Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper.

Our mission: to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ)

Consultancy for In-Depth Gender Sensitive Joint Labour & Market Assessment (LMA)

Program: EU-Funded Empowering Youth Employment in Sudan
Commissioned by: DRC – Lead & Mercy Corps – Co-Lead
Implementation Period: March – May 2026 (Inception Phase)
Geographic Coverage: North Kordofan, South Kordofan, Central Darfur, North Darfur, White Nile, River Nile, Gedaref, Khartoum, and Kassala – Sudan

Background

The EU-Funded Empowering Youth Employment in Sudan programme aims to generate sustainable employment and income opportunities for conflict-affected youth aged 15–35, with a minimum of 51% women and at least 5% youth with disabilities, while strengthening MSMEs and training ecosystems.

To ensure evidence-based and conflict-sensitive programming, DRC and Mercy Corps will conduct an in-depth, gender-sensitive and protection-aware Joint Labour & Market Assessment (LMA) during the programme’s inception phase.

Purpose of the Consultancy

DRC and Mercy Corps invite qualified individual consultants, teams of consultants, or consulting firms to lead and deliver an In-depth Gender Sensitive Joint Labour & Market Assessment across nine programme states.

The assessment will provide an evidence-based analysis of labour demand, labour supply, and market systems dynamics to identify viable youth employment and enterprise pathways. Findings will directly inform programme design and implementation, including Cash for Work (CfW), TVET and skills development, entrepreneurship, MSME support, and financial inclusion interventions.

The consultancy will apply a Market Systems Development (MSD) lens and integrate gender, protection, disability inclusion, and decent work considerations throughout the assessment process.

Scope of Work (Summary)

The selected Consultant/Firm will:

• Design and lead a mixed-methods Labour Market Assessment
• Conduct desk review and primary data analysis
• Map labour market systems and identify systemic constraints
• Prioritise feasible employment and enterprise pathways per state
• Generate state-specific, actionable programme recommendations
• Provide technical oversight to data collection conducted by DRC and Mercy Corps field teams

A detailed description of objectives, methodology, analytical framework, deliverables, and programme integration requirements is provided in the attached Terms of Reference (TOR).

Deliverables (Summary)

Key deliverables include:

• Desk Review and Inception Phase
• Primary Data Collection
• Analysis, Validation & Finalization

Full deliverables and reporting structure are detailed in the attached TOR.

Duration

• 40–60 working days
• March–May 2026

Eligibility and Qualifications

Applications are open to individual consultants, teams of consultants, or consulting firms. A Lead Consultant must be designated.

Required qualifications and experience include:

• Proven experience conducting Labour Market Assessments in fragile or conflict-affected contexts
• Expertise in gender and inclusion, including GBV risk and disability integration
• Strong quantitative and qualitative research capacity
• Demonstrated experience applying Market Systems Development (MSD) approaches
• Excellent analytical and report-writing skills in English (Arabic language capacity required for teams/firms and preferred for individuals)

Detailed qualification requirements are outlined in the attached TOR.

Submission Requirements

Interested bidders must submit:

• Completed RFQ (attached)
• Technical Approach & Methodology
• Sampling strategy and field implementation plan
• CV of consultant (and key team members, if applicable)
• Management, coordination, and quality assurance plan
• Ethics, safeguarding, and do-no-harm – approach
• Relevant experience and past performance
• Financial proposal

Detailed submission instructions and requirements are provided in the attached TOR and RFQ documents.

Submission Deadline

Deadline: March 9, 2026
Submission Method: Email to ahassan@mercycorps.org with Reference Number: RFQ / PR164209 in the email subject line

Note: Bidders are strongly encouraged to review the attached Terms of Reference (TOR) for full details on scope, methodology, deliverables, and proposal requirements.