وظائف شاغرة لدى لجنة الإنقاذ الدولية: مطلوب مستشارين/ت في التسويق والتفاوض (Consultant – Marketing and Negotiation)

Background of the project

Most Lebanese & Syrian in Lebanon face barriers to accessing employment and are offered few skills-building opportunities as an alternative. These youths need a safe learning space that will equip them with tools to tackle these challenges and eventually earn income, thereby helping them to rebuild their self-confidence.

A lack of Marketing and Negotiation skills were identified in several sectors as revealed by a rapid market assessment conducted in Wadi Khaled region. Moreover, 43% of professionals in the ICT sector and 70% of Professionals in the Agro-Food industry reported a lack of Marketing and Negotiation skills. Furthermore, 76% of companies reported concerns about weak workplace competencies.[1]

The training described below focuses on Marketing and Negotiation Skills with colleagues, customers, and suppliers.

Negotiation Skills with customers are essential for many different types of jobs.

Handling customers professionally is the key ingredient to keep every business competitive and successful. 

Marketing is the process of promoting and selling products and services. It involves activities such as advertising, market research and strategic planning to connect the businesses with the target audience, ultimately enhancing customer engagement and sales.

The need for a Marketing and Negotiation Skills Training was equally requested by several jobseekers of the IRC’s livelihoods centre, and especially by employers who see it as a requirement in the market and not as an option.  By the end of this training, participants will acquire the essential soft skills needed in the workplace. Based on the above, this training is proposed for Lebanese women residents and refugees living in Wadi Khaled region.

Learning Objectives and Delivery Methodology

The Marketing and Negotiation training targets mainly trainees who are in need of Marketing and Negotiation skills in the workplace.

By the end of the 84 training hours, trainees should be able to:

• Increase confidence when approaching future negotiation situations.
• Apply negotiation techniques that will enable them to deliver more value while keeping their social relationships intact and retaining your personal values.
• Create win-win results assuring long-term constructive business relationships.
• Obtain effective oral and written communication skills.
• Develop positive attitude and interpersonal skills.
• Communicating effectively with superiors and colleagues at the workplace.
• Understand the contribution of marketing to the business enterprise.
• Describe the major types of consumers buying behavior.
• Identify how the firms marketing strategy and marketing mix must evolve and adapt to match consumer behavior and perceptions of the product (e.g., classification of products and services, brand image, price and value).
• Summarize the importance of measuring and managing return on marketing.
• Identify the different marketing channels and their costs and benefits.
• Identify the roles of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, and direct marketing in the promotion mix.

By the end of this training, trainees should be able to seek employment in institutions in need of marketing officers, customer service, office assistants in the trading sector.

The 15 participants will be organized in one training group divided between Lebanese & Syrian females.

Indicative Contents of the Training

The training will cover Marketing sessions merged with Negotiation skills classes.

The below points serve as an indicative support to the development of the curriculum by the training provider. The training provider is not expected to exactly match the below contents, but rather work on developing a curriculum and a training methodology that will enable trainees to achieve the Learning Outcomes in part 2 of this ToR.

The training will expand over a period of 84 hours covering the following topics:

• Knowing your market: Before you can develop a marketing strategy, you must first understand your target market.
• Digital Marketing.
• Search engine optimization strategies.
• Marketing management.
• Social media and electronic marketing.
• Understanding costumer motivations.
• The strategy of content marketing.
• What is negotiation and negotiation essentials.
• Sales negotiation.
• Basic conflict resolution.
• Conflict management.

Period and location of training delivery

The training should be delivered to 15 female trainees over a period of 8 consecutive weeks over a period of 84 hours.

The training should be delivered within the Livelihoods Center in Wadi Khaled.

Target audience and profile (age, literacy level)

The target group will consist of 15 trainees, Syrian and Lebanese females registered at the livelihoods center.

• The selection of the trainees takes into consideration their willingness and ability to seek employment and/or self-employment opportunities.
• The training will be delivered to mixed groups to promote social cohesion among the different communities and to equip all individual in need of this skills.
• Trainees’ selection will be carried out by the livelihoods centre’s staff. The contractor should meet the participants before the training and verify the suitability of the selected candidate trainees.

The criteria for selection will include:

• Women within the age range of 18 to 45
• Literate
• Either Lebanese or Syrian nationals
• Interest and committed to attend the whole training with an active participation.
• Registered at the Livelihoods Centre and holding LC ID.

Pre- and post-training test requirements

The contractor will be entrusted with developing pre- and post-test questionnaires to determine the level of knowledge and skills of trainees vis-à-vis the Business English language and Customer Service Skills. The pre-test and post-test questionnaires are the same and they are delivered before the start date of the training and after the last session. The contractor will be expected to collect the data, to analyze the results of the pre and post-test questionnaires and to document them in a “Technical Training Report” to be submitted one week after the last training session to IRC.

Arrangements Expected from Contractor

The contractor is expected to ensure the following:

• Fulfill the entire contract period:
  • The Training would be delivered 2 or 3 days weekly, with 3,5 hours per day, in the morning or in the afternoon.
  • The trainer would finalize the Training across a period of 8 weeks for a total of 84 training hours.
• Provide training books/material for distribution.
• Certificate of attendance, based on attendance and learning (measured against pre and post- tests)

In addition to the above, the below will be taken into consideration:

• The trainees’ drop-out is to be taken into account. For this reason, the Contractor must make sure that trainees meet the basic requirements to meaningfully engage in the training.
• Training hours must be decided in consultation with interested trainees to maximize attendance and avoid drop outs; based on previous experience, IRC anticipates that selected candidates will be available to attend the training during the morning and afternoon.

Expected Deliverables

• Business English and Communication skills with Customers curriculum of the duration for a period of 84 hours
• A Curriculum handout, including:
  • The training calendar with session titles;
  • A training book/ Handout to be used by trainees
  • The Curriculum handout organized by training sessions describing:
  • Session topic
  • Learning objectives,
  • Duration of the session,
  • List of key contents and talking points,
  • Sequence of steps to deliver the session,
  • Required materials
  • The pre and post-training test questionnaires, to verify competences and learning
  • Attendance sheets of each training day
• Delivery of the 24 training sessions of at least 3.5 hours each, over 8 weeks. In total, the Contractor will deliver 84 training hours over a period of 8 weeks.
• A training report including the results of pre- and post-tests of each trainee with a baseline and an end-line score, and recommendations on areas for improvement.

Requirements:

The trainer should:

• Have a Bachelor or master’s in business marketing or a related field.
• 3 to 5 years’ experience in the education field.
• Be available and willing to provide face-to-face training when requested to do so.
• Be flexible to accommodate any changes in the delivery modality when changes in the country’s general situation demand so.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of multicultural sensitivity and the ability to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment.

The IRC and IRC workers adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation