Individual Consultant For Pickles Production - Home Based Skills Development Project

Terms of Reference     Role:   Individual Consultant for pickles/Makdouss production - Home-Based Skills Development Project   Supervisor:     FSL program manager Time Frame of Assignment: This assignment is expected to require about 21 working days over a period of 3 to 4 hours per day, starting by December this includes preparation, 5 days training, 10 days coaching, reporting etc.       Location: Qobayat- North Lebanon                                        Date of ToR:   11/11/2015                                  Project background  Save the Children International (SCI) is looking to support the development of the Home-Based Skills Development (HBSD) project, the project aims to support women groups to generate supplementary income activities among the women residing in Lebanon – Lebanese, Syrian, through home-based, as for pickles/Makdouss. These value chains have been identified due to their potential, heavy experience and ability to integrate women of the HBSD project into these markets. SCI has been implementing its livelihoods programming in Akkar, basically targeting women as they are considered among the most vulnerable populations as compared to other community groups in both refugees and hosting communities. Additionally, they do not have equal economic opportunities to other community groups.   The objective of the HBSD project is to develop opportunities for women in the affected communities (Lebanese and Syrian), help in supporting their participation in society and enhance cohesion between Syrian refugees and host communities during the implementation phase of the Project. This is expected to identify types of specific trainings, training providers, and skills needed for best integration. While the HBSD project will be based on best practice, it will be designed to be culturally appropriate and build the capacity of the women to ensure that they are confident in their ability to work through the tools and materials provided by SCI to produce high quality products in an effective and efficient manner.   SCI is currently procuring the services of a local Consultant (consulting firm/academia/NGO) to undertake technical trainings for the proposed HBSD project, as well as develop relevant trainings, field manuals, and an information database. In addition, the Consultant helps in providing advice on international best practice. SCI is seeking to hire a national expert (the Consultant) who will provide high level support and advisory services and deliver trainings for women engaged in the project. The Consultant will be delivering the required services for SCI beneficiaries in the areas of intervention (Akroum, Amar Al Baykat and Dawseh) based on lessons learned from his/her previous engagements. Responsibilities of Individual Consultant for pickles/Makdouss production- Home-Based Skills Development Project Tasks 1: Preparation of training material   The Consultant is expected to start the assignment by preparing session plans for the training days proposed and a timetable to provide the training activities described thereunder. The training content is expected to be discussed and approved by SCI Livelihood’s Technical Advisor and to cover 5 days on the technical processing of pickles/Makdouss including good manufacturing practices, good hygiene practices, identification of critical control points and control measures feasible by women with a low education level, and clarification of corrective actions when applicable. It is envisioned that at least two meetings will be required during this stage. SCI has agreed to provide the Consultant with all the necessary information on the Project for the execution of the job. The outputs of this phase will consist of the session plan of one training of five days for pickles/Makdouss as well the timetable for all the 5 days training activities for 2 groups of women, brief reports for each trip detailing the Consultant’s advice and feedback, as well as a final summary report providing an overview of the training provided.   Task 2: Develop Training Plan The Training Plan shall include the project affected parties. It will be discussed with SCI staff to agree on the methodology and approach, schedule, topics to be taught, and teaching instruments, etc. The plan shall also include: Methodology for each course Training course in PowerPoint and additional tools to be utilized Tentative schedule for training in each site Logistics needed Project affected peoples will receive technical training program to ensure the engaged women understand the aims of the HBSD project. It will provide attendees with a general understanding of the concepts behind each training concept. Trainings will consist of specific titles related to selected value chains in the HBSD Project, using accepted tools and concepts of trainings including report writing. Practical training should also be provided and include role playing and initial monitoring under close supervision. The Consultant’s mentors will also be required to answer technical questions in a manner that is interesting and easily understood by the attendees while observing the training. The Training Plan will be subject to approval by SCI. Once the training is carried out in each participating community, a summary report will be prepared to describe community participation and findings, including: Documentation of all meetings through photographs and videos Detailed information about the outcomes of the trainings and the readiness of participants.   DELIVERABLES:   The short-term Consultant will deliver the following:   A suggested timetable for site visits – in coordination with SCI staff – and training schedule with SCI staff so that the latter will take the permission with the affected communities; A series of reports detailing the Consultant’s inputs and outputs in the training phase and a final summary report and assessment of services rendered; A manual (of no more than 25 pages) covering a detailed program for the trainings.     Objectives and Output Provide technical trainings for selected women on pickles/Makdouss Conduct follow-up visits on the production process throughout the project.     Essential Competencies required The successful candidate will have the following qualifications:   The selected candidate will have an advanced experience in food processing, quality control, food hygiene with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience. Strong experience in delivering trainings to multicultural attendees. Knowledge and experience in working with NGOs for at least 3 years. Experience in developing facilitating, designing and setting up training programs. Experience with promoting participatory monitoring and evaluation techniques is highly desirable. Demonstrated professional leadership. Capacity to think creatively in dealing with adult women. Strong written and oral communication skills, demonstrated ability of making effective presentations to diverse attendees. Fluency in both English and Arabic. Experience in Good manufacturing practices/Good hygiene practices trainings for adults. Interpersonal skills. High reporting experience.  Clear understanding of the political, geographical and economical sides of the Akkar area. methodology The training program must be based on internationally accepted training methods but be flexible and user-friendly. The Consultant must feel comfortable with this program and be confident in their ability to use the instruments to communicate accurate and timely information. In addition, coordination throughout all the training activities between the Consultant and SCI staff is required. Literature and other media intended for the trainings must be clear and understandable.