Business Development Services Trainer (Consultant) - Mkalles - National Candidates Only

Background of the project  

As the Syrian crisis continues to impact Lebanon it is critical to respond to immediate and basic needs of vulnerable populations, while also addressing the long-term need to create employment opportunities and the supporting infrastructure to build resilience. The influx of close to 1 million refugees (official UN estimate, the true number is likely to be much higher) over the last years is intensifying Lebanon’s already strained social, economic, and political fabric.

Vulnerable Lebanese continue to suffer and see their own circumstances deteriorate as the Lebanese economy continues to show signs of prolonged stagnation, reducing income-generating opportunities. With the anticipation of a protracted crisis, unsustainable levels of humanitarian funding, and threats to social cohesion, there is a need to support the resilience of refugees and their host communities.  

The IRC’s Resilient Futures program - with support from the CITI Foundation- is implemented from August 2021 until July 2023 across seven countries: Greece, Germany, Cameroun, Nigeria, Mexico, Jordan, and Lebanon. In Lebanon, the program supports vulnerable entrepreneurs in setting up or in expanding their business, through the provision of cash-grant and non-financial business development services (BDS). Those services are intended to prepare the entrepreneurs at the early stage of their business-journey, preparing them to be better knowledgeable in terms of financial literacy, record-keeping, marketing, customer-service and general business development principles.

Under Resilient Future, the IRC’s Micro Enterprise Support unit, will be contracting a consultant to deliver the above-mentioned business development services.

Specifically, the consultant will be expected to: 

Scope of work

• Develop a 1-day curriculum (IRC BDS developed presentation) to train entrepreneurs on general business principles (Marketing /Management/Finance, including brief understanding of the impact of currency fluctuation on pricing and business management – Mitigation techniques);
• Deliver a full day training for 4 different groups in the following regions: Wadi Khaled (6 participants), Der Dalloum (10 participants) and Mount Lebanon (2 groups of 7participants each) (equivalent to one weekly course), where the training to be done with one month of Contract Signature.
• Utilize the training sessions as a platform for clients to share expertise, discuss business concerns and market dynamics in an open approach that will add to the outcome of training.
• Update and fine-tune IRC’s current IRC BDS current presentation based on the trainer experience and resources while also adding to it from the findings reached/concluded during the trainings.
• Assess the need for each entrepreneur depending on their business sectors general business principles (Marketing /Management/Finance, including brief understanding of the impact of currency fluctuation on pricing and business management – Mitigation techniques).
• Deliver field business coaching visits for at least 40 sessions (each lasting for 2 hours). Based on the needs assessed with the clients, the total number of visits can be revised in close coordination with Senior Micro Enterprise Support Officer - SMESO
• Involve the Program Senior Officer and officers in the training and business coaching delivery (shadowing) where applicable in a manner that develops their facilitation/training and BDS understanding without impacting the outcome. 
• The trainer will review a sample of the clients’ entrepreneurial profile to better understand the general scope of the trainees, their business, and the communities they come from.
•  The trainer will review current BDS material, update them in a manner that will cover any missing topics, eliminate outdated principle or those considered irrelevant, and connect those with business-cases, exercises and visuals that would allow the trainees to better grasp the concepts.
• Delivery of the trainings and business coaching should be open and flexible in manner that leaves a space to accommodate differences between different regions and topics (industries/models). The trainings should also adopt an open approach that allows participants to interactively share their thoughts, questions, and concerns for the best outcome possible.
• Though the material and content of the trainings are basic, it is still essential that advanced skills and tools (presentations, storytelling, discussions triggering questions, creative-thinking, and problem-solving) should be used to uplift the approach to business and management those trainees might have.
• Cooperation between the Trainer and the Micro Enterprise Support team is necessary at governorate and scheme level to adapt the training delivery to achieve the best result. This flexibility is most important when delivery sites change, to account for the specificities of the areas ranging from Mount Lebanon to Wadi-Khaled where differences are anticipated regarding the clients’ profile and their business needs. A one-size fits all approach would not be suitable for those trainings.
• The training sessions and the field business coaching will be an opportunity to develop the skills and experience of the MS team. Hence the trainer is expected to allow the officers to play a role in the preparation of the trainings through shadowing and assisting to better equip them shall they need to do individual, small-group trainings, or on-field coaching in the future.
• Approximate group-size per training session is expected to range between 5 to 15.
• Approximate number of individual coaching sessions completed per day is expected to range between 2 to 3 sessions

