Job Description
TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR CONSULTANCY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PROPOSAL FOR GREEN ENTERPRENURESHIP DEVELOPMENT
Background and Context
Ethiopia is one of the first countries in Africa to develop a green growth strategy. Ethiopia’s leadership, and its early attempts through greening its economy to achieve more inclusive growth, are of real interest in a world in which alternative growth models for long-term sustainable development and social equity have rapidly become a priority in government, business and civil society. The Government of Ethiopia (GoE) has developed a Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy. The CRGE vision aims to build a climateresilient green economy and to make the country carbon neutral by 2025. Whilst the commitment to sustainable growth is there, there are still many challenges to address in order to effectively reach these goals. Within the business sector, there is awareness of the government’s green aspirations, but so far, the political will for developing a green economy has not yet translated into a large number of practical incentives or meaningful funding available to private ventures.
Another major hurdle to green growth is significant unemployment, especially for youth and women, and entrepreneurship skills are not well established. Unemployment rates are high in Ethiopia at 19.1% and, without substantial growth in sustainable job creation, these figures are set to rise. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) reports that Ethiopia has one of the lowest rates of entrepreneurial activity in Sub Saharan Africa. In 2012 only 12.5% of adults (18-64) were in the process of starting a new business or running a business compared to the regional average of 29%, however, Ethiopians have very favorable opinions of entrepreneurship.
The green economy is a much talked about concept but is still in a nascent stage. A lot of work and learning is needed to build up a promising ecosystem of viable, impactful green businesses that can contribute to the Ethiopian government’s ambitious plans.
About Reach for Change Reach for Change
is an international non-profit founded in Sweden in 2010 and has since worked in 18 countries across 3 continents. Our vision is a world where all children and youth reach their full potential. We’re working towards this vision by finding local social entrepreneurs and empowering them to develop and scale innovative solutions that help children to better lives
Reach for Change Ethiopia was registered in 2015. We envision a green, sustainable economy in Ethiopia where everyone has the opportunity to have a decent quality of life and reach their full potential. Our work to date in Ethiopia has positioned us as the leader in our field and has demonstrated that entrepreneurship can be harnessed as a major force for social impact including driving the green economy. It has also proven that there is huge opportunity and demand for developing entrepreneurship in Ethiopia and that our methods work. However, there are still big barriers in regard to skills gaps, complex regulatory frameworks, access to funding and inadequate local initiatives working on the key ecosystem challenges. Achieving our vision at a national level requires establishing collaboration and partnership with key actors in the sector
Reach for Change is currently implementing a pilot project funded by the IKEA Foundation to catalyze green businesses in Ethiopia. The aim of the project is to cultivate a strong pipeline of new green enterprise startups that will create green jobs and inspire young people to start sustainable, green businesses. This project is part of a wider strategy to contribute to the green economy in Ethiopia. Reach for Change plans to implement programs working with later-stage green enterprises as well as contributing to the development of the green economy ecosystem development by working with other partners and government. The intention is to scale this pilot nationally, working with technical schools and universities in order to build a broad pipeline of sustainable green businesses, generating more green jobs and ultimately contributing to building a thriving green economy in Ethiopia.
Purpose of the Consultancy
In collaboration with Reach for Change Ethiopia and the global team, the consultant will take the lead in developing a compelling, evidence-based proposal for:
- Nationwide scale-up of the Catalyzing Green Business project with relevant implementing partners, private sector partners and funding partners
- Application for Partnering for Green Growth (P4G)
- A global position paper on Climate Change for Reach for Change
The consultant will bring to Reach for Change a comprehensive program design process, and previous experience from developing and writing successful integrated, multi-sectoral, proposals involving several stakeholders for institutional donors. It is desirable that the consultant also brings a good understanding of issues relating to climate change, green growth, green business development, entrepreneurship development and job creation in Ethiopia and other African countries.
The consultant will organize a series of consultations to facilitate Reach for Change Ethiopia and the global team reviewing, analyzing, and prioritizing activities for the programme and working out the required budget to implement these activities.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities (Scope of Work)
- Nationwide scale-up of the Catalyzing Green Business project: suggest and hold consultations with relevant national and international agencies and stakeholder organizations, collect missing information with a special focus on climate change and the green economy, and develop a feasible scale-up strategy for the project and RFC Ethiopia’s green job strategy, identify implementing partners, funding partners and private sector partners, and define their roles in the project and maintain project ownership, input and support in the processes.
