Consultant - Education Pathways

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 skilling, employability, entrepreneurship, and other related topics across AKF.

2          Role Description

AKF is searching for an expert in education and vocational training with strong analytical skills to provide technical guidance, shape strategic direction, 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/firm will be responsible for all aspects of work related to the research.

3          Deliverables

• Report on existing and potential skills-building opportunities for youth in country, including:
  • Career counseling, youth empowerment and  high priority skillsets for local and global labour markets identified in a parallel research undertaken by Pathways Labour Market Research Consultant;
  • summary and evaluation of existing skills-building opportunities, based on clear set of criteria;
  • summary of areas where there is a lack of accessible, relevant skills-building opportunities;
  • insights and recommendations for developing a service to help youth acquire the skills and knowledge they need to become competitive in the labour market both locally and globally.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify, summarise, and evaluate secondary literature anticipating labour market trends noting high priority skillsets for local labour markets and globally.
• Develop criteria to evaluate education and skills-building opportunities that are relevant for beneficiaries.
• Conduct secondary and primary research to identify, summarise, and evaluate existing skills-building opportunities relevant for beneficiaries.
• Identify and summarise areas where there is a lack of accessible, relevant skills-building opportunities for beneficiaries.
• Develop research insights and translate recommendations for developing a service to help beneficiaries acquire the skills and knowledge they need to become competitive in the labour market both locally and globally.
• 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

• Experience conducting primary research
• Experience identifying, selecting, analysing, and summarising secondary research
• Knowledge of local education, vocational and technical training suppliers
• Excellent English language writing skills, on technical topics related to education
• Excellent organisational skills
• Fluency in Urdu and English desired

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

Additional qualifications

• Degree in Education Leadership and Management,  Educational Development or other relevant fields
• Experience engaging with/ teaching frequently marginalised groups, including migrants, to increase their participation in the labour market
• Experience designing education and/or vocational training programmes in response to labour market trends
• Experience assessing market-based skillsets among a specific population
• Experience working with design teams to realise creative solutions
• Advanced diploma or certification in conducting qualitative and quantitative research and designing technical and vocational training.

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.