IRAQ-RFQ-161-2021– Labor market assessment for Anbar-Iraq At Norwegian Refugee Council

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION

From: Norwegian Refugee Council, Country Office – Erbil

Date: 26^th July 2021

Subject: Labor market assessment for Anbar – NRC Iraq

PR Reference number: 8102057

RFQ Number: IRAQ-RFQ-161-2021

The Norwegian Refugee Council invites you to submit a bid in (USD) in light of providing consultancy services to conduct labor market assessment in specific areas mentioned in the geographical scope within Ramadi and Fallujah districts, Anbar governorate.

The selection will be based on the criteria listed on this document, and a consultancy contract will be assigned.

Manner of Submission

Please submit your quotation in accordance with the requirements detailed below by either

A- eSourcing system, following the below instructions:

1- The bidders can download the RFQ documents from “**Access documents**” from the system.

2- Collect the RFQ.

3- Fill in the requested documents.

4- Upload your Technical proposal documents in “**Envelope 1 – Technical Documents**”, The price shall NOT be mentioned in the technical bid.

5- Upload your financial proposal documents (Annex 4) in “**Envelope 2 – Quotation Documents**”.

6- After uploading the required documents, please check that the progress bar will show green colour “**100% percent complete**”.

7- Click on the “**Submit Response”** button.

B- or email submission to IQ.bids@NRC.no.**

1- The package has still to be downloaded from the eSourcing system, even if the submission is through email submission.

2- Two email should be submitted,one for “**Envelope 1 – Technical Documents**”, The price shall NOT be mentioned in the technical bid,

the second email for “**Envelope 2 – Quotation Documents – Annex 4**”.

Note: For more information, please refer to the Supplier guide. **

NRC Iraq will follow the two envelop process for this procurement. Failure to comply with the above submission instruction will lead to supplier disqualification immediately.

Questions and Inquiry: Questions for the tender content and process must be made to the contracting entity via the Q/A message module inside the eSourcing system by clicking on “Supplier questions and answers”, and then click on the “Ask Question” button.

The deadline for submission of quotations is 10^th Aug 2021 23:30 Iraq Time promptly.

Offers must be submitted through one of the submission method mentioned above, and before the submission deadline expires. It will not be possible to submit your bid after the deadline.

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Requirements

Award of the contract(s) will be based on the following:

· Copy of Company registration / Business license (relevant for companies only)

· Copy of Tax clearance (relevant to companies only)

· Copy of Company director/ consultant ID

· Access to Iraq – ability to travel to Iraq

· CVs of the proposed consultant

· Skype interviews if needed.

· Work plan

· Annex 1 – Terms of Reference

· Annex 2 – Technical Proposal methodology, work plan, and personnel

· Annex 3 – Previous Experience – at least two similar contracts

· Annex 4- Financial Proposal

· Annex 5 – Supplier’s Ethical Standards Declaration

Consultants should be registered in their country of origin. When required or requested, consultants should be able to provide proof of registration to NRC. However, if this is not possible, the consultant (sole trader) confirms by signing the Consultant declaration (Mandatory) that he/she complied with self-employment regulation in his/her country of origin.

1- Background information

NRC is an international non-governmental, humanitarian organization with 60 years of experience in helping to create a safer and more dignified life for refugees and internally displaced people. NRC has been present in Iraq since 2010, responding primarily to needs arising from conflict-induced displacement. NRC has an operational presence in Erbil, Kirkuk, Ninewa, Salah al-Din, Baghdad, Anbar, Basra, and Dohuk governorates. In these locations, NRC advocates and supports communities affected by conflict and displacement by providing a wide range of assistance to rebuild their lives. This includes activities in the following sectors: Food Security and Livelihoods including productive infrastructure rehabilitation; Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA); Camp Management including mobile site management and community centres; Shelter and Non-Food Items (NFIs); WASH and other infrastructure and Education.

