Background
UNDP is collaborating with L&T CSR and Sampada Trusts in Karanji cluster of Pathardi Taluka of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra to increase the income of 2,000 vulnerable families through farm and allied intervention, enabling skills ecosystem and micro enterprise formation by focusing on creation of community cadres and collective enterprises. The project will synergies with the interventions of state, particularly with Umed-MSLRM, MAVIM, government ITI, RSETIs, agricultural universities, Directorate of Vocational Studies and Training and private sector partnerships. This project will be one of a kind multi stake holder engagement, which will build upon the global experiences that UNDP brings while drawing upon the technical capabilities of nongovernmental organizations with substantial technical expertise as well as those already active in the district. Theintervention builds upon and is an extension and expansion of the existing intervention of L& T in Karanji cluster of the district.
The project will follow following field specific strategies.
- Creating community cadres for agricultural and horticultural crops, dairy, poultry and goatery, SHG and micro enterprise development, career counseling and guidance and job linkages.
- Creation and strengthening the community institutions network (SHG-VDC/VO and producer organizations) to take part in the project and achieve its result.
- Strengthening technical support cadre at the local level to implement and sustain intervention.
- Support institutions and create mechanism for backward and forward marketing linkages to strengthen farm and allied production systems.
- Capacity building of community members, local government, government departments, agencies and other stakeholders.
- Creating project management and monitoring system that allow for transparent monitoring, avoid duplication of efforts, and synergizing the capabilities of the community, local governments, government department and agencies, civil society organizations and the UN.
Salient Features of Integrated Livelihood Development Intervention
The proposed integrated livelihood development intervention will focus on three specific groups
- Men and women engaged in farm and allied production- food crops, fruits and vegetables, sheep/goat, dairy and poultry.
- Women, wanting to diversify out of agriculture, but unable to travel beyond village/cluster.
- Younger men and women with higher mobility, to learn new better skills to get jobs outside the area. Accordingly, the integrated livelihood development intervention in Karanji will focus on these three areas.
- Building capacities and mechanisms for effective farm linkages in the farm and allied sectors.
- Developing eco system based approach to promotion of micro enterprise of women.
- Building capacities and mechanism for enhanced employability and increased access to jobs requiring higher skills level.
Project Location:
The assignment will be home as well as field based. It will include travel to districts in Maharashtra and may require to UNDP Country Office in New Delhi to meet with project team members. 15-25 days field visit and 15 days of offsite support, per year, is expected for this assignment.
Duties and Responsibilities
Expected outcomes of Project:
The expected outcome of the project is to enable the families and vulnerable communities in Karanji cluster of Pathardi taluka of Ahmednagar to experience transformational impacts in their lives. The project outcome will be enhanced income for the targeted families.
Scope of Assignment
UNDP has identified five thrust areas in which this project will make sustained intervention over the period of project life cycle to help create sustainable livelihoods. These five areas are 1) SHG and Institution building 2) Dairy 3) Agriculture including Horticulture & Micro-Enterprises related interventions 4) Backyard poultry & Goatery and 5) Skills & Re-schooling. The project envisages a strong partnership between implementing NGO, project team of UNDP and a strong cadre of community workers who would help achieves the goals of the project. The selected individual consultant is expected to closely work with project team, partner NGO and community cadre to help achieve the goals of the project. He is also expected to provide technical oversight functions to all the interventions in his domain area and regularly interact with UNDP Value Chain Expert in New Delhi office to ensure that the activities being undertaken in the field are in congruence with the envisaged overall goal. The technical support for the project may continue to be requested in the next financial year as well depending upon the felt requirements from the field interventions.
Scope of Work
To ensure program’s strategic objectives and results are fully accomplished on time and expected technical quality standards, the Individual consultant must
General Responsibilities:
- Provide technical assistance on various farming and micro-enterprise related practices to the PMU and NGO partners on need basis
- Conduct Quarterly and monthly (as needed) planning sessions to meet project targets
- Build the network of project stakeholders, facilitating relationship-building and cooperative participation among agricultural research, extension and other actors
- Provide supportive supervision to project and partner staff, including mentoring for the growth and development of supervisees
- Provide technical oversight and inputs and draw on CSR and industry best practices in agriculture/horticulture and micro-enterprises.
- Support PMU in achieving agriculture/horticulture and micro-enterprise related objectives.
- Monitoring of milestones set and donor reporting.
- Monitor implementation of initiatives for increasing beneficiary accountability and ensuring gender sensitive programming
- Track progress and ensure robust M&E, intelligent analysis and use of information, strong organizational and sectoral learning.
