existing organizations and programs supporting economic opportunities for vulnerable Jordan and Syrian refugee young adults (ages 15 – 24 years old), inclusive of competencies, livelihoods, business and life skills development, and formal and informal education for employment opportunities. The proposed study will focus in five (5) geographic areas: Amman, Irbid, Zarqa (including Russaifa city) and Mafraq. NEF will finalize the selection of geographic areas in consultation with the consultant based on a preliminary landscape scan. Project activities will target youth/young adult refugees and members of the host community and will foster agency and resilience in the transition to decent work, improved livelihoods, and adulthood among young people (ages 15-17 and 18-24). NEF intends to leverage NEF’s Siraj livelihoods centers and services – located in multiple urban and per-urban locations in Jordan – to deliver this strategy (e.g., Siraj livelihoods services for adults, Siraj reach to vulnerable groups, Siraj premises as safe and competency building spaces, and Siraj civil society partners and networks).

The assessment methodology should include desk analysis and collection of primary data through focus group discussions, youth surveys, key informant interviews and market observations, as detailed in the present Terms of Reference (ToR). It should also include review and analysis of relevant policies and dynamics that affect agency and resilience in the transition to decent work, improved livelihoods, and adulthood among young people, particularly refugee youth.

2. Audience and Use

The key audiences of the study are the Near East Foundation and local communities in the project area. The study will support targeting of project activities and strengthening participants’ understanding of gaps, opportunities and risks. Information from the assessment report (or results) will also be shared with potential funding sources and may be shared with other stakeholders such as local decision makers and public policy makers.

3. Research Objectives

The assessment has several key objectives, which apply to current and potential geographic areas for NEF’s work. The assessment will analyze, describe and provide concrete recommendations to address described challenges in relation to youth competencies, youth opportunities and the broader enabling environment.

Specifically, the study will analyze, describe and provide concrete recommendations to address described challenges related to:

A. Youth competencies with the objective (1) for youth to have the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors needed to foster agency and resilience in the transition to decent work, improved livelihoods, and adulthood and (2) to have life skills for success so they can navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well and achieve their goals.

B. Opportunities for youth to improve access to economic opportunities for youth and empower them to take advantage of such opportunities.

C. Broader environment of opportunities and inclusion of the most deprived youth, to improve hazardous workplaces, and to optimize and facilitate their transition into decent livelihoods and work and help them realize their rights as economic actors.

The focus of this study will be on young men and women aged 15-24 with elevated vulnerabilities that put them at risk. The study should distinguish between 15-17- and 18–24-year-old age groups where programmatic tailoring is necessary. For the purpose of this study, NEF will focus on four areas of vulnerabilities:

1. youth not in education, employment/entrepreneurship or training;
2. youth with disability;
3. youth head of households; and/or
4. youth living in extreme poverty.

The recommendations will be practical, concrete and holistic, and will cover:

1. opportunities to address gaps related to the three priority areas of competencies, opportunities and environment;
2. be impactful;
3. be practical and present good value for money;
4. work in partnership with existing actors;
5. market-informed and market-based;
6. leverage peer-to-peer methods (e.g., mentorship circles, peer coaching, pro-bono support);
7. leverage NEF’s Siraj centers and services (including Siraj Digital and Siraj Finance);
8. rooted in refugee and youth positive development programming;
9. protection and risk-informed;
10. cover cross-cutting themes (e.g., gender-based violence, gender quality, disability);
11. be based on best practices (both local and international best practices, particularly in relation to refugee programming); and
12. sustainability.

