UNDP Jobs - 84241- Local Consultant to Provide Farm Management Traini

Local Consultant to Provide Farm Management Training for Cow-breeders in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina

Location :

Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina, Kosovo, UNSCR 1244 (1999)

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

06-Apr-2019

Application Deadline :

02-Apr-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

06 April 2019 – 30 June 2019 (10 working days within this period)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

06 April 2019 – 30 June 2019 (10 working days within this period)

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Integrated Territorial Development 2 project builds on the successes of the Austrian Development Cooperation-funded UNDP “Local-level Response for Employment Generation and Integrated Territorial Development (INTERDEV)” project that has been implemented in southern Kosovo’s municipalities of Dragash/Dragaš and Shtërpcë/Štrpce since 2014. This project has proven to address some of the paramount challenges citizens of not only the partner areas, but of Kosovo in general, face: high rate and long spells of unemployment, lack of decent income generation, poor public services, as well as socioeconomic exclusion of women, youth, and other vulnerable groups.

The project continues to utilize tested methodologies and will expand its services to a new municipality of Viti/Vitina in the south-east of Kosovo. It is expected that as a result of project’s three core pillars of activities, 1) municipal officials have enhanced capacities in provision of services in rural development; 2) local micro and small enterprises and farmers have been supported to upgrade their businesses; and 3) bottom-up approaches and local-level concertation for employment generation in the form of Territorial Employment Pacts operate at the municipal level.

This TOR contributes to the expected result no. 3: Bottom-up approaches and local-level concertation for employment generation will be operationalized at municipal level through Territorial Employment Pacts (TEPs). The Territorial Employment Pacts in the Municipality of Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina are an institutional innovation based on negotiated planning where different actors at the local level assume complementary and inter-connected roles and responsibilities in views of employment objectives. They constitute a model of territorial concertation that has been adopted in many European countries.

The project is implementing TEPs in both Municipalities with the close cooperation of Local Action groups (LAGs) through specific actions in each Municipality. Under the TEP Action 3, Group A, in Dragash/Dragaš Municipality, a group of 21 cow breeders (with 3-4 milking cows), have received heifers to expand milk production, increase the number of milking cows and also become eligible applicants for the subventions of the MAFRD for 2019. Whereas, under the TEP Action 3 Group B in Viti/Vitina Municipality, estimated 12 cow-breeding farmers will be supported with cooling tanks, to improve milk production and storage capacities. Finally, the project, through the Local Development Fund (LDF) grant programme, has supported 1 cow-breeder in Dragash/Dragaš, and 3 in Viti/Vitina.

Previously, in addition to the material grants delivered by the project, the project through small grants invested into local associations of producers to stimulate association collaboration and provide additional technical expertise, including on environmental elements of rural production. As such, the cow breeders in Dragash/Dragaš benefited from advisory services on livestock breeding and hygienic & environmental elements, appropriate feeding and quality of food, and improvements of quality of milk, milking, and milk storage.

TEP Actions 3 in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina municipalities envisages provision of training on farm management in the context of cow-breeding for approximately 37 farmers beneficiaries of the INTERDEV 2 project, including the beneficiaries of the LDF grant schemes of 2017 and 2018.

Objectives of Assignment
The objective of the assignment is to ensure that farmers have and use the capacities for an effective livestock management of the farm with appropriate hygienic & environmental elements and conditions, appropriate feeding and quality of food, and improvements of quality of milk, milking, and also the milk storage.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the INTERDEV Project Manager and in cooperation with the Municipal Project Support Officers (MPSOs) in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina Municipalities and the respective Municipal Departments for Agriculture (DAFRDs), the consultant is expected to help te farmers to ultimately increase productivity and strengthen the linkages with the market, looking primarily at the local market: milk processing companies operating in the vicinities of the territory. She/he will:

1. Prepare the methodology and materials on farm management training, with practical approach for the cow-breeders, including streamlined appropriate hygienic, animal well-being, and environmental elements. The package should reflect and, where appropriate, include the previous recommendations from the similar consultancy services in this area with INTERDEV beneficiaries, in order to minimize duplication and ensure consistency of information.

The training package is to include a farming small enterprise management notebook to help farmers to keep track of their farm activities, as well as elements such as regular inspection and vaccination; farm management, pasture management, cow well-being recommendations; environmental considerations (such as water management, waste management, etc.), and milk quality, etc. (Consolidated topics to be prior consulted with DAFRD and MPSOs for avoiding duplication of information).

