Consultancy to Develop a Three (3)- Year Operational Plan and Deliver Training in Governance and Cooperative Management for the St. Lucia Honey- Bee City Cluster

Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility (CCPF) –Consultancy to Develop a Three (3)- Year Operational Plan and Deliver Training in Governance and Cooperative Management for the St. Lucia Honey- Bee City Cluster

Regional

ATN/CO-17772-RG

RG-T3519

Experiential Learning of Cluster Development Best Practices in Small and Vulnerable Countries

1. Background and Justification

• Established in 1959, the Inter-American Development Bank (“IDB” or “Bank”) is the main source of financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides loans, grants, guarantees, policy advice and technical assistance to the public and private sectors of its borrowing countries.

• In 2016, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development O­ffice (FCDO), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Canada have established a co-financing facility called “The Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility” (GN-2851), which is a continuation of the Compete Caribbean Program that funded over 100 private sector development projects over the period 2010-2016 in the Caribbean. These projects generated nearly 12,000 jobs, a 23% increase in exports (USD$37M) and a 41% increase in the revenue of participating firms and clusters (USD$153M), as well as an improvement in the business climate for some countries through policy or regulatory reforms.

• The ultimate goal of this Program is to contribute to the increase in the standard of living and quality of life, by enhancing the competitiveness of Caribbean countries. The program is structured into two pillars. Pillar I: Productivity and Innovation in Firms, promotes clustering, technology use and innovation in the private sector through technical assistance to business support organizations and firms. Pillar II: Business and Innovation Climate, promotes an enhanced business climate through technical assistance for legal and policy reform, institutional strengthening, public-private dialogue, and data collection. The CCPF is currently supporting projects in The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines to achieve the following objectives:

• Increase revenues for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly Women Owned Firms (WoFs)
• Increase employment, particularly for women and vulnerable groups
• Generate and sustain exports within and outside the region
• Foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

• Through its Regional Cluster Capacity Building Program for Business Support Organisations (BSOs), CCPF is providing support to cluster initiatives that can help Caribbean firms grow, generate employment and export to new markets. In consultation with private firms and supporting institutions, Export Saint Lucia – the BSO in Saint Lucia – has prepared and is implementing a comprehensive Cluster Development Plan (CDP) for the honey sector. The CDP outlines a common vision for, and agreed priorities to support the growth of the sector.

• Currently the majority (90%) of Saint Lucia’s honey is purchased domestically, by supermarkets, hotels and health shops. The main purpose of the CDP is to improve the quality of Saint Lucian honey and position it competitively in overseas niche markets for health-conscious consumers. The plan therefore focuses on achieving the following objectives:

1. Product Development: The creation of a profile for high-quality Saint Lucian Honey, that is distinctive and competitive in the target market, and that can be used to augment the existing national standard to be adopted by producers;
2. Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building: For cluster stakeholders to produce a competitive honey product in accordance with best practices;
3. Domestic and International Market Development: To successfully penetrate the identified niche market and reach the target customers, which would entail the development of a domestic and international marketing plan. The CDP is the basis of implementation for the cluster project and will provide the Consultants hired with details and guidance on specific activities.

• The Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility (CCPF) is looking for a consultant to provide expertise to develop a 3-year strategic/operational plan for the cluster and to deliver training in Governance and Cooperative Management to the cluster members.

2. Objectives

• The objective of this consultancy is toward the development a three-year strategic plan for the operations of beekeeper groups of the Bee City Honey Cluster through training and institutional strengthening of the established co-operative and other Apiary and Beekeeper groups.

3. Scope of Services

• The scope of services for this Terms of Reference will focus on the:

• Development of a 3-year strategic operational and sustainability plan for a group defined by the Project Steering Committee which will be a fair representation or sample of the beekeeper population.
• Preparation of training materials; and training of the defined group in Governance and Co-operative Management.

4. Key Activities

The consultant will carry out the following key activities that will facilitate the achievement of the objective:

• Develop a more in-depth understanding of the business environment by liaising with Cluster Manager, the Project Steering Committee and Compete Caribbean; studying background documents (Cluster Development Plan, Market Research, Marketing and Branding Plan), executing necessary stakeholder consultations; and liaising with other key stakeholders.

• Conduct stakeholder validation workshops and engage with cluster members and stakeholders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the CDP and the consultancy, and then develop a detailed workplan describing activities to be completed, timeline, outputs, people responsible, etc.

• Prepare a comprehensive, results-focused 3- year strategic plan inclusive of a roadmap for growth of key players in the industry and the best practices for the strategy of firms in cluster. The plan should include HR/labour, Marketing, Sales, Business and production Processes/Operations and Export Planning. There should also be a focus on the development of membership and service offerings for the cluster members. Effective tools like KPIs and milestones chart should be defined, and an implementation plan should be included. The strategic plan should take into consideration the findings from the Marketing Research and Penetration Plans completed for the Cluster.

