Consultant - Market Assessment for Advancing Community Empowerment in Southeastern Myanmar (ACES) Project - Myanmar

Background:

Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian organization empowering people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good. Operating in Myanmar since 2008, Mercy Corps works to build responsive governance, inclusive economic development, and equal rights that support peace and prosperity. Mercy Corps currently works in five States and six Regions in Myanmar, connecting market development, financial inclusion, disaster risk management and climate change resilience, and governance through a facilitative partnership approach.

Mercy Corps is a partner on a USAID-funded and Pact-led Advancing Community Empowerment in Southeastern Myanmar (ACES) project. The project empowers communities by reducing vulnerabilities, promoting community participation in decision making, and strengthening mechanisms for more responsive and accountable local governance. Mercy Corps leads interventions on peacebuilding and reconciliation, market-driven livelihoods and private sector engagement, and disaster risk management.

Purpose / Project Description:

Mercy Corps is looking for an experienced Market Specialist to lead a market assessment in the area of Agriculture & Livestock sector in eight townships of Southeastern Myanmar (Thandaungyi, Kyainseikgyi, Hlaingbwe, Thanbyuzayat, Pekon, Hpasawng, Demoso and Hpruso).

The field-level market assessment will study selected sub-sectorin greater depth and selection of sub-sector will be done in close collaboration with program team based on the information collected beforehand.

The market assessment must utilize market systems development principles to identify opportunities, highlight systemic constraints, and understand livelihoods from multiple perspectives: communities, civil society, market actors, and public sector.

This assessment will inform interventions to be delivered and aid in the selection of economic livelihoods and design of project interventions.

Consultant Objectives:

The consultant will be responsible to:

• Conduct a two-day assessment design and planning workshop in Yangon
• Support the market assessment team to conduct a detailed market assessment to identify economic livelihoods constraints and opportunities
• Conduct a market actor and economic development project mapping in selected townships
• Deliver a written report summarizing the literature review, field findings, recommendations and justification for prioritized sector, and basic, initial value chain analyses (market assessments) for selected sub-sectors.
• To identify the losses experienced in the past and the potential losses in case of natural disaster, and community preparedness scheme
• To identify conflict-specific information and conflict sensitivity of the areas

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

• Design and facilitate the assessment design and planning workshop to be held in Yangon with the assessment team
• Conduct a literature review
• Lead field assessment and consultations with local communities, market actors, government, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders in the Southeastern Myanmar
• Analyze market trends for current and high-potential economic livelihoods for selected market systems
• Analyze and identify market opportunities and constraints for selected market systems
• Map market actors and economic development projects in selected townships
• Provide assessment debrief to ACES project team
• Submit first draft for review
• Revise and submit final report

Consultant Deliverables:

• Assessment Design and Planning Workshop
• Field Assessment Debrief presentation to ACES Management and USAID
• Final Southeastern Myanmar Market Assessment Report and presentation for ACES Management and USAID

Timeframe / Schedule:

The anticipated length of this consultancy is approximately 52 days beginning in July 2018, including approximately 12 days of analysis and report writing. A final timeline will be developed in consultation with Mercy Corps at the beginning of the consultancy to establish deadlines for submission of the deliverables.

Consultant Background:

• At least five years of experience working with market assessment with description & analysis of core functions, supporting functions and rules/regulations
• Successful experience in designing market driven livelihood interventions
• Experience designing and delivering Assessment design and planning workshop
• Experience coaching or mentoring assessment team
• Knowledge of Southeastern Myanmar context and constraints on the ground (or similar conflict contexts) preferred
• Excellent writing and analytical skills
• English language skills

The Consultant will report to:

Program Director -Market Development

The Consultant will work closely with:

Program Director-Market Development, ACES program staff, Livelihoods and DRM team

Apply Here

PI102593331

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