Terms of Reference

FCDO Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) Trade Facilitation and Customs Support (Tasdeer) Programme

Recruit the services of a consultant for Building the capacity and services of the Stone and Marble Sector Women’s integration in the stone and marble industries.

Bethlehem, Palestine

FCDO Trade Facilitation and Customs Support (Tasdeer)

The Trade Facilitation and Customs Support programme (Tasdeer) is a three-year programme funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by Cowater International.

The objective of the Tasdeer programme is to improve the Palestinian private sector’s competitiveness and the PA’s capacity in the fields of trade, customs and import policy regulation and administration. The Tasdeer programme aims to increase sustainable private sector-led economic growth and job creation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the PA’s fiscal sustainability while ensuring equitable access to increased trade and improved institutional capacity. Gender Equality and Social Inclusion is a main tool and objective for Tasdeer to ensure the benefits of the programme are equally accessed by the diverse groups of men and women in the supply chain.

Tasdeer is designed to be flexible and adaptive and works politically and technically to make progress across four keys interrelated Workstreams:

• Workstream 1: Support to expedite the movement of goods and reduce transaction costs. This workstream aims to develop systemic interventions that will seek to expedite the movement of goods and contribute to impactful reductions in transaction costs for Palestinian imports and exports.
• Workstream 2: Support to improve Palestinian trade-related institutions and business enabling environment. This workstream aims to improve Palestinian trade-related institutions and strengthen the trade operating environment.
• Workstream 3: Support to improve the private sector’s skills and innovation to export and create jobs. This workstream aims to support activities that will help Palestinian firms increase their exports through the application of a market-driven approach. This market-driven approach will identify potential buyers/markets while exploring the linkages between the buyer, the firms, and its suppliers.
• Workstream 4: Support to improve PA’s Customs readiness to assume functions from Israel to collect revenues from trade-related taxes. This workstream aims to provide technical assistance to enhance the capacity of the PA (Palestinian Authority) Ministry of Finance Customs Department including the possible transfer of additional custom functions from Israel to the PA and to limit fiscal losses from inefficient clearance mechanism of trade-related taxes between the PA.

The interventions implemented by each workstream are designed to take into consideration the roles and needs of women, youth, and people with disabilities, including those in marginalized areas (i.e., East Jerusalem, seam zone, area C and Gaza), ensuring that all interventions and activities are GESI (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion) responsive.

Background:

The Stone and Marble Industry (SMI) is one of the largest and most active industries in Palestine, providing economic and financial benefits to the public and private sectors. The industry employs between 25,000–30,000 workers in dispersed quarries, stone-cutting facilities, workshops, and crushers in several governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It generates $550-620 million USD in total revenues each year, contributing 20–25% of the total industrial revenues of Palestine and 4.5% of the total gross national product.[1]

The Union of Stone and Marble Industry (USM) was established in 1996 as an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization based on membership. It aims to advocate the interests of members and promote the development of the Palestinian stone industry. The Union has about 400 member companies representing the majority of stone and marble factories in the West Bank and provides services in all the governorates of the country through its headquarters in Bethlehem and two branches in Hebron and Nablus.

Objectives of the Assignment:

The objective of this assignment is to develop a sectoral occupational health and safety (OHS) manual to be provided to the public, including workers, employers and OHS practitioners with the most up-to-date information on the occupational health and safety of the stone and marble industry in Palestine.

Scope of Work:

In addition to reviewing the current occupational health and safety manual for construction sector in Palestine, the consultant is expected to search and review relevant regional and international OHS information on stones and marble and conduct interviews with designated stakeholders to better understand the occupational health and safety needs.

As a result, the consultant is expected to develop a user-friendly OHS manual for the stone and marble sector in Palestine as well as perform an awareness workshop to the sector to be cognisant of the health and safety procedures and measures.

The user-friendly gender conducive manual should include but not limited to:

• Risks/ hazards,
• Complications,
• Safety measures and equipment,
• Safety tools and required PPE (personal protective equipment)
• A List of needed safety signs and posters including content,
• First aid requirements for incidence in the stone and marble sector
• OHS templates and forms: For example: a template to inspect premises and equipment for hazards and their correspondence contingency plans (Risk Management Templates), another example would be a template for reporting an OHS incident, etc.
• A checklist that can be used by stone and marble companies on minimum OHS requirements.
• Other important items
• After developing the manual, an awareness workshop should be performed for the stone and marble sector on the manual.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Based on the scope of work, the consultant is responsible for:

• Review the current occupational health and safety manual of the construction sector in Palestine, as well as desk review of relevant OHS practise in stone and marble in the region and around the globe.
• Visit stone and marble factories and conduct interviews with designated stakeholders including but not limited to owners, workers and OHS officers, as well as governmental organizations and unions.
• Develop a user-friendly manual for the Stone and Marble sector that includes risks, complications, safety measures and required equipment and tools, a list of required safety signs and posters including content and required first aid tools and should identify first aid training capacities required in the stone and marble industries. For example, if there is a risk of suffocation due to dust accumulation, this should be identified and determine its correspondent first aid skill.
• Conduct an awareness workshop for the stone and marble sector to spread and expand the knowledge and best understanding of the manual subjects and objectives.

[1] Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), 2019-2020.

Deliverables:

The deliverables for this assignment are as follows:

No. Deliverable

1 Inception Report

2 User friendly gender conducive Occupational Health and Safety Manual

3 Awareness workshop (1 workshop for 3 companies and the representatives of the USM board members).

• All deliverables should be prepared in both languages Arabic.

Geographic coverage and duty station:

The work is expected to be based in USM premises in Bethlehem and site visits to stone and marble factories. The Expert is expected to report directly to Tasdeer. He/she is expected to maintain regular contact with the USM director.

Type of the Contract:

Short Term Consultancy

Duration of Contract and level of effort:

The assignment is expected to be accomplished over a period of 3 months with 25 days Level of Effort (LoE).

The expected start date is as soon as possible.

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Qualifications and Experience:

• At least 10 years’ experience in occupational health and safety, previous experience in the Stone and Marble sector is a plus.
• Proven experience in conducting OHS assessments and manuals.
• Good understanding of first aid.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal Arabic and English) are an essential requirement.
• Experience and understanding of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion analysis is a plus.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, no later than 4:00 pm Thursday 16th March 2023 to [email protected]

Candidates must submit the following to be considered:

• A full CV
• A cover letter (two-page limit, A4) which explains their suitability for the role.
• In addition to CV, applicants are expected to submit a technical proposal that highlights the methodology and work plan that will be followed during implementation.

For your application to be considered, please upload your documents as follows: Candidate Last Name, First Name, date, Title of the Position. 

Cowater International is an equal opportunity employer, basing employment on merit and qualifications as they relate to professional experience and position expectations. Cowater does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender identity, disability, age, or any other basis protected by law.

We thank all applicants, however only those shortlisted will be contacted.

ABOUT US

With more than 35 years’ experience, Cowater International is Canada’s global leader in management consulting services specializing in international development and has managed the implementation of over 800 projects in more than 80 countries around the globe. We work with governments, partner organizations, communities and civil society to design and implement sustainable solutions that generate lasting social, financial and environmental impacts. Our adaptive approach to management has led to our award-winning work and recognition as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Cowater International also has corporate offices in Montreal, Quebec; London, United Kingdom; Nairobi, Kenya; and Brussels, Belgium, in addition to project offices in a wide variety of other locations across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.