Call for Consultant : 

Private Sector Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Initiatives to Promote Human Rights and Access to Education and Employment

Background

Pakistan’s export-oriented agriculture and agro-industry sectors are increasingly required to demonstrate compliance with international labour and human rights standards, particularly in light of the European Union’s sustainability and due diligence legislation. These include the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Forced Labour Regulation, which collectively emphasize responsible business conduct across global supply chains.

Within Pakistan, businesses operating in agriculture and related value chains play a critical role in promoting decent work, safeguarding human rights, and contributing to inclusive socio-economic development in the communities where they operate. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives offer an important opportunity for businesses to actively contribute to community development, particularly in areas related to education, youth skills development, and access to employment.

The Capacity-Building for Socially Diligent Agribusinesses (CSDA) project aims to strengthen responsible business conduct in Pakistan’s cotton and rice value chains by promoting labour rights compliance and supporting human rights due diligence practices among businesses and supply chain actors.

In this context, the project seeks to engage and mobilize private sector actors to develop and implement CSR initiatives that contribute to the protection of children’s rights, support access to education for labouring children, and facilitate skills development and employment pathways for youth of legal working age.

Objective

The objective of this assignment is to encourage, facilitate, and support businesses in developing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives that promote human rights, access to education, and employment opportunities for youth in project target districts.

Specifically, the assignment aims to:

• Promote private sector engagement in skills development initiatives for youth transitioning to legal working age.
• Facilitate employment pathways for skilled youth, including internships, apprenticeships, and job readiness programs.
• Encourage businesses to support community-led schools and education initiatives for labouring children, particularly those at risk of entering child labour.

Scope of Work

The consultant will work closely with the project team, businesses, and relevant stakeholders to design and facilitate CSR engagement initiatives.

The assignment may involve travel to project target districts, namely Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura, and Gujranwala. The duty station for this assignment is Lahore.

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1.      Identification, Engagement of Businesses, CSR Guidance

• Identify companies with existing or potential interest in CSR initiatives related to education, youth employment, and community development.
• Engage with businesses through consultations, meetings, and awareness sessions to highlight the importance of CSR in promoting human rights and responsible business conduct.
• Identify feasible CSR models for the target districts.
• Provide guidance on designing CSR initiatives aligned with:
  • Human rights standards
  • Responsible business conduct principles
  • Community development priorities

2.      Skills Development and Youth Employment Pathways

• Facilitate collaboration between businesses, training institutions, and community stakeholders to support skills education for youth approaching the legal working age (18 years).
• Explore and develop opportunities for businesses to provide:
  • Internships
  • Apprenticeships
  • Job readiness training
  • Entry-level employment opportunities
• Document potential employment pathways for trained youth.

3.      Promotion of Community-Based Education Initiatives

• Engage businesses to support community-led education initiatives for labouring children, particularly those below legal working age.
• Encourage private sector contributions to:
  • Community schools
  • Education support programs
  • Learning materials or infrastructure support
• Facilitate partnerships between businesses, CSOs, and community organizations working on child protection and education.

4.      Facilitation of Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue

• Organize stakeholder consultations or roundtables with businesses, CSOs, local authorities, and community representatives.
• Identify opportunities for joint CSR initiatives and collaborative community programs.
• Promote knowledge sharing on responsible business practices.

Deliverables

The consultant/firm will be expected to deliver the following outputs:

• Deliverable 1: Inception report including detailed work plan, methodology, and stakeholder mapping.
• Deliverable 2: Business mapping report (3-4 pages) and CSR guidance note (7-10 pages) identifying potential companies, feasible CSR models, and summary findings of business engagement meetings.
• Deliverable 3: Progress Report (5-7 pages) documenting collaboration with businesses and training institutions, and identified opportunities for internships, apprenticeships, job readiness training, and entry-level employment pathways for youth.
• Deliverable 4: Progress Report (5-7 pages) documenting private sector engagement and partnerships supporting community-based education initiatives for labouring children.
• Deliverable 5: Completion of stakeholder consultations/roundtables and submission of a consolidated report (5-7 pages) outlining CSR initiatives, partnerships, and recommendations, including for scaling private sector participation.

Timeline

The assignment is expected to be completed within [12–18 months or aligned with project implementation timeline] from the signing of the contract.

A detailed activity schedule will be developed in coordination with the project team.

Payment Schedule

Payments will be linked to the successful completion and approval of each deliverable and will be made based on the actual level of effort (number of days) utilized for the respective deliverable, not exceeding the allocated number of days.

Qualifications of the Consultant

The consultant should demonstrate:

• At least 7–10 years of experience in corporate social responsibility, private sector engagement, or responsible business conduct.
• Experience working with businesses, industry associations, or value chain actors, particularly in agriculture or manufacturing sectors (Textile or Rice).
• Demonstrated knowledge of human rights, labour standards, and child labour issues.
• Proven experience facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships and community development initiatives.
• Strong analytical, stakeholder engagement, and reporting skills.

Level of Effort Matrix

Total Number of Days: 30

Applicants shall submit:

• Interested candidates should submit an updated CV, a cover letter highlighting their relevant experience and suitability for the assignment and their proposed daily professional fee (PKR/day)