Background
RYSE is an ambitious attempt to incrementally develop and mobilize a dynamic, powerful, multi-stakeholder initiative/ eco-system focusing on empowering at least 25,000 displaced and conflict-affected youth to become the much-needed positive change agents in a region marred by war and political instability. The vision is to develop a flagship model, in which youth, governments, private sector companies as well as investors and civil organizations together educate, embolden and enable youth to fulfil their critical role in a future Syria and Jordan and to pursue their life ambitions. The key target group are Syrian youth who are displaced and living as refugees in Jordan but also vulnerable young Jordanians who have been massively affected by the conflicts in the region. The project is implemented by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in partnership with Generations for Peace (GFP), INJAZ, Jordan River Foundation (JRF), Mercy Corps (MC). It is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and totals 120 million DKK over 3 years from 2020 to 2022.
Focus of the strategic investment allocation
The RYSE project seeks to use private sector engagement and innovative financing as levers for project outcomes, in particular objective 2 of the project focusing on economic empowerment of Syrian and Jordanian youth and objective 3 focusing on the enabling environment.
To this end, a strategic investment allocation has been set aside. The strategic investment allocation links to the private sector engagement strategy which seeks to engage relevant private sector stakeholders to support job creation and employment. As laid out in the project document, the strategic reserve/allocation is meant to further accelerate refugee income generation opportunities, and can use grant, loan or impact bond modalities to support;
· Investments in social impact projects driven by or with participation of refugee youth, or
· Investments in businesses which are employing refugee youth, including refugee youth products or services as part of a larger value chain, or
· Delivery of service(s)/product(s) to the specific market comprising refugees, adding clear value to refugee driven entrepreneurship
Scope of services
DRC wishes to contract the services of an expert consultant to scope and design opportunities for the strategic investment allocation of the RYSE project. Specifically, two deliverables are requested:
1. Defining investment opportunities – a set of investment opportunities should be presented to DRC and other project partners, based on an ongoing market assessment and linking directly to the project objectives, for review and prioritization**
2. Development of investment scenarios and approaches– based on the investment opportunities and a market engagement and stakeholder consultation process, a minimum of three investment scenarios and related financing instruments/investment approaches should be developed through a consultative process**
Duration
DRC is looking to contract a consultant that meets below requirements as soon as possible. The deliverables of these terms are due three months from the starting date. The estimated level of effort for this engagement is 35 days.
Deliverables, roles and responsibilities
The consultant will be responsible for scoping opportunities and developing investment scenarios and related approaches in relation to the strategic investment allocation and in support of the RYSE project objectives.
She/he will report to the RYSE Project Chief of Party and work closely with the DRC Global Advisor for Innovative Financing, DRC Jordan’s Economic Recovery Manager and other project partners.
Responsibilities will include:
· Review of the project market assessment and other relevant market or investment studies, analysis and reports related to mobilizing financing for refugee and youth employment in Jordan and assessment of their relevance and identification of good practice for the design of one or more strategic investment vehicle(s) for the project
· Stakeholder mapping and outreach to potential partners for the scoping and design of investment opportunities not covered through the market assessment. This could include financial service providers (banks, MFIs, fintech, etc.), (impact) investors, multi-lateral and bilateral donor agencies, government agencies, business accelerators, technical experts and others at country, regional or global levels.
· Identification and mobilization of possible strategic partners for the development of investment scenarios and design of investment approaches
· A comprehensive assessment of the potential relevance of different innovative financing opportunities for the program sectors and objectives. These can include but may not necessarily be limited to:
o use of lending instruments or other financial products
o direct investments in projects
o social enterprises or private companies
o development impact bonds
o using grants catalytically to attract private capital
o guarantees, and
o blended financing structures combining two or more of these instruments.
Lead a minimum of two co-design workshops/processes with identified strategic partners and project partners to develop a minimum of three investment scenarios and related financing instruments that combines projected impact linked to project objectives, strategic partnerships, potential funding streams, sources, and requirements, basic financial model(s), assessment of feasibility and risks, a tentative roadmap and critical path to operationalize the investment approach/financing instruments.
Profile and qualifications
The successful candidate must be able to work independently within the project structure to deliver the required outputs within a tight deadline and with a large and complex interface with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. Qualifications will include:
· Background in financing, economics, business development, economic development or similar
· Understanding of the Jordanian context related to the employment and economic opportunities for Syrian and Jordanian youth
· Understanding of alternative financing approaches (for example financial products, impact bonds, direct investments, catalytic use of grants, blended structures) used in similar settings and/or for similar social sector objectives
· Proven track record in conducting similar studies and design of strategic investment opportunities
· Ability to coordinate and bring together a diverse group of stakeholders and mobilize around a shared vision
· Ability to structure complex insights into written and visual products that bring out key features and enable decision making
· Fluency in English. Arabic language is preferred
How to apply
This is a Request for Proposal process that will be conducted using DRC standard bidding procedure and documents.
The complete RFP package and Terms of Reference with full details of activities, deliverables, evaluation criteria, submission requirements and how to apply can be found on DRC website https://www.drc.ngo/about-us/who-we-are/tenders/from from the 27th of October 2020
All bids shall be emailed to [email protected] by the 09th of November 2020 at 14:00 Amman time with all the required documents in PDF format. Any bids sent to any other email address will be disregarded.
To help us with our recruitment effort, please indicate in your email/cover letter where (ngotenders.net) you saw this job posting.