UNDP Jobs - 49570- Consultant for Conducting ‘Ajara Investment Profil

Consultant for Conducting ‘Ajara Investment Profile and Investment Promotion Study in Agriculture

Location :

Batumi, GEORGIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

23-Sep-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

30 days with one mission to Georgia (20 days), preferably in October – November, 2014

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP implements EU and Government of Ajara supported project ENPARD Ajara – Support to Agriculture Development of Ajara AR which is a part of ENPARD Georgia Program.

The project has two main objectives:

(1) To increase returns to farming in Ajara; and
(2) To strengthen the capability of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara in policy analysis and related tasks.

In the course of achieving these objectives, and in responding to the priorities set out in the Ajara Regional Development Strategy, support will be provided under the three components:

Increasing and improving services to small farmers;
Development of business oriented small farmers’ groups, associations and other forms of profit-based collaborative actions between farmers; and
Institutional development of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of the consultancy is to support the Government of Ajara AR in implementing the investment promotion policy in agriculture. The study is expected to be performed in participatory manner involving the public and private sector stakeholders. The study is envisaged as one of the main contributors to the new Agriculture Development Strategy of Ajara AR.

The Consultant will have following duties and responsibilities:

Develop the outline of the study and agree it with the ministry of Agriculture of Ajara AR, EU and UNDP – 3 days;
Organize and conduct interviews with relevant groups (companies (processors, inputs suppliers, traders and consolidation business owners, farmers, government agencies’ staff and others with the aim of identifying the state of affairs in domestic and foreign investment attraction, trends, issues, different stakeholders’ roles and others – 5 days.

Draft the main inputs for the study on investment promotion policy which should include but not limited to analysis (17 days):

Analysis of the existing tools, promotion mechanisms (events, printing, digital and web based tolls and others) information channels , legislation, institutions’ capacities, private sector institutions and others;
Analysis of the trends (price, competition, technical and all other types of regulations) on the main export destination markets and new markets;
Benchmarking of the existing tools toward the ‘check list’ methodology of the OECD document ‘Policy Framework in Agriculture’(3rd July, 2014; OECD available at: http://www.oecd.org/investment/investment-policy/pfi-agriculture.htm);
Description of the strong sides and main attractiveness factors of the Ajara agriculture sector toward foreign and domestic investors;
Recommendations for improvement of the existing and introducing new tools and instruments, as well as policy measures for attracting investment (including green field investments) into Ajara agriculture sector;
effectiveness of existing export promotion measures;
Recommendations on the main dimensions of export promotion policy covering value, chain, quality management, marketing and other necessary aspects;
Develop Ajara agriculture sector investment profile in the format agreed with MoA of Ajara and UNDP, following good international practice format – 4 days;
Hold a workshop with presentation of the main deliverables to wider audience of stakeholders (agriculture policy makers, entrepreneurs, farmers, donor community and others) – 1 day.

Major Deliverables for the consultant:

The selected Consultant is expected to submit the following deliverables:

Study on investment promotion policy;
Ajara agriculture sector investment profile.

Reporting, accountability and payment modality:

The selected consultant will be accountable to the Project Manager of the project ‘ENPARD Ajara - Support to Agriculture Development in the Ajara Autonomous Republic’.

The payments will be made in two installments:

1st installment - full living allowance and travel costs;
2nd installment - consultancy fee upon submission of all deliverables from Project Manager.

The payment of the second installment is subject to good acceptable quality of the draft study.

Evaluation:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on cumulative analysis method

Offerors will be evaluated against combination of technical and financial criteria. Maximum obtainable score is 100, out of which total score for technical criteria equals to 70 and for financial criteria – to 30.Offerors obtaining minimum of 40 points as a result of the desk review, will be invited for an interview. The maximum score for interview will be 15 points. Those Offerors who pass 70% of maximum obtainable scores of the technical criteria (i.e. desk review and interview, 70 x 70% = 49 points) will be considered as short-listed offerors.

The short-listed offerors will be asked to provide financial proposals (lump sum).

Financial Proposal

Offerors passing 70% threshold of the technical criteria, i.e. min 49 points, will be considered as shortlisted candidates and requested to submit financial proposals.

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables should be accompanied by the proposed number of installments. All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal as well.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

Excellent writing, presentation/public speaking skills;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

He/she should have strong communication and analytical skills related to Agriculture support policy development;
Proven strong analytical abilities and knowledge in agriculture support services, consolidation and extension models and value chains;
Ability of interpretation, development and analyses of related documentation;
Ability to work under pressure with several tasks and various deadlines;
A pro-active approach to problem-solving;
IT literacy.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master's degree in economics, agriculture, trade, policy analysis/management, development policy, business administration, related disciplines (minimum qualification requirement: Master's degree - 10 points; PhD -15 points).

Experience:

At least 5 years of professional experience in the field of research and/or trade, or investment analysis, and/or agriculture policy analysis (minimum qualification requirement: 5 to 7 years - 15 points; more than 7 years - 20 points);
Experience of at least two studies or reports on agriculture products export competitiveness related topics (international markets of agriculture products, value chains, quality, marketing and related issues) (minimum qualification requirement: 2 studies - 15 points; more than 2 studies - 20 points).

Language:

Fluency in English is a must;
Knowledge of Georgian or Russian languages will be an asset.