Company Description
SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation that applies practical know-how to make a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty. We use our extensive and long-term in-country presence to apply and adapt our top-notch expertise in agriculture, energy and WASH to local contexts. SNV has over 1250 staff in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation that uses project financing to implement our mission. This requires us to work efficiently and to invest in operational excellence.
In its new Strategic Plan period (2019 – 2022), SNV will more explicitly aim for systems change during project preparation and implementation – by strengthening institutions and kick-starting markets that help many more to escape poverty beyond our projects. We will continue to position ourselves as a premium organisation and invest in making knowledge flow to and from the frontline.
For more information on SNV, visit our website: www.snv.org
Job Description
1. Background
The Investment Climate Reform (ICR) facility is set up to support African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) partner countries and regional institutions in their private sector structured dialogue process to create a more conducive business environment and investment climate. The Facility contributes to the implementation of the third pillar of the European Union’s External Investment Plan (“Improving the Investment Climate”) and is financed by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) under the ACP-EU partnership Agreement, the European Union, Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) and British Council. SNV is part of the implementing consortium of the facility together with GIZ, British Council, and Expertise France. To carry out its mandate, SNV will need experienced consultants to carry out its activities in an efficient manner in partner ACP countries starting immediately and running over the next two years.
2. Objectives
SNV is currently consolidating an experts’ roster of experienced consultants in the fields of private sector development, investment climate and business environment reform, public-private dialogue, and climate smart investments to implement on-demand technical assistance projects in ACP countries for the ICR facility.
The facility supports Business Environment Reforms (BER) at the economy-wide, industry and value chain level, enabling the business environment through sustainability, and support Public-Private Dialogue structures and mechanisms in ACP countries. Consultants will be selected to support the implementation of these objectives.
The roster will be established through screening of applicants according to criteria outlined in Section 5.
Consultants selected for the roster will be contacted for specific assignments as and when they are required. Terms of Reference for specific assignments will be shared with those on the roster with the relevant skills and experience. Length of assignment, level of effort and country of work for the assignment will vary depending on need. However, no assignment will be longer than a 90 days Level of Effort.
3. Areas of Technical Expertise
SNV is currently setting-up a consultants’ roster of experts to be contracted to provide expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- Public-Private Dialogue
- Analysis and reform of the business environment and its functional areas (business registration, business tax policy and administration, trade policy and regulation, investment policy and promotion, commercial dispute resolution, land and property rights, good governance, innovation, competitiveness, labour market);
- Process re-engineering
- Regulatory reform
- Institutional and administrative reforms
- Design or implementation of specific reforms at the economy-wide, sectoral and value chain level;
- Ecosystems/stakeholder mapping
- Public-Private dialogue
- Sector specific business environment reform
- Inclusive business models
- Clusters and Value chain analysis and development
- Gender specific business environment analysis and reform
- Youth specific business environment analysis and reform
- Pro-poor approaches to business environment reform
- Strengthening public-private dialogue mechanisms and regional forums and networks;
- Public-Private partnerships
- Climate smart investments and sustainable finance
- Climate change adaptation
- Circular economy
- E-governance
- Digital economy
Depending on the tasks, consultant(s) will be required to travel to the ACP requesting countries for technical assistance missions. In some cases, missions involve more than one country.
The target groups of these interventions are ACP governments, professional associations, chambers of commerce, financial service providers, trade unions, development finance institutions, economic communities, private sector representative organizations at the national and regional level.
4. Services
Under each assignment, consultant(s) will be expected to have delivered certain services and/or products to the ICR facility on behalf of SNV.
The following is a generic list of the type of possible deliverables depending on the nature of the intervention:
A Technical studies: The consultant(s), on behalf of the ICR will produce data and analysis to inform decision-making and policymaking in ACP countries relating to the topics above. Depending on the request he/she will deliver pieces of evidence and analysis that are critical inputs to improve regulatory frameworks, practices and institutions. The technical studies are intended to provide diagnostic tools and tailored resources for implementation and monitoring.
B Trainings: Consultant(s) may also have to deliver specific trainings to ACP public and private bodies on a given topic, methodology or tool to improve the business environment. Under this category, the consultant(s) will offer ready-made implementable training sessions to be used by ACP beneficiaries for a specific purpose that falls under the ICR’s fields of action.
C Advisory services: The consultant(s) shall deliver tailored advisory services to support ACP clients to implement and mainstream business environment reform programmes, as well as to develop their own tools to make informed decisions
When appropriate, and upon assessment of the specific needs identified through the request sent by an ACP stakeholder, consultant(s) may have to provide a combination of some or all of these services in order to maximize the potential of the actions. A detailed description of the specific tasks and service(s) required will be provided and agreed with the consultant(s).
Qualifications
5. Evaluation criteria
Interested consultants shall submit their applications as outlined in Section 10 below. By submitting their application, applicants agree to be considered to be part of SNV’s ICR consultant roster for the duration of the facility (2 years). Further selection for individual assignments will be based on review of all submitted applications against the criteria defined in Table 1 below.
Additionally, the preferred consultant should be self-driven, innovative and diplomatic.
Only applicants scoring 65 or higher will be included in the roster.
Additional Information
6. Reporting line
- When on assignment, the consultants will report to the project manager who shall coordinate and approve the Terms of Reference of each consultant.
- Consultants will also be expected when there is need, to engage with members of the project management team of the ICR facility for additional directives on interventions, communications and evaluation purposes.
- The project manager or his delegate will be responsible for checking that the deliverables are in line with the quality required by SNV and the ICR facility.
7. Level of effort
Depending on the nature of each request and the approved intervention, the number of days level of effort will be determined. No assignment will exceed 90 days.
8. Timeframe
Total length of assignment and maximum number of billable consulting days depend on the nature of the technical assistance to be delivered and will be elaborated in each ToR that is released.
9. Key compliance issues
As they undertake specific assignments, consultants will be required to sign the SNV policies related to fraud & corruption, ethics at the workplace, conflict of interest, and SNV’s Environmental and Social Safeguard requirements. Consultants shall also comply with local laws and regulations of countries of assignment and comport themselves in a way that does not tarnish the image of SNV or the ICR facility and its members in any form.
10. Application procedure
Interested applicants shall submit applications through SmartRecruiters.
Applications will be received no later than June 30th.
Applications must include:
- A cover letter summarising the technical categories and the topics from the list above the applicant wishes to be considered for. Please note: Applicants can apply to be considered as a specialist in more than one Technical Expertise Category but must demonstrate their expertise in each category they apply for.
- CV. CVs must be formatted to clearly frame the applicants experience in the technical categories they are applying for (as outlined in Section 3); and to frame their experience in each of the three areas of service required (Technical Studies, Training; and Advisory Services).
- Three past performance references, with details of the contracting officer, so SNV can follow up on references if required. Past performance references can be in any of the Technical Categories that the applicant is applying for.
- The applicant shall also provide details of their present daily rate, in Euros, and details of the rates they received for their last three assignments. Applicants must provide contact details for the Contracting Officer for these three assignments as SNV must verify rate data provided in case the consultant is selected for a task. This verification will only apply in case the candidate is selected for a task.
Applications that do not include all 4 elements of the application will not be reviewed.
