Background

1. Background of the assignment

Myanmar is the world’s second largest producer of opium poppy, with an estimated 37,300 hectares under cultivation in 2018, representing almost double the cultivation from the 2006 level of 21,600 hectares. UNODC estimates that over 335,000 households are dependent on opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar. Two-thirds of these households are dependent on opium poppy cultivation (OPC) for their food security. In southern Shan State’s ceasefire areas this proportion is greater, and the food shortages are estimated to affect over 75% of the opium poppy growing population.

UNODC addresses these issues through its alternative development programme currently implemented in 55 villages in Hopong and Loilen townships of southern Shan State. The programme objective is to develop sustainable livelihood alternatives for opium growing communities in South Shan by addressing the economic root causes of poppy cultivation and related environmental degradation. Thus, the programme intervenes in the opium poppy economy by introducing alternative permanent crops and establishing   a farmers’ cooperative to enable participating farmers to independently cultivate, refine and commercialize high quality products that can be sold both on the national and international markets. At the same time, the programme addresses problems of deforestation related to opium poppy cultivation through the implementation of enrichment and reforestation activities which also have positive spillover effects on livelihoods by protecting water sources and reducing erosion and soil degradation. In addition to its focus on livelihoods and forest, the programme has an explicit and crosscutting focus on capacity development to increase national capacities and ensure that the benefits reached are sustainable and can be replicated elsewhere.

In 2015 the beneficiaries of the program decided to create Green Gold Cooperative. In the search of potential markets, the Cooperative signed a 5-years partnership agreement with a private french roasting company (Malongo) with the compromise of obtaining the Fair-trade certification. The Cooperative was used as a base for the commercialization of the 2017-2018 harvest and successfully sent the first container to France in October 2018 and during 2018-2019 harvest season, the cooperative signed contracts for export to Europe, three additional containers. In 2020 it is expected to export five containers.

Duties and Responsibilities

2. Specific tasks to be performed by the consultant

Under the supervision of the UNODC Country Manager of Myanmar, the contractor will perform the following duties:

• Assist in providing technical advice to the project agriculture team, CDFs, beneficiary farmers and cooperative’s staff on the improvement of the quality of the coffee.
• Assist in ensuring the quality of the coffee which will be sold by the cooperative, meets with the requirements of its buyers.
• Assist in designing and carrying out training on coffee cupping testing, management of coffee cupping laboratory, roasting coffee process, and basic knowledge on barista and coffee shop management
• Support the cooperative in designing and setting up its business plan according to the current conditions of the coffee markets.
• Support the cooperative in designing and setting up its roasting process according to the potentialities of the national and international markets.
• Assist in designing and setting up educational programs on different stages of the coffee value chain addressed to the quality and the specialty of the coffee markets.
• Assist in facilitating communication, exchange of ideas, information and reporting to enhance cross-learning and impact of programmes.
• Perform other work-related tasks as assigned.

3. Purpose of the assignment

The Individual Contractor will technically supervise the quality of the coffee produced by the cooperative, ensuring that all the coffee sold will be accepted by the buyers both, at the national and international markets according to their requirements. In addition to that, the individual contractor will support activities addressed to the aggregation of value to the coffee and will contribute with the creation of capacities of the cooperative's staff and its members on topics relates with quality of the coffee. The duty station is located in Taunggyi, Shan State in Myanmar but national or international travel could be required.

4. Expected tangible and measurable output(s)/deliverable(s):

(Tangible and measurable outputs, objectives and targets of the work assignment, as well as specific activities to achieve the required outputs and targets. As per ST/AI/2013/4, Section 3.2 (a))

• Records of the results of the cupping sessions made to ensure the quality of the coffee sold.

• Cooperative’s staff and farmers provided with several trainings on coffee cupping testing, management of coffee cupping laboratory, roasting coffee process, and basic knowledge on barista and coffee shop management.

5.    Dates and details of deliverables/payments:

Payments will be made upon satisfactory completion and/or submission of outputs/deliverables. Please note that last payment must coincide with the end of the contract and must be identical to payment phases in the engagement of consultant/IC request.

6.            Indicators to evaluate the consultant’s performance 

• Outputs described in section 5) above have been achieved
• Quality and timeliness of the delivery of the outputs described in section 5) above

Competencies

• Professionalism; Communication; Coordination; Teamwork;
• Initiative in suggesting innovative research and to advance knowledge development; 
• Excellent analytical and communication capacity;
• Ability to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines; •           
• Solicit input and willing to learn from others;
• Excellent command of English language.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

High school diploma or equivalent is required. In addition, training certificates in Agriculture, Engineering, Economics, Business Administration, Management or related field are required. Certification as a Lead instructor on coffee education is required.

Experience:

At least 10 years of experience in the area of coffee value chain and quality assurance is required. Experience at national and international level in providing management advisory services in areas related to coffee value chain is required. Experience in coffee cupping tasting procedures, quality assurance, roasting and barista skills is required. Experience as a teacher in educational institutions is required. Experience working at the community level in Myanmar is desirable.

Language:

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this position, fluency in English, with excellent drafting and communication skills, is required. Knowledge of another United Nations official language is an advantage.

Other requirements:

Able to travel to remote rural areas and work under pressure

Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. or proposal should be submitted to bids.mm@undp.org

For Annexes Please visit - 

https://procurement-notices.undp.org/view_notice.cfm?notice_id=69687