Technical Advisor (Business Analyst) - ARE Activity

BACKGROUND 

 The Lebanon Agriculture and Rural Empowerment (ARE) activity, funded by USAID and implemented by Chemonics International, has a three-year base period, two Option Years, and One Increased Quantity Option. Both option years have been activated, bringing the project period to five years, and the IQO has been exercised in order to enable the incremental funding for scale-up interventions in support of both of ARE’s expected results (objectives). ARE supports Lebanese rural and peri-urban communities to obtain technical and financial resources in order to facilitate increased productivity, sales, and exports, improved business income, while also ensuring livelihood sustainability. To support this purpose, ARE will increase jobs; improve incomes; improve female participation and employment opportunities; increase domestic and export sales; increase private sector investment; improve access to finance; link value chain actors to domestic and international markets; and improve production through improved practices, technology, increased volume, and/or decreased cost. ARE supports two key expected results (objectives), each with their own intermediate result (IR):

1. Increased domestic and export sales at both firm and farm levels
   1. Increased enterprise competitiveness
2. Livelihoods improved, especially in rural areas and for women
   1. Improved productivity of MSMEs, including farmers

 POSITION DESCRIPTION 

 The Technical Advisor primarily engages with ARE’s partners and the Private Sector Engagement (RPSE) and Strategic Innovation Technology and Sector Development program management teams, serving as business analyst for ARE in order to provide a wide range of technical support and analysis related to financial performance, developmental impact and other relevant economic analysis. He/She is a key member of ARE’s cross-cutting technical team, responsible for providing technical advisory services across all of ARE’s value chain activities, including interventions through grants and technical assistance. He/She will support with the analysis of project data together with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team as well as through continuous analysis of relevant economic and market data to inform ARE decision making. 

 DETAILED RESPONSIBILITIES

 Lead analytical assignments as required across ARE’s interventions including ongoing and completed grants and technical assistance;

• Conduct technical due diligence of MSMEs and lead the business process and financial analysis of ARE grant applicants and potential partners;
• Review and evaluate the financial performance of specific intervention including their impact on ARE’s economic indicators;
• Develop feasibility studies and cost-benefit analyses for agricultural farms and firms;
• Capture and report on successful business case studies within ARE interventions;
• Develop and review information materials, technical papers and guidelines related to agricultural economics, agribusiness, value chain and food system development topics;
• Maintains complementarity of technical and business-development aspects of ARE’s interventions under the supervision of the DCOP/Chief Technical Officer, and in coordination with the Private Sector Engagement Director, Business Portfolio Managers, Chief of Party and across all of the project’s technical objectives;
• Contributes to achievement of project objectives by evaluating and designing interventions, grants, and technical assistance that enable increased sales and export potential, job creation, and increased incomes for private sector partners and selected beneficiaries; 
• Work with ARE’s MEL and Communication teams to identify, validate, and report on success stories and specific programmatic highlights;
• Contributes to project deliverables like weekly, quarterly, and annual reports; annual work plans, as directed by the Deputy Chief of Party and/or Chief of Party; 
• Other duties as assigned by the Deputy Chief of Party and/or Chief of Party;

 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in agricultural engineering, agricultural economics, marketing, management, business or another field related to ARE’s technical activities  
• Master’s degree or MBA in relevant field preferred
• Minimum of 7 years of recent relevant experience in providing business consulting and support to SMEs, preferably in the agriculture/agro-processing sectors
• Extensive experience working on feasibility studies and business plans
• Business management experience preferred
• Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as in a team structure, demonstrating versatility and integrity in managing daily tasks 
• Strong interpersonal, analytic, and written communication skills  
• Fluency in spoken and written Arabic and English required.  

 LOCATION OF ASSIGNMENT 

 The Technical Advisor  will be based in the project’s main office in Beirut, Lebanon, and travel throughout the country as needed. 

 REPORTING 

 The Technical Advisor reports directly to the Deputy Chief of Party/Chief Technical Officer, or his/her designee