The partnership recommendations should include:

1. Landscape analysis and recommendations for synergy related to international, national and local organizations active in the targeted areas (and description of their activities and areas of collaborations and cooperation), and USG-supported projects and partners in these areas;
2. Recommendations for potential non-profit local partners to support: Siraj center operations, competencies building, facilitation for livelihoods opportunities, complementary services, access to finance and markets, delivery of cross cutting themes (e.g., combating gender-based violence, gender quality, youth positive development, disability inclusion, protection programming), and other operational considerations;
3. Analysis of market dynamics and potential for new or expanding innovative partnerships, especially with the private sector and economic operators for (1) improved market access, (2) improved delivery methods (e.g., in time of disruption, options for reaching scale, inclusivity, and peer mentorship), and (3) increased potential for sustainability and enhanced value for money (increased efficiency, cost-effectiveness).

4. Research Methodology

The methodology and research tools should elicit constraints, opportunities, risk and recommendations to support target groups. Tools to be employed include, but are not limited to, the following:

Desk Analysis

The consultant will review recent (last 3 years) documents related to each of the three areas of focus (competencies, economic opportunities, and environment) and should cover: gaps, programs, actors, partnerships, best practices (including impact), market-based, peer-to-peer methods, links with Siraj centers/services, refugee and youth positive development programming, cross-cutting themes and sustainability.

Interviews with Key Informants and Focus Groups

The consultant will interview key informants in each location; these will include mainly youth, membership bodies (e.g., chamber of commerce, syndicates), vocational training providers, institutional and non-profit actors engaged in youth refugee programming, employers and market actors, financial institutions, and other relevant market and policy actors. The youth informants should represent the diversity of the target group, and analysis and recommendations should be disaggregated by each group:

1. 15-17- and 18-24-year-olds;
2. gender;
3. disability;
4. refugees and host communities;
5. youth not in education, employment/entrepreneurship or training;
6. youth with disability;
7. youth head of households; and
8. youth living in extreme poverty.

The consultant will also conduct at least one focus group discussion in each community with individuals who are members of the targeted demographic for project beneficiaries. **

5. Final Report

The consultant will document the assignment in a final report, which will be completed in English by the final day of the assignment. The report will be written in English and submitted electronically in a MS Word document. The consultant is responsible for polishing and proofreading the final report.

The report should include:

1. Executive Summary
2. Details of the assignment methodology
3. Description and analysis of challenges, needs and gaps
   1. Youth competencies
   2. Economic opportunities
   3. Broader environment
4. Partnership and landscape analysis
5. Description and analysis of options, best practices, partnerships and opportunities to address identified gaps
6. Recommendations for program interventions
   1. Programmatic recommendations (intervention, practicality, value for money, impact, innovation, sustainability potential)
   2. Partnership recommendations
   3. Cross-cutting recommendations
7. Annexes

Each section must distinguish between refugee and host community members, and if relevant, between other targeting variables (e.g., age groups, vulnerability type), target regions and areas of focus (i.e., competencies, economic opportunities, environment).

At the time of first draft report submission, the consultant will also submit a concise but detailed summary (1-2 pages) of key findings, opportunities, constraints and recommendations.

6. Time Schedule

The consultant shall prepare a brief workplan that sets out the consultant’s approach for conducting research activities for conducting the assessment. The period of consultancy should not exceed 15 working days, between the date of signature of the agreement and December 15, 2021.

7. Budget and Resources Required

The payment will be made upon receipt of invoices as 25% in advance, 50% on submission of the draft report and 25% on approval of the final report. NEF will not be responsible for any further expenses incurred by the consultant during the consultancy visits and for any loss and/or damage to him/her.

Activity 1: Submission and approval of workplan – due November 26, 2021 – 25% Payment

Activity 2: First draft submitted to and approved by NEF – due December 12, 2021 – 50% Payment

Activity 3: Final report submitted to and approved by NEF – due December 15, 2021 – 25% Payment

8. Selection Criteria

Research proposals will be selected based on:

1. Evidence of the researcher’s in-depth knowledge of the sector / issue and relevant geography;
2. Previous studies and written publications in this or relevant fields: 1-3 samples must be provided;
3. Clarity of analysis and written expression;
4. Fluency in English and Arabic;
5. Skills in research methodology;
6. Access to data and information sources, including contacts within relevant private sector and government entities.