NRC is implementing a 25 months’ Agricultural livelihoods project entitled “Promoting livelihood and agricultural value chain activities in the Anbar Province” in Anbar targeting Fallujah and Ramadi districts with funding support from GIZ. The primary objective of the project is to promote livelihoods and agricultural value chains in Anbar province by supporting the economic situation of small scale farmers and other actors involved in the agricultural value chains in Ramadi and Fallujah districts. The project has 5 results areas:

· Outcome A: The infrastructure in selected communities within the prioritized agricultural value chains is identified, assessed and enhanced to improve agricultural productivity and community economic standing

· Outcome B: Prerequisites for income generating activities in the agricultural value chain are improved

· Outcome C: Capacity for productivity increase of small-scale farmers is enhanced

· Outcome D: Vulnerable smallholder households confirm a temporary stabilization of their precarious household situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

· Outcome E: Conflict affected youth and women have improved access to market oriented skills, assets and information to move into self- or wage employment in the upstream and downstream sectors of the agri-food industry.

Specifically, under result area/outcome E, the project aims to improve self/wage employment prospects of youth and women in Ramadi and Fallujah district through: (a). Developing required skills for the agri-food businesses, (b). Improving employability, and (c). Supporting agri-food start-ups and businesses. Against this backdrop, NRC seeks to hire a consultant/consultancy firm to carry out a comprehensive labour market assessment in Ramadi and Fallujah districts to inform strategic decisions on the implementation of activities under outcome E of the project. This Terms of Reference (TOR) therefore provides a set of minimum requirements and the scope of the study processes to be undertaken in the project target areas so as to provide benchmark information and indicators about the situation at the beginning of the project.

1. Purpose of the Labour Market Assessment (LMA):

The purpose of this consultancy is to conduct a comprehensive labour market assessment (LMA) to inform implementation of self/wage employment initiatives within the agri-food industry in Ramadi and Fallujah districts. The assessment will identify bottlenecks and opportunities in the demand and supply side of the labour market. The former will identify skills required by employers within the agri-food industry, challenges faced by employers in hiring, opportunities and constraints to business growth within the agri-food industry while the latter will identify existing skills and skill gaps among youth and women in the agri-food industry, the major constraints facing job-seekers and skills development opportunities. The assessment will map the strategies and methods that different groups use to identify market opportunities and find work within the agri-food industry and present opportunities for greater collaboration between NRC and various stakeholders in Ramadi and Fallujah districts to provide solutions to address various labour market challenges.

Specific objectives:

· To identify and rank skill gaps among the youth and women and relevant trainings needs/courses required to gain decent self/wage employment in the agri-food industry.

· To provide a detailed analysis of the general labour market trends and enabling factors for skill development within the agri-food industry.

· To map and assess the capacity of technical and vocational training service providers (public and private) in relation to the provision of identified market-demanded courses within the agri-food industry).

· To measure variations in labour demand as per the annual business cycle within the agri-food industry.

· To identify the strategies/channels that different groups use to find work and to identify new market opportunities in the agri-food industry, and recommend linkage approaches

· To provide a detailed analysis of the current structure of agri-food industry and identify bottlenecks and opportunities for agri-business start-up or growth.

· Provide clear recommendations on: (a). skills development of youth and women in the agri-food businesses, relevant skills development approaches and post training support packages to facilitate access to self/wage employment, (b). improving employability and (c). supporting agri-food start-ups and businesses

2. Scope of the LMA assessment:

2.1. Geographical scope

The labour market assessment should cover the following locations in Fallujah and Ramadi districts:

· Ramadi district: Ramadi center, Albo-Thiab, Zwiyyat Albo-Thiab, Sahalat, Al-Mouh, Al-Hamdhia

· Fallujah district: Fallujah center, Hasai, Nuaimiya, Saqlawiya

2.2. Assessment scope

The LMA should comprehensively address the below questions;

(a). Types of jobs in the Agriculture sector/Agri-food industry available in Ramadi and Fallujah relevant to graduates of technical and vocational skills training:

· What are the current jobs opportunities in the agriculture and food industry in Ramadi and Fallujah districts?

· What are the projected gaps in skills required by the labour market?

· What courses/trainings/modules are needed to equip the youth and adults with the required skills to be competitive in the labor market within the agri-food industry? Who are most relevant target groups for each of the identified skills training courses, especially in terms of gender and levels of education and job experience?

· What are the main challenges in hiring (demand side), and how they can be addressed?

· What are the main challenges in finding job (supply side), and how can they be addressed?

(b). Priority technical and vocational skills training course relevant to meet labour market demands:

· What are the existing and potential technical and vocational skills trainings that could be provided to youth and adults to obtain paid employment opportunities within the agri-food industry?

