For

Under

‘GENERATING DATA TO ADVANCE WOMEN’S SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WELLBEING IN PAKISTAN 2016-18’

PROJECT

OF

PUNJAB COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

GOVERNMENT OF PUNJAB

PRE-QUALIFICATION DOCUMENTS (PQD)

Hiring of Consulting Firm for Establishment of Employment Facilitation Hub (EFH) for Women

Contents 1.1 Brief background .................................................................................................................. 4

1.2 Introduction of the project ‘Generating Data to Advance Women’s Social and

Economic Wellbeing in Pakistan .................................................................................................... 4

1.3 Employment Facilitation Hub for Women: ........................................................................ 5

1.4 Objectives of EFH: ............................................................................................................... 5

1.5 Target Population: ................................................................................................................ 7

1.6 Creation of Job Seekers Profile and Database: .............................................................. 7

1.7 Job Seekers’ Database: ...................................................................................................... 7

1.8 Creation and Delivery of CV for women: .......................................................................... 8

1.9 Mentoring of Women: .......................................................................................................... 8

1.10 Database of Job Ads: .......................................................................................................... 8

1.11 Matching of Job Ads with Applicants Profiles: ................................................................. 9

1.12 Providing Job Matches to Applicants and Assistance with Sending Applications: .... 9

1.13 Job Fairs: ............................................................................................................................... 9

1.14 Providing Trainings to the Organizational HR teams:..................................................... 9

1.15 Special focus on women and young girls: ...................................................................... 10

1.16 Co Working space: ............................................................................................................. 10

1.17 Child Care Center: ............................................................................................................. 11

1.18 Management and staffing: ................................................................................................ 11

1.19 Monitoring and quality control: ......................................................................................... 11

1.20 Evaluation: ........................................................................................................................... 11

1.21 Development of plans for future interventions: .............................................................. 12

1.22 Scope of work/ duties and responsibilities: .................................................................... 12

1.23 Duration of the assignment: .............................................................................................. 12

1.24 Deadline for Submission of EOIs: .................................................................................... 12

1.25 Late Submission of EOIs ................................................................................................... 12

1.26 Rejection of EOIs ............................................................................................................... 12

2 Evaluation criteria .......................................................................................................... 13

2.1 Evaluation Criteria for Pre-Qualification: ........................................................................ 13

1. Pre-Qualification of prospective consulting Firms shall be conducted under (PPRA)

Punjab Procurement Rules 2014.The Pre-Qualification marks will be 65%. ........................ 13

2. The pre-qualification criteria is tabled below: ..................................................................... 13

2.2 Qualifying marks: ................................................................................................................ 14

INFORMATION / DOCUMENTS TO BE ESSENTIALLY PROVIDED BY THE

CONSULTING FIRMS

The Consultancy Firms interested in the assignment with experience of similar

nature of tasks may apply for pre-qualification containing the following information /

particulars duly supported with necessary documents:

i. Covering Letter.

ii. Name of firm/address of the registered office with telephone/fax number and Email address.

iii. Organizational chart showing complete management profile.

iv. Memorandum and Articles of Association of the firm / Partnership deed along with power of attorney in favor of authorized person submitting the Expression of Interest.

v. Valid copy of certification, if the consulting firm/organization is quality management system/ISO certified.

vi. Copy of Registration with Tax authorities NTN. vii. List of Professional Staff along with CVs of the relevant core staff showing

project-wise experience with exact time duration for the project. viii. List of similar works completed by the firm during last 5 years and similar

works in hand,(duly certified by the employer at the work successfully completed) indicating total cost of such works and cost of consultancy services received against those works along with date of start and completion or expected date of completion.

ix. A certificate/affidavit that the firm is not blacklisted by any Government /Autonomous Body/ Organization.

x. Certificate / affidavit that the firm is not in litigation with any client or provide details of litigation.

xi. Any other information in support of capabilities and experience of the firm / Consortia.

xii. False, fabricated or materially incorrect information shall lead to disqualification.

xiii. No application (documents) through Email shall be accepted.

