Introduction

Solidaridad Network is an international solution-oriented civil society organization working through eight regional expertise centres to transform markets to make them more sustainable and inclusive.  Our eight regional expertise centres include Asia, Eastern and Central Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, Southern Africa, South America, West Africa and our global Secretariat in the Netherlands.  

Solidaridad Eastern and Central Africa, one of the regional centers, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with country offices and programmes in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. We bring together supply chain players and engage them with innovative solutions to improve production, ensuring the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy that maximizes the benefit for all. We facilitate strengthening of local capacity in developing countries, support the creation of enabling environments for economises to thrive, and improve market access.  

Through Comic Relief funding Solidaridad in partnership with Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union, Bureau of Finance and Economic Development (“BoFED”) and other partners in the coffee sector (Coffee Unions and private plantation’s) are implementing Oromia Coffee & Dairy Development Project (“OCDDP”) project. The main objective of the project is to improve coffee production and climate resilience of the selected 10,000 coffee farmers and their families (3,000 being women) through increasing the income (and profit) of coffee production, promoting gender and diversification (entrepreneurial) activities for women and promoting livestock. By including diversity of export (coffee) and dairy production, risks and income will spread. The project’s zones of interest are Gujii, Borena and W/Aris zones of South Oromia. Under this funding 3 projects are currently running in Ethiopia while the key intervention areas for the OCDDP project includes delivery of trainings to farmers, providing technical support to the partners, hardware establishments and monitoring data and progress of activities.  

Context 

Phase one of the OCCD project had hardware establishments (construction of nurseries for both coffee and food crops) and asset acquisition (purchase of heifers) as key deliverables.  

Phase two of the project seeks to enhance and perpetuate sustainability of the interventions delivered during the original project period and cushion/enhance beneficiaries’ resilience to effectively cope with the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the project seeks to: (i) innovatively manage operation costs geared towards ensuring that the established coffee nurseries, food crops and dairy business cases as diversification measures are more sustainable; and (ii) proactively facilitate market linkage of coffee, food crops and dairy products. 

It is on this premise that Solidaridad seeks the services of a qualified consultancy firm to offer capacity enhancement through training of cooperative officials on skills to effectively manage their enterprises as well as market the value chains. 

Objective 

The overall objective of the assignment is to enhance the capacity smallholder coffee workers through training on skills aimed at ensuring the business cases established innovatively manage their operational costs for sustainable production aimed at improving the farmers and business cases earnings and livelihoods. Solidaridad seeks to recruit a qualified firm/ consultancy team to facilitate the training of 400 cooperative workers drawn from 20 benefitting cooperatives. 

The training sites will be in three (3) clusters in - Western Guji, Borena and Western Arsi zones of South Oromia in Ethiopia. 

Expected outputs & Deliverables 

The Consultant shall deliver on the following outputs: 

1. Develop training aids to assist in the training of Cooperative workers for effective adoption.
2. Develop pre and post training evaluation questionnaires to be used in each training session towards the assessment of the delivery and understanding of the trainees.
3. Design a training program using performance objectives provided as well as additional material contributed by the consultant out of their previous experience in handling similar assignments.
4. Deliver trainings to Cooperative workers in the respective regions mentioned above guided by the training curriculum and materials provided.
5. Link the face-to-face training and mobile extension service provision methodology.
6. Develop and share training reports after every training sessions.
7. The consultant will present the manuscript flow for discussions during the inception meeting.

Coordination and cooperation 

The Consultant undertaking the study will work under the coordination of Solidaridad East and Central Africa and in cooperation with the country office in Ethiopia and the regional office in Nairobi. 

Inputs 

Solidaridad shall provide the consultant with background information on OCCD project as well as the curriculum to be utilized. Solidaridad shall introduce the consultant to the relevant Program team for preparatory planning. It will be the responsibility of the consultant to make contact with any external relevant organization while keeping Solidaridad in correspondence. The consultant shall refer and adhere to statutory regulations of Bureau of Finance and Economic Development in Ethiopia. Solidaridad in consultation with programme partners undertakes to mobilize and avail trainees for the particular exercise as per the schedule shared by the consultant and agreed with Solidaridad. 

Duration

This assignment is expected to be carried out for a period not more than 60 days. The final report will be submitted by 31st March 2021.

Job Requirements

Experts/Consultant’s 

Expression of interests (EOIs) must include:

• A profile of the firm/consultancy team
• Firm/consultants statement on the interpretation of the TOR
• Curriculum vitae’s of consultant/firm outlining qualifications and demonstrable experience in training on coffee agronomy spanning not less than three (3) years’
• A description of the methodology
• At least three (3) references of similar assignments undertaken in the last three (3) years
• Sample of previous works delivered, including but not limited to, reports, presentations, training modules
• A detailed financial proposal (inclusive of relevant taxes) and a work plan for carrying out the assignment

The full EOI should be a maximum of 15 pages. 

How to Apply

Submission deadline 

The consultant is required to submit a letter of interest containing a statement on candidate’s experience with similar assignments, curriculum vitae, financial proposal and work plan by 22nd February 2021 at 5:00pm. 

Subject reference: “Ethiopia - Training Enterprise Management and Marketing Skills” 

Submissions are by email to procurement.eca@solidaridadnetwork.org while addressed to: 

Attn: Managing Director Solidaridad Eastern and Central  Africa Expertise Centre  Kilimani Business Centre, Kirichwa  Road,  P.O. Box 42234 - 00100 GPO  Nairobi 

Note: Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification and only successful candidate will be contacted. Firms currently registered and operating in Ethiopia preferred.