Individual Consultant: Enterprise Shop Business Development and Market Systems Implementation Consultant

Program/Project Title: Workforce Nutrition

Duty Station: Addis Ababa

Duration of the assignment: 4 months with a possibility of extension

Expected Starting Date: ASAP

1.     Introduction

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with governments, businesses, and civil society, we aim to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious foods for all people, especially the most vulnerable.

Background

GAIN is dedicated to improving the consumption of healthier foods for all, especially the most vulnerable ones. The Workforce Nutrition project is one of the projects implemented in Ethiopia, which focuses on improving the health and well-being of workers in industrial parks and large-scale farms by collaborating with employers and government partners to make nutritious food available and affordable to vulnerable workers.

A workplace-based retail nutrition model has been introduced in factory settings across several countries as part of broader workforce nutrition and food systems interventions. Evidence from pilot implementation suggests that the model has strong potential for impact and scalability, while presenting moderate feasibility in terms of operational implementation and resource requirements.

Industrial parks in several countries play a critical role in driving economic growth through industrialization, job creation, and investment attraction. However, workers in these settings often face persistent challenges in accessing affordable, safe, and nutritious foods. Limited availability, high prices of nutrient-dense foods, and fragmented supply chains contribute to poor dietary diversity, with implications for nutrition, health, and productivity outcomes.

In this context, existing food retail environments within industrial parks are often not adequately structured to support healthy diets. Market constraints and supply chain inefficiencies further limit the affordability and accessibility of nutritious food options, resulting in suboptimal food choices among workers.

Rationale for Intervention

Strengthening workplace-based retail food environments has emerged as a key workforce nutrition strategy to improve dietary outcomes among low-income workers. The approach focuses on improving access to nutritious foods within the workplace setting.

The intervention aims to enhance the availability of diverse, safe, and nutritious food options through retail outlets located within industrial parks that sell a combination of general consumer goods and selected nutrient-dense food items. These foods are intended for both on-site consumption and household preparation and are offered at more affordable prices compared to conventional market outlets.

By improving affordability through appropriate pricing strategies and offering selected items in smaller, more accessible quantities, the model addresses key economic barriers to healthy diets. In addition, the proximity of retail outlets to the workplace provides a platform for influencing healthier dietary behaviours through targeted demand creation communication and strategic product placement.

The model also has the potential to strengthen local food systems by improving market linkages between retail outlets and domestic food value chain actors.

3.     Objective

3.1. General objective:  

The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical assistance to assess, strengthen, and support the implementation of workplace-based retail food models within three industrial parks. The consultancy will focus on improving model effectiveness in increasing access to affordable and nutritious foods for workers, with a particular emphasis on improving dietary diversity.

Specifically, the consultant will support the enhancement of retail shop operations within industrial park settings that offer mixed consumer goods alongside nutritious food items. The assignment will aim to strengthen the capacity of these retail systems to deliver improved nutrition outcomes for workers through improved availability, affordability, and promotion of healthy food choices.

3.2. Specific objective (Aim for 3-5 objectives):

• To assess the operational performance of workplace-based retail food models within industrial parks, focusing on availability, affordability, and accessibility of nutritious food options for workers.
• To strengthen retail shop operations and management systems to improve the consistent supply and promotion of safe, affordable, and nutritious foods that contribute to improved dietary diversity.
• To enhance market linkages between retail outlets and local and national healthy food suppliers, including producers, processors, and distributors, to improve availability and continuity of nutrient-dense food products.
• To design and implement retail strategies, including strategic product placement, market promotion, and demand creation campaigns, to increase workers’ awareness, purchase, and consumption of nutritious foods.
• To provide technical support for implementation and continuous improvement of the retail food model, ensuring operational efficiency, sustainability, and scalability across industrial park settings.

   Scope of the assignment

The consultant will provide hands-on technical assistance to strengthen existing retail structures or support the establishment of new, viable, and sustainable retail enterprises within three industrial parks (Bole Lemi, Hawassa and Adama). This may include operational design improvements, capacity building for retail operators, supply chain strengthening, and integration of demand creation/market promotion approaches. The consultancy will also support continuous monitoring and iterative improvement of the retail model to ensure responsiveness to worker nutrition needs and alignment with workforce nutrition objectives.

  Tasks and Responsibilities of the Consultant

• Assess the food environment and existing retail operations within and around the targeted industrial parks, including food availability, accessibility, affordability, purchasing patterns, and workers’ food preferences, and identify opportunities to improve access to nutritious foods.
• Review and strengthen the retail business model by developing recommendations on product assortment, pricing strategies, merchandising approaches, retail management systems, and financial sustainability to improve the availability and affordability of nutritious foods.
• Identify, assess, and facilitate partnerships with local and national food producers, processors, suppliers, and distributors, and develop strategies to strengthen supply chain efficiency, product quality, food safety, and supply continuity.
• Develop and support implementation of operational systems and procedures covering procurement, inventory management, quality assurance, food safety, customer service, and financial management, while providing hands-on technical assistance to establish or strengthen retail operations.
• Design and implement demand creation/market promotion strategies, including strategic product placement, promotional activities, consumer awareness initiatives, and demand-creation campaigns to encourage healthier food choices among workers.
• Develop training materials, tools, and standard operating procedures, and build the capacity of retail operators and relevant stakeholders on retail management, nutritious food promotion, food safety and business sustainability.
• Develop an implementation roadmap and monitoring framework, including key milestones, stakeholder roles, risk mitigation measures, data collection tools, performance indicators, and recommendations for continuous improvement and future scale-up.