xiv. The Project Description, scope of intellectual, requisite professional services and pre-qualification document (PQD) including evaluation criteria are available at the official website of the Department i.e. www.pcsw.punjab.gov.pk and PPRA website http//:eproc.punjab.gov.pk/ActiveTenders.aspx

xv. The Interested Firms shall submit their applications (documents) in sealed envelope by hand or through courier which must reach upto 01:00 p.m. on 08-09-2017.

xvi. The EOI proposals will be opened by the Consultant Selection Committee on the same date i.e. 08-09-2017 at 01:00 p.m. in the presence of the authorized representatives of the firms in the office of Project Director ‘Generating Data

to Advance Women’s Social and Economic Wellbeing in Pakistan’ 88-Shadman-II Lahore Telephone : 042-99268000-4, Ext:109. Email : waheed05@gmail.com

1.1 Brief background

Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) is a statutory, autonomous

body established by Government of the Punjab in February 2014 for promotion of

women’s rights and empowerment of women. It aims at mainstreaming gender

perspective into public policy framework as an essential component of sustainable

and equitable economic development. Since the last two decades, there is an

increased focus of global development organizations and state institutions on

addressing gender inequalities and gaps in various sectors, and adoption of

international treaties and conventions.

However, various efforts towards gender mainstreaming, women’s labor force

participation in Punjab remains with their concentration in the low paying informal

sector. Similarly, government quotas have not been entirely met. The majority of

rural women workers are agricultural growers and livestock and dairy producers

earning proportionately less monthly wages. Most of the women’s work falls outside

the domain of what is recognized as work in the system of national accounts.

1.2 Introduction of the project ‘Generating Data to Advance Women’s Social

and Economic Wellbeing in Pakistan

The Punjab Gender Parity Report (PGPR) reveals the disparities between males and

females in economic participation and opportunities (employment, ownership of

assets, labour force participation, etc.), as well as in sectors that potentially influence

women’s economic participation (health, education, access to justice, violence

against women etc.) identifying areas for policy action and interventions.

In view of above, it is critically important to find out the reasons of holding back

women from economic opportunities available to them, to establish the skill deficit

that prevents optimal participation and returns for them, and have accessible, and

reliable information especially about the gendered social dimensions that impact

women.

The Project is intended to complement Punjab Government efforts towards achieving

Punjab Growth Strategy Goals and provide relevant information for identifying areas

of interventions to achieve and subsequently monitor SDGs especially Goals 5 and

8. The Project comprises many interventions one of them being Establishment of

Employment Facilitation Hub for Women

1.3 Employment Facilitation Hub for Women:

The PGPR 2016 identifies that labour force participation rates in 2013-14 for women

in Punjab remained a low 26% (rural) and 10% (urban). Only 1% of women are

employed in the formal sector in both rural and urban areas. This is despite the fact

that the gender parity index (GPI) is quite high in Punjab, above 1.25 in most of the

northern region and with few districts below 0.76 in the southern and central region

of Punjab. Women are not transitioning to the workforce for a number of reasons that

includes lack of information, lack of social and physical mobility and low economic

resources to access economic opportunities. A recent survey by the Center for

Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) of 1,000 households across Lahore,

transport turned out to be key impediment for women’s mobility as 70% of families

stated they would discourage female family members from taking “wagons” the most

available means of public transport, and women also feel insecure walking to the bus

stops and waiting for the wagon to arrive. In another pilot survey by CERP of 100

households in Lahore, more than 20% of respondents said that it was “extremely

unsafe” for women to walk in their neighborhood.

The baseline studies by the CERP implemented Punjab Economic Opportunities

Program (PEOP) revealed that labour market entry is affected by constraints in

access to training, quality of training and post training linkages with economic

opportunities.

1.4 Objectives of EFH:

To demonstrate facilitation of women’s entry to the labour market, the PCSW plans

to establish and manage an employment facilitation hub. The hub will be designed

as a space that offers a range of support services to women to enable them to

locate, pursue and find suitable employment and careers. It will facilitate women

through online counselling, web based services as well as in person. The

employment hub will also be linked to the economic wellbeing counsellor at the

PCSW Toll Free Helpline, and will receive referrals from it. Facilities that will be

offered include computer and internet facilities. Career counsellors will be on hand to

help women weigh their options and make informed choices. These counsellors will

also assist women in developing a CV and writing job applications; improving their

presentation and interview skills, etc.

