Terms of Reference: Vocational Training consultant 

1. Overview of the context
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) began operations in Sudan in 2020 and serves refugees in Um-Rakoba camp, as well as formal refugees and vulnerable Sudanese in the surrounding host communities, named: Um-Rakona village, Doka and Rasheed, NRC East Sudan’s programs fall into the following sectors: Education, Youth, Livelihoods, Information Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA) and Shelter. In the host community, NRC also serves the most vulnerable in the host communities through its programs either directly or through implementing partners. While NRC began its operations in Sudan in response to the Tigray Crisis, in 2020, it adopted a ‘one refugee approach’ in recognition of refugee needs regardless of nationality. 
November 2022 marks the 2nd year of the Tigray Crisis. The Government of Sudan continues to host more than 60,000 registered Tigrayan refugees, with the majority having arrived by the end of 2020. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 64% of the camp population consists of adults between the ages of 18 and 59 years, 64% being male and 36% female. Reports from UN agencies and INGOs indicated that the camp received an unusually high number of single young men and women. This led to NRC’s strategic decision to target youth through its action. The additional burden placed on host community receiving refugees coupled with the limited natural resources and the impact of the influx on available land and land ownership increases the likelihood of tension and possibly conflict between refugees and host communities.
2. Consultancy assignment background 
NRC have been implementing and EU (European Union) funded project to promote peaceful co-existence between refugees and host communities through education, livelihoods and effective dispute resolution mechanisms, NRC Education program is targeting youth from the camps and the surrounding host communities (Doka, Rasheed and Um-Rakouba village) aged between 15-24, with a 70-30% split between the camp and the Host Communities, 180 youth (108 females and 72 males) have taken the Youth Education Program Training (YEP) to create a first point of contact with youth, to enhance the community engagement and participation and to improve their life skills, 50 groups will be formed At the end of the training, the youth enrolled in the program will be encouraged to organise themselves into groups of 3 to 4 members each and to come up with initiatives of how they would like to implement the skills learnt in the program followed by a technical Business management training tailored upon the audience needs, During the training sessions the groups will be encouraged to reflect on the initiatives they are considering in their formed groups in light of the new knowledge gained to be able to design feasible start-up projects, Language barriers among the participants would be also minimized by recruiting  facilitators speaking English, Arabic and Tigrayan languages according to the highly practical and competency focused approach of the NRC learning portfolio. The youth groups will be enrolled in a short term technical vocational skills training delivered at NRC premises in Um-Rakouba camp, the Focus will be put on the areas identified by the labour market assessment findings and the skill gap analysis, for that, NRC is looking for a professional and highly experienced Vocational skill trainer sourced from established and accredited institutions to outline clear and tangible learning objectives and track the progress of learning for the youth involved.
3. Objectives and scope of work
Objectives
Youth from refugee and host communities will gain technological expertise and be able to start and manage their start-ups and initiatives.

Scope of work
The consultant must develop and design a training methodology that aim to assist the youth in reflecting on long-term, realistic solutions and reviewing the potential investment areas based on the market assessment findings in the following categories:
- Automobile maintenance (Motorbike and tuktuk maintenance)
- Home general electrical maintenance 
- Poultry farming (for the purpose of meat and eggs)
- Home solar power systems installation and maintenance (100 KVA)
- Tailoring, embroidery, and stitching 

In addition, the consultant should provide the youth with the technical knowledge and expertise they need to launch their own projects and support them through the execution phase.

Major tasks and responsibilities
The deliverables include the following: 
•    Bi-Weekly follow up report. Report of no more than 3 pages detailing the progress that has been made by the youth groups and updates on next steps. 
•    Inception report. Report of no more than 7 pages laying out the evaluation/assessment questions to be answered through this assignment, lines of inquiry, methodology and key stakeholders to be interviewed. The proposed outline for the final report should also be included in the inception report. 
•    Programmatic guidance document. Final programmatic guidance document of no more than 20 pages (excluding annexes) according to outline as agreed upon in the inception report. The final report should include evaluation, recommendations, and findings from consultations with the youth. 
•    Debriefing phase. Including PowerPoint development and 2-page executive summaries) 
Use the debriefing phase as validation and a data collection forum to fill any gap.