     MAJOR DELIVERABLES

   Responsibilities of GAIN

GAIN will be responsible for following up on the implementation, processing payment for the consultant upon receiving the agreed deliverables and support in providing information/data about workforce nutrition and linking the consultant with the relevant government and other partners and individuals. GAIN will cover costs related to training and campaigns/ workshops, and travel costs (transportation, per diem, and accommodation) of the consultant based on the organization’s rate whenever travel is required.

     Reporting line

The Service Provider shall provide a written work status report using the template that will be provided by GAIN, detailing the Services completed, the progress made on the Services to be delivered, the meetings held, and their outcome, and the number of days spent per Service to the Workforce Nutrition Project Manager.

      Qualifications

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or higher) in Business Administration, Business Management, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Cooperative Management, Supply Chain Management, Economics, Marketing, Food Systems, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of demonstrated professional experience in retail business development, enterprise development, cooperative management, market systems, agribusiness, food systems, supply chain management, or related areas.
• Demonstrated experience in cooperative development and management, including strengthening cooperative business operations, governance, market linkages, financial sustainability, and engagement with producers and other market actors.
• Experience in developing and implementing market promotion, demand creation, consumer engagement, and strategic product placement approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to provide hands-on technical assistance, coaching, mentoring, and capacity building to enterprise/shop operators, cooperatives, and relevant stakeholders.
• Experience in developing SOPs, training materials, implementation roadmaps, monitoring frameworks, data collection tools, and performance indicators.
• Knowledge of the Ethiopian food retail and market systems, including local cooperatives, food producers, processors, suppliers, and distributors, is highly desirable.
• Ability and willingness to work full-time from the GAIN office in Addis Ababa and travel to Bole Lemi, Hawassa, and Adama Industrial Parks as required.

4.     Proposal submission guideline

 Proposal submission guideline

GAIN invites qualified Individual Consultants to submit proposals for the provision of the consultancy services described in this TOR. This assignment is intended for an individual consultant, and proposals from consultancy firms or companies will not be considered.

 Technical Proposal

The Individual Consultant shall submit a Technical Proposal demonstrating a clear understanding of the assignment and the proposed approach for achieving the objectives and deliverables outlined in this TOR.

The Technical Proposal should include:

• A clear understanding of the assignment and its objectives.
• Proposed methodology and approach for delivering the required consultancy services. The methodology should not exceed 10 pages.
• Proposed work plan and implementation timeline aligned with the TOR deliverables.
• Description of the Individual Consultant’s relevant experience in enterprise/shop business development, market systems, food retail, nutrition-sensitive approaches, cooperative development, supplier linkages, capacity building, or related areas.
• Samples or evidence of previous relevant assignments, preferably related to nutrition, health, food systems, retail, market systems, or enterprise development.
• Any additional information considered relevant to demonstrate the Individual Consultant’s suitability for the assignment.

 Individual Consultant Profile / Curriculum Vitae

The Individual Consultant shall submit an updated Curriculum Vitae (CV) demonstrating:

• Academic qualifications relevant to the assignment.
• Relevant professional experience and technical expertise.
• Experience in enterprise/shop business development and management.
• Experience in market systems development, supplier engagement, market promotion, and demand creation.
• Experience in coaching, training, and capacity building.
• Experience in developing SOPs, training materials, implementation roadmaps, monitoring tools, and related documents.
• Relevant experience working in Ethiopia’s food retail, food systems, nutrition, or market systems environment, where applicable.

 References

The Individual Consultant shall provide at least three (3) professional references from previous or current clients/organizations for whom similar consultancy services have been provided.

Each reference should, where possible, include:

• Name of the organization/client.
• Contact person.
• Position/title.
• Email address and/or telephone number; and
• Brief description of the assignment or services provided.

GAIN reserves the right to contact the references provided for verification of the Individual Consultant’s previous performance and experience.

 Samples of Previous Work

The Individual Consultant should provide relevant samples of previous work demonstrating experience in areas related to this assignment. Examples may include:

• Business development or business model documents.
• Market or food environment assessments.
• Market systems or supplier mapping reports.
• Nutrition-sensitive retail strategies.
• SOPs and operational guidelines.
• Training materials.
• Implementation roadmaps.
• Monitoring tools/frameworks; and/or
• Similar consultancy reports or deliverables.

Where the submitted samples contain confidential information, the Individual Consultant should remove or anonymize such information before submission.

 Financial / Budget Proposal

The Financial Proposal shall be prepared and submitted in Ethiopian Birr (ETB) and should provide a clear and detailed breakdown of the Individual Consultant’s proposed consultancy costs.

The Financial Proposal should include, at a minimum:

• Proposed number of consultancy days;
• Daily professional fee/rate in ETB;
• Total professional consultancy fee in ETB;
• Cost breakdown by major deliverable, where applicable.
• Any other applicable professional or administrative costs.
• All applicable taxes
• Travel-related costs, where applicable; and
• Total proposed consultancy cost in ETB.

The financial proposal should be consistent with the proposed work plan, methodology, level of effort, and deliverables outlined in the Technical Proposal.