· What are the existing and potential technical and vocational skills trainings that could be provided to youth and women to establish their own small businesses or scale-up existing businesses in the agriculture and food industry?

· Are there existing service providers in Ramadi and Fallujah districts well equipped to provide these trainings?

Feasibility and relevance of the identified technical and vocational skills training courses within the agri-food industry:

· How relevant and feasible is each of the identified skills training course to the labour market demand within the agri-food industry?

· What training equipment and inputs would be needed to deliver the proposed skills training?

· Which are the potential growth areas within the agri-food industry with current and projected demand for skilled and unskilled labour?

(d). Specific complementary training and support needed by graduates of each category of technical and vocational training

· What supplementary courses or specific services would enhance a trainee’s likelihood of finding gainful employment? What entrepreneurship skills might be useful as part of the skills training courses?

· What are the attitudes among employers regarding the provision of internships/Apprenticeships? How might linkages be strengthened between employers and graduates of technical and vocational skills training to match skills and skill gaps?

· What support kit composition would be recommended for each category of the training?

(e). Labor demand and structure of the agri-food industry **

· What is the structure of the informal and the formal economy in the Agriculture sector?

· How does labor demand for both skilled and unskilled vary throughout the year in the agri-food industry?

· What are the strategies that individuals use to find work and or identify new market opportunities in the agri-food industry?

· In addition to salary, which other mandatory costs are associated with hiring workers in both the formal and informal economies?

· What are the channels that businesses use to hire qualified labor in the agri-food industry?

· What are the costs associated with setting-up/starting a business in the agri-food industry?

 

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3. METHODOLOGY:

The methodology for the LMA will be revised by the consultant to achieve the assessment objectives however the following should be considered;

· The consultant should review available secondary data and project documents to understand the context and refine assessment tools to meet assessment objectives. During the desk review, the consultant should be able to map potential private sectors to identify specific firms or business sectors for engagement in NRC livelihoods and youth programming.

· The consultant shall conduct Business Surveys: This will be conducted in the form of quantitative surveys with individual traders to explore multiple aspects of employment. These surveys should cover the overall agri-food industry, assess challenges facing the business sector, identify opportunities and interests for mentorships, apprenticeships, and job placements, businesses’ perceptions of job seekers, constraints to starting or expanding a business, and skills (both soft skills and technical skills) and characteristics most desired by employers versus the existing skills and characteristics of current employees.

· The consultant shall conduct Key Informant Interviews (KIIs): The KII will be conducted with vocational centers, professional schools, municipality – department of employment/business, NGOs working on livelihoods (national or international)) staffs, relevant government line ministries (youth institutions and other key stakeholders. This will provide a good understanding of the enabling environment and opportunities for wage employment and self‐employment in the agri-food industry in the locations where NRC intends to intervene or scale up its livelihoods program.

· The consultant shall conduct Focus Group Discussions (FGDs): This will be conducted with youth, men and women to assess perceptions of their current skills and opportunities for employment and economic engagement, which will help to determine the existing gaps between the perceptions of the different groups and the larger labour market.

· Market Observation and Mapping Tools: This should focus on understanding the general local market activity including basic supply and demand of goods and services, trade routes and movements of goods, as well identify challenges of consumers and local market actors.

Suggested target groups for LMA.

The consultant should define the target group for the assessment that will enable him/her collect comprehensive data to meet the assessment objectives. NRC however suggests the following target groups among others;

· Government officials, chambers of commerce, donors, NGO leaders, producer and,

· Business community members/employers/business associations/private companies.

· Unskilled and unemployed youth and adults in the market and training centers

· Vocational training centers in Ramadi and Fallujah (private and government/MoLSA)

· Skilled and employed youth and adults

· Relevant Line ministries such as MoLSA, chamber of commerce in Ramadi and Fallujah governorate

· University of Anbar and any research institution

· Directorate of agriculture

4. Roles and Responsibilities

4.1. Main responsibilities of the Lead Consultant;

The consultant will be required to perform the following key responsibilities:

· Review all relevant secondary sources of data and any relevant information to the study.

· Prepare the inception report including the proposed methodology, necessary data collection tools, work plans and present them for review and approval for NRC

· Identify and train own enumerators to collect required data.

· Conduct both quantitative and qualitative data using approved methodology and tools by NRC using own data collection team.

