Short Term Technical Assistance (STTA)

USAID Trade and Competitiveness

Title of Assignment: To provide technical support in implementation, monitoring and assessing of activities that complement accelerating recovery in tourism sector under the objective of supporting private sector led economic recovery.

Type of Consultancy: Short Term Technical Assistance (STTA)

Period of implementation: 15 May to 16 September 2024

LOE: 10 days per month for 4 months – (40 days in total)

Location: Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini and Koshi Province

Background

USAID Trade and Competitiveness Activity is a five-year activity that will provide opportunities for the Nepali economy as it recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Activity will enable Nepal to capitalize on global integration to diversify toward higher quality and higher value exports, foster sustainable job growth and income-generating opportunities for those that have previously been left behind by economic growth, and create greater sustainability and resiliency. The activity will also deliberately promote the integration of women, youth, and marginalized groups into markets to participate in economic opportunities created as Nepal’s economy grows. It will increase jobs and exports while supporting the private sector in managing risks from climate change, COVID-19, and other threats.

The goal is to accelerate firm and sector level competitiveness, generate employment opportunities, and increase sales of firms through interventions that incentivize public and private sector actors across the ecosystem to adopt new behaviors driving outcomes across three objectives:

• To increase access to market-based financial and non-financial services.
• To increase productivity in sectors with high growth and employment potential; and
• To improve the investment climate and business enabling environment (BEE), especially for targeted sectors.
• To support private sector-led economic recovery.

Purpose

The tourism sector is characterized as having the most opportunities to scale, both vertically and horizontally. It has an immense capacity to leverage on sector-level opportunities, generate employment and business opportunities, and translate benefits to all the actors involved in the sector. The constraints are poor infrastructure and connectivity; lack of skilled human resources; and limited promotion and market access. The sector needs to be supported in increasing the value of destination offerings, including diversification of products, upgrading facilities and services, and upgrading the skills of tourism stakeholders. In the absence of such critical support in place, the tourism sector lags in Nepal compared its peers in the region.

The Activity intends to provide support to tourism sector aiming to accelerate the recovery pace, which is just around 38% in the post-pandemic period as per the Firm Performance Survey (FPS) that was conducted in November 2023. The support will spread across four provinces, namely, Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini and Koshi. For that purpose, the Activity has both grants and technical assistance in the form of business development services (BDS) support to businesses in the tourism sector. The Activity plans to roll out BDS support: 1) to 40 mid-sized hotels in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kavre and 2) to 30 to 40 enterprises in the hospitality sector in Koshi covering three districts Ilam, Jhapa and Morang. The support will help in formulation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and implementation other capacity building initiatives, with emphasis on optimizing online travel agency (OTA) integration and enhancing search engine optimization (SEO) fostering increased access to markets and increasing sales. Similarly, the Activity intends to package one more TA specifically focusing on hotels in the Annapurna Circuit Trail (ACT) area, which is considered a popular tourist trekking route for Nepal and attracted the highest number of international visitors/trekkers before the pandemic.

Objective

This STTA aims to provide management and monitoring support for the implementation of the TAs under CLIN – 2 that are primarily focused on accelerating recovery in the tourism sector as well as to help in carrying out other technical assistance to upgrade and standardize services and facilities including enterprises beyond the TAs. For that purpose, the Activity is seeking to mobilize a STTA.

Tasks

The STTA shall carry out the following tasks:

1. Management of TAs’ implementation

• Develop and implement a management plan for the implementation of T&C TAs to ensure accomplishment of deliverables by contracted BDSPs.
• Ensure compliance of activities with TA requirements and track achievement of milestones against the implementation plan.
• Provide guidance and support to BDSP to help them meet their obligations and requirements.
• Facilitate communication between BDSPs and relevant internal and external stakeholders.

2. Coordinate and facilitate implementation of capacity building activities.

This STTA shall work in close coordination with the Tourism Value Chain Manager, Local Economic Development Specialist, MEL Manager, GESI Manager and among others in identifying and facilitating capacity building initiatives aimed at standardization of tourism services and products, consequently, to accelerate the recovery pace.

3. Verification, Documentation and Reporting

• Work with T&C MEL team and the Tourism Value Chain Manager to develop and implement a monitoring and assessment plan, data collection system, and timely monitoring of the progress and outcomes of TAs.  
• Monitor and report on the results of the TA implementation as well as the other supports provided by T&C, including any challenges or successes.
• Conduct site visits, evaluations, and assessments as needed to verify the accuracy of information provided by BDSPs.
• Assist BDSPs in the preparation and timely submission of reports as per the required deliverables.
• Maintain and organize a comprehensive record of all TA-related documentation and reports, upload on shared folder of T&C.

Required Qualifications

1. Bachelor’s or master’s degree in management, economics, or relevant field.
2. Understanding and prior experience working in tourism sector in Nepal.
3. Demonstrated experience in managing and coordinating project implementation.
4. Experience of managing project activities is preferred. 
5. Strong communication and presentation skills, including oral and written.
6. High degree of independence, flexibility, and ability to meet strict deadlines.
7. Fluent in spoken and written English and Nepali.

Payment

The consultant must submit a timesheet, invoice, expense report as applicable, and a written progress report monthly to receive payment.

Reporting Requirements

This STTA shall report directly to the Director for Economic Resilience and Competitiveness.

Submission of Application

All interested applicants shall submit their resume to info@tc-udhyamnepal.com by COB May 10, 2024.