| Overview : To apply, kindly read the procurement notice, and send the following documents to email: ic.jo@undp.org CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references. Technical proposal (proposed methodology describing the actions to be taken for successfully completing the assignment) Financial proposal
No later than 11 August 2016 The conflict in Syria, which entered its fifth year, has caused the largest displacement and refuge crisis of our time. As of 4 July 2016, UNHCR-Jordan has registered 657,433 Syrian refugees in Jordan, with Mafraq Governorate, bordering with Syria, being the hardest hit and receiving about 25 percent of Syrian refugees in the country, thus becoming the most affected Governorate by the refugee influx. The conflict has adversely affected livelihoods and employment prospects, and has augmented structural issues facing livelihoods and employment. It resulted in increased competition between vulnerable groups, thus increasing risk to social cohesion between Jordanians and Syrian refugees in host communities. Unemployment rates in Jordan have worsened with the influx of the Syrian Crisis, as there is increasing tension over competition for employment. During the first quarter of 2016, unemployment rates reached 14.6 percent. Unemployment rates for women are at 23.7 percent; however, the figures for men are higher where men with the age group of 15-19 years have unemployment rates at 22.9%, and for men with the age group of 20-24 their unemployment rates are at 31.5 percent, respectively. Moreover, only 38 percent of the population are economically active; Jordan has one of the lowest labor market participation rate in the world, especially among women at around 12 percent. Correlation between educational attainment and employment in Jordan is weak. High levels of education do not necessarily lead to employment, as it is shown that the unemployment rate is high amongst university degree holders reaching 18.7 percent in 2015. In this situation, the vulnerable population struggles to find an entry point to participate in economic activities in the labor market. The Jordanian populace is amongst the least resilient to shocks affecting their livelihood security. Moreover, the Syrian Crises has exasperated an already existing problem of livelihood security, as Jordanian households had limited income-earning opportunities. As a result, the lack of income-earning opportunities had left the Jordanian people lacking confidence, lacking a sense of belonging to their communities, questioning their communities’ stability, and feeling marginalized. Meanwhile, as Syrian refugees have been recently allowed to get work permits, the population is heavily reliant on food assistance with 74 percent citing the WFP food vouchers as their primary source of income. In addition, some Syrian refugees are no longer receiving cash assistance. The WFP/REACH Comprehensive Food Security Monitoring Exercise (CFSME) found that, households headed by widows were far more likely to be food insecure. Refugees increasingly adopt coping strategies to meet their basic needs, and/or try to get work at an informal basis, contributing to the informalization of the economy. Recent studies have emphasized that the hardships suffered by Syrian refugees and Jordanians, as they struggle to sustain livelihoods, are likely to contribute to deteriorating levels of endogenous trust and horizontal social cohesion within the host communities. These tensions are exacerbated by the widely held community beliefs that refugees are responsible for the deterioration of living conditions within the community. This attribution instils more negative feelings towards the Syrian refugees in general, hampering social cohesions. Around 80 percent of the refugee population are residing in host communities, where Jordanians are already suffering from high levels of poverty and unemployment, a decrease in food or other assistance, as a result that forces the Syrian population to engage in the workforce without legal working permits, which could in turn further exacerbate social cohesion issues. Business owners in those areas would hire Syrian refugees as they would accept lower pay for jobs, compromising the equal opportunity for the rest of the population resulting, in an exasperated problem. In response to this situation, UNDP Jordan has launched a programme titled “Mitigating the Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis through Support to Host Communities” signed between UNDP and the Government of Jordan in June 2013 to help the Government of Jordan in alleviating the impact of Syrian crisis and improving the standards of living for Jordanians in the host communities with a focus on the two governorates of Mafraq and Irbid. The programme encompasses six outputs: - Short-term employment opportunities created and economic recovery initiatives developed geared towards improvement of livelihoods and basic social services deliveries
- Enhanced local economic development through skills-matching and exchange, MSMEs growth and capacity development;
- Improved delivery of municipal and social services;
- Develop State-society trust and social cohesion;
- Enhancing community security and crime prevention and support to legal aid in Jordan; and
- Technical support to coordination of host community concerns.
Technical and financial proposals along with CV & 3 references should be submitted, and without such will not be considered). (Only Short Listed Candidates will be contacted) UNDP is an employer committed to gender equity and to providing equal opportunities to both males and females |