2. Deliver the classroom-based training to approximately 22 cow-breeders in Dragash/Dragaš benefiting under the Territorial Employment Pact and the LDF, including the latest information to farmer beneficiaries in terms of any appropriate developments in the above-mentioned field of farm management.

The training should also apply brief pre-training and post-training tests to evaluate the knowledge acquired by the training participants. The post-training test should also include a brief satisfaction questionnaire with the training delivered.

3. Deliver the classroom-based training to approximately 15 farmers in Viti/Vitina benefiting under the Territorial Employment Pact and the LDF, including the latest information to farmer beneficiaries in terms of any appropriate developments in the above-mentioned field of farm management.

4. In cooperation with municipal DAFRDs in the two municipalities, organize with two milk processing centres in each municipality (operating in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina) and deliver practical demonstrations on milk hygiene and quality standards that shall be met by farmers to qualify for the milking centres to collect milk for further processing.

5. Submit to UNDP and the Municipal Departments for Agriculture a final report on implementation of the training, elaborating on the results of the trainings, analysis of the pre- and post-training test data, the satisfaction of the farmers with the training and advisory services, with streamlined references of appropriate hygienic & environmental elements and conditions. The report should also provide further recommendations for effective farm management to the farmers and should attach all training materials as annexes. The Report should also include a list of farmers who participated in the milk collection and processing centres, validated by the farmer’s signatures.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

The training methodology and materials with practical approach for the cow-breeders on farm management, streamlining hygienic, animal well-being, and environmental elements, as well as any relevant previous recommendations from the similar consultancy services in this area, are prepared and validated by UNDP in consultation with the municipal departments.
Training is delivered to the group of beneficiaries in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina Municipalities.
The practical part of the training on milk hygiene and quality standards is delivered to the group of beneficiaries in Dragash/Dragaš and Viti/Vitina Municipalities through field demonstrations in collaboration with milk collection centres.
Final report on implementation of training, elaborating on the results of the trainings and providing further recommendations for effective farm management with included hygienic & environmental elements and conditions is drafted and validated by UNDP. The consultant is expected to review the report taking into consideration the feedback provided by UNDP.

Remuneration - Lump Sum Amount
The Contract is based on lump sum remuneration and shall be processed subject to deliverables as per the schedule listed below:
Upon successful completion of all activities and validation of the final report: 100% of the total amount

Recommended Presentation of Offer
The following documents are required to be submitted:

Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability;
P.11 and personal CV, indicating all past experiences from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
Technical proposal, a max. 2-page document briefly outlining the methodology envisaged for the assignment for delivering the expected results within the indicated timeframe, and why the candidate is considered him/herself as the best candidate for the assignment.
Financial proposal, the consultant is expected to provide an all-inclusive lump sum amount financial proposal. The Offeror must indicate at this point and ensure that all such costs are duly incorporated in the financial proposal submitted to UNDP. The contract price is fixed regardless of changes in the cost components.

Criteria for Selection of the Best Offer
Combined Scoring method – where the qualifications and technical proposal will be weighted a max. of 70%, and combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%;

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Committed to professionalism, impartiality, accountability and integrity;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, ethnicity, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Demonstrates substantial experience in gender equality. Actively promotes gender equality in all activities;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

Empathy and patience, people orientation;
Punctuality and honouring of commitments;
Ability to draw conclusion on the related subjects;
Ability to pay attention to details;
Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment;
Good organisational skills;
Commitment to accomplish work;
Responds positively to critical feedback;
Results and task oriented.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Forestry, or another relevant field is required.

Experience:

At least 3 years of demonstrated relevant experience in provision of consultancy services to farmers, producers and associations in farm and/or business management is required.
Proven experience in and knowledge of the agriculture sector in Kosovo is required.
Previous experience in milk production and livestock value chain is required.

Language requirements:

Knowledge of fluent spoken and written English and Albanian is required. Knowledge of Serbian is considered an asset.

Application Instructions:

Click on the "Apply now" button;
Input your information in the appropriate sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation; you can type in, or paste your short Resume into the last box;
Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. On the next page, you will be asked to upload your Resume;
System will only allow one attachment. All docs (CV; P11; financial offer; list of similar profiles should be included as one attachment).
Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.