Background

Micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) provide work for more than 4 million people in Ukraine. The Government of Ukraine has been increasing its efforts to undertake economic reforms and create business enabling environment for enterprises, strengthen the position of MSMEs in the economy. Business membership organizations (BMOs) – an essential component of the business support infrastructure faces several challenges which are due weaknesses of the BMO sector and low capacity, sustainability and maturity of BMOs in terms of service provision strategy alignment and low level of awareness and understanding of existing and/or potential benefits of BMOs among current and potential member businesses.

During the period 2015 – 2018, in cooperation with Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and with the financial support from Switzerland (the Donor), UNDP supported BMOs through the "Strengthening SME Business Membership Organizations" project.

Building on the experience and lessons learned, a key focus of the Project Phase II is to ensure the sustainability and scaling-up of the positive results achieved during the First Phase, in particular enhance growth and competitiveness and strengthen the voice of MSMEs in Ukraine through more professional, demand-driven and client-oriented Business Membership Organizations. The Project aims to expand BMO coverage throughout Ukraine and is expected to positively impact on their ability to attract members, promote constructive cooperation with governmental structures and to contribute to policy development leading to MSMEs sector growth.

The Partner BMOs have been selected as a result of a competitive process based on clear and transparent criteria and will be delivered tailored support to improve their institutional, organizational, financial, as well as communication capacities to represent the interests of the private sector. The group of Partner BMOs includes 20 organizations of different profiles and geographic coverage: National CCI, five regional CCIs, five regional universal BMOs and nine industry associations. In addition, the Project will provide follow-up support to 7 partner BMOs engaged under Project Phase I, which will be additionally trained to serve as hubs or platforms for cooperation of wider BMO community, thus spreading further the experience and knowledge obtained in the Phase I and contributing to MSME sector consolidation.

During the implementation of the Project Phase I, a close partnership was established with the project "Kupuimo Razom!" (http://kupuimorazom.org.ua/), which was launched by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and financed by the program Polish Aid in the period from 2015 to 2018 in Ukraine. Three out of seven partner Business Associations of the Project Phase I took part in the educational events of "Kupuimo Razom!" project in 2017-2018.

As a result of this cooperation, one of BMOs, the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers, successfully created the first pilot purchasing group in Ukraine. This gave an outstanding effect for the organization: it allowed to receive additional income of more than 1 million dollars of export earnings for the procurement group members, attracted several dozens of new members, and positively influenced the image of both the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers and the entire sector of industry business associations.

The Project Phase II envisages to support the creation of procurement groups as one of priority areas for the period up to 2023. For this purpose, the Project plans to support several pilot projects and a long-term educational campaign for all business associations in Ukraine to foster innovative cooperative forms among organizations' members and raise awareness on the procedure for creating, developing and implementing of purchasing groups. The incumbent will promote UNDP's mandate as a gender-responsive organization with zero tolerance to any kind of discriminatory and abusive behaviour, including sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse.

Duties and Responsibilities

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The overall objective of the assignment is to provide marketing support to the development of up to nine (9) pilot group purchasing organizations (hereinafter referred to as the "GPOs") with selected partner BMOs (Ivano-Frankivsk Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kharkiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Odesa Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sumy Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Association of Industrial Automation Enterprises of Ukraine, Organic Ukraine, Western Ukrainian Fashion Industry Cluster, Private Employers Association in Kharkiv, Vinnytsia Regional Organization "Union of Entrepreneurs "Stina"), ensure monitoring the results, document experience and lessons learned and share it with all 27 partner BMOs.

Establishment of GPOs should be done with agile and systemic approach and taking into account recommendations provided by the "Kupuimo Razom!" project experts (Kupuimo Raizom Guide for Consultants). The Consultant is expected to coordinate with and engage numerous stakeholders, using the methods that would allow rapid and effective roll out of the GPO.

The following general principles should be regarded for GPOs creation:

- Interests of all stakeholders (members of the GPO and suppliers) must be considered to ensure their voluntary commitment to the project.