Outputs/Deliverables:
PROGRESS PLAN
Progress plan with milestones and delivery dates – note that the consultant will be expected to refine the work plan. 
Timeline & # days:
(indicative only, to be refined by consultant)    Milestones or Outputs:
23rd – 27th October     •    Contract signing 
•    Inception meetings and interviews with key NRC staff
•    NRC sharing of key data, assessments etc.
•    Submission of draft action plan (covers all the training components)

30th October- 3rd November     •    Curricula development for all training components.
•    Finalisation of action plan
•    Preparation of training materials 
5th November – 31st December     •    Training provision for participants 
1st -5th January     •    Post-evaluation for the training
•    Submission of draft reports 
1st -5th January    •    Submission of final reports to NRC (possibly including a second round of comments)

4. Institutional and organisational arrangements
Duties of the consultant

1.    In addition to the requirements provided above, the Consultancy and its Key Personnel, as the case may be, shall provide NRC with the following documents that can be requested from the Consultancy and its Key Personnel:
-    The Certificate of Incorporation
-    Certificate showing the objectives, management structure and authorized signatories 
-    Certificate of registration with Tax Department.
-    Copies of last 2 years audited financial statements. 
-    Valid Vocational License
-    Any other documents or certificate that NRC may request from time to time.
2.    If the consultancy requires substituting the Key Personnel, the Consultancy shall provide details of the subcontracts in their bid. The consultancy shall notify NRC where it intends to substitute all or part of the services and shall obtain the prior written approval of NRC for all subcontractors. Following the award procedure, the list in the final contract shall be in line with the received and accepted bid.

Everything submitted to NRC must be the original work of the consultants. Any plagiarism in any form, or any other breach of intellectual property rights, will automatically disqualify the consultant from receiving any further payments under the contract by NRC, and NRC will seek to recover any payments already made.
Duties of NRC
•    NRC will provide the data (youth names, age, gender, locations, and list of the formed groups) needed to carry on the consultancy 
•    NRC will cover training stationery and refreshments.
•    Accommodation will not be provided under this consultancy

Qualifications of the consulting company. 
Applications should include the following:
o    CV of all individuals involved in the consultation
o    Cover Letter 
o    Sample of previous consultancy reports/ evaluations 
o    Technical proposal, detailing proposed methodology and work plan
o    Financial proposal, detailing consultancy fees, international travel, per diem, insurance costs and communication. 
    Any costs related to procurement and provision of equipment, material, services required to complete the consultancy should be included in the fees. No additional costs shall be charged separately. 

Experience and qualifications
•    The ideal candidates(s) will have a proven record of accomplishment carrying out programmatic consultations and evaluations for organizations delivering humanitarian and development programming. 
•    Proven experience collecting and analysing qualitative data as part of previous assessments/evaluations. 
•    Understanding of the Tigray Crisis and the operating environment in Sudan are mandatory. 
•    Excellent written and spoken English are mandatory, spoken Tigrayan is an asset. 

Evaluation process and award criteria
Award of the contract(s) will be based on the following evaluation process and criteria:  
1.    Step 1: Administrative compliance check 
Bidders must submit the requested Mandatory documents to be considered compliant and to be accepted for the next round of technical evaluation. If the documents do not meet NRC requirements, the bid will be rejected. 
2.    Step 2: Technical Evaluation 75%
A Technical Evaluation of all bids received will be conducted to shortlist bidders. The main criteria that will be used to evaluate and score the bids received are as follows: 
•    Project methodology, suitability for NRC and proposed timeline (20%)
•    Proven ability and experience with similar consultancies (15%)
•    Experience and demonstrable understanding of the context (20%)
•    Examples of previous evaluation/assessment report (20%)
Step 3: Financial Evaluation 25%
Financial bids received from the shortlisted bidders who passed the Technical Evaluation will then be evaluated.
Interested consultant firms should submit their application in hand delivery to the following addresses:
•    Gadarif Office – East Jobarab – Alriyada Street - Gadarif Sudan.
•    Country Office, 4th Floor, Nile Tower, Fourth Floor, Block 10, Building #20, Street 63, Khartoum