The hub will host a job portal for information and links to Government of Punjab job

opportunities and develop a suitable MIS that also links to other private sector online

job portals such as rozee.com, etc. A job search app may be created for this

purpose. As appropriate the hub may offer to support women to send in job

applications, encourage them to follow up and assist with placements. In addition the

hub will hold job fairs in universities/education institutions and at their own venues,

where prospective employers (especially private sector companies) will be invited

and participants will receive information on what employers expect in terms of skills

and competencies, what kind of jobs are available and what the potential for certain

lines of work is.

The hub will offer information on relevant labour laws, the anti-harassment law, and

prepare women to assimilate into a workplace environment with which they may not

be familiar. The hub will organize a panel of sector experts to support the work of the

career counsellors, and to be mentors. The hub will have a web presence so that

women who are unable to travel to the site can also benefit.

It is expected that in one year at least 3000 women will benefit from the hub, using

its facilities and options either in person or online.

It is expected that the lessons learned and demonstrated through this model will be

shared widely and lead to a replication of similar centers in other major towns and

cities to begin with where a large educated population of women who are not in the

work force are available.

Consulting firm shall develop and pilot the Employment Facilitation Hub (EFH) for

female jobseekers in Lahore. The EFH will assist job seekers with the process of

searching for and applying to jobs that are relevant to their educational and

professional profiles and interests. The EFH will provide the following services to its

beneficiaries:

Assistance with creation of applicant CV.

Assistance in searching for and responding to job ads matching the

applicant’s profile and interest.

Training in job application process, interview processes and required skills.

Training in basic life skills for personality development and confidence

building.

Training on protection issues and laws.

Provide mentorship in the initial phase where necessary

1.5 Target Population:

The EFH will target female jobseekers who have minimum higher secondary

education. The EFH will encourage interested job seekers to either contact the EFH,

via phone / PCSW Helpline or visit the EFH office for a walk-in session. The EFH will

widely advertise services of EFH. PCSW will also advertise the EFH in its

promotional campaigns.

1.6 Creation of Job Seekers Profile and Database:

EFH will have a dedicated (rented or owned) building to provide services to job

seekers exclusively. For both kinds of job seekers, those who call in or visit the office,

EFH would collect information which would help the EFH create a job seeker’s profile.

This information includes:

Personal (e.g. name, address, contact information)

Education (e.g. institutions attended, degree program’s details, courses,

grades, awards)

Work experience (e.g. current and past employers, job titles/positions held,

roles and responsibilities, awards)

Job interests (the applicant will be asked to choose her preferences from a list

of most commonly advertised job titles relevant for her education level)

Skills and skills assessment.

Any aspirations for learning new skills.

This information will be used to generate a profile of the job seeker and will also be

used to help women explore new avenues as well in accordance with interest and

future aspirations for work.

1.7 Job Seekers’ Database:

EFH will create a database (continuously updated) of applicant profiles. Each

applicant’s profile will be stored in a centralized database management system. This

information includes the data collected about her profile, record (details) of every

interaction with the respondent (the purpose and outcome of that interaction), and

the job ads that applicant is interested in and eventually applies to. This database

management system should allow applicant-specific retrieval of information as well

as the update of an applicant’s profile (e.g. change in contact number, completion of

degree). This can be used to match the applicant to job opportunities as they come

open and assist her in continuing her job search until she finds a suitable

opportunity.

1.8 Creation and Delivery of CV for women:

The data used to create the beneficiary’s profile would be used to generate an

English and Urdu CV. CVs will be vetted by trained professionals for accuracy,

coherence and professionalism. Approved drafts of CVs will be provided to

applicants or delivered through a courier service. Confirmation of information

contained in the CV will be obtained and edited if the applicant requests a change in

her CV. .

1.9 Mentoring of Women:

EFH will provide Mentors to women who will also do action planning with the woman

to help her assess her skills as well as assist with acquiring required skills for the

position. Mentors will also be helping women prepare for the interview, conducting

mock interviews to develop confidence in them for actual interviews.