Deliverables:

• The training and the business coaching sessions will extend over a period of three months (May, June & July 2022) with one training day per week. A total of 4 trainings days will be delivered across 3 regions (two in Akkar, and two in Mount-Lebanon), followed by a total of 40 business field coaching sessions.
• Each training day will consist of 7 hours, with 6 hours for training (paid) and one hour for both lunch and breaks.
• Material Preparation (including the suggested updated of the IRC’s current BDS presentation as well as the alignment/preparation session with the program supervisor and the officers in addition to meeting sample clients and reviewing sample business-cases are all considered as a prerequisite and an integrated part of the agreement.
• The training agreement will include 4 sessions for clients, each consisting of 1 day, with an average number of 10 trainees per each session. Those session will be given at the rate of one session per week and are expected to be completed within one month after contract signature. In addition to the training sessions, four additional days will be needed as shown below for pre-training preparations, curriculum update, and final report.
• A total of 40 coaching sessions will be delivered across 2 regions (two in Akkar, one in Mount-Lebanon)., This number will be revised based on the identified needs of clients.
• Each coaching session will consist of 2 hours of training for each entrepreneur.
• Material Preparation (including the suggested IRC BDS current presentation) as well as the alignment/preparation session with the Senior program officer and the micro-officers.
• The business coaching agreement will include 40 sessions for entrepreneurs, each consisting of two hours, with a total number of 30 entrepreneurs. Those session will be given in cooperation with program senior officer and micro-officers during May, June, and July.

# Of DAYS (6hrs)

TASK

DELIVERABLES

# of days (6 hours): 1

Interviews & Planning

• Meet Program Senior Officer and Micro Officers to better understand needs.
• Review business plans of 3 -4 entrepreneurs to understand profiles & business-cases.

# of days (6 hours): 2

Update BDS Materials

• Review the IRC current BDS presentations and provide a curriculum (Including objectives and tools).
• Analyze and compare contents in comparison to findings/conclusions reached from Day 1
• Amend and update the content of those presentations, layout, examples, and visuals where necessary.
• Review the new presentations and curriculum with Program Senior Officer & officers for any changes needed.

# of days (6 hours): 4

4 sessions of training / 1-day each

• Deliver one session per week in the region selected assigned by the program.
• Sessions to take place in the centers of Mount-Lebanon, Akkar (Deir-Dalloum and Wadi-khaled)

# of days (6 hours): 80

40 sessions of business coaching / 2-hour each

• Deliver 40 coaching sessions for selected entrepreneurs in the region selected assigned by the program.
• Sessions to take place in the fields of Mount-Lebanon, Akkar (Deir-Dalloum and Wadi-khaled)

# of days (6 hours): 1

Final report and conclusion

• Provide a final report for IRC with all the findings related to the training sessions, business coaching sessions, curriculum-fit, team, the clients’ profiles and backgrounds, teaching/learning remarks, and post-training follow-up recommended.

Requirements:

• Proven working experience as a Business Development Services Trainers with SMEs 
• Experience in financial Management
• Proficiency in MS Office and PowerPoint
• Proficiency in English & Arabic
• Lebanese Market knowledge
• Communication and negotiation skills
• Ability to build rapport
• Time management and planning skills
• MBA in business administration, sales, or relevant field

Other Details:

• Movement to/from training center will be arranged by the IRC and movement time is not compensated. Trainer needs to reach the training facility 30 minutes prior to the session for proper preparation. All requested training materials (printouts, projectors, boards, and stationary) will be provided by the IRC.
• The updated BDS presentation are property of the IRC, and the IRC will have the right to use those materials in future programs (this does not include exercises, case studies or videos) but all the theoretical principles, definitions, theories, and guidelines.