TERMS OF REFERENCE

Armenian Caritas Benevolent NGO in the framework of “CoNaKa: Covid-19 resilience in Armenia and Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict response” project

Call for the selection of a Consultant/Company to conduct research study on Labour Market Integration in Armenia

Project title: CoNaKa: Covid-19 resilience in Armenia and Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict response

Place of implementation: Republic of Armenia

Deadline for the applications: 30.01.2022

Start date: ASAP

Duration: Short-term Service contract

E-mail for applications: l.stepanyan@caritas.am, info@caritas.am

 

1.Background

The project “CoNaKa: Covid-19 resilience in Armenia and Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict response” is funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation, co-funded by the Austrian Red Cross. The project is coordinated by the Austrian Red Cross, and executed by an International Consortium. The aim of the project is to contribute to the resilience of Covid-19 affected people in Armenia and Georgia and to those affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Armenia.

As of 20 January 2021, Armenia had registered 165.221 Covid-19 cases, 153.857 recovered and 3.016 persons died of or with Covid-19 (UN Armenia Covid-19 Situation report No. 89). After “robust economic growth” (Worldbank Overview Armenia, 12 Oct 2020) despite a high poverty rate in the past three years until February 2020, the government has now increased spending while facing lower revenue collection. The state budget deficit is growing. The unpredicted Covid-19 crisis shrinks hopes by the government to cut poverty to 18 per cent in 2022 (UNDP Overview Armenia). Nearly one quarter of the Armenian population lived below the national poverty line in 2018 (Asian Development Bank). The high exposure to disaster risks such as earthquakes in Shirak region with its capital Gyumri and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict further complicate political, social and economic recovery.

The escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) on 27 September 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan caused civilian deaths and injuries, including to boys and girls. According to official sources, as of 10 December 2020, 1.774 Armenian military have been killed and identified, and several thousand have been injured․ Homes and key infrastructure such as hospitals and schools have been destroyed. Roads, electricity, gas and communication networks have been damaged.

Many women and men lost their sources of income and families are on the move looking for safe shelter in Armenia. There is no official number of displaced people from the government of Armenia but the number must be thousands of displaced people looking for short- and longer-term assistance to recover from the effects of the recent conflict.

On one hand, as mentioned above, most of the displaced people from NK, also local population affected by the war besides psychological consequences and trauma of the war have lost their properties and sources of income. Thus, they need social assistance as well as economic integration support in a way that would help them become sustainable and self-resilient. Many people form the mentioned target groups need capacity building to match the demand of the Labour market. On the other hand, local employers in different fields from production to services seek qualified employees. Moreover, different international organisations and local NGOs have initiated employment support projects for the mentioned target groups.

CoNaKa project aims at contributing to the smooth and sustainable integration of target groups through Nexus approach linking social assistance with development support. For this, in the framework of CoNaKa project Armenian Caritas seeks a consultant/company to conduct a research study on Labour Market Integration in Armenia.

 

Overall objective of the project

To contribute to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Armenia and Georgia.

Specific objective

Increased resilience of Covid-19 affected women, girls, men and boys in Armenia and Georgia and of those displaced from the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Zone after the escalation of the armed conflict since 27 September 2020 and of host population in Armenia.

1.Scope of the study

The study on Labour Market Integration in Armenia shall be carried out and based on this, recommendations and innovative mechanisms for matching the supply and demand of the Labour market will be elaborated during the months of February-March 2022. The geographic focus of the study is Armenia.

 

  1. Goals of the study
    • Overall goal of the action

The overall goal of the study is to elaborate recommendations and mechanisms based on the outcomes of the research study for the smooth integration of the project target groups in the Armenian Labour market. Moreover, Concept paper on Nexus approach linking social assistance with the development support will be developed.

The study will be conducted for the following stakeholders:

  • Armenian Caritas
  • Caritas Austria
  • Austrian Development Cooperation
  • Armenian Government
2.2. Specific objectives:
  • to conduct a research on the Armenian Labour and related Legislation, find out the gaps, obstacles and opportunities
  • to map out employment support projects for the displaced people from NK and local families affected by the war implemented by the state and non-state actors
  • to identify the main employment needs and challenges target groups are facing through focus group meetings and based on the analyses of needs assessment results of the Armenian Caritas and other partner organisations
  • to identify the main challenges employers are facing through focus group meetings with employers and interviews with the stakeholders
  • to elaborate recommendations and innovative mechanisms that would support matching Labour market supply and demand through existing opportunities
  • to elaborate a Concept paper on Nexus approach for linking social assistance with the development support
2.3.Suggested Methodological Approach:
  • desk review of existing documents (legal acts and other relevant documents)
  • research of the international experience of innovative and successful mechanisms for integration
  • briefing from the Armenian Caritas project manager and the team
  • review of the current research materials on the relevant topic
  • at least two focus group meetings (one with job seekers, one with employers)
  • interviews with stakeholders
  • data collection
  • mapping
  • research implementation
  • recommendations
3.Costs and Financing

The contract will be on a fixed price basis.

The payment will be made as follows:

  • 1st instalment – 50% (after signing the agreement)
  • Final instalment – 50% (after submission of final deliverables).
4.Reporting / Deliverables

The service provider is expected to deliver:

  • Inception report with focus on methodological part, timeline, including interviews / focus group guidelines, etc. in English
  • Research results in Armenian with a Summary of at least 5 pages in English
  • Report with recommendations, innovative mechanisms
  • Presentation of the research and the recommendations
  • Concept paper on Nexus approach in Armenian and English
  • Mapping of the employment support projects
  • lists of participants
5.The profile of the training/supervision services provider

The selection of the consultant/company to conduct a research study on Labour Market Integration in Armenia will be done according to the bellow mentioned conditions: giving preference to the consultant/company having professional qualification and working experience with the target group of the project:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, social sciences or another relevant field
  • relevant experience of the consultant/company (at least 2 years)
  • relevant knowledge on the key players, policies, and legal framework in the field of employment
  • deep knowledge on the issues of displaced people from NK and the current situation
  • excellent analytical and research skills
6. Application Procedure

Armenian Caritas invites interested and qualified consultants/companies to participate in a call for proposals in January 2021.

Interested candidates are required to provide their application, composed of the below mentioned documents before 30 of January, 2022 by 18:00:

  • CV of the applicant (in case of organisation – the relevant specialists)
  • diplomas, qualification Certificates (in case of organisation – the relevant specialist)
  • copy of the state registration certificate of the participant (in case of organisation)
  • brief proposal description: including methodology, and budget.

 

Please note: “Armenian Caritas” BNGO will invite for the interview only the short-listed applicants from the first documentary stage.