TERMS OF REFERENCE

Workforce Readiness Facilitator

Consultancy to strengthen employment readiness and labour-market integration for Pathway A participants

1. Assignment Information

2. Background

Mbuya Graduate Transition Centre (MGTC) is a specialised Business Development Services (BDS) institution in Mbuya, Kampala, supporting graduates to transition from education into employment, entrepreneurship and enterprise growth through an intensive programme built around structured Career Pathways, Innovation Labs, Peer Accountability Groups and applied learning.

Pathway A – Employment is designed to support graduates who intend to enter or progress within the labour market. Successful transition requires more than generic job-search advice. Participants need to understand how employers recruit, position themselves competitively, identify relevant opportunities, prepare credible applications, demonstrate their capabilities in interviews and navigate the transition into the workplace.

MGTC therefore seeks an experienced Workforce Readiness Facilitator to lead the employment-readiness component of Pathway A and strengthen participants’ ability to navigate Uganda’s labour market, compete for appropriate opportunities and transition effectively into employment.

3. Objective of the Assignment

The objective of this assignment is to equip participants with practical skills, professional tools, labour-market knowledge and employer-facing capabilities required to pursue and secure appropriate employment opportunities.

The Consultant will deliver employment-readiness learning and coaching, support participants to develop strong application and professional-branding materials, facilitate interview preparation, provide targeted application support and contribute to employer linkages and placement opportunities.

4. Scope of Work

The Consultant will undertake the following responsibilities.

• Facilitate approved Pathway A sessions covering relevant areas such as:
  • labour-market orientation and job-search strategy;identifying and assessing employment opportunities;CV and application development;LinkedIn and professional digital presence;interview preparation;professional communication;salary and benefits negotiation; and
  • workplace transition and professional conduct.
• Review participant CVs, cover letters and other relevant application materials and provide constructive feedback to strengthen their alignment with target roles. Conduct practical interview preparation, including mock interviews and structured feedback using approaches such as the STAR method, where appropriate.
• Help participants articulate their skills, experience, value proposition and career interests in ways that are relevant to employers and target roles. Support participants to develop a coherent professional profile across their CV, LinkedIn profile, application materials and interview narrative.
• Guide participants in identifying suitable employment and internship opportunities and support them to submit targeted, quality applications. The Consultant will emphasise suitability and application quality not volume, ensuring that participants understand the rationale behind the opportunities they pursue.
• Work with the Partnerships & Communications Manager to identify and leverage relevant employer relationships, recruitment opportunities, internships, placements, career conversations and other labour-market exposure opportunities for Pathway A participants.

Where appropriate, the Consultant may facilitate introductions or referrals to employers, while maintaining transparency, fairness and professional boundaries.

• Where relevant, support participants pursuing the Sector Specialist track to develop employment-adjacent positioning for freelance, consulting, contract or portfolio-based work. This may include positioning their specialist expertise, developing service propositions and identifying appropriate client or contracting opportunities.
• Share relevant observations on employer expectations, recruitment trends, skills gaps and participant readiness with the Programme team to inform ongoing programme improvement.
• Provide agreed follow-up support to participants progressing through active recruitment processes and, where included in the consultancy scope, contribute to post-programme placement tracking and transition support.

5. Expected Deliverables and Timelines

The Consultant will be assessed against the following deliverables.

6. Reporting and Coordination Arrangements

• The Consultant will submit agreed deliverables to the Programmes Manager and coordinate closely with the Partnerships & Communications Manager on employer engagement and labour-market opportunities.
• The Consultant will also coordinate with the Career Development Facilitator on participant career direction and with the Enterprise Finance & Financial Education Facilitator on relevant workplace financial planning and employment-related financial capability content.
• The Consultant retains professional autonomy over employment-readiness methodologies and coaching approaches within the approved MGTC curriculum and agreed programme standards.

7. Qualifications and Experience

      Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in human resource management, career development, business administration, education, workforce development or a related field.
• At least five years’ relevant professional experience in recruitment, talent acquisition, HR, employability, career development, workforce development or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating employability, career-readiness or workforce-development interventions for graduates, young adults or early-career professionals.
• Demonstrated experience in CV/application development and interview coaching.
• Demonstrated understanding of Uganda’s employment and recruitment landscape.

Desirable

• Professional qualification or certification in career coaching, HR, recruitment or talent development.
• Practical recruitment or talent-acquisition experience.
• Established relationships with employers, recruiters or professional networks relevant to graduate employment.
• Experience supporting graduate placement, internship or youth employment programmes.
• Experience with LinkedIn, digital recruitment platforms and contemporary recruitment practices.
• Experience supporting inclusive employment or employer engagement initiatives.

8. Required Competencies

• Labour-market navigation
• Employment strategy
• Application development
• Interview coaching
• Professional positioning
• Employer engagement
• Workplace transition
• Digital recruitment literacy

9. Gender, Inclusion, Safeguarding and Confidentiality

The Consultant will:

• Deliver employment-readiness support in a gender-responsive, non-discriminatory and disability-inclusive manner.
• Recognise barriers that may disproportionately affect women, persons with disabilities and other underserved groups in accessing employment opportunities.
• Challenge discriminatory assumptions about appropriate occupations or career pathways.
• Facilitate employer opportunities transparently and without favouritism, conflicts of interest or preferential treatment.
• Handle participant employment, application and personal information with appropriate confidentiality.
• Complete MGTC’s safeguarding orientation and comply with the Code of Conduct and applicable facilitator standards before commencing delivery.
• Refer safeguarding or well-being concerns through the designated MGTC mechanisms.

10. Payment and Conditions of Engagement

• The Consultant will be engaged on a part-time, cohort-cycle basis, with the level of effort determined by the approved schedule and agreed employer-engagement and follow-up activities.
• The applicable consultancy fee or daily/session rate will be agreed in the consultancy contract and will be payable upon submission and approval of the agreed deliverables.
• The Consultant will be responsible for their own applicable tax obligations unless otherwise provided for in the consultancy contract.
• No employment relationship is created by this engagement.
• Materials specifically developed for MGTC under this assignment may be retained, reused and adapted by MGTC for future cohorts. The Consultant retains ownership of pre-existing methodologies, tools and generic professional resources.
• Renewal for subsequent cohorts is not automatic and will depend on programme requirements, performance and mutual agreement.
• MGTC may update these Terms of Reference where necessary to reflect programme or operational requirements. Any material changes to the scope, deliverables, level of effort or fees will be communicated and agreed with the Consultant.

11. Application Requirements

Interested consultants should submit:

• A current CV highlighting relevant recruitment, employability, career coaching and employer-engagement experience.
• A brief statement of approach, not exceeding one page, outlining how the applicant would support participants to transition into employment. The statement of approach must be original and personally written by the applicant, reflecting their own professional experience and reasoning. Submissions that are substantially AI-generated, generic, or not clearly grounded in the applicant’s own practice will not be considered. MGTC may request applicants to elaborate on or defend their submitted statement during shortlisting or interview.
• Evidence or references from at least two relevant previous assignments involving employability, recruitment, career coaching, workforce development or graduate placement.
• Copies of relevant professional qualifications and certifications, where applicable.
• Proposed professional fee in UGX, indicating the proposed unit of pricing (day, session, module, cohort or retainer), the applicable rate and what is included in the fee. Any additional costs or reimbursable expenses should be clearly stated separately.

MGTC reserves the right to shortlist candidates based on qualifications, relevant experience, professional standing, demonstrated technical competence, proposed approach and value for money.