Call for Application - Hospitality Training The Asia Foundation

Terms of Reference

Hospitality skills Development program in Aileu

July 12, 2021

Background on Asia Foundation Program:

For 27 years The Asia Foundation (the Foundation) has worked in Timor-Leste - alongside government, civil society, and community partners. The Foundation is currently focused on strengthening governance and policy, ending violence against women, developing sustainable tourism, and promoting peace and justice.

Developing Timor-Leste’s tourism sector is a key focus for diversifying the nation’s oil-dependent economy. While Timor-Leste has much to offer visitors, building a tourism sector in Asia’s newest nation is not without its challenges, with barriers being overcome through concerted action and partnerships between government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders.

This will be done by focusing program activities on:

1. Developing the Maubisse-Aileu Region of Timor-Leste into a dynamic regional hub and destination tourism that increases economic benefits for communities;
2. Improving the quality and promotion of food and coffee tourism products and experiences in Timor-Leste, particularly in Maubisse and Aileu;
3. Strengthening tourism industry bodies; and
4. Working collaboratively with MTCI and the government of Timor-Leste more broadly to prioritize and promote tourism development in Timor-Leste.

Statement of Work
The following consultancy seeks to inform:
Medium-Term Outcome 2 – Community members are involved in contributing to, and benefit from efforts to improve the quality of and accessibility to food and coffee tourism products and experiences.
Short-Term Outcome 2.1 – Increased capacity of select community members in food and coffee preparation to promote tourism development
Output 2.1.1 – Improved culinary and coffee brewing skills in Maubisse and Aileu, through increased use of locally sourced seasonal produce towards preparing high quality and high-value Timorese dishes/coffee

The objective of the scope of work offered:

In 2018 The Asia Foundation supported guesthouses in Maubisse to receive training on use of seasonal produce towards the development of new menu items. An evaluation of this training and uptake by guesthouses in 2020 found that although the majority (80%) of trainees indicated continued use of seasonal produce, only 20% of respondents used their training to create new menu items. Not being able to explain ingredients or dishes was identified the primary barrier to including new/innovative dishes on restaurant/guesthouse menus. The findings indicated the culinary training alone was insufficient, and equal focus should be placed on communication and customer service.

An assessment of restaurants and guesthouses in Aileu in 2021 found that 70% of employees had not received any formal training.

Based on these findings, The Asia Foundation seeks to recruit a hospitality training provider or business with experience in hospitality and customer service training to conduct trainings in Aileu and Maubisse that focus on:

i) Customer Service with regards to food and beverage preparations;
ii) Communication with regards to the sale of food and beverage products (menu development and communication of sellable products)

The trainings should be guided by a short syllabus. Two sessions will be conducted in each of Maubisse and Aileu, sessions will be separated by type of business, with one session involving participants from restaurants; and a separate session involving participants from guesthouses.

Deliverables

• The Asia Foundation requires the successful applicant to:
• Develop a timeline and syllabus detailing planned activities;
• Produce replicable visual information aids/handouts that can be used to teach employees at guesthouses and restaurants in Aileu and Maubisse on (i) F&B related customer service; and (ii) F&B related sales and communication;
• Conduct trainings staff at guesthouses and restaurants on the food preparation, include Covid -safe food preparation and the food hygiene; and
• Assess participants towards evaluating uptake, and prepare a short report that evaluates performance of trainees. Report should include recommendations where necessary.

Duration and Level of Effort: All deliverables should be completed no later than 31 August, 2021.

Required qualifications:

• Experience in hospitality and customer service training;
• Experience in marketing and communication
• Knowledge of tourism, developing and selling tourism products in remote settings

Application

Applications inclusive of proposal, relevant employment history and budget should be submitted no later than Monday 19 July 2021 to agueda.miranda@asiafoundation.org. Applications should address and outline the approach for achieving all of the outlined deliverables. The Asia Foundation requires all training providers to be fully vaccinated and to follow COVID-safe protocols during training.


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