- All members of the GPOs should have clear and transparent information on the benefits they receive from participating in the GPO, on their role and responsibilities.

- The process should be organized with order and formality to allow balancing between the interests of individual entrepreneurs and the whole group for achievement of the common goal.

- The GPO should be promptly created as a minimum viable product (MVP), engaging early adopters among members and suppliers, to allow for testing initial hypotheses in real market conditions. At the same time, there should be a staged plan developed with a clear vision on how the GPO may potentially evolve and grow.

3. DESCRIPTION OF RESPONSIBILITIES / SCOPE OF WORK

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager and in close cooperation with the Project Team, the Consultant will perform the below activities focusing on the achievement of the mentioned objectives. The Consultant is expected to work in close collaboration with the Project Team.

3.1. Review the background documents provided by UNDP and "Kupuimo Razom" project to obtain a better understanding of the goals and context, and develop a detailed work plan, consisting of activities, key stages of assignment implementation, and detailed timeline of work with fixed deadlines.

3.2. Facilitate at least one (1) peer-to-peer webinar with partner BMOs to discuss existing cases and practices of creating GPOs in Ukraine (cases will be advised and speakers proposed by UNDP), lessons learned and planned approach to development and launch of the purchasing groups within this assignment with a schedule of works. The webinar is expected to be organized virtually (online).

3.3. Organize individual meetings with each of up to nine (9) partner BMOs to familiarize with their operation, assess the state-of-play, priorities, and expectations from the GPOs, estimated interest among member MSMEs and feedback on commitment of the BMO to be significantly engaged into the initiative, availability of human and other resources, and other key issues relevant to the assignment and required to inform further actions.  

3.4. Assess economic potential for each GPO (up to 9), including:

• Identify MSMEs - potential members of the GPO, their needs, expectations on specific benefits, engagement into GPO operation and distribution of results. Facilitate relevant working group meetings with partner BMOs and potential members of the pilot GPOs.
• Assess information received from BMOs and their members, identify and discuss with BMOs specific products or services that can be potentially procured through the pilot GPO.
• Identify potential volume of procurement for specific products or services.
• Conduct realistic assessment of GPOs purchasing power, determine the break-even point and estimate expected profitability of each of the purchasing groups.
• Evaluate economic potential these specific products or services, taking into account standardization of products, profit margin, minimal order quantity, delivery terms, aftersales service etc.
• Estimate potential financial benefits for group members both from reduction of additional costs as a result of concentration of purchases and increase in turnover, as well as from lower purchase prices as a result of concentration.
• Identify potential additional benefits and their financial value, including but not limited to: payment conditions (differed payments, installments), access to information, specialized training and learning materials that may provide GPO members with an additional competitive advantage, access to new benefit and service levels, optimization of logistic and transport, etc.
• Identify potential benefits from the GPO for the customers of the GPO members.

3.6. Collate and assess information received from up to nine (9) BMOs and their member MSMEs. Where needed and in order to fill in the gaps, contact the partner BMOs for additional clarifications. Compile concise and accurate profile for each GPO to be launched (up to 3 pages each, A4, 11pts), including (but not limited to): potential members of the GPO, specific products or services that will be procured through the GPO, potential volume of procurement, estimated purchasing power of the group, economic potential for selected services or products, potential financial benefits for group members and their customers, potential additional non-financial benefits and their financial value.

3.7. In consultation with each BMO, define most prospective suppliers for each GPO. The Consultant must ensure, if possible, that GPOs will not be dependent on one supplier and will be able to expand both the assortment and delivery terms for products or services.

3.8. Conduct preliminary supplier analysis for each of the GPOs, including:

• Identify potential suppliers for the GPOs, their needs, values, expectations for benefits.
• Identify potential benefits and their financial value, including but not limited to: increase in sales, decrease in costs to acquire customers, decrease in logistic costs, etc.
• Estimate potential financial benefits for the supplier due to both effect of increase in sales volumes on the profit margin and changes in sales prices on the profit margin.
• Identify potential competition of the GPO with existing distributors or other market actors that may disrupt operation.

