International Consultant – Smallholder Women Farmer Cooperatives at UN Women | Apply Now

International Consultant for Training of selected Smallholder Women Farmer Cooperatives in Ebonyi State, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Location: Abakaliki, Ebonyi
Type of Contract: Individual Contract
Post Level: International Consultant
Languages Required: English
Duration of Initial Contract: 20 Working days

Background of the Consultancy

• UN Women is grounded in the vision of equality as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, it works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
• UN Women is implementing a two-year project on Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment through Climate-Resilient Agribusiness in Nigeria.
• The project seeks to contribute to reduction in food insecurity and promote employment creation and increased incomes and economic security for women engaged in the rice value chain in Ebonyi State, and shea value chain in Niger State by working to achieve this key objective:
  • To reduce the constraints faced by women farmers and increase women farmers’ agricultural productivity and economic empowerment through Climate Smart Agricultural Initiatives.
• The project is designed to close the gender gap in ownership and control of productive resources by strengthening women’s agricultural productivity and access to markets in the rice and shea value chains.
• The project aims to achieve the following results and target women farmers to benefit from the following interventions:
  • Increased agricultural productivity through climate smart agricultural practices by women farmers increased
  • Expanded access to diverse high value markets by women through value chain development
  • Strengthened capacities and trade opportunities by women through ICT platforms
  • Improved institutional coordination and knowledge management through research for development
• Women dominate the agriculture sector in Nigeria, where they work as farmers, food processors, and traders, but they face key structural barriers that limit their access to land, information, finance, infrastructure, technologies, extension services and markets. Women still have less access than men to resources and climate change adaptation mechanisms. Closing the gender gap in access to resources and climate smart agricultural and agri-business technologies through informed investments that remove these barriers represents a great opportunity for rural women’s economic empowerment, overall economic development, and societal resilience to climate change in Nigeria.
• Specific to the rice value-chain in Ebonyi State, women are unable the derive the full value of their efforts because they lack the improved inputs and skills, technology and financial resources to increase their productivity and take advantage of the most financially rewarding stages of the chain, namely value-additive processing and marketing.
• The assistance will involve increasing access for the cooperatives to improved rice post-harvest processing facilities to help them improve upon the grain qualities of the local rice and enhance the competitiveness of the locally produced rice against the imported rice.

Duties and Responsibilities

Purpose and Objectives of the Consultancy for the Training of Existing Women Cooperative Societies:

• As part of the effort to strengthen the capacity of the targeted women cooperatives, UN Women and partners are seeking the services of a consultant to adapt ILO cooperative training tools and conduct a Training of Trainers (ToT) on cooperative governance and management including an understanding of cooperatives, leadership and governance, cooperative marketing and business management, and financial literacy skills.
• The ToT will benefit a total of 120 women farmers (with 10 persons selected from each of the targeted beneficiary groups) and selected relevant staff and extension workers of the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Agriculture.
• Following the conduct of the ToT, the UN Women consultant will partner with trained Ministries staff and the implementing partner to facilitate the step-down training which will occur in three Project Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Ebonyi State including Ohoazara,  Ezza South and Ebonyi to leverage on partnership with government and enhance visibility of the activities. The step-down training will be monitored by the Ministries of Women Affairs and Agriculture and UN Women.

Description of Functions:

• Review the cooperative assessment report and develop the training program to address the identified challenges for women cooperatives in Ebonyi State.
• Develop an indicative concept of a Training of Trainers for women cooperatives and women small holder farmers including timelines for the different tasks involved in the consultancy.
• Review and adapt ILO simplified cooperative training tools and other relevant global gender sensitive tools to produce training materials including presentations and handouts etc.
• Work with the project stakeholders in Abakaliki to review the training modules and certify that they are appropriate for the targeted beneficiaries.
• Deliver ToT training on cooperative governance and management including understanding of cooperatives, leadership, cooperative marketing and business management, and financial literacy skills to 120 women farmers.
• Produce a report of the consultancy including training processes, results and recommendations.

Deliverables and Timeframe:
The final expected output from the consultant is a workshop and training materials. Specifically, the consultant is expected at the end of the contractual period to derive the following output:

• Develop a detailed training concept covering intended adapted tools to conduct the ToT on cooperative governance and management and to address the identified challenges
• Produce simplified and tailored gender sensitive training materials adapted from ILO cooperatives tools and other relevant global tools produced.
• Conduct a one week (ToT) for 120 persons including members of targeted women cooperatives and selected project beneficiaries conducted.
• Detailed report on Cooperative governance and management TOT workshop and certification of participants submitted to the satisfaction of UN Women and partners.

Hiring Agency and Specific Consultancy Requirement:

• UN Women Nigeria is looking to hire one consultant with expertise in cooperative governance and management. Experience working in Nigeria in general and the South-East will be desirable

Expected Timeline:

• The consultancy fee for this assignment is for 20 working Days. The assignment is expected to be completed over a period of one month.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• HND, B Sc or Master’s degree or equivalent in the field of Agri- development Business, Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, Community and Rural Development, Gender or related fields

Experience:

• Excellent knowledge of gender and cooperative management
• Proven knowledge in conducting training in cooperative governance and management to smallholder farmers, particularly women.
• Knowledge of ILO cooperative training materials desired
• Experience in developing training materials
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in required
• Strong communication skills. Business intelligence and documentation expertise and experiences
• Experience of working with communities, government institutions NGOS and international organizations
• Knowledge and experience of working with conflict/crisis affected and humanitarian settings
• Experience and strong facilitation skills
• Ability to work under strict deadlines and schedules

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required
• Knowledge of the other UN working knowledge is an asset.
• Knowledge of Ibo is an asset.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Integrity: Demonstrates consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
• Professionalism: Demonstrates professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
• Respect for Diversity: Demonstrates an appreciation of the multi-cultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrates an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

• Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity
• Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment
• Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative
• Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others
• Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making

Functional Competencies:

• Strong research and evidence gathering and documentation expertise and experiences
• Experience conducting training on cooperatives governance to smallholder farmers, particularly women using ILO cooperative training tools.
• Knowledge and experience of working with the crisis-conflict affected population, and humanitarian contexts.
• Experience and strong facilitation capacity building skills
• Ability to work under strict deadlines and schedules
• Excellent skills in written and spoken English.

Application Deadline
5th June, 2020; (Midnight New York, USA)

Method of Application

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• 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.