Specific Responsibilities
Domain Leadership
- Under the guidance of Value Chain Expert, UNDP, New Delhi, provide support to the PMU in leadership, supervision and oversight of all project activities that seek to improve the performance of all agriculture/horticulture and micro-enterprise related activities in the project, ensuring efficient and effective project implementation including the timely completion of high quality work plans, accurate reports, and other mandated deliverables.
- Work with the PMU and NGO partners in preparing domain related project work plans with clear objectives and achievable benchmarks, reflecting strategic long term and short term priorities.
Program Quality and Management
- Collaborate with UNDP project team, NGO partner and community cadre to support capacity building training sessions of farmer producers and other stakeholders.
- Provide technical leadership to program activities related to agriculture, horticulture & micro-enterprise related activities under the project leading to expected increase in household income.
- Review the work of the PMU and of the field team and support PMU in promotion of micro-enterprises with women/men members of the community.
- Monitor the quality and appropriateness of activities to achieve the target indicators in a cost effective timely and sustainable manner.
- Provide accompaniment and handholding support to the implementing partners to link with the technical agencies
- Assist growers and producers to adopt new technologies and techniques to increase the quality and quantity of production.
- Support selected micro-enterprises to grow their business through mentorship and market linkages.
- Perform any other task as assigned by Value Chain Expert, UNDP New Delhi.
Field Research & Data Collection on Agriculture /Horticulture & Micro-enterprise related products:
- To meet and discuss with UNDP, NGO partners and other relevant agencies to arrive at list of commodities and geographical area and seek the approval of same
- Conduct desk research to identify and collate existing content on availability of selected commodities, fluctuation in prices, market demand of already selected commodities in selected geography
- To visit the respective location and meet farmers, SHGs, village development organization and other institutions in the project villages and understand their procurement capacity and identify gaps
- Conduct field visit and meet farmers as well as micro-entrepreneurs to understand the variation in productivity/ risk events/seasonality of selected commodities/business growth supported by the project.
Provide Technical Expertise, Oversight & Capacity Building of PMU & NGO Partner Staff:
- Assist with the orientation and training of key staff and community coordinators to help build a technically strong, well supported motivated team.
- Provide direction and technical advice through quarterly coaching sessions.
- Provide oversight function to ensure that the activities being undertaken are in congruence with achievement of domain goal as well as overall goal of the project.
- Monitor the activities related to agriculture, horticulture and micro-enterprises to ensure that these are in tune with the overall project objectives.
Documentation & Communication
- Preparing progress report, briefs and supervision notes as and when required.
- Providing technical advice and direction in preparation of communication material for internal and external stakeholders
- Develop a plan for the development and dissemination of lessons learnt.
- Conduct regular supervisory/technical assistance visits to the field
- Coordinate with the M&E Coordinator to document success stories
Duration of the Contract
The Long-Term Agreements under the Individual Contract modlity, are expected to have a duration of 3 years. The consultants selected for the LTAs will be awarded one year contracts with an option for renewal in subsequent years upon satisfactory performance and availability of budget. These contracts will be based on a specific requirement (Terms of reference) and corresponding number of days required to complete these tasks. Contract values will be based on the per day fee rates and number of expected days for completion of assignment.
Competencies
Corporate competencies:
- Promotes the mission and values of the UN;
- Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity;
- Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
- Ability to work under pressure and stressful situations;
- Effective interpersonal and communication skills
Functional competencies:
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills;
- Strong analytical, research, reporting and writing abilities;
- Ability to plan, organize, implement and report on work;
- Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback;
- Positive, constructive attitude to work.
Required Skills and Experience
Required Academic Qualifications and Professional Experience:
- Masters degree in Agronomy or Rural Management
- 7 years of project implementation and management experience with progressive responsibility
- Experience working with micro-enterprises and in implementing agriculture-based projects is important
- Experience managing staff and partner organizations as well as managing relationships and interactions between government officials, university staff, farmers and other stakeholders
- Demonstrated ability to provide leadership in strategic planning initiatives
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Experience in monitoring and evaluation, especially in software for data management
- Strong computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point)
Evaluation Method and Criteria
Individual Consultants will be evaluated based on the Cumulative Evaluation (technical + financial) methodology.
Cumulative analysis:
The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
Responsive and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation:
• Technical Criteria weight - 70%;
• Financial Criteria weight – 30 %
Technical Criteria weight – 70 Marks
Education – 30 Marks
Work Experience and Knowledge – 40 Marks
Financial Criteria weight - 30 Marks.
Documents to be submitted
Detailed CV with contact details of three references;
Financial proposal specifying per day consultancy fee. Prior approved travel expenses will be reimbursed as per actuals in line with UNDP rules or would be arranged by UNDP.
Note: Application will not be accepted, if all the above listed documents are not submitted.
For any clarification, please write to ic.india@undp.org