- P4G application: The consultant in consultation with Reach for Change and other partners will identify the business model and commercial partner who have transformative partnerships that meet P4G’s criteria, especially the businesses engaged in and with experiences from Circular Economy in the country. The consultant will include the track record and previous experience of the partners with similar ventures that indicates how the partnership is on the pathway to commercialization in the business model.
- Position paper on Climate Change: A global guiding paper for Reach for Change to determine its added value and scope in relation to Climate Change.
For the proposals:
- Review relevant literature and documents to inform the preparation and finalization of the concept notes and the full proposal including Reach for Change and funding partners’ policies, strategies, guidelines and country priorities related to green economy development.
- Conduct problem analysis and validation workshops with relevant Reach for Change team staff and possibly other relevant stakeholders.
- Ensure that the concept note and full proposal are based on realistic assessments of what is achievable in the timeframe proposed and on a solid understanding of the capacity of Reach for Change and its proposed partners
- Ensure that the proposed activities and expected results are supported by a budget that will maximize the impact of availed funds.
- Ensure alignment of proposed activities with broader Reach for Change strategy, P4G and IKEA Foundation and other partners’ guidelines and formats as well as country priorities for the coming years.
- Ensure that the proposal includes a monitoring and evaluation plan that detects and resolves problems early, and facilitates timely and quality reporting of results in a way that demonstrates progress made in meeting the grant activity objectives.
- Ensure that the funding requests are well designed and are reviewed effectively to help the funding partners achieve maximum impact
Expected Results/Deliverables
The principal delivery of this consultancy will be a finalized and acceptable
- Evidence-based nationwide scale-up proposal (including log frame, work plan and budget) of the IKEA project with relevant implementing partners, funding partners and private sector partners
- Evidence-based concept note and proposal (including log frame, work plan and budget) for P4G
- A global position paper for Reach for Change to determine its added value and scope in relation to Climate Change
Other deliverables shall include:
- An inception report, complete with an understanding of the TOR, interpretation, constructive comments, work plan and implementation schedule of the assignment, and any other issues that need to be raised at the onset of the assignment.
Duration of the Work
- The duration of the contract shall be approximately 60 working days in total including concept note and full proposal development. This duration is subject to change depending on the final Call for the Proposal.
Duty Station
- Reach for Change Ethiopia Head office but remote work will also be allowed based on the agreed work plan and methodology.
Lines of Communication
- The consultant will report to the Country Manager in Ethiopia and will work closely with other team members of RFC as well as the representatives of other partners.
Job Requirements
Qualifications and Experience
- This assignment could /will be undertaken by a team of international and national consultants or a consortium or similar consultant companies built on partnership and cooperation between Ethiopian and international experts.
Required Skills and Experience
- An expert with at least the following qualifications and experience.
Education
- Advanced degree (PhD or Master’s) in the field of climate change, environmental science, environmental management, environmental engineering, Green and Circular Economy, Strategic Business Management, or other relevant fields
Experience:
- Minimum of 10 years of proven practical experience in project development and implementation in the fields of climate change (mitigation and/or adaptation) and Green and Circular Economy, SMEs development with strong programme design skills, including the capacity to prepare logical, coherent, and consistent technical documents including log frames and budgets.
- Demonstrated experience and understanding of the Global and Local Green and Circular Economy landscapes and Ethiopian Environmental and business Legal and Regulatory Frameworks are required.
- Extensive technical knowledge of climate change issues and policy, in Ethiopia and Sub-Saharan countries, is required;
- Prior demonstrated experience from developing and writing successful proposals for different donors such as P4G, EU, USAID, UN agencies, and other bilateral organizations is required.
- Experience in consulting for both the public and private sectors will be considered an advantage.
Competencies
- Ability to work in close collaboration with a group of national and international experts, meet strict deadlines and plan the work according to priorities;
- Excellent English speaking/writing skills and presentation skills are required
- The ability to write clearly and concisely is a requirement
- Results-oriented and ability to interact productively in a teamwork environment; good analytical skills, ability to work under a tight schedule while respecting deadlines achievement, ethics and honesty;
- Flexibility to adapt to any subsequent changes in the terms of reference.
- Willingness and ability to travel to the field to conduct assessments and gather primary data.