Terms of Reference (ToR) for a Consultant Mapping skills related to home-based care services in Lebanon

Background

Today, care is provided in myriad forms, from childcare to care for older persons and persons with disabilities or illness with support needs. The need for care is growing worldwide, driven by demographic shifts including the growing ageing population and the rising number of persons living with chronic illnesses. Despite the growing demand for care services, those working in the care economy (most typically informal, women workers) often experience low wages, limited benefits and poor working conditions. In addition, there are 2 billion potential parents living in countries without adequate maternity protection, paternity and parental leave, and quality childcare services with decent care jobs. This creates gender inequalities in the world of work because the responsibilities of caring have historically been born by women and girls, particularly those from disadvantaged groups and facing intersecting forms of discrimination, most often in the form of unpaid work at home or in the informal economy (ILO, 2022). Such inequalities were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exposed the vulnerabilities of the care economy and made clear the need for a more equitable and sustainable approach.

In Lebanon, and prior to the 2019 economic crisis, care duties were mainly performed by underpaid (and sometimes unpaid) women migrant workers employed through the kafala (sponsorship) system that operates outside the national labour law, and which places these workers at risk of a range of decent work deficits, including forced labour. In the last four years, recruitment of migrant workers in the country has been decreasing, while the need for home-based care work remained at the same level. The decrease in migrant workers was mainly the result of the economic crisis, which led to the devaluation of the local currency and a shortage of foreign currency, reducing the ability of families to pay recruitment fees and wages of migrant workers, and diminishing the interest of migrant workers to come to Lebanon. Currently, the stigma surrounding care work impacts the involvement of national workers in the sector. At the same time, care workers are not covered by the national labour law, directly blocking their access to the social protection system in the country and, as such, defining care workers as informal workers. The lack of formalization of this sector not only acts as a barrier to employment and social protection of care workers, it also can reduce the quality-of-care provision when care workers do not have the necessary competencies to care for children, older persons, persons with disabilities with support needs and other care recipients., which can contribute to the negative health and developmental outcomes of care recipients. The lack of oversight and accountability in this sector has led to a vicious circle of a care economy that operates outside of the regulation or protection of the state.

While substantive research has been conducted by different organizations in Lebanon on issues related to care work including domestic workers, little is known on the skills and care work, whether at the level of needs, competencies, potential and challenges on skills recognition, and type of skills services being provided. To fill this gap, ILO is planning a qualitative study to better understand the skills set-ups in Lebanon related to home-based care, identify potentials and gaps, and inform future interventions to promote and ensure skills recognition in the care sector.

Objective

The ILO seeks to hire a consultant to conduct a mapping to better understand the skills provisions in Lebanon in relation to care work. The result of the mapping aims at improving working environment and protection in the care sector. It also aims to inform other interventions in the future to enhance working conditions, skills recognition, networking, capacity building, and policy work.
The process of this mapping includes identifying the institutions, individuals, and citizen associations existing within communities that serve as positive resources for care work through their job cycle during a specific time frame.
This mapping focuses on governmental entities, trade unions, NGOs related to home-based care work and palliative care, private sector including recruitment agencies of migrant workers, cleaning companies, and other relevant organizations.

Scope of Work

Under the direct supervision of the ILO’s WE CARE project manager, with inputs from ILO ROAS Decent Work Team and ILO GEDI, the consultant is expected to carry out the following tasks:
- Desk review to understand the current landscape of skills training entities related to home based-care
- Online survey to priorities organizations to be interviewed
- Interviews (key informant and focused groups) to identify:
o Organizations that provide skills training related to home-based care (listed by name, type, geographic distribution, training details, fees, beneficiaries/clients)
o Examine the extent these training providers follow competency-based training
o Training and other material developed/disseminated in Lebanon to build skills capacity related to home-based care (listed by title, objective, year of publication, users)
o Skills (technical and core work skills and soft skills) needs according to employers (segregated according to different home-based care assignments such as cleaning, cooking, childcare, care for older persons, care work for persons with disability)
o Skills (technical and core work skills and soft skills) needs according to workers (segregated according to different home-based care assignments such as cleaning, cooking, childcare, care for older persons, care work for persons with disability)
o Perception and incentives for skills recognition (points of view of workers, employers, and agencies)
- Stakeholders’ consultation to present and validate the mapping assessment
The report to highlight the distinction, when applicable, related to migrant workers and nationals employed in the home-based care sector. The data collection should use the gender lens which should also reflect on the analysis and recommendations.

Deliverables

1. An inception report detailing methodology, timelines, consultations, and proposed action plan
2. Draft mapping report (20-30 pages) presenting the findings of the mapping and recommendations
3. Annexes of a) table of organizations that include address and type of services provided; b) materials with electronic links (when available)
4. Final mapping report incorporating feedback from the ILO and relevant stakeholders. This will include recommendations for policy and practice reforms.

Timeline

The overall duration of this assignment will be 3 months, expected to commence on July 25, 2023. The table in the attached document outlines the expected timeline for key activities.

Reporting

The consultant will report to WE CARE project manager, who will coordinate with ILO ROAS team and GEDI to provide inputs and guidance to the consultant during the assignment.

Language

All Deliverables to be provided in English. Should the training material exist only in Arabic or French, to the extent possible, the consultant to provide a very brief description about these materials.

Budget & Payment

The ILO will provide the consultant with a lump sum payment to cover all expenses related to the assignment. Payment will be paid in three installments: 20 % upon submission of the inception report (including list of questions for stakeholders and work plan); 40% upon submission and approval of the draft report and power point presentation; and 40 % upon submission and approval of the final report.
The funding will be covered through the WE CARE RBSA intervention and the EU funded project “Improving living conditions and resilience of refugees displaced by the Syrian crisis and vulnerable hosting communities in Lebanon”.

Qualifications & Experience

• Advanced degree in relevant field, such as social sciences, economics, business administration or other relevant areas
• At least seven years of relevant professional experience in research related to social and economic development, or related fields
• Strong analytical and writing skills in English, with a track recording of producing high-quality reports for the ILO or other UN agencies
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage with diverse stakeholders
• Excellent command of English and Arabic
• Record of producing mapping reports is an advantage

Please refer to the attached document for the Financial offer template.

Preliminary List of Relevant Sources to guide the assignment
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---mig...
https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/mission-and-objectives/features...