Call for Research Consultant on Roma Health Scholarship Program (RHSP) Beneficiaries' Transition from Studies to Employment in Macedonia
Roma Virtual Network
Call for Research Consultant on Roma Health Scholarship Program (RHSP) Beneficiaries’ Transition from Studies to Employment in Macedonia
The
Roma Education Fund’s (REF) mission and ultimate goal is to close the gap in
educational outcomes between Roma and non-Roma. In order to achieve this goal,
the organization supports policies and programs which ensure quality education
for Roma through scholarships, grant making and advocacy
activities.
The
objectives of REF include:
•
Expanding Romani children’s access to quality early childhood education and
care
•
Improving primary education outcomes for Romani children aged six to
fourteen
•
Boosting academic performance and graduation rates from secondary education for
Romani pupils
•
Supporting access to tertiary education, improving graduation levels and
strengthening identity of Romani university students
•
Expanding employment opportunities for young Romani adults
The
Roma Education Fund operates its activities in close links with civil society
and institutional partners in 16 countries of Central and South Eastern
Europe.
Background: The
Roma Health Scholarship Program (RHSP) is a joint initiative of Open Society
Foundation’s Public Health Program and Roma Education Fund. RHSP consists of a
scholarship, as well as academic and professional development, support scheme
for Roma from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia who pursue medical
education at vocational and/or tertiary levels. RHSP initiatives’ aim is to
contribute to the creation of a generation of Roma professionals in the medical
field who would contribute to improving access to quality health services for
Roma communities, as well as helping dismantle negative stereotypes about Roma
with their own positive examples as Roma qualified professionals. The program
has been implemented since 2008.
Candidate
Profile: The Roma Education Fund Scholarship Program (REF SP) is
looking to recruit one research consultant in Macedonia to
gather data at country level and prepare country reports for an investigation on
Roma Health Scholarship Program beneficiaries’ transition from studies to
employment.
Purpose
and Objective: In 2015 REF conducted
a tracer study in the RHSP program, with the aim to investigate the
degree in which RHSP contributed to a successful academic and professional
trajectory of its beneficiaries, as well as the degree in which its
beneficiaries succeeded on the labor market after graduating medical education.
The findings of the study revealed that the RHSP Program had an important
contribution to increasing the access to medical training for Roma in the four
countries, and notably in choosing the mode of studies that they desired without
making compromises; the program also helped participants strengthen their Roma
identity and encouraged them to express confidently their identity publicly. At
the same time, the study revealed that the program’s contribution in students’
transition from studies to employment has been limited for the time being. One
of the study conclusions was that although RHSP has not been designed to provide
direct assistance for beneficiaries to enter the labor market, the program has
to work on increasing the employment competiveness of its
beneficiaries.
Therefore,
the main goal of the current investigation is to focus on the question of RHSP
beneficiaries’ employability and to analyze, using qualitative research
techniques, the specific challenges RHSP graduates and graduates-to-be encounter
in the process of transition from studies to employment, as well as to determine
the specific tools RHSP program could use in order to enhance beneficiaries’
employability.
As part
of the investigation on RHSP beneficiaries’ employability, REF SP would like to
hire a research consultant in Macedonia who would collect the necessary data at
country level and prepare country-based reports answering to the following
research questions:
- What are the typical routes from studies to employment in the medical field in the specific RHSP country? What are the main challenges in the process of transition from studies to employment that RHSP former beneficiaries have been facing? What are the main causes for unemployment among the unemployed former beneficiaries? Through which specific routes have successfully employed beneficiaries managed to find a job in medical field?
- Through what means could the RHSP program enhance beneficiaries’ employability and what would RHSP need to do in order to help beneficiaries in their process of transition from studies to employment, and in particular to employment in the medical field?
The
information for the case studies shall be collected via desktop research, via a
series of focus groups with former RHSP beneficiaries, as well as via a series
of interviews with mentors and medical university/medical school
professors.
Assigned
responsibilities:
- conducting an initial desktop research on medical students’ transition from studies to employment, as well as on the employment trends in medical field in the respective country;
- in coordination with the REF Budapest research designee, preparing the questionnaires for the series of interviews and for the focus groups to be organized as part of the study;
- in coordination with the REF country coordinator, schedule the interviews with professors from medical universities, from medical colleges/high schools, and with RHSP mentors; conduct the interviews and prepare the interview transcripts. Overall the consultant should conduct minimum 7 interviews, while the group of interviewees should include minimum one professor from medical university, minimum one professor from medical college/high school, and minimum four RHSP mentors;
- advise the REF country coordinator on the categories of RHSP beneficiaries to be invited to the focus groups; conduct the focus groups and prepare the focus group transcript. The focus group in each country should be conducted with 15-20 RHSP beneficiaries in their last year of studies and former RHSP beneficiaries who successfully graduated at least one medical degree (there should be minimum 5 participants from each group);
- based on the information collected through the desktop research, interviews, and focus groups, prepare a detailed report in English that would contain clear and evidence-based responses to the research questions of the case study.
Deliverables:
- a preliminary draft and the final version of the focus group questionnaire, as well as a preliminary draft and a final version of the interview questionnaire. Please note that the questionnaire drafts should be discussed with REF Budapest research designee, while the final versions should be approved by REF Budapest before their use;
- the complete written transcripts of interviews and focus groups (in original language), as well as the audio recordings, should be submitted to REF together with the final report;
- a draft report of the case study, to be commented by REF Budapest representatives;
- a final report of the case study (6,000-7,000 words, excluding annexes and references).
Period
of implementation:
The
implementation should start as soon as possible.
The
draft report should be submitted to REF no later than September 19, 2016, while
the final report should be submitted no later than October 5,
2016.
Budget:
REF
will pay a total of 1,000 EUR gross consultancy fee for each country
study.
The
first half of this amount will be paid upon the submission and approval of the
case study draft report, while the second half will be paid upon the submission
and approval of the final report.
Application
process:
Interested
candidates should send their cover letters (max. 1 page) and their CVs (max. 2
pages, Europass format) in English to schola...@romaeducationfund.org,
with "RHSP Research Consultant" as its subject until August 19, 2016. The cover
letter should clearly state the relevance of the applicant’s academic and
professional background to the responsibilities and tasks described in this
call.
Recruitment
starts immediately upon publication of this announcement and consultancy
positions may be filled already before the indicated application deadline.
Therefore, we encourage you to submit your application early. Only short-listed
applicants will be contacted.