3.9. Develop value proposition for potential GPOs' suppliers, including:

• Financial benefits for the supplier due to both effect of increase in sales volumes on the profit margin and changes in sales prices on the profit margin.
• Vision for partnership in the development of the market.
• Prospects to increase operational effectiveness and address specific needs/pains of the supplier.

3.10. Upon situational and supplier analysis, in coordination with UNDP project team, identify the best operational model for GPOs individually for each of the partner BMOs (agent or wholesaler - refer for details to p.60 of the Kupuimo Raizom Guide for Consultants: https://kupuimorazom.org.ua/?p=3563). Support UNDP project team with organizing meetings with partner BMOs to provide advice and clarify the specifics of the selected model and receive commitment to move forward using specific model. Support, if necessary, consultations of each partner BMOs on the development of GPO management rules and procedures, templates or drafts of cooperation agreements.

3.11. Prepare informational package for negotiation with suppliers for each GPO and present it to each BMO, including general presentation (up to 10 slides), GPO composition with evaluation of the purchasing power and potential. The presentation must include the following information (but not limited to): idea of the GPO, benefits for the supplier, functions of the GPO, who are the GPO members, expectations of GPO members, procedures, action points, contact information.

3.12. Analyse the outcomes and prepare final technical report, including nine (9) briefs to capture the outcomes for each facilitated GPO (up to 40 pages, A4, 11pts). The report shall be prepared in Ukrainian.

The final structure and content of the briefs shall be agreed with UNDP and consist of the following tentative sections (not limited to): abbreviations and terminology, description of results and recommendations for further action (outcomes per each BMO), lessons learned, recommendations to UNDP on prospective of the pilot initiatives, a staged plan with a clear vision on how each GPO may potentially evolve and grow, needed further support for development and/or scale up.

NOTE: All materials relating to this assignment, including all Information collected from various meetings/documents shall be kept confidential and shall not be shared with the third parties beyond UNDP and Partner BMOs.

To ensure the delivery of the above tasks, the Consultant will:

• Hold inception and follow-up meetings with UNDP project team as requested.
• Submit all the deliverables for review, comments and approval to UNDP project team as requested.
• Develop tools and documentation as described above in this Terms of Reference and validate/approve them with UNDP project team.
• Liaise and ensure constant communication/coordination with UNDP project team regarding all aspects of the assignment, as well as instantly inform UNDP of any difficulties or delays encountered during the delivery of the assignment in order to resolve them.
• Ensure the mainstreaming of gender equality and women's empowerment considerations in activities, promote a safe and enabling environment free of any kind of discrimination and abusive behaviour, and use the principles of gender-responsive communications in line with the UNDP corporate standards.

4. DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

The target date for the start of work is October 2021.

NOTE: Copyright. All information and products produced by the Consultant under this assignment will remain property of the UNDP.

5. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

UNDP will pay the negotiated amount in tranches according to the following payment schedule:

20% - upon successful completion of the Deliverables 1-3

30% - upon successful completion of the Deliverable 4

30% - upon successful completion of the Deliverable 5

20% - upon successful completion of the Deliverables 6

The payments will be processed upon the full completion and acceptance of contractual obligations whereupon the Project Manager (Supervisor) signs the certification of acceptance.

6. MONITORING/REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Project Manager and in close cooperation with the Project staff and Designer provided by UNDP.

Work-progress reporting/monitoring meetings will be held with the Consultant on a regular basis.

The consultant will interact with UNDP to receive any clarifications and guidance that may be needed. He/she will also receive all necessary informational and logistical support from the Project. The Consultant will duly inform UNDP of any problems, issues or delays arising in the course of implementation of assignment and take necessary steps to address them.

UNDP will be the final authority to control the quality and evaluate the work. The satisfactory completion of each of the deliverables shall be subject to the endorsement of the Project Manager. Each deliverable will be delivered in a draft for comments and feedback before finalization. No reports or documents should be published or distributed to third parties without the approval of UNDP.

