Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698836255009.pdf (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
OECS AGRICULTURE COMPETITIVENESS PROJECT (ACRICOM) TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR PROJECT STAFF Agribusiness/Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist BACKGROUND The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has received a US$4.3 million loan from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank to implement the OECS Regional Agricultural Competitiveness Project.
The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to “enhance access to markets and sales for competitively selected farmers and fishermen, as well as their allied aggregators and agro- processors in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The success of the project will be measured against key indicators.
Key Result Indicators The project will be evaluated against the following indicators:  Market Access Compliance Score for participating farmers and fishers supplying products to their allied AAs in accordance with the agreed Business Plan per semester  Compliance Score for sales from all participating AAs complying with the buyers' specifications as per the agreed Business Plans per semester  Percentage increase in the average annual sales of farmers and fishers participating in strategic alliances under the project  Percentage increase in the value of gross sales made by aggregators and agro-processors participating in the project  Direct project beneficiaries  Number of business proposals submitted and evaluated  Number of approved business proposals developed into an evaluated business plan  Private Capital Mobilized  Participating FFs and AAs adopting an improved agricultural technology promoted by the Project  Increase in labor productivity of benefitting farmers and fishermen The project’s approach consists of improving small-scale producers’ access to markets, using the private sector as a vehicle to align smallholder production with market demand in terms of quantity, quality, and timeliness.
The main components of the proposed project are based on the need for improving linkages between demand and supply of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products.

The proposed project will support technically feasible, financially viable, economically profitable, and socially/environmentally responsible business plans through a matching grant mechanism.

Furthermore, the project will support preparation of competitively selected business plans led by AAs of agriculture and fisheries products.
Implementation of these business plans will be supported by intensive Technical Assistance.
The 4 main components of the project are: Component 1: Support for Preparation of Business Plans The objectives of this component are to: (i) promote an understanding of the Project’s scope and objectives through outreach to potential stakeholders and beneficiaries (such as individual and organized FFs, AAs, buyers, and financing actors); (ii) identify potential business opportunities for prioritized value chains and their translation into viable and profitable business proposals; and (iii) prepare full business plans for selected proposals.
Under this component, the proposed project will finance consultant and non-consultant services, goods, training, and operating costs to implement pre-investment activities.
Component 2: Implementation of Business Plans This component provides matching grants to co-finance the implementation of technically feasible, financially viable, economically profitable, socially responsible, and environmentally sustainable business plans, which when implemented will help to provide a consistent and timely supply of sufficient quantities of quality produce to buyers, while helping to provide a reliable income to allied producers.
Component 3: General Agricultural Services and Enabling Environment This component seeks to strengthen general agricultural services directly linked to the subprojects described in Component 2 and needed to enhance the probability of success.

It will also support the strengthening of the overall enabling environment needed for the sustained development of the business enterprises with potential competitive advantages, locally and internationally.
Component 4: Project Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation The objective of this component is to ensure effective project implementation, monitoring of activities, and evaluation of the project.

Under this Component, the Project will finance the operational costs of the Project.
OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Rural Transformation through a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) with responsibility for overall coordination and supervision.

The primary responsibility of the Agribusiness /Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist will be to monitor and to assist in the management of the implementation of all subprojects and coordinate the delivery of the monitoring and evaluation outputs of the project.
SCOPE OF WORK The tasks of the Agribusiness/Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist will include but not limited to: • Provide technical advice to project beneficiaries on agribusiness, including marketing and agricultural value chain coordination and upgrading and matters; • Develop networks and linkages with suppliers and buyers of agricultural goods and services; • Create and maintain a directory of project stakeholders and a database of project beneficiaries; • Manage and monitor the implementation of all subprojects, including beneficiary activities under Components 1 and 2.
Participate in the strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation of project; • Participate in the review of applications for subprojects; • Keep informed of the latest advancements in agriculture, including but not limited to trade and market issues, new technologies and methodologies both local and international; • Ensure continued effectiveness and efficiency of the subproject cycle and propose modifications as needed; • Review Business Plans / Proposals submitted to ensure quality and acceptability; • Maintain close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant Government Ministries, Cooperatives, other Non-Governmental and the Private sector organizations; • To provide feedback to the project manager on implementation progress, constraints and possibilities for implementation improvement; • Prepare the monthly work plans and progress reports and any other necessary reports as needed; • Develop an action plan that will facilitate timely monitoring of the outputs of the Project; • Develop mechanisms to identify and document ‘best practices’ and lessons learned; • Conduct periodic evaluations of the Project and sub-projects as stipulated in the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework; • Ensure reporting templates provide adequate progress reports; • Review periodically the project’s MIS system to ensure that accurate project information is available on the system • Participate in project reviews undertaken by the organization and the World Bank from time to time • Report regularly to the Project Manager and World Bank missions on implementation progress; • Other duties which the Project Manager may assign and as the Project Steering Committee may direct, through the Project Coordinator.
QUALIFICATIONS Education: A Bachelor’s Degree in Agribusiness, Project Management, Marketing, Agriculture or related subject Experience: • At least 3 years of experience in agribusiness, marketing, agriculture, or rural development in St. Vincent and the Grenadines or similar island countries; • At least 3 years’ experience facilitating innovative marketing mechanisms of strengthening post-production market linkages for agriculture; • Experience in monitoring the implementation of development projects • General knowledge of environmental sustainability issues related to agriculture • Strong analytical and operational knowledge in agricultural supply chains and competitiveness • Proven leadership skills and strong interpersonal skills • Excellent oral and written communication skills • Knowledge conduct research using qualitative and quantitative research methods; and • Experience using statistical software example SPSS.
DURATION OF CONSULTANCY The duration of the contract will be 2 years, with the option for renewal based on satisfactory performance.