USAID/Bangladesh RDC Market Systems Advisor

Background

The Feed the Future Rice and Diversified Crops (RDC) activity is a USAID-funded project designed to catalyze market system changes that promote a diversified farm management approach oriented to intensified rice production and higher-value, nutrient-rich crops to increase incomes and improve food security and nutrition in the Khulna, Barisal, and southern Dhaka divisions of Bangladesh (RDC zone). RDC’s goal is to increase rural incomes by catalyzing a process that leads to competitive and inclusive rice based market systems. RDC is implemented by ACDI/VOCA and its partner Action for Enterprise (AFE).
RDC’s Market Accelerator Program (MAP) is a key mechanism for RDC to support a broad range of new and innovative market systems approaches that contribute to RDC’s systemic change objectives. The MAP solicits initiatives from private sector firms that address market systems challenges through a co-design process and agreed upon leveraged grant funding. Apart from MAP, RDC has also initiated activities in Capacity Building Support and Research and Learning. It is planning to launch innovative start-up accelerator based models and ToT in adult learning methodology for extension staff of agribusiness. RDC is planning to conduct multiple studies, including large scale survey to support its learning activities.

Purpose

RDC would like to hire a Market Systems Advisor to support the RDC market systems teams develop partnerships with financial, ICT, regionally based small and medium business development service providers. The Market Systems Service provider may also be called upon to support RDC implement sector studies on grain legumes and oil seed crops, women entrepreneurship in the food sector, specialty food item marketing and branding and seed production and marketing.

Specific Tasks

Specific tasks will be assigned by the COP every 2 weeks but they will be in the following two activities. The COP may request the consultant to perform other tasks for which time will be negotiated from the total days allocated for the constancy contract if the consultant agrees to do these other tasks.

Partnership development in the financial, ICT, regionally based small and medium business development service providers. The consultant will support the RDC team working on these sectors develop agreements with selected service providers. This will involve attending meeting with service providers to negotiate content of the agreements between these companies and RDC and writing sections of these agreements as assigned by the sector teams and COP.

Study support. Provide international consultants, local consultancy firms and RDC staff support with implementation of studies on grain legumes and oil seed crops, women entrepreneurship in the food sector, specialty food item marketing and branding and seed production and marketing. This support could involve background data collection, literature reviews, stakeholder interviews and meeting arrangement as well as support with writing and reviewing reports.

ACDI/VOCA Technical Summit – Attend the ACDI/VCOA technical summit from July 30th – Aug 3rd in Washington DC. All travel costs and per diem will be covered by the project.

Participate in RDC Work Planning Workshop – Participate the RDC work planning from during the week of August 7th – 9th.

* Every task will need to be pre-approved by the ACDI/VOCA COP, Tim Russell

Deliverables and completion dates

• MAAs and reports on the studies to which the consultant is assigned. This could be presented as work in progress at the end of each month of this assignment.

Work plan and length of effort (LoE)

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• MBA/Master’s degree in economics, agribusiness, agro-economics or other relevant field.
• Minimum 7 years of relevant experience of working in agricultural market systems development including private sector or supporting private enterprise.
• Proven experience in program design and management positions
• Equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience working in Market systems

Interested applicants are requested to apply on or before June 17, 2018. Please email your CV along a Cover letter to jobs@acdivocardc.org Please mention the title of the position you are applying for in the subject line of the email. No phone calls please. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.