Regional Report for Africa: Survey on the impacts of COVID-19 on work and aspirations

The ILO is seeking to recruit an individual consultant to draft a regional report for Africa analysing the micro-level database of the recently conducted ILO Survey on the impacts of COVID-19 on work and aspirations.

Details: https://www.ilo.org/africa/areas-of-work/youth-employment/WCMS_854822/lang–en/index.htm

Context: The ILO has conducted a rapid survey to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, employment and future aspirations in countries across all major world regions. The survey targeted persons aged 15 to 64 years in 40 countries to support comparisons among different groups, in particular, youth and older age workers, men and women, people living in urban areas with those in rural areas etc. The purpose of the survey is to complement findings from regular labour force surveys and other sources of labour statistics. The ILO has compiled a fully cleaned micro-data set and has conducted analysis on a Global Report which will be shared with the consultant when starting the assignment.

Objective and scope of work: The objective of the assignment is for the consultant to develop the Regional Report for Africa of the Survey on COVID-19 impacts on work and aspirations (Regional Report). This includes the following tasks:

• Getting familiar with the dataset and analysis (2 working days)

1. Review the questionnaire and background documents, such as the research plan
2. Consult with ILO staff and other consultants to get familiar with already conducted analysis at the global level;
3. Review any analytical tools produced so far and develop a thorough understanding of the micro-level database (STATA)

• Develop an annotated outline of the regional report (2 working days)

1. In close coordination with the ILO research team, the consultant will develop a detailed annotated outline that will contain chapters on (1) Employment, (2) Education and (3) Work aspirations as well a chapter on policy recommendations, an introduction as well as an executive summary. The total length of the report (without tables or graphs) is to be expected to be around 20 pages.
2. The annotated outline should contain for each chapter, section and sub-section a paragraph describing the type of data and data analysis that will be used to produce the report and should not exceed 5 pages.
3. Consult with ILO technical specialists in the Africa region with a view to ensure tailoring the report to the context and needs of the region
4. The annotated outline will further explore themes of the Global Survey that are particularly relevant to the African region, including on formality, work quality, youth employment and child labour

• Data analysis (10 working days)

1. Conduct complementary analysis of the micro-database. Data analysis is to be performed in STATA. All steps are to be documented in annotated .do-files and a close collaboration with the ILO is expected.
2. Produce graphs that visualise results in an appealing manner and that are ready to be included in the report (Graphs to be provided in Excel or similar statistical software in an editable format – professional graphic design is not expected to be conducted by the consultant).
3. Attending regular coordination meetings with the ILO research team;

• Draft and revise the Regional Report (16 working days)

1. Draft the Regional Report based on the annotated outline and data analysis
2. Include comments received from the ILO

• Maintaining close contact with the ILO

1. Throughout the assignment, the consultant is expected to work closely with the ILO in coordinating delivery on the aforementioned tasks.

Required experience and qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in Social Science, Economics, International Relations or related field, PhD is an asset;.
• At least seven (7) years of experience in conducting socio-economic research, data analysis and report writing, incl. in the fields of labour economics, development and education ;
• Previous experience with labour market interventions in developing countries highly desirable, with a thorough understanding of labour markets in Africa.
• Proven experience in working with large micro-level datasets and performing statistical analysis, including with specialised statistical software (SPSS, STATA, R);
• Exceptional organizational skills in order to meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to draft high quality analysis in English, good communication skills. Working knowledge of French is considered an asset.