· Develop relevant databases and provide supervision of data collection using appropriate methods and procedures to ensure accuracy and quality of data.

· Facilitate validation workshop to present key LMA findings with key stakeholders including GIZ.

· Develop the final report incorporating stakeholders’ feedback.

· Access to Iraq whenever required, NRC will provide visa cost to federal Iraq, airport transport and healther insurance through NRC global health insurance scheme,

· Identify, hire and train own enumerators to collect required data,

4.2. NRC roles and responsibilities:

· Provide relevant secondary data and project information required by the consultant

· NRC may provide contacts details of key informants for the interview

· Review and approve inception report including proposed methodology, work plan and data collection tools

· Where appropriate, NRC may facilitate access to project locations

· Organized validation workshop and dissemination workshop

5. Timeframe

The value chain analysis study is expected to be delivered within 6 weeks. The table below shows the sequence and estimated timing of the planned activities:

Delivery dates:

Milestones:

Week 1

· Contract signing

· Inception meeting

· Desk review of secondary literature

· Inception report and review

· Data collection tool development and review by NRC

· Training of data collectors/enumerators

Week 2 and 3

• Primary data collection

Week 4

· Data synthesis and analysis

· Validation workshop – presentation of the key findings to NRC, GIZ and other key stakeholders

· Draft report write-up

Week 5

• Submission of draft reports
• Feedback on the Labour market assessment report by NRC and GIZ

Week 6

• Submission of final labour market assessment report to NRC incorporating comments from the validation workshop

Annex 2: Technical Proposal methodology, work plan, and personnel

1. Technical methodology and work plan

A. Technical methodology:

Please provide your Technical methodology including, the outline of the evaluation framework and methods, comments on the TOR. (Please add rows if necessary or use your own format template).

B. Work Plan:

Please provide complete details of all the activities based on the ToR and duration for each activity. Please use the table below or your own template.

#

Activity

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week …

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

2. Total Duration

Please state the date you are expecting to deliver the assignment:

☐By Oct 15^th, 2021

☐After Oct 15^th, 2021

3. Availability

Please state how many calendar days/weeks you will need from the signing of the contract to start working as per the work plan that you have submitted. Please note that bidders who have a shorter availability period will be preferred in the evaluation.

4. Personnel

Please provide a detailed list of proposed Individuals (Lead Consultants) contributing to the research and provide the respective CV.

#

Name of Personnel

Contributor Position

Submitted CV (Yes/No)

1

2

3

NOTE:

· The list shouldn’t be limited to this Form in regards to the number of proposed Key Personnel.

· A comprehensive list has to be submitted adapting the Form to the necessary rows.

5- Access to Iraq (answering this question is compulsory)

Do the consultant & the consultancy team has access to Iraq?

☐Yes

☐No

Annex 3: Previous Experience

The Bidder is requested to:

· Submit the Company Profile (optional), if available

· Complete the following Previous Experience Table listing the assignments or contracts undertaken similar to the assignment required under this contract presenting:

· Submit as many evidences as you can of previous experience in form of reports/researcchs/contracs of the past 5 years for similar assignments as proof of experience out of the works listed in the below table – Compulsory

· Provide a list of referees from the previous assignments

A. Previous Experience Table

#

Topic of Assignment

Contracted organization

Total value of the performed assignment (…..)

Duration of the contract

Starting date

Ending date

Contracting Authority and Place

Evidence Submitted (Yes / No)

1

2

3

4

5

…

NOTE: The list shouldn’t be limited to this Form in regards to the number of assignments reported. A comprehensive list of similar experiences has to be submitted adapting the Form to the necessary rows.

NRC may conduct reference checks for previous contracts completed.

B. References

Please provide details of at least 3 client references whom NRC may contact, for similar related works:

Client/company name

Contact person

Phone

Email

Contract details (works, location, size, value, etc.)

1.

2.

3.

ANNEX 5: SUPPLIER’S ETHICAL STANDARDS DECLARATION

NRC as a humanitarian organisation expects its suppliers and contractors to have high ethical standards. Any organization supplying goods to NRC valued at over 10,000 USD (or equivalent) in one year must sign this declaration. This declaration will be kept on file for a period of 10 years and should be updated every year or more often as appropriate.

NRC staff may perform spot checks to verify that these standards are adhered to. Should NRC deem that the supplier fails to meet, or is not taking appropriate steps to meet, these standards, any and all contracts and agreements with NRC may be terminated.

