Local Consultant to provide technical advice/support in sustainable farming in Dragash/Dragaš Municipality and Viti/Vitina Municipality

Background

The Integrated Territorial Development 2 project builds on the successes of the ADC-UNDP “Local-level Response for Employment Generation and Integrated Territorial Development (InTerDev)” project that has been implemented in southern Kosovo’s municipalities of Dragash/Dragaš and Shtërpcë/Štrpce since 2014. This project has proven to address some of the paramount challenges citizens of not only the partner areas, but of Kosovo in general, face: high rate and long spells of unemployment, lack of decent income generation, poor public services, as well as socioeconomic exclusion of women, youth, and other vulnerable groups. Since its beginning, InTerDev has provided over 900 local citizens with jobs and additional income flow. 

The InTerDev 2 will continue to utilize tested methodologies and will expand its services to a new municipality of Viti/Vitina in the south-east of Kosovo. With the overall objective that inclusive and sustainable income generation and job creation for women and men is improved in the municipalities of Dragash/Dragaš, Shtërpcë/Štrpce, and Viti/Vitina, the project’s purpose is to enhance municipal public service provision in rural development and, in a gender equitable, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable manner, expand economic activity of local micro and small businesses. It is expected that, as a result of project’s three core pillars of activities: 1) municipal officials have enhanced capacities in provision of services in rural development; 2) local micro and small enterprises and farmers have been supported to upgrade their businesses; and 3) bottom-up approaches and local-level concertation for employment generation in the form of Territorial Employment Pacts operate at the municipal level. Working closely with a variety of public, private sector, and non-governmental sector partners on the local level the InTerDev 2 will continue to serve citizens who are at risk of socioeconomic exclusion: local smallholder farmers, micro business initiatives, long-term unemployed and low-skilled or unskilled residents, women, youth, non-majority communities, as well as people with disabilities.

This ToR relates to the expected result no.1: municipal officials have enhanced capacities in provision of services in rural development.

Among other recommendations of a capacity development action plan for Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina is to provide technical coaching and mentoring support to the municipal government in the areas of sustainable farming and production and practical business planning and marketing, for which the project is seeking to engage an expert who would deliver coaching and mentoring services and support closely and practically municipal government structure, (Department of Agriculture) and producers. The expert will provide mentoring and coaching support not only to farmers, producers, and traders on the technical aspects of production and marketing, but also to relevant staff from the municipal government. 

Objective of the Assignment

The objective of this assignment is to enhance the capacities of municipal officials and producers in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina on technical aspects on the sustainable farming and production and practical business planning and marketing, through provision of part-time coaching and mentoring support to the municipal government. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Ultimately, the objective of the coaching and mentoring is to enable the public officials for agriculture to provide such services on their own, therefore, the hands-on inclusion of the public officials in this assignment is of critical importance, especially, for coordination with the MAFRD extension services in the field. Under the direct supervision of the InTerDev2 Project Manager and in cooperation with the Municipal Project Support Officers in Dragash/Dragaš and in Viti/Vitina, and in collaboration with officials from municipal departments of agriculture, the consultant is expected to:

1. Design the coaching and mentoring methodology, timetable and agenda, (in cooperation with the agriculture departments); publish the schedule for advisory services in the municipal front door and webpage so that the producers can access the service. The schedule shall indicate the topic of advisory service including land use, irrigation, fertilizers, crops, livestock; date, time and location (est. 4 w/ds); (2w/ds in Dragash/Dragaš; 2 w/ds in Viti/Vitina);
2. Together with the agriculture officers develop 8-10 samples of business plans & marketing plans in agriculture sectors for establishment or expansion of the agriculture activity (raspberries, honey, milk and cheese, eggs, etc.); and present/distribute them to producers/farmers under activities 3, 4 and 5 (est. 8 w/ds) (4 w/ds in Dragash/Dragaš; 4 w/d in Viti/Vitina)
3. Together with municipal departments of agriculture, introduce the organic farming and production to the farmers and producers (beekeepers, berry cultivators, herbs/plants producers, eggs etc.) 
4. -Develop 2-4 pages of practical guide on organic production (printed on both sides), to be distributed during the workshops, field visits and meetings (est. 2 w/ds) 
5. -Conduct 2x1day informative workshops, 25 farmers/producers each day. The aim of the workshops is to introduce the possibilities of organic farming and production to local farmers/producers of different sectors (est. 4 w/ds) (2w/ds in Dragash/Dragaš; 2 w/ds in Viti/Vitina);
6. With the agriculture department officers, visit 5 farms in the field in each municipality (2 livestock; 1 beekeeper; 1 chicken; 1 raspberry) to provide practical inputs on the improvement of farm/production management in line with sustainable/eco-friendly agriculture practices (est. 6 w/ds) (3w/ds in Dragash/Dragaš; 3 w/ds in Viti/Vitina);
7. Provide scheduled agriculture advisory services and keep track on the current producers/farmers problems and challenges. The advisory services shall be concentrated in 5 topics/sectors: beekeeping, livestock, raspberry cultivation; milk processing and cheese production, chicken and egg production. The advisory support is planned to take place in 8 different location in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina villages; which will be defined in cooperation with municipal agriculture departments. Advisory service receivers will complete a 1 page evaluation sheet, indicating if the information received was useful for him/her (est. 12 w/ds). (6 w/ds in Dragash/Dragaš; 6 w/ds in Viti/Vitina);
8. Submit a brief final report on implementation of the assignment, summarizing the lessons learned as well as providing additional recommendations on employing sustainable agriculture methods in the municipality. (est. 2 w/d)

Expected Results:

• The coaching and mentoring methodology, timetable and agenda is designed in collaboration with the agriculture departments and published.

