Call for Interest – Rural Institutions and Farmers’ Organizations Consultant Roster

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger by investing in rural people. IFAD finances projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes and advocates at the local, national, and international levels for rural transformation policies.

Two divisions, Environment, Climate, Gender, and Social Inclusion Division (ECG); the (ii) Sustainable Production, Markets, and Institutions Division (PMI), provide expert guidance on IFAD’s strategic direction, thematic priorities, and technical quality of IFAD’s operations. They play a critical role in providing technical expertise to operational teams to enhance development effectiveness, by generating and disseminating IFAD’s development knowledge and evidence on strategic themes and encouraging innovative application of cutting-edge global knowledge and evidence in IFAD investments to support countries tackle their most complex development challenges in fostering inclusive and sustainable rural transformation.

PMI facilitates improved and efficient delivery of IFAD’s corporate mandate, predominantly through the quality of the design and implementation of its policies, country strategies and projects. PMI has four main areas of support: (i) Technical support to IFAD Country Programmes to ensure the proper application of corporate quality standards required for achieving development results and impact in various thematic areas (food production systems i.e., fisheries, livestock, and agronomy, land, natural resources management, water and rural infrastructure, financial services, rural markets and enterprises and rural institutions); (ii) Knowledge Management (KM) for the generation and use of evidence and knowledge in IFAD projects and activities; (iii) Policy engagement to contribute to policy dialogue at the country level in close coordination with the Regional Divisions; (iv) Networking and strategic partnerships: PMI engages in strategic partnerships and selected policy processes pertaining to agricultural and rural development, poverty reduction and food security at country, regional or global levels.

PMI Rural Institutions (RI) Desk

Within PMI, the specific role of the Rural Institutions (RI) desk is to provide authoritative technical support and guidance on how to analyze, develop, strengthen, or partner with rural institutions in a perspective of inclusive and sustainable rural transformation. The RI desk also manages directly several capacity building programmes (FO4 programmes, GAFSP PO window pipeline) and coordinates the Farmers- Forum (FAFO) at IFAD.

The RI Desk focusses on four types of institutions, organizations, and related public policies: i) the organizations of rural poor people (smallholder producers- organizations, community-based organizations, water users- associations, etc.), ii) the farmers centered/led agricultural and advisory services institutions, iii) the community and territorial development institutions, and iv) the institutional set up of agricultural and rural development projects and programmes.

The Rural Institutions / Farmers’ Organizations Consultant Roster: Purpose and Application Process

The IFAD’s rural Institutions/ farmers’ organizations consultant roster will include qualified experts interested in working on IFAD consultancy assignments in this specific area of expertise. The roster will be used by IFAD staff, including from regional operational divisions (or any other division in IFAD requiring this expertise) seeking for a rural institutions/ farmers’ organizations expert.

To create this Roster, IFAD is looking for qualified, experienced, and motivated rural institutions / farmers- organizations experts interested in providing consulting services to IFAD and the projects and programmes it finances and supports.

Please note your application does not imply automatic placement on the roster. Applicants to this call for interest will undergo a selection process: (i) initial screening to check minimum requirements, (ii) a more in-depth assessment and/or possible short interviews. Successfully going through these steps is required to be included in IFAD’s consultants- roster. Inclusion in the roster does not guarantee any immediate assignment but is a pre-condition for being considered for future assignments for which a specific contracting process will be required.

Key Functions and Results

Note: It is important to note that IFAD is not seeking candidates with expertise in all thematic areas outlined below. Instead, differentiated profiles suited to various potential assignments will be assessed.

Main areas of experience/expertise required for the RIs/FOs consultants include:

General Areas of Experience:

• Experience in the field of RIs/FOs at different levels, including the design and implementation of rural development projects, programmes and policies, and the development of partnerships with farmers’ organizations.
• Demonstrated experience in leading and/or participating in field missions to design and/or support the implementation of projects supporting RIs/FOs.
• Proven experience in developing technical guidance for agricultural and/or rural development programmes, particularly in providing knowledge and advice on access to finance, defining services, policy engagement, and capacity-building mechanisms for RIs/FOs.
• Experience in supporting community-based organisations for sustainability of development projects.
• Specific experience in working directly with RIs/ FOs would be an asset.