All reports and results are to be submitted to the UNDP in electronic form (*.docx, *.xlsx, *.pptx, and *.pdf or other formats accepted by UNDP). The intermediate and Final reports should be submitted in English.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UNDP's mission, vision, and values
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Knowledge of gender equality and women's empowerment issues and ability to apply it to strategic and/or practical situations, e.g. integrating into the project/programme cycle, including design, planning, and implementation 

Competencies:

• Demonstrates high level of professionalism and ethics
• Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback
• Demonstrates excellent planning and organizational skills and able to produce high-quality products on tight deadlines
• Able to work on location without any other supervision except for liaison with UNDP
• Demonstrates excellent written and verbal communication skills, able to present information logically, clearly, and concisely
• Able to think creatively, to develop and implement innovative solutions in a challenging environment

Required Skills and Experience

The Consultant should possess the following qualifications, experience and skills:

Criteria A:

Educational background:

• At least a Master's/Specialist's degree in Social Sciences, Political Sciences, Marketing, Management, Economics, Business Administration, Finance, International Relations and other relevant areas. A PhD or higher degree is an asset.

Criteria B:

Professional Experience:

• At least 3 (three) years of previous experience of working with entrepreneurs, start-ups or supporting the development and/or scale up of micro, small or medium businesses. 
• At least 2 (two) years of practical experience in economic analysis and/or assessment of economic potential or financial returns, conducting business needs assessment and analysis, assessing purchasing/sales power of the individual businesses and/or groups of entrepreneurs, or similar fields.
• Prior experience working with BMOs, knowledge and understanding of BMO services and MSMEs needs would be a strong asset.
• Previous experience of working with UN agencies or donor-funded programmes would be an asset.

Criteria C:

Communication skills

• Excellent writing and oral communication skills, with demonstrated experience of having undertaken similar assignments (proven with samples of at least two (2) prepared or co-authored briefs, studies, manuals or presentations related to economic or market analysis or other relevant analytical documents).

Language Skills:

• Fluency in Ukrainian or Russian, and working knowledge of English are essential.

. DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS:

Applicants shall submit the following documents:

UNDP documents templates can be downloaded from the following link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/297e72t7i3v2969/AADDRyUo2uoNrYjuD8NLmdl0a?dl=0  

Please combine your CV, financial proposal and other necessary information in one PDF file and upload the document when submitting the application.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

9. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL

 Lump-sum contract

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in instalments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, a number of anticipated working days per each deliverable, as well as a reference professional daily fee).  

Administrative arrangements

Assignment is home-based and the IC will be responsible for his/her own office facilities, any equipment and materials needed for work.

Travel costs

All envisaged travel costs must be included in the financial proposal. This includes all travel to join duty station/repatriation travel.  In general, UNDP should not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket. Should the IC wish to travel on a higher class he/she should do so using their own resources.

As assignment is home based, travel is not envisaged, but if the need arises it will be by mutual agreement. In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses should be agreed upon, between the respective business unit and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

Logistics arrangements for the events, where participation of the Consultant is requested by UNDP as per this TOR, to be provided by UNDP and shall not be included in the financial proposal. 

 EVALUATION CRITERIA

Technical evaluation – Total 70% (max 70 points)

Criteria A: Educational background – 4 points max

At least a Master's/Specialist's degree in Social Sciences, Political Sciences, Marketing, Management, Economics, Business Administration, Finance, International Relations and other relevant areas. A PhD or higher degree is an asset.

{3 pts – Specialist/Master's degree in the relevant field; 4 pts – PhD degree in the relevant field}

Criteria B: Work experience – 33 points max

1. At least 3 (three) years of previous experience of working with entrepreneurs, start-ups or supporting the development and/or scale up of micro, small or medium businesses – 15 points max

{11 pts – 3-5 years; 13 pts – 6-10 years; 15 pts – 11 years and more);

1. At least 2 (two) years of practical experience in economic analysis and/or assessment of economic potential or financial returns, conducting business needs assessment and analysis, assessing purchasing/sales power of the individual businesses and/or groups of entrepreneurs, or similar fields 15 points max

{11 pts – 2-3 years; 13 pts – 4-10 years; 15 pts – 11 years and more);

1. Previous experience of working with BMOs, knowledge and understanding of BMO services and MSMEs needs would be a strong asset.