Anyone doing business with Norwegian Refugee Council shall as a minimum;

1. Comply with all laws and regulations in effect in the country or countries of business;
2. Meet the ethical standards as listed below; or
3. Positively agree to the standards and be willing to implement changes in their organisation.

1. Anti-corruption and supplier’s compliance with laws and regulations:

1.1. The supplier confirms that it is not involved in any form of corruption.

1.2. Where any potential conflict of interest exists between the supplier or any of the suppliers’ staff members with any NRC staff member, the supplier shall notify NRC in writing of the potential conflict. NRC shall then determine whether action is required. A conflict of interest can be due to a relationship with a staff member such as close family etc.

1.3. The supplier will immediately notify senior NRC management if exposed for alleged corruption by representatives of NRC.

1.4. The supplier shall be registered with the relevant government authority with regard to taxation.

1.5. The supplier shall pay taxes according to all applicable national laws and regulations.

1.6. The supplier warrants that it is not involved in the production or sale of any weapons including anti-personnel mines.

2. Conditions related to the employees:

2.1. No workers in our company will be forced, bonded, or involuntary prison workers.

2.2. Workers shall not be required to lodge “deposits” or identity papers with their employer and shall be free to leave their employer after reasonable notice.

2.3. Workers, without distinction, shall have the right to join or form trade unions of their own choosing and to bargain collectively.

2.4. Persons under the age of 18 shall not be engaged in work that is hazardous to their health or safety, including night work.

2.5. Employers of persons under the age of 18 must ensure that the working hours and nature of the work do not interfere with the child’s opportunity to complete his/ her education.

2.6. There shall be no discrimination at the workplace based on ethnic background, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership, or political affiliation.

2.7. Measures shall be established to protect workers from sexually intrusive, threatening, insulting, or exploitative behaviour, and from discrimination or termination of employment on unjustifiable grounds, e.g. marriage, pregnancy, parenthood, or HIV status.

2.8. Physical abuse or punishment, or threats of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment, and verbal abuse, as well as other forms of intimidation, shall be prohibited.

2.9. Steps shall be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with, or occurring in, the course of work, by minimizing, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.

2.10. Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week shall meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmark standards, whichever is higher. Wages should always be enough to meet basic needs.

2.11. Working hours shall comply with national laws and benchmark industry standards, whichever affords greater protection. It is recommended that working hours do not exceed 48 hours per week (8 hours per day).

2.12. Workers shall be provided with at least one day off for every 7 day period.

2.13. All workers are entitled to a contract of employment that shall be written in a language they understand.

2.14. Workers shall receive regular and documented health and safety training, and such training shall be repeated for new workers.

2.15. Access to clean toilet facilities and potable water, and, if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage shall be provided.

2.16. Accommodation, where provided, shall be clean, safe, and adequately ventilated, and shall have access to clean toilet facilities and potable water.

2.17. No Deductions from wages shall be made as a disciplinary measure.

3. Environmental conditions:

3.1. Production and extraction of raw materials for production shall not contribute to the destruction of the resources and income base for marginalized populations, such as in claiming large land areas or other natural resources on which these populations are dependent.

3.2. Environmental measures shall be taken into consideration throughout the production and distribution chain ranging from the production of raw material to the consumer sale. Local, regional, and global environmental aspects shall be considered. The local environment at the production site shall not be exploited or degraded by pollution.

3.3. National and international environmental legislation and regulations shall be respected.

3.4. Hazardous chemicals and other substances shall be carefully managed in accordance with documented safety procedures.

We, the undersigned verify that we are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and meet the ethical standards as listed above, or positively agree to these ethical standards and are willing to implement necessary changes in the organisation.

BID ACCEPTANCE: NRC reserves the right to accept the whole or part of supplier’s bid. NRC may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for submission of the bids, by notifying prospective suppliers in writing through the eSourcing system. NRC is not bound to select any of the suppliers who submitted bids and does not bind itself to select the lowest price offer. The Contract will be rewarded to the supplier considered most responsive to the needs and most conforming to NRC general principles, including economy, efficiency and best value for money.

OTHER INFORMATION: All correspondence between potential bidders and NRC is through the system. Please note that both the NRC’s and the bidder’s actions are logged in the system for audit purposes