Women will be offered basic training on protection issues and laws, basic life skills,

Social/protection issues/ relevant laws and reporting mechanism. Communication

skills can include (How to speak about your cv, prepare for an interview, how to

negotiate salary, presentation skills, computer skills etc.) Women can also be trained

to handle their finances once they have the job and how that can be used for

changing socio economic status of women as individuals and as family.

1.10 Database of Job Ads:

The EFH will also keep an updated database of job ads collected from (a) online job

search portals, (b) newspapers, and (c) any employer directly contacting the EFH to

register a job ad/vacancy.

Such a database will be updated weekly through (a) downloading data from online

job search portals and (b) manual data entry for jobs posted in the newspaper or

those communicated to the EFH directly by an employer.

The collected information of each ad should include:

Job Title

Organization

Minimum Education Level required

Work Experience required (in number of years)

Contact Information

Location

Application Deadline

Documents required from applicants

1.11 Matching of Job Ads with Applicants Profiles:

On a daily basis, new job ads entered into the database will be matched with the

existing applicants’ profiles using the following criteria:

Minimum Education Level

Type of Degree/Field (e.g. engineering, economics, management)

Total Number of Years of Work Experience

Job Interest (e.g. receptionist, salesperson, content writer)

1.12 Providing Job Matches to Applicants and Assistance with Sending

Applications:

After initial enrollment, each beneficiary should be provided with matching job

information including guidance on preparing and submitting application materials.

Each beneficiary should be able to call back for updated job match information and

the job counselor should provide her with updated job matches after referring to her

profile on file in the database.

1.13 Job Fairs:

EFH will hold job fairs in universities/education institutions and at their own venues,

where prospective employers (especially private sector companies) will be invited

and participants will receive information on what employers expect in terms of skills

and competencies, what kind of jobs are available and what the potential for certain

lines of work is.

1.14 Providing Trainings to the Organizational HR teams:

EFH will provide/explore avenues for piloting integration of the gender dimensions of

the job market in the work policies e.g. the advertisements and/or the TORs that are

drafted for a specific job. Often writing, “Women are encouraged to apply” does

not necessarily support in ensuring that women apply or will be tempted to apply for

that job even when they would have the required skills. International research

supports creating advertisements that respond to women’s needs, as studies have

shown that women and men search for jobs differently and apply based on different

criteria that they deem important. This training can support organizations to put the

advertisement and position TORs in the right framework, using gender-aware

language and the most effective prompts to encourage women to apply.

1.15 Special focus on women and young girls:

The EFH will also aim to support upcoming youth in the job market to expand their

networks, meet and seek advice from industry leaders, and match them with an

appropriate mentor who will help them grow and develop as a young professional.

This will allow them to focus on acquiring the right set of skills for the area of work in

which they are interested.

Vulnerable youth will be particularly targeted and the goal of this timely investment

will support them to successfully transition into adulthood and lead resilient lives. It

has been proven that positive transitions into adulthood represent a critical time for

transforming and breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty. It is therefore

essential to provide mentorship platform to youth to facilitate guidance and access to

the one-on-one career support they so often lack.

1.16 Co Working space:

The EFH should have a model of providing co working space for women which

facilitate women in two ways. Fills the gap of not having resources to afford the IT

equipment (Computers, etc) and provides women with co-working space which

provides women with flexible options of using the equipment and also provides an

opportunity of peer learning among women and experience sharing. Available on

membership or usage basis, this space will provide women with creative and well-

designed space to collaborate, learn and work individually.

It should make available internet access, electricity and office amenities (scanner,

printer, photocopier, etc.) users will be able to connect with resources that can help

them grow personally and professionally.

1.17 Child Care Center:

Many women struggle with finding work and caring for children at the same time and

often are not able to take on an opportunity due to this responsibility with care work

at home. The EFH will explore to provide basic child care facility (with support of

Govt of Punjab) for women so that women can avail the opportunity for accessing

the job market and skill development.

Linkages with Universities and Colleges:

EFH will develop active linkages with universities and colleges to disseminate

information about services of EFH.