Tentative due dates 2017- 2018: 

• 10th of November, 2017

Approval by:

• Project Manager 

Expected Results:

• Together with the agriculture officers, 8-10 samples of business plans & marketing plans in agriculture sectors for establishment or expansion of the agriculture activity (raspberries, honey, milk and cheese, eggs, etc.) are developed and presented/distributed to producers/farmers.

Tentative due dates 2017- 2018: 

• 25th of November 2017

Approval by:

• Project Manager

Expected Results:

• Together with municipal directorates of agriculture, organic farming and production is introduced to the farmers and producers (beekeepers, berry cultivators, herbs/plants producers, eggs etc.).

Tentative due dates 2017- 2018: 

• 10th of December 2017

Approval by:

• Project Manager

Expected Results:

• With the agriculture department officers, farms are visited in both municipalities (2 livestock; 1 beekeeper; 1 chicken; 1 raspberry) and provided with practical input on the improvement of farm/production management in line with sustainable/eco-friendly agriculture practices

Tentative due dates 2017- 2018: 

• 20th of March 2018

Approval by:

• Project Manager

Expected Results:

• Scheduled agriculture advisory services are provided, keeping track on the current producers/farmers problems and challenges. The advisory services shall be concentrated in 5 topics/sectors: beekeeping, livestock, raspberry cultivation; milk processing and cheese production, chicken and egg production; the advisory support is planned to take place in 8 different location in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina villages; which will be defined in cooperation with municipal agriculture departments. 

Tentative due dates 2017- 2018: 

• 20th of April, 2018

Approval by:

• Project Manager

Expected Results:

• A final report on implementation of the assignment, summarizing the lessons learned as well as providing additional recommendations on employing sustainable agriculture methods in the municipality is produced and validated by UNDP. 

Tentative due dates 2017- 2018: 

• 28th of April, 2018

Approval by:

• Project Manager/Programme Team

Deliverables / Final Products Expected

• Capacities of Agriculture Departments to provide high-quality technical support to the farmers/producers in line with best sustainable practices are enhanced through hands-on coaching and mentoring;
• The farmers/producers are informed with the sustainable/organic production scheme and understand the basic principles of a business plan & marketing plan; 8-10 business plan samples are developed.
• Farmers/producers understand the support available in the municipal directorate for agriculture and rural development;  
• Final report is submitted and validated by UNDP. 

Scope of price proposal and schedule of payments

Remuneration - Lump Sum Amount

The Contract is based on lump sum remuneration and shall be processed subject to deliverables as per the schedule listed below: 

• Upon successful completion of activities 1, 2, and 3: 60% of the total amount
• Upon successful completion of activities 4, 5, and the validation of the final report: 40% of the total amount

Required Presentation of Offer: 

The following documents are required to be submitted. 

• P11/CV (signed), indicating all past experiences from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least three (3) professional references (P11 can be downloaded at UNDP web site: http://www.ks.undp.org/content/kosovo/en/home/operations/jobs/)
• Technical proposal, a max. 2 page documents briefly outlining the methodology envisaged for the assignment for delivering the expected results within the indicated timeframe.
• Financial proposal, the consultant is expected to provide an all-inclusive lump sum amount/financial proposal. (including any potential cost for translation, organisation of the workshops and field visits) The Offeror must indicate at this point, and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. 

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer:

Offers will be evaluated utilizing a combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and technical proposal will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

• Committed to professionalism, impartiality, accountability and integrity;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, ethnicity, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Demonstrates substantial experience in gender equality. Actively promotes gender equality in all activities;
• Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

• Empathy and patience, people orientation;
• Punctuality and honouring of commitments; 
• Ability to draw conclusion on the related subjects;
• Ability to pay attention to details; 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
• Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment; 
• Good organisational skills;
• Commitment to accomplish work; 
• Responds positively to critical feedback;
• Results and task oriented.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University degree in Economy, Agriculture, Agribusiness, or other relevant fields is required.

Experience:

• At least 3 years of demonstrated relevant experience in provision of consultancy services to farmers, producers and associations in sustainable agriculture, as well as in business plan writing and project proposal writing is required; 
• Proven experience in and knowledge of the agriculture sector in Kosovo is required.
• Proven experience in sustainable agriculture, eco-profit approach to farming, eco-friendly techniques of production is required. 

Language requirements:

• Fluency in Albanian and English is required, fluency in Serbian is an asset.

Application Instructions:

• Click on the "Apply now" button;
• Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation; You can type in, or paste your short Resume into the last box;
• Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload your Resume;
• System will only allow one attachment. All docs (CV; P11; financial offer; list of similar profiles should be included as one attachment).
• Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.