Uganda Spice Industry Expert Consultant

Job Description

Activity Background

Land O’Lakes Venture37 plans to prepare and submit a proposal for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) FY2020 Food for Progress (FFPr) opportunity focusing on spices in Uganda.

Objectives

The objectives of this consultancy are to work with a small proposal team to develop a high-quality proposal. This includes desktop research, in-country fact finding, and technical contributions to program design.

Given the current COVID-19 pandemic, consultants will not be requested to travel. Applicants that are well connected and can schedule virtual meetings (ex: phone, Skype or Webex) will be shown preference.

Activities

• Conduct desk and field research (as feasible) to understand the entirety for the spice industry for the USDA funded Uganda spice opportunity. Provide background documentation and information the Venture37 as it relates to the activity scope. Be available for phone calls with the Venture37 team.
• Identify key stakeholders and potential partners to meet with virtually during and after a rapid assessment conducted by the Venture37 team. Support the Venture37 team to develop a list of contacts from which to gather primary data. Collect and consolidate secondary data to obtain evidence to support the project design.
• Create and compile notes from each meeting using the Venture37 recon meeting notes template. Meetings notes must include the name of the organization and the name, title and contact information for each individual in the meeting, an overview of the meeting, key takeaways and next steps.
• Provide technical leadership during the rapid assessment and consolidate technical information from key stakeholders to contribute to a comprehensive, responsive, compelling, coordinated and impactful approach in response to the solicitation.
• Support the development of a partnership strategy identifying high potential local organizations, public actors and private sector businesses as project partners.
• Participate in proposal design sessions with Venture37 as the technical lead to inform the theory of change (TOC) by presenting the background evidence and data that will inform the design of the theory of change, a detailed results framework, win themes, overall technical approaches, proposed activities and targets per the funding notice and TOC.
• Provide technical leadership to the team in the develop of an innovative and responsive technical approach for the Uganda spice proposal design.
• Contribute to the design of the economic model(s), define the end goal of the model(s) and provide data inputs to the model(s) that will inform successful interventions and indicator targets
• Summarize the approach in writing through preparation of technical section outlines and other sections to be defined in collaboration with the lead proposal writer.
• Participate in proposal review debriefs alongside the proposal team and work with proposal writers and the rest of the team to incorporate the feedback by continuing to drive the project strategy/approach as the primary technical lead.

Key Information Needs

The consultant will conduct interviews and meetings with stakeholders as well as collect secondary data to obtain evidence to support the Uganda spice analysis and project design.

Deliverables

The Consultant will deliver the following:

• Kick-off Meeting: completion in April 2020.
• Stakeholder Contact List: Create list of key contacts from which to gather primary data in-country that will inform the project design and local implementing partner strategy. Contacts should include local, regional and international organizations; completion in April 2020.
• Meeting Notes Report: A meeting notes report using the Venture37 template and including the name of the organization and the name, title and contact information for each individual in the meeting, an overview of the meeting, key takeaways and next steps; completion in May 2020.
• Key Findings Document for Presentation on Day 1 of Design: A PowerPoint and word document of key findings from Research and stakeholder contacts as it relates to the Ugandan spice industry. Both the word and powerpoint templates will be provided by Venture37. The word document will include key areas of research and key learning questions to capture data from in-country visits. The PPT will be a high-level summary of that data; completion in April 2020.
• Participation in Proposal Design Workshop: Present research findings and provide technical leadership throughout the design process; completion in April 2020.
• Pink Team Draft (initial proposal review): Provide technical leadership and ad hoc writing support towards the development of the Pink Team draft which should adequately outline the Theory of Change - including a narrative explaining the assumption, high level list of proposed activities, win themes, and a list of design challenges; completion in May 2020.
• Red Team Draft (2nd proposal review): Provide technical leadership and ad hoc writing support to the development of the Red Team drafts RFA with pink team comments incorporated and an updated TOC diagram and written summary of assumptions and an updated economic model(s); completion in May or June 2020.
• Gold Team/Final Drafts (final proposal review): Provide technical leadership and ad hoc writing support to the gold team and final draft which includes a polished draft. This final draft may have multiple final revisions as it is reviewed as a final product; completion in June 2020.

These deliverables will be punctuated by periodic communications discussing direction, progress and preliminary findings.

Level of Effort

Up to 30 days over a 90-day period (between end of March and end of June)

Required Skill and Qualifications

• Master’s degree in horticulture, food technology, trade, business administration, public policy, agriculture or related field or at least 10 years’ experience in the given field.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in conducting similar activities for organizations or projects;
• Sound understanding of the issues, challenges and opportunities within the Ugandan spice industry as well as the greater sub-region.
• Well established relationships and contacts with both private sector actors as well as relevant public institutions within the spice industry at a national and regional level.
• Demonstrated knowledge of international trade of spices including but not limited to export procedures to the US, EU and GCC markets;
• Proven record of excellent time management, decision-making and research skills;
• High capacity for writing in English and preparing quality written products in respect of deadlines;
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Luganda.

About the Organization

Land O'Lakes Venture37 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in dairy, animal nutrition, crop inputs and agricultural insights from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.

Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agriculture for the last 36 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 80 countries.