Terms of Reference for Skills and Employability Associate Advisers Background The British Council is seeking highly experienced skills and employability professionals to contribute to our international work. We are recruiting Associate Advisers (Associates) who will be engaged under a Framework Agreement to work alongside the British Council s core skills team. Associates will provide specialist input into our contract pursuit and other funded work related to skills and employability. The Agreement will allow the skills team to assign specific pieces of work on a call-down contract. Context and environment Changes in the external environment have led to increased interest globally in the importance of skills development. The increased need for skills for employment and enterprise have been driven by political and social tensions, high youth unemployment, changing demographics and economic uncertainty in many countries. Skills development is seen as an essential element in promoting economic prosperity and in supporting young people to gain employment or create their own opportunities. Up-skilling is seen by governments, donors and employers as increasingly crucial and there is a greater demand than ever before for employability skills. As a result there is a strong demand for our work. There is a large pipeline of contract opportunities from bi and multi-lateral donors and governments across the globe and particularly in South Asia, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and wider Europe. The British Council skills offer Our cultural relations work in skills supports the British Council purpose, builds trust and engagement, increases collaboration with the UK and responds to significant demand from the market and governments. We work in partnership to develop high-quality skills systems that help both individuals and economies to prosper and promote stable societies. To achieve this we undertake a number of activities including: sharing and building UK and global expertise, good practice and innovation in the development of skills for employment and enterprise; providing consultancy on skills and employability policy reform and systems transformation which uses UK expertise and approaches. We combine our knowledge of UK and international good practice with our understanding of local circumstances to develop targeted solutions to improve skills systems. We work with governments, employers, education and training institutions and other social partners to develop effective mechanisms for dialogue and action. Where possible we aim to partner with or sub-contract UK organisations and use UK expertise. 1
We deliver technical assistance projects across the globe including in emerging economies and postconflict and fragile states. We believe that a combination of strategic system level activities, institutional strengthening and practical service delivery support is the best way to ensure a project makes a sustainable impact. We are currently undertaking skills work in 30 countries across the globe and delivering large scale donor funded projects in Iraq, Libya, India and Bangladesh. Purpose of the Associate Adviser role British Council Associates will support our team to deliver organisational objectives related to our skills and employability work. Associates will work closely with the skills team, will be managed by a team member and will take part in internal meetings. They will work on a call-down contract basis, providing an agreed number of consultancy days for the British Council over a 12 month period and as needs arise. The Associates will provide a flexible, additional resource to support the activities of the core skills team and will play an important role in the development of business opportunities and supporting staff knowledge and capacity. They will represent the British Council with external stakeholders in the UK and overseas. We are specifically seeking people who are entrepreneurial and business-development orientated to help drive forward our business objectives. Terms of Reference To meet the needs of the British Council over the next 12 months, we are seeking between 4 and 6 Associates who together will provide comprehensive expertise on the sector and are capable of undertaking a range of activities. Primarily these will include: Gathering market intelligence for potential contract opportunities including intelligence related to potential clients, partners and consultants. This may include undertaking scoping visits to targeted countries and acting as a representative of the British Council at meetings or events with clients, partners and other stakeholders; Developing concepts and designing methodologies to address skills and employability challenges and to take advantage of new business opportunities. This may include working with clients, partners and colleagues to develop and refine approaches; Writing and/or quality assuring proposals for technical assistance projects in response to invitations to tender from international donors, governments, charitable foundations and other funding sources. This may include contributing to proposals being written by partners or colleagues. Additional tasks may include: Supporting activities to raise the profile of the British Council and position it as a thought leader in skills and employability. This may include undertaking research, writing papers and dissemination activities; Providing knowledge and insight in relation to skills and employability issues to support internal planning; Providing technical advice and quality review of British Council projects during implementation; 2
Providing specialist technical input into projects either through the management of, or participation in activities such as research, workshops, conferences, training events or study tours; Designing and/or undertaking evaluation activities of British Council projects in order to identify impact, good practice and return on investment. Specific deliverables and outputs will be agreed on an assignment-by-assignment basis under the calldown contract. Location, timing and duration of contract Associates will initially be contracted for one year for up to 30 days a year, which will be used on a calldown or flexible basis. We are aiming to contract Associates from September 2014. Geographical location is flexible, and associates must be prepared to travel for assignments, (for usually up to one week) for which as much notice as practical will be given. Associates will be required to attend meetings (by phone or in person) with British Council staff members as required, chargeable against agreed days. Monitoring and feedback Associates will take part in scheduled reviews with a named managing staff member in the British Council s skills team. These meetings will review progress against specified assignment outputs and deliverables. *** Learning and development As part of the call-down contract Associates will be required to take part in knowledge transfer activities as agreed with the supervising staff member. This may include producing written briefs or delivering short talks or briefings. Associates will be expected to keep up to date with relevant policy developments. The skills team will provide updates as necessary. Skills and knowledge required Essential Criteria Recognised expertise in one or more of the technical areas in Table 1. We are particularly keen to hear from individuals who are able to work in several of these areas; 3
Table 1: Technical Areas of expertise 1. Skills and employability policy planning and systemic reform including governance, regulatory and funding issues. 2. Developing and sustaining social partnership mechanisms related to skills and employability, particularly those relating to employers for example through Sector or Industry Skills Councils. 3. Development and implementation of labour market information systems and the use of these systems for activities such as planning and careers guidance. 4. Development of national vocational qualification systems including experience of qualification frameworks, accreditation and assessment and quality assurance. 5. Development and implementation of high quality relevant vocational curriculum, including experience of systems to develop occupational standards, assessment criteria, learning materials and the training of trainers in modern techniques. 6. Development of programmes to improve the effectiveness of training delivery institutions including their management and strategic leadership, employer engagement mechanisms, quality assurance processes and professional development of teachers/trainers. 7. Development of pro-poor private sector development programmes focused on skills development. 8. Development of active labour market policies and programmes to provide unemployed and disadvantaged groups with the skills and opportunities to access employment or selfemployment. A good understanding of the main components of the UK national skills and employment systems and how they relate to each other; A good understanding of the skills and employment system in at least one other country; Track record of writing successful proposals for competitive skills and employment related projects, ideally funded by the EU, DfID, World Bank, Asian Development Bank or other donors; Excellent English writing skills with the ability to explain technical concepts and methodologies in plain English and with the appropriate use of graphics; Excellent spoken communication skills in English, and demonstrable ability to represent the organisation with internal and external stakeholders, including speaking at, or chairing conferences and workshops; Strong research and analytical skills; Recent experience of successfully working as part of a cross-cultural or international team; Strong network of external contacts that can enhance contract opportunities. 4
Desirable criteria Previous experience as a team leader or senior manager; Strong public profile in the specified technical area; Strong project management skills; Knowledge of monitoring and evaluation methodologies and appreciation of value for money approaches; Understanding and experience of working with the British Council; Strong ability in a second language such as French or Arabic. 5