Consultant - Market Expert

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is a private, non-denominational, international development agency established in 1967. It seeks sustainable solutions to long-term problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and ill-health with special emphasis on the needs of rural communities in mountainous and other resource poor regions, primarily in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its main areas of focus are education, health, rural development, environment and strengthening civil society.

The Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan) [AKF (P)] is seeking a high caliber professional consultant to conduct third party research based in Islamabad. This is a short-term consultancy for 3 weeks (20 days). The beginning date will be mutually agreed upon between the consultant and AKF (P).

1          Background of the Assignment

AKF aims to develop Pathways, a digital-first solution that will complement existing targeted, intensive, in-person initiatives AKF is implementing in the area of Work and Enterprise. Pathways will aim to scale AKF’s existing initiatives that support youth to acquire the skills and knowledge to become competitive in the labour market. The solution will support a broad segment of youth across a range of countries in identifying learning pathways they can pursue to position themselves for success along promising future economic pathways. The aim is for Pathways to complement existing AKF interventions and use existing initiatives, platforms, and structures as vehicles to deliver value to youth seeking promising life pathways.

AKF is conducting a Human-Centred Design (HCD) process across four pilot countries – Germany, Pakistan, Portugal, and Tajikistan – to understand gaps in current AKF programming that Pathways could help bridge and to understand the realities, circumstances, and aspirations of youth that Pathways will support. The solution will leverage the vast amount of research done to date on the sector’s potential/growth perspectives, relevant skilling, employability, entrepreneurship, and other related topics across AKF.

2          Role Description

AKF is searching for a labour market specialist with strong analytical skills who can help shape guidance for youth and contribute to creating engaging content. The consultant will be responsible for all aspects of work related to developing the draft and final report. The consultant will be responsible for all aspects of work related to the research.

3          Deliverables

·         Report on local and global labour markets including

o   Current state of local and global labour markets with a secondary focus on career counselling, youth empowerment and high priority skill sets .

o   Labour market trends for the community, country, and global level.

o   Skills forecast describing skills that will be in high demand at the community, country, and global level.

o   Labour supply and demand forecast for the community, country, and global level.

Recommendations for

o   Guiding target youth so they have access to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities across the whole spectrum.

o   Guiding target youth so they have access to both short-term and long-term income generation opportunities and business supportive skill sets and services such as financial literacy and access to financial loans.

o   Helping target youth prepare to compete in local and global labour markets based on labour supply and demand forecast.

Key Responsibilities

·         Identify, summarise, and evaluate relevant secondary sources of labour market intelligence and datasets to generate insights and make recommendations for employment and income generation guidance for youth in the areas of focus.

·         Conduct primary research as needed to identify and report on short-term and near-term income generation opportunities for youth.

·         Identify and report on skills that will be in high demand at the community, country and global level based on insights generated from primary and secondary research. Primary research shall focus on the demand side by interviewing employers.

·         Summarise trends in the community, country, and global level labour markets to take into consideration supply and demand as part of the project's strategic direction.

• Regularly engage with Pathways task force/design team in country.

4          Suggested Timeframe

The period of the contract will be up to a month, beginning on a date agreed upon between the consultant and the Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan.

5          Selection Criteria

The consultant should have

·         Degree in Business, Economics, SME and Enterprise Development, or other relevant fields

·         Experience in conducting market research, knowledge, and understanding of digital work pathways trends, employers, and high-growth avenues.

·         Knowledge of local and global

·         Familiarity with labour market intelligence sources and datasets

·         Experience identifying, selecting, analysing, and summarising primary and secondary research

·         Excellent organisational and analytical skills (specific to employers, corporates and private sector entities)

·         Excellent English language writing skills, on technical topics related to economics and business

·         Fluency in Urdu and English desired

(Fluency in G-B al languages like Burushaski, Khwar, Shina, Balti, Wakhi etc will be an additional asset).

Additional qualifications

·         Experience in conducting market research, knowledge, and understanding of digital work pathways trends, employers, and high-growth avenues.

·         Knowledge of the local (GBC), national and global market business and employment opportunities.

·         Experience analysing labour markets and identifying trends

·         Knowledge of local context will be an added asset.

AKF(P) recruitment and selection policy and procedures reflect our commitment to equal opportunity and the safeguarding of children, beneficiaries, partners, community members and employees in accordance with AKF(P)’s Safeguarding policy.

The deadline for the submission of application is Wednesday, August 14, 2024. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.