National Research Consultant.

Background

Empowering Youth through Transformative Entrepreneurship Support is a new UNDP regional project being implemented by UNDP Lebanon and Palestine with funding from the Big Heart Foundation. The project aims to support youth entrepreneurs in both countries by laying the foundation for innovation and scale in the incremental development of policies, systems, and capacities of institutions and for young people to start and scale inclusive SDG impact-oriented businesses that would generate employment for other youth and contribute towards green growth and resilient societies.The primary objective of the project in Lebanon is two-fold:• Address some of the challenges facing youth led SMEs across viable economic sectors by supportingthem in accessing new markets and provide them the capacity building needed to grow and export;• Incubate viable, innovative, impactful, and sustainable development solutions in the form of socialenterprises, nonprofits, initiatives of up to 20 youth. This component will be implemented by theselected national NGOs.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will be responsible to develop the following:• Desk research on youth entrepreneurship and ecosystem in Lebanon pre and post the 2019financial crisis, COVID 19 and the Beirut blast (deliverable will include overview of financialsupport available to youth start-ups, incubation support, technical training available, businessinfrastructure including digital infrastructure, mapping of entrepreneurship ecosystem actors,access to markets support, etc)• Mapping of all programs / policies/ laws currently available targeted at the youth (a genderfocus is also needed). Programs in place by international stakeholders should also be included• Organization of consultations and focus group meetings with national stakeholders tounderstand current challenges and opportunities• Design and implement a survey targeting youth entrepreneurs to understand needs andchallenges of the business environment (this will be done in partnership with organizations thatsupport youth in Lebanon)• Benchmarking of new trends in youth entrepreneurship and start-ups developments especiallyafter COVID-19• Development of methodology to identify sectors and sub-sectors of growth potential in whichyouth entrepreneurs in Lebanon have comparative advantage and short list sectors withpotential for youth employment and exportability• Development of priority policy reforms recommendations that can enable a conducive businessenvironment for youth entrepreneurship in Lebanon (including improved regulatory frameworkand more responsive public institutions to young entrepreneurs needs).For additional information, please refer to ANNEX I – Terms of Reference

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

• Technical ability to design survey questionnaire and evaluate findings
• Excellent English and Arabic reading and writing skills
• Very good communication skills.

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Knowledge of the UN preferable.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

• The Individual Consultant should possess the following minimum qualifications:

Education:

• University Degree in Economics or any related field (business, finance, etc)
• Master’s degree in economics or above related field is preferred

Years of experience:

• 5 years of relevant experience in economic research, especially in relation to productive sectors, public policy, SME development, youth entrepreneurship, labor force assessment

Technical experience:The consultant will need to have the following experience:

• Knowledge of the Lebanese economy,
• Knowledge of Lebanese productive sectors
• Familiarity with issues facing productive sector growth specially post crisis and post COVID is a must
• Experience in designing surveys and evaluation of survey results
• Experience in publishing policy reports and economic assessment reports
• Experience and familiarity with work with government entities is preferred
• Previous experience with UNDP or any other international organization is preferred.

How to apply:The consultancy is open for all national consultants who meet the selection criteria and propose a competitive fee. Interested consultants are requested to apply only through this UNDP jobs portal.Submissions through any other media will not be considered.The application must include all of the following documents:1. P11,2. Annex 3 (Offerors Letter) and3. Financial proposalAll files shall be submitted in one single document and uploaded as word or PDF file to the UNDP job site.It has been observed that bidders don’t submit all requested documents and thus reducing their chance to be selected for a contract with UNDP. before you submit your offer please revise that the application is complete and comprises all documents.Incomplete applications will not be considered.