National(e) Expert (e)des Questions Socio-économiques)

The Nordic Associations of Chocolate Producers, the International Cocoa Initiative, World Cocoa Foundation, and UNDP are setting up a new holistic cocoa livelihoods programme to enhance the sustainability of the cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire. The programme is intended to contribute to sustainability in living conditions for cocoa farmers and enhance productivity for cocoa farmers by integrating and scaling up existing development programmes which have proven effective and by institutionalizing best practice .The partners have agreed to design a programme which takes into consideration Economic, Social, Environmental and Governance issues related to the cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire, which accounts for 40 per cent of world supply. In order to agree on the development of a new programme strategy, the partners have asked UNDP to provide them with a Feasibility and Baseline Study, identifying the social, economic and social situation, current initiatives and stakeholders, as well as the challenges ahead. UNDP will hire Expert Consultants to carry out the study. There are more than 700,000 small holder farmers in Côte d'Ivoire, and in order to ensure that a programme will have a lasting positive impact, it will be key to design a programme which addresses capacity building and strengthening of public institutions which the farmers and their families depend on. The partners have created a task force responsible for setting up such a programme. The task force is chaired by a representative from the chocolate industry, co-chaired by a Government Representative of Côte d'Ivoire, and UNDP serves as the Secretariat. Côte d'Ivoire is now revising efforts towards the development of a sustainable cocoa sector, looking for a more targeted approach to stakeholder coordination for the operation and planning of programmes that address the issues facing the sector., the feasibility and baseline study produced as part of the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative can provide an avenue for stakeholders to cooperate more closely and align their work against barriers outlined by the study.

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall Goal of Consultancy: The overall goal of the design phase one of the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative is to determine the main issues that hinder progress towards a sustainable cocoa industry in Côte d'Ivoire. This will be achieved by working in close collaboration with government and key industry stakeholders to identify the main technical, institutional and policy issues within different thematic areas - social, economic and environmental. This will naturally lead into the identification of the most prominent threats and barriers that need removal if a sustainable cocoa industry is to be achieved. To determine plausible national project partners, an extensive stakeholder analysis will be performed to determine each organisations/NGOs/foundations comparative advantage and capacity to address the various barriers to sustainability. This will be complimented by a comprehensive assessment of current and past projects to determine which initiatives/concepts worked/failed, and how the Sustainable Cocoa Initiative can take successful pilots to scale. Following the completion of the comprehensive baseline study and report, the document will be used to assist in the creation of a project strategy for the overall initiative. The consultant(s) will provide key guidance during this process while working alongside of the cocoa initiative task force. The lead international consultant will undertake the following; Duties and Responsibilities: Focus will be on social economic and governance issues affecting the cocoa industry. Supervise, and coordinate the national environmental expert in the production of Phase I sections to ensure they are completed to a high quality, are on time, on scope and on budget. Ensure timely completion of responsible sections. The consultant will follow a work plan that is self prepared but agreed upon by the international consultant. Liaise with UNDP, government agencies and relevant industry stakeholders to collect information to accurately address socio-economic aspects of each section of the baseline study (see deliverables below). The consultant must also be prepared to actively research the literature. Indentify all socio-economic issues affecting the cocoa industry. At a national, district and community level evaluate and describe all socio-economic policies that affect cocoa farmers and their families. Identify all key stakeholders through a stakeholder analysis, documenting their comparative advantage for socio-economic studies i.e. past projects, capacities (human and skills) etc; List all past and on-going projects that worked on socio-economic issues. A standardised template and research plan should be formulated to allocate workload between the UNDP baseline team. This will allow national consultants to capture relevant projects and better manage the information obtained. Provide all baseline information and any additional information to the International consultant and advisor(s); Develop and ensure timely submission of Phase I sections to the International consultant based on the work plan; Mobilize all project activities in accordance with UNDP procedures for nationally executed projects; Deliverables Prepare and present a work plan for completion of each specific baseline section to the International consultant whilst agreeing on baseline sections to be completed by each consultant– this will include a detailed framework of consultant activities with benchmarked dates for completion of each section. The International consultant will lead the overall baseline process and bring together the various sections of the report; Assist the International consultant in the development of monthly progress reports; Assist the International consultant in the preparation of presentations and support at workshops; The consultant will be responsible for 1) collecting information on the topics listed below; and; 2) to prepare the various socio-economic sections of the overall baseline study and strategy document to support the Lead consultant; Provide the socio-economic context to the following topics; Overall Situation Analysis Barriers, threats and root causes assessment National, district and community technical and capacity issues National extension service Farmer production practices Education and labour Policy Research gaps Implications of ethnic tensions and conflict – conflict analysis Gender – role of women and women’s empowerment (General)* Assessment from farmers’ perspective – barriers to sustainable cocoa production for farmers (General)* Additional incomes/livelihoods Details on the extent of farmer credit schemes Farmer groups/cooperatives Institutional and non-institutional tools for monitoring List and description of possible indicators Stakeholder analysis - Value chain assessment – stakeholders along the value chain, roles Analysis of current and past projects Other sections/items that may arise during the study Supervision and Reporting: Administrative supervision by Project Manager UNDP CO. Substantive supervision: Lead Consultant and the Green Commodities Facility Project Advisor.

Competencies

Management skills: Ability to plan, monitor progress, administers budgets, and work effectively with counterparts to realize goals. Facilitation skills: Ability to effectively facilitate meetings and processes effectively, compile complex and technical information in an understandable language to a wide variety of audiences. Results-orientation: Skill in achieving results through persuading, influencing and working with others. Analytical skills: Ability to draw conclusions based on a contextual examination of facts and processes. Communication skills: Strong drafting, presentation and reporting skills. Easiness with IT: Strong computer skills, in particular mastery of all applications of the MS Office package and internet search;

Required Skills and Experience

Education: University degree in social economics, with at least some background in environmental studies would be an advantage, or any other area relevant for the project theme. Consistent professional specialization in issues surrounding socio-economic dimension to Côte d'Ivoire’s cocoa industry, with particular emphasis on sustainable livelihood initiatives would be an advantage. A thorough understanding of Côte d'Ivoire’s cocoa sector in relation to the governments vision, goals and modes of operation and how the private sector operates in the local supply chain with respect to cocoa livelihoods programmes. Experience: Minimum 5 years of work experience, of which some 3 years are with project/program working on socio-economic and policy issues shrouding the cocoa industry in a development context. Previous working experience in the Côte d'Ivoire’s cocoa sector. Excellent writing and verbal communication in English and French. Application: Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications: Technical Proposal: (i) Explaining why they are the most suitable for the work; (ii) Provide a brief methodology on how they will approach and conduct the work (if applicable) Financial proposal Personal CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 references

National(e) Expert (e)des Questions Socio-économiques)