Climate Smart Agriculture – Technical Consultant (Open Call)

Assignment LOE: anticipated at 10-40 days per assignment.

Assignment LOE: anticipated at 10-40 days per assignment.

Assignment Location: Remote / in-country (see below list)

Individuals with experience in the following countries are encouraged to apply: Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Zambia and Vietnam.

Objective:

Venture37 has significant experience in promoting climate smart agricultural techniques and technologies across the globe, to enable agricultural households and market actors to adapt and build resilience to climate change related shocks and stresses and mitigate agriculture’s climatic and environmental impact.

Venture37 is seeking consultants – seasoned business development professionals with practical experience in climate smart agricultural implementation and project design. Consultants will provide as-needed services to support Venture37’s new business team in executing well-designed, competitive proposals in such countries as Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Egypt, Zambia and Vietnam.

The CSA Technical Consultant should bring knowledge of cutting-edge CSA techniques, technologies, and solutions that cut across the agricultural market system, such as:

• adapted agricultural inputs
• nature-based and regenerative solutions
• energy-saving and renewable energy solutions
• food loss and waste solutions
• water-saving and irrigation techniques and technologies
• climate finance
• payments for ecosystem services and carbon credits
• weather information and early-warning systems, and technical advisory services
• ICT for CSA dissemination

The Climate Smart Agriculture Technical Consultant will facilitate the capture and articulation of these approaches and bring expertise and cutting-edge innovation to the technical design of approaches suitable for specific country contexts.

Illustrative Activities

• Identify key stakeholders and potential partners. The consultant will make contributions to an initial list of key stakeholders and partners relevant to enabling climate smart agricultural systems.
• Interview key stakeholders and potential partners. In coordination with the Venture37 assignment manager they will prioritize and conduct fact finding interviews with various stakeholders.
• Report findings from interviews using templates and tools provided by the Venture37 assignment manager. Reporting involves recording key pieces of information and making strategic recommendations based on interviews.
• Support the development of a partnership strategy identifying high potential government agencies, local organizations, public actors and private sector businesses as project partners that can contribute to building climate smart agricultural systems.
• Desk Research. The Consultant will gain access to Venture37’s reference library associated with this effort and will contribute additional content including academic literature, project reports and government reports.
• Rapid assessment and initial technical outline will be created, informed by KIIs and desk research this initial rapid assessment and outline will form the bases for the technical approach, including climate smart agricultural activities and interventions, as required by the donor.
• Participate in regular team calls to help inform assessment direction and fill in data gaps and to review findings from interviews and desk research.
• Participate in pre-solicitation and live solicitation design sessions. At the direction of the Proposal Lead the Technical Lead will develop content for technical design sessions, and facilitate select sessions, while actively participating and contributing to other design sessions under the direction of the proposal lead.
• Target Setting under the guidance of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Lead, the consultant will provide guidance and recommendations.
• Finalize the technical outline including the technical approach and project-level activities, ensuring these are responsive to the intended beneficiaries’ exposure to the effects of climate change and that they include realistic and systemic interventions to build climate smart agricultural systems.
• Provide technical writing inputs. This will include contributing to development of a Pink Team draft (detailed outline of Technical Approach and project activities); and Red Team Draft (first full draft of proposal). This will require close coordination with the lead writer.
• Provide technical and cost approach reviews to pink, red and gold drafts. Execute reviews of live bids at red and gold stages to ensure the technical design and cost strategy are innovative and responsive to customer requirements.

Illustrative Deliverables:

• Review and contribute to list of key stakeholders and potential partners, specifically those from whom to gather primary data that will inform the technical design.
• Conduct key informant interviews as assigned and provide daily written summaries using provided templates.
• rapid assessment and outline will inform the development of an initial problem set (problem tree), solution set, activity ideas, and technical approach that are responsive to anticipated USAID solicitation requirements. The technical outline will be used to inform and guide the proposal design sessions.
• Will be conducted over several consecutive days, approximately 6 hours/day. Likely morning (CST)/afternoon. Design sessions to begin approximately one week after NOFO release. The consultant will contribute to problem tree and theory of change sessions and will lead the activity design sessions.
• Will be updated based on the NOFO and the outcomes of the design sessions. This detailed implementation / activities plan will be used by the writer for the Pink Team draft, MEL team for target setting and the budgeter to guide budget development.
• The consultant will work with the proposal MEL lead to source data and advise on target setting.
• The Consultant will work with the proposal budgeteer to ensure activity costs are aligned with the technical documents and updated throughout the review process..
• The consultant will work closely with the proposal lead and technical writer to ensure that the activities are technically sound, responsive to actual and donor needs, while feasible and impactful. There will be three drafts, the Pink outline, the red draft and the final gold draft.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as environmental science, agroecology, climate risk management, natural resource management, sustainable development, economics, or other relevant or equivalent field.
• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience designing and managing projects and activities, particularly related to climate smart agriculture.
• Strong understanding and application of technical principles and concepts in climate change adaptation and mitigation for agriculture, including climate finance and nature-based solutions. Good knowledge of related disciplines to ensure proper cross-sectoral approach.
• Experience writing and contributing to USAID proposals as a core proposal team member.
• Experience as a technical lead for at least one climate smart agricultural project proposal, focusing on impact for small scale producers.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain productive relationships with host-country government counterparts.
• Proven ability to liaise with USAID and other donor-clients, and diverse sets of public and private sector stakeholders.
• Experience designing projects that facilitate private-sector investment and locally led development approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate, be flexible, and creative and successfully lead an intercultural team in complex development contexts.
• Excellent interpersonal and written and oral presentation skills.
• Fluency in oral and written English is required.

Preferred Experience/Knowledge:

• Masters Degree in environmental science, agroecology, climate risk management, natural resource management, sustainable development, economics, or other relevant or equivalent field.
• Fluency in French, Arabic or Portuguese