Short-term Business Development Consultant (national position)

Assignment:

The NEF Lebanon Office is looking to hire a Business Development Consultant for a short-term assignment under one of its projects funded by the US BPRM.  The consultancy will run from 8 March – 10 April 2019 (with an expected 20 working days, 4 fulltime days per week excluding public holidays). The consultant will serve as a temporary replacement for NEF’s Business Development and Livelihoods Officer (BDLO), who will be on work travel for 3-4 weeks.

The 12-month project (targeting 3 areas: Bekaa, Akkar and North Lebanon) which aims to reduce household economic vulnerability and reliance on harmful coping strategies by increasing access & knowledge to livelihoods and protection information and to provide business skills on how to start and mange income generating activities.

Expected Outputs/Deliverables:

Under the supervision of the Project Coordinator, the Consultant will be required to deliver the following outputs: 

• Review and evaluate 300 – 350 Business Plans submitted by project beneficiaries, and propose realistic recommendations.
• Make final decisions on submitted business plans, while factoring in feedback received by the Cash & Grants (C&G) Committee based in the field.

Tasks will require the following:

• Reading project materials including: proposal, SoPs, forms, workflow charts, etc.
• Shadowing NEF’s BDLO for 5 days (8 – 14 March).
• Correcting business plans submitted by beneficiaries using NEF scoring system.
• Reviewing C&G committee meeting recommendations to select the successful beneficiaries who will be receiving the grant for their income generating activity.  In some cases, further investigation may be necessary. The consultant will need to instruct the field teams to conduct these investigations and is expected to closely follow through until the end of the investigation. The investigation is expected to gather information to help the consultant make an informed decision to approve or reject the applicant and the corresponding business plan.
• Coordinating with program and field staff to coordinate tasks.
• Field visits to understand context and provide relevant feedback to the Field Staff on the Business Plans submitted in an aim to improve processes, trainings, etc.
• Skype calls with NEF’s BDLO to coordinate and exchange vital information.

The expectation is that all final outputs will be delivered to NEF by 10 April 2019.

NEF will be responsible for:

• Provision of project description and related documents for contextual background.
• Provision of documents to introduce systems and standard operating procedures.
• Provision of curriculum and materials including PPTs, handouts, booklets etc.
• Hand-over document to guide business plan correction procedures & selection of successful candidates to receive grants.
• Logistics and transportation for the days of field work
• Office space, and access to office equipment (with the exception of laptop and phone which consultant is expected to use his/her own)

Skills, experience and qualifications required:

• Minimum bachelor’s degree business administration, entrepreneurship, etc.
• At least 3 years of experience in reviewing business plans for disbursement of grants and/or loans.
• Prior experience in revolving funds/micro-credit for development/humanitarian related agencies and projects is a must.
• Prior experience working with NGOs within the Syrian Crisis Response, in addition to familiarity with the livelihoods sector within the response is preferred.
• Those currently doing their Master’s or PhD are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Availability and willingness to travel to various areas in Lebanon during weekdays.
• Excellent English writing skills to write up reports.
• Culturally sensitive.
• Native Arabic speaking and writing skills.
• Quick learner.