Technical Consultant to Conduct Needs Assessment

The project targets specifically formal MSMEs located in Central and West Bekaa and South Mount Lebanon areas operating within the food processing and related value chains downstream of agriculture (local tourism, hospitality/restaurants) to substantially build and improve their capacity, contribute to job creation, and promote sustainable economic development in these regions.

The project is funded by GIZ, a German federally owned public benefit enterprise, working in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für International Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a public-benefit federal enterprise owned by the German government. GIZ delivers services in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. 

GIZ's most important tasks include the global realization of human rights, the fight against hunger and poverty, the protection of climate and biodiversity, health and education, gender equality, fair supply chains, the use of digitalization and technology transfer, and the strengthening of private investment to promote sustainable development worldwide.

This project is designed to assist Smallholders and Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises. The project will operate at the micro-level as assistance will be delivered to business owners.  This assistance will eventually positively impact the economy and local communities in the targeted regions as the supported businesses would become resilient to current and future challenges.

A three-level approach will be adopted focusing on delivering technical assistance, business, and in-kind support to specific promising entities to provide the selected candidates with a holistic support package; business advisory will also be granted throughout the whole implementation timeline to ensure companies undergo a concrete transformational journey under the program and are able to implement the needed measures to reach the predefined targets

To ensure the feasibility of the project, Berytech will outsource a consultant to conduct a needs assessment in Central and West Bekaa and South Mount Lebanon regions to analyze the untapped promising opportunities available to maximize the impact of the project as well as carefully selecting after duly outreach the entities that will be benefiting from the support package. Appropriate assessment and rightful selection are fundamental and critical milestones to guarantee the feasibility of the project.  The consultant will ensure assessing all risks, exploring mitigations, and determining implementation constraints throughout the mapping and preliminary assessment phases in order to ensure that the project is sustainably anchored to the context.

The consultant is expected to fulfill the below:

1. Identify skills gaps and training needs of MSMEs in the region.
2. Identify key technical and operational challenges businesses are facing in the area.
3. Identify project implementation risks and disablers.
4. Analyze concrete opportunities for business development in food processing and its downstream value chains in the area.
5. Interview businesses to collect accurate, factual field feedback on the sector's eminent opportunities and investment areas.
6. Scan potent MSMEs operating in the sector could benefit from grants and technical assistance provided through the program. Women-led MSMEs or employing people with disabilities are to be targeted as well in the scanning process.
7. Recommend high-level information for outreach campaigns and identify major stakeholders in each region

1. Needs assessment report including the findings, insights, and final recommendations and conclusions.
2. Submission of the final report.

Below is the suggested Scope of Work Timeline

Deliverable 1: Needs assessment and field visits

Explanation: Conduct interviews with stakeholders and field research in the area

Duration: 10 Days

Deliverable 2: Needs Assessment Report

Explanation: Provide a report thoroughly detailing key findings from field visits, recommendations, and conclusions. Annexes should include all the visits conducted, and a list of potential awardees mapped through field visits.

Duration: 5 Days

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in development studies, socioeconomics, or any other relevant field.
• At least 15 years of professional experience with a proven track record of working on similar projects. 

The selected Consultant is expected to start his/her activities the soonest after selection (the effective date is to be confirmed), and the contract duration is of 4 Weeks. The total budget allocated for the intervention is USD 5,000 within a minimum of two weeks of intervention.

Candidates should submit the following documents:

• Technical (maximum two pages) describing the methodology to conduct the work based on the content suggested in the section: “Scope of Work, Outputs, and Deliverables” elaborating it further.
• Profile and project references (maximum two pages): A brief explanation of the consultant(s) background should be submitted (CVs shall be included as an annex) along with project references on the topic.
• Financial Proposal describing the expected renumeration and the proposed timeframe of the intervention.