1.18 Management and staffing:

The consultant/firm is responsible for composing a team of qualified staff to manage

and staff the EFH. The team should display the following qualifications:

Demonstrated ability in project management

Understanding of human resources issues (for developing and improving the

job matching and guidance process)

Excellent written Urdu skills

Excellent written English skills

Excellent interpersonal skills (for guiding applicants through the processes

listed above )

Gender sensitivity

Impact evaluation expertise

1.19 Monitoring and quality control:

The Consultant’s/firm’s proposal must incorporate a detailed plan for monitoring and

quality control to check that CVs prepared are of high quality and accuracy, that

information provided to beneficiaries is up to date and accurate, and that its services

effectively reach beneficiaries. The monitoring plan should include a mechanism for

improvement based on the findings of ongoing monitoring.

1.20 Evaluation:

The Consultant’s proposal should incorporate a detailed plan for rigorous statistical

impact evaluation of the EFH, including the identification of an appropriate control

group for comparison with individuals to whom the EFH services have been offered.

1.21 Development of plans for future interventions:

The Consultant/firm should develop the basic functions of the EFH to a high

standard and then develop a plan for the use of the EFH as a base for other kinds of

interventions such as applicant skills training, testing and certification, interview skills

training, and other assistance to develop the capacity and potential of female

jobseekers.

1.22 Scope of work/ duties and responsibilities:

The Consultant firm will work under guidance and supervision of Chairperson PCSW

and PMU GDA-WSEWP to establish Employment Facilitation Hub, maintain and to

ensure that EFH meets the desired objectives of PCSW as per details given above.

1.23 Duration of the assignment:

The will be hired for the above tasks for a period of 15 months to the maximum.

1.24 Deadline for Submission of EOIs:

EOIs must reach at the address of the Project Director ‘Generating Data to Advance

Women’s Social and Economic Wellbeing in Pakistan’ at 88-Shadman-II Lahore

Telephone : 042-99268000-4, Ext:109 not later than the date and time indicated in

the advertisement i.e. 08.09.17 till 01:00 pm.

1.25 Late Submission of EOIs

The Punjab Commission on the Status of Women shall not consider any EOIs that

arrive after the deadline for submission of EOIs. Any application received after the

deadline for submission of EOI shall be declared late and returned unopened to the

applicant.

1.26 Rejection of EOIs

EOI may be rejected which:

Contains gaps, omissions, misrepresentations, errors, uncompleted sections;

Is not submitted in a manner consistent with the provisions set out in this EOI;

Is received after the Deadline.

The PCSW may reject all EOIs at any time prior to the acceptance of an EOI.

2 Evaluation criteria Evaluation of the consultant firm will be made by adopting following criteria.

2.1 Evaluation Criteria for Pre-Qualification:

1. Pre-Qualification of prospective consulting Firms shall be conducted under

(PPRA) Punjab Procurement Rules 2014.The Pre-Qualification marks will be

65%.

2. The pre-qualification criteria is tabled below:

Sr.

#

Criteria Points

1. No. of similar assignments/projects done (@ 10 points for each project) carried out during last 05 years. This is the same as experience

20

2. Demonstrated work on increasing women’s participation@ 10 marks for each project carried out during last 05 years

20

3. Worth of the projects (@ 2 points for each Rs. 5.00 Million) 10

4. Project Team- total of 40 marks- Team requirements to be mandatory

1. Team Leader / Transactional Advisor

PhD in Management or equivalent with 3 years post PhD and overall 10 years relevant experience.

10

2. Financial Expert MBA Finance/Masters in Finance/ CFA/CA/ACCA/ACMA with minimum of 05 years’ experience in relevant fields.

05

3. HRM/HRD Expert

MBA/Masters in Human Resource Management or Human Resource Development with minimum 05 years’ relevant experience.

05

4. Job/Career Counselors & Placement Officer

MBA/Masters in Human Resource Management with minimum 05 years’ relevant experience.

05

6. MIS Manager cum Programmer

Master/in Information Technology with minimum 05 year of experience in Development/Programming and Database Management.

05

7. Marketing Officer / Communications Expert

Masters in Mass Communication or relevant subject with minimum 08 years of experience relating to conducting and managing events.

05

40

10. Admn. & Accounts Officer

M.Com, 5 Years’ Experience of Managing Accounts.

05

4. Quality management system/ ISO 05

5. Registration with tax authorities 05

2.2 Qualifying marks:

The consultant firm must have to achieve at least 65 % marks in the above said

evaluation criteria.