Specific Areas of Expertise:

Strengthen partnership with RIs/FOs:

• Conducting a mapping and profiling of RIs and FOs;
• Carrying out an institutional assessment of RIs and FOs;
• Providing support to smallholder RIs/FOs to obtain a legal formal status;
• Building partnerships with RIs/FOs to strengthen their economic activities and organizational/managerial capacities, engaging relevant stakeholders and policymakers.
• Providing support to develop and strengthen FOs’ governing bodies;
• Assisting RIs and FOs in advocating for favourable policies, regulations, and institutional frameworks supporting smallholder farmers- interests and rights;
• Identifying key intervention areas and developing project components to empower and strengthen RIs/FOs;
• Supporting participatory and inclusive approaches (specially for women and youth) of RIs/FOs- projects/programmes design and implementation;
• Deep knowledge of FOs’ business models, conducting economic viability assessments;
• Developing training material dedicated on how to engage with FOs (main audience IFAD staff, IFAD government partners and IFAD-funded projects);
• Conducting conflict analysis, mediation, and peacebuilding strategies to address conflicts related to land, water, natural resource management, and inter-community relations in rural areas.

Technical Advice and Support:

• Experience in field missions:
  • Participating as a team lead/member in project design, supervision, mid-term review, and completion missions;
  • Evaluating project/programme performance, identifying best practices and lessons learnt;
  • Providing recommendations to enhance engagement with RIs/FOs;
  • Conducting institutional analyses at project/programme design to enhance implementation mechanisms, identifying key institutions for delivery and potential partnerships/linkages with FOs.
• Improving knowledge and technical capacities of FOs to ensure integration into relevant value chains and increase members- access to finance and to competitive markets;
• Developing and implementing institutional strengthening and capacity-building initiatives;
• Developing KM/COM strategies and enhancing KM and M&E frameworks for RIs/FOs, based on experiences and case studies within rural development projects;
• Supporting FOs- participation in multi-stakeholder platforms or other partnership and b2b alliances to enhance marketing and help smallholder farmers get fair prices for their products;
• Developing ICTs and digital solutions/innovations in different areas (production, climate information, market, finance) supporting smallholder farmers through RIs/FOs;
• Designing and implementing public policies and programmes focused on FOs/RIs, including M&E activities to evaluate effectiveness and impact;
• Expertise in FOs/RIs-led advisory services (farmer to farmer support, FO-led farmer field schools, relay/endogenous farmers training approaches) to promote innovative and improved production methods tailored to the needs and capacities of FOs/RIs, enhancing resilience and sustainability in agricultural practices.

Job Profile Requirements

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) from an accredited institution listed on https://www.whed.net/home.php in a job-related field (*).
• The advanced university degree may be substituted by a first university degree and at least four (4) additional years of relevant professional experience over and above the minimum number of years of experience as stipulated below.

(*) Areas of study:

Development and Social Sciences:

• Rural/Community Development.
• Rural Sociology.
• Development Studies.
• International Development.
• Political Sciences.
• Anthropology.

Agricultural and Environmental Studies:

• Agricultural Sciences.
• Agricultural Engineering.
• Agribusiness Management.
• Environmental Sciences.
• Sustainable Development.

Management and Organizational Studies:

• Project Management.
• Institutional Development.
• Monitoring and Evaluation.
• Knowledge Management.

Economics and Business Studies.

• Economics.
• Business Administration.
• Finance.
• Institutional Economics.
• Public Administration.
• Public Policy.

Experience:

IFAD is looking for consultants with various levels of expertise/experience as described below:

• Lead level expert – over 12 years of relevant professional experience (P-5).
• Senior level expert – over 8 years of relevant professional experience (P-4).
• Mid-level expert – over 5 years- experience (P-3).
• Entry level expert – over 2 years-experience.

Lead, senior and mid-level candidates should have a strong background of regional contexts and demonstrated regional experience of targeted areas.

Language Skills:

Fluency in English is mandatory. Additionally, fluency in French, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese may be required depending on the geographic area where the assignments of the consultants will be focused.

Other Information

IFAD is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of ethnic, social or political background, colour, nationality, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, family size or sexual orientation.

Please be aware of fraudulent job offers. IFAD does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. Official communication from IFAD will always come from e-mails ending in @ifad.org.

In the interest of making most cost-effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview.

Consultancies play a critical role in the execution of IFAD’s mandate and our impact on the ground. Please note your application does not imply automatic placement on the roster. Applicants to this call for interest will undergo a selection process: (i) initial screening to check minimum requirements, (ii) a more in-depth assessment and/or possible short interviews. Successfully going through these steps is required to be included in IFAD’s consultants- roster. Inclusion in the roster does not guarantee any immediate assignment but is a pre-condition for being considered for future assignments for which a specific contracting process will be required.

Consultants are not considered IFAD staff. A consultancy assignment does not carry any expectation of employment, extension or conversion to another type of contract with the Fund. Remuneration will be in line with the standards set for UN consultants.

Given the diverse technical nature of the assignments, IFAD is looking for consultants of varying ability above the minimum threshold stated.

Consultants can be recruited for a maximum of 240 days in 1 calendar year and 960 days in 5 calendar years.

For any questions or further clarification needed about the terms of reference for the consultant roster, please feel free to contact [email protected]