{0 pts – no, 2 pts – yes}

1. Working experience with UN funded programmes or other international technical assistance projects as an asset:

{0 pts – no, 1 pts – yes}

Criteria C: Technical Skills – 24 points max

Writing skills – 6 points max

Excellent writing skills, with analytic capacity and ability to synthesize inputs and relevant findings (proven with at least two (2) prepared or co-authored briefs, studies, manuals or presentations related to economic or market analysis or other relevant analytical documents) – 6 points max

{6 pts – samples/documents are concise but rich in content, demonstrates the expertise of the candidate; proposed presentation of the material is relevant and shows Expert’s understanding of the ultimate need of the exercise;

3 pts – samples/documents contain irrelevant or inapplicable pieces of information, and show a general understanding of the subject. The text requires acceptable level of adjustment and clarification.

0 pts – provided samples are not relevant and do not demonstrate understanding of the subject and expertise of the applicant. The text requires considerable adjustment. The applicant cannot be considered as compliant}

Language Skills – 2 points max:

Fluency in Ukrainian or Russian, and working knowledge of English.

{2 pts – fluent Ukrainian, Russian and working English}

Brief description of approach to the assignment – 15 points max:

Methodology (document which contains explanation on approach to conduct the work):

{- Basic methodology developed with an understanding of the nature and scope of tasks, the approach logically describes a sequence of works and addresses the important aspects of tasks in sufficient detail – up to 12 points;
- Advanced methodology developed which includes additional thorough criteria and demonstrates that the chosen approach will ensure effective implementation of tasks – up to 15 points}.

Criteria D: Interview – 10 points max

Only those obtaining minimum 42 points for Criteria A-C will be invited to the interview. During the interview the applicant will be requested to provide the relevant practical and well-elaborated examples proving their experience.

Criteria 1 – max 3 points:

Relevant practical examples confirming the candidate's previous experience in economic analysis, assessment of purchasing/sales power, economic potential or financial returns, including all relevant steps, for example, developing or tailoring a methodology - 1 point, relevant analysis - 1 point, presentation of the results - 1 point, as well as associated risks and measures to reduce them, stages used in general.

Criteria 2 – max 4 points:

Relevant theoretical experience and the correct vision of its application in the framework of the current assignment (including the approach to developing a methodology - 1 point, implementation stages - 1 point, understanding of the group purchasing approach - 2 points).

Criteria 3 – max 3 points:

Relevant professional skills and experience in providing advisory or consultancy support for the launch or development/growth of MSMEs, start-ups, other for commercial and non-profit organizations a) needs assessment - 1 point, b) facilitation of the participatory decision-making - 1 point, c) development of the relevant strategies, action plans, roadmaps or policies - 1 point, as well as their application to the needs of the current task.

Maximum available technical score - 70 points.

 Evaluation method

 Cumulative analysis

Contract award shall be made to the incumbent whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

a) responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

b) having received the cumulative highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

* Technical Criteria weight: 70%

* Financial Criteria weight: 30%

Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% from the maximum available technical score (49 points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal and will equal to 30. All other price proposals will be evaluated and assigned points, as per below formula:

30 points [max points available for financial part] x [lowest of all evaluated offered prices among responsive offers] / [evaluated price].

The proposal obtaining the overall cumulatively highest score after adding the score of the technical proposal and the financial proposal will be considered as the most compliant offer and will be awarded a contract.

Additional requirements for recommended contractor:

Recommended contractors aged 62 and older shall undergo a full medical examination including x-ray, and obtain medical clearance from the UN-approved doctor prior to taking up their assignment. The medical examination shall be paid by the consultant.

The BSAFE online security training course must be successfully completed prior to commencement of contract.