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1,300 respond to Sandals recruitment drive in Saint Vincent

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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was abuzz with excitement last week as over 1,300 Vincentians responded to the recruitment call by Sandals Resorts International (SRI), as the company begins preparations to bring its Beaches resort brand to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The decision to fast track recruitment efforts ahead of the establishment of the first Beaches resort in the Eastern Caribbean at the former Buccament Bay site, is in an effort to buffer the displacement caused from the recent volcanic eruption and the continued economic fallout due to the pandemic.

Sandals Executive Chairman Adam Stewart said this recruitment drive will provide direct employment for nationals even ahead of the resort’s opening, “We remain committed to supporting the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines by providing opportunities through immediate employment and the long-term linkages that will flow once Beaches Saint Vincent gets underway. For now, I am excited at the feedback from this first phase of the recruitment process which identified some amazing candidates, and we look forward to phase two as we aim to provide employment opportunities for some 500 Vincentians in the first instance.”

The first phase of the recruitment drive took place on the island of Saint Vincent from May 26 to 28 with 462 in person interviews conducted.  The Sandals team, led by Winston Anderson, Managing Director for Sandals Resorts in Saint Lucia, was impressed with the interactions throughout.

Anderson shared, “There was a remarkable response from the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and we were pleased that in the limited period we had on the ground we were able to accommodate over 460 persons. These will be further shortlisted and successful candidates will be placed at various resorts throughout the region.”

Saint Vincent’s Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Information Technology Camillo Gonsalves said the recruitment drive was timely, and described it as a massive gesture of Caribbean solidarity.  “We were thrilled to welcome the Sandals team to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Sandals is a quintessentially Caribbean company and Adam Stewart has leveraged his company’s regional presence to provide meaningful assistance to Vincentians in the wake of our recent volcanic eruptions.”

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Minister Gonsalves added, “In addition to humanitarian support through the Sandals Foundation, Mr. Stewart recognizes that the best way to help affected citizens is to offer hope and opportunity through meaningful employment. I am grateful to Sandals and Beaches resorts for their demonstrated commitment to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – as both a place to do business and as a member of our Caribbean family. Sandals has established unambiguously that they are an integral part of our present recovery and our future development in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. We thank them sincerely for their timely response.”

The recruitment drive is a manifestation of Sandals’ continued commitment to provide Caribbean nationals with training and employment opportunities across the region under its Team Member Exchange Programme.

Beaches Saint Vincent is just one of several exciting new projects announced by Sandals Resorts in 2021. The resort-chain recently broke ground for three new resorts in Jamaica with plans to follow for Curacao and St Vincent, all of which are expected to create some 5,000 new jobs over the next five years.

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]