Request for Proposal For Consultancy Services For Labor Market Assessment & Value Chain Opportunity Analysis

Request for proposals for Consultancy Services for Labor Market Assessment & Value Chain Opportunity Analysis About the Assignment Contract Type: Technical Consultancy Services Target Location: South Sudan (Juba: 4 Payams; Yambio: 4 Payams) Beneficiary Targets: 800 Youth, 288 Focus Group Discussion Participants, 800 Households, TVET Providers, and Key Employers Background & Rationale Humanity Worldwide is launching economic empowerment, workforce development, and livelihood resilience programs in South Sudan. To ensure evidence-based programming, Humanity Worldwide requires a market diagnostic in Juba (Central Equatoria) and Yambio (Western Equatoria) to evaluate labor market dynamics, identify growth-oriented value chains, map youth employment bottlenecks, and assess the capacity of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to meet private-sector demand. Objectives of the Assignment Map local economic demand, wage employment opportunities, major employers, and selfemployment avenues across 8 Payams. Evaluate the operational capacity, curriculum relevance, and enrollment constraints of technical colleges and vocational institutions relative to market demand. Identify high-potential agricultural and non-agricultural value chains viable for investment, enterprise development, and youth job absorption. Assess household consumption patterns, expenditure behavior, and prevailing business skill deficits among local market actors LABOUR MARKET ASSESSMENT Specific objectives 1. Mapping out market systems, current and emerging labour demand and supply from employers 2. Quantify skills gaps and training needs, disaggregated by gender, disability status and displacement, opportunities and barriers in access to employment by the youth 3. Analyze the ecosystem for Skills training provision, capacity of TVET institutions and other vocational modalities recommend missing courses, capacities that can meet employers demands 4. Develop location-specific opportunity matrices and placement strategies for both the Skill training and vocational modalities 5. Make recommendations of the required skills that are context specific location specific based on demand from employers and supply form available institutions 3. Detailed Scope of Work Labor Market Assessment (4 Payams Juba, 4 Payams in Yambio): Survey 4 Payams in Juba and 4 Payams in Yambio. Administer individual quantitative surveys reaching 100 youth per Payam (800 total). Provide a report of demand for employment in each location, demanded jobs, available skills, and youth preferences for future career growth. Outlining the barriers to access to employment, access to skills, Conduct 3 structured Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) per payam for PWD, female youth youth, and male youth) max 12 participants per FGD minimum 8 participants per FGD) total 36 youth per Payam (288 total participants across 8 Payams). Ensure full data disaggregation by gender (male/female) and disability status, Host communities, and refugees Map formal and informal employers across sectors to identify current hiring trends, entry-level requirements, and critical hard/soft skill shortages. Provide a list of key employers with contacts, the skills they are willing to hire Profile vocational training centers: assess trade offerings, infrastructure, trainer qualifications, practical apprenticeship linkages, and capacity to deliver demand-driven, short-term courses. Provide a list of TVETs, courses offered and gaps for each institution MARKET & VALUE CHAIN OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS: Specific objectives and scope of work Map key input suppliers, producers, aggregators, processors, and retailers across prioritized local value chains, crops, livestock, fishing, at least 5 major value chains in Yambio and 5 major value chains in juba , Determine the flow of goods and services, barriers to access to markets, the sources and destinations, provide a list and contacts of key actors per value chain Conduct a socio-economic household assessment covering 100 households per Payam ( 4 payams juba, 4 payams yambio and total 800 households total) to evaluate purchasing power, demand for goods/services, and unmet consumer needs to inform potential value chains for future investment based on demand Pinpoint structural barriers in local markets, including supply bottlenecks, access to finance, and entrepreneurial capability deficits. Analyze the ecosystem value chains demand and supply, tracking the demand for goods/identifying oversaturated goods and services, including manufacturing and required potential inputs for business opportunities. Analyze entrepreneurship support systems in place, access to finance in the four selected payams and identify opportunities and barriers to self-employment for women, IDPs, refugeed and minority groups. Analyze the barriers to financial inclusion Analyze the barriers to digitalization of enterprises Quantify entrepreneurship skills gaps and training needs, disaggregated by gender, disability status and displacement, Opportunities and barriers in engaging in business 4. Deliverables & Milestones Inception Report: 2 Separate inception reports with detailed methodology, sampling framework, quality control mechanisms, field deployment schedule, and final data collection tools (including digital survey forms for KoboToolbox/ODK). Draft Assessment Report: 2 separate reports a) analysis synthesizing labor demand, TVET capacity profiles, and b) value chain opportunity matrices. Final Assessment Report: 2 separate Fully edited, validated diagnostic reports incorporating feedback from Humanity Worldwide, complete with strategic programmatic recommendations. Datasets & Presentations: 2 separate cleaned, anonymized quantitative datasets (with codebooks), qualitative transcripts, and a summary slide deck for stakeholder dissemination. 5. Consultant Qualifications & Competencies Masters degree or higher in Economics, Development Studies, Agricultural Economics, Labor Economics, or related fields. Minimum of 7 years of demonstrated experience designing and conducting labor market assessments, TVET evaluations, and value chain analyses in fragile or post-conflict contexts (experience in South Sudan preferred). Strong competence in mixed-methods research, mobile data collection platforms (KoboToolbox/ODK), and statistically sound sampling designs. Proven ability to coordinate field logistics across Juba and Yambio, including hiring and managing local enumerators proficient in local languages (Juba Arabic, Zande). 6. Proposal Submission Instructions Consulting firms must submit their offers in two separate, password-protected electronic files: 1. Technical Proposal - Labor Market & Value Chain Assessment - [Firm Name] 2. Financial Proposal - Labor Market & Value Chain Assessment - [Firm Name] Note: The financial proposal must be submitted as a distinct, separate document and will only be opened if the technical proposal meets the qualifying score. Tender Link : https://comms.southsudanngoforum.org/c/tenders