• The three (3) year strategic plan will be presented through a Power Point presentation and detailed PDF document.

• Revise the strategy based on changes agreed to by the cluster manager, the project steering committee, and Compete Caribbean.

• Identify and recruit representatives from the main beekeeper groups for the capacity building component.

• Develop training materials on Governance and Cooperative Management and design and execute two (2) capacity building workshops on this area. The consulting firm will coordinate the activities related to virtual/hybrid training including assessing the training requirements for the bee keeping groups, developing the curriculum and evaluating the training. The consulting firm will liaise with Compete Caribbean, the Cluster Manager and the Project Steering Committee to develop the training programmes that are consistent with the bee keeping training needs assessment.

• Collect and analyze data and update the report to include data on the results achieved in accordance with Compete Caribbeans M&E requirements.

• Prepare a Final Report summarizing the scope of work implemented; evaluation of results achieved; lessons learned; and recommendations for development, which may be needed to support achievement of the planned results of the cluster.

5. Expected Outcome and Deliverables

• PRODUCT 1: A Draft Work Plan for completing the assignment within 2 weeks of contracting, including formats for each planned deliverable, detailing the activities and milestones as well as a methodology to carry out all activities; and a revised version within 2 days of receipt of comments on the draft.
• PRODUCT 2: Draft three (3) year strategic operational and sustainability model specified in activity 4.3 within 6 weeks of acceptance of the Work Plan; and a revised version within 3 days of receipt of comments on the draft
• PRODUCT 3: Training report on the design and delivery of a two-day capacity building workshops in Governance and Co-operative Management for the beekeeping groups inclusive of training manuals as outlined in activity 4.7, within 6 weeks of acceptance of the strategic report.
• PROUCT 4: A final report with the results of both training programs and recommendations for the future trainings delivered for members of the bee keeping group as specified in activity 4.9 within 2 weeks of completion of the training activities.

6. Project Schedule and Milestones

7. Reporting Requirements

• The consultants will submit their deliverables according to the schedule established in section 6 of this Terms of Reference.

8. Acceptance Criteria

• All deliverables will be reviewed by the project steering committee and must be approved by Compete Caribbean. The acceptance of deliverables must be given by the IDB when all comments received during the revision process are included in the submitted reports. Upon approval the IDB will disburse payments.

9. Other Requirements

• The assignment requires the following educational background, knowledge, skills and experience:

1. Education: An advanced degree in Economics, Public Policy, Business Administration International Development, or other relevant fields.
2. Experience: Minimum of 7 years of relevant work experience in institutional capacity, corporate governance, fiduciary, or administrative systems analysis for development projects financed by international financial institutions, preferably in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. Working experience in St. Lucia and/or the Caribbean region or SIDS will be considered an asset.
3. Language: Fluency in English, both written and spoken.
4. Technical Skills and Expertise: Solid understanding of the concepts of private sector development, business climate reform with cultural awareness and sensitivity to country specific issues is also important.
5. Core Competencies: Professionalism – Detailed knowledge of the field of expertise with good analytical skills, time management skills, and the ability to understand cultural nuances and to deliver appropriate solutions to complex problems.
6. Communication: Good oral and written communication skills, including the ability to liaise with technical specialists and present information in a clear and concise manner.

10. Schedule of Payments

• Payment terms will be based on project milestones or deliverables. The Bank does not expect to make advance payments under consulting contracts unless a significant amount of travel is required.  The Bank wishes to receive the most competitive cost proposal for the services described herein.
• The IDB Official Exchange Rate indicated in the RFP will be applied for necessary conversions of local currency payments.

What you’ll need:

• Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries.
• Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB Group.
• Education: An advanced degree in Economics, Public Policy, Business Administration International Development, or other relevant fields.
• Experience: Minimum of 7 years of relevant work experience in institutional capacity building, corporate governance, fiduciary, or administrative systems analysis for development projects financed by international financial institutions, preferably in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. Working experience in St. Lucia and/or the Caribbean region or SIDS will be considered an asset.
• Languages: Fluency in written and spoken English.

Core and Technical Competencies:

• A solid understanding of strategic management principles, methodologies and tools
• Ability to support project teams in integrating strategic management activities into their project plans.
• Experience in developing, implementing, and managing operational management strategies for complex projects.

• Solid understanding of the concepts of private sector development with cultural awareness and sensitivity to country specific issues is also important.
• Excellent communication skills, and ability to establish and maintain good working relationship with technical specialists and present information in a clear and concise manner.
• Proven ability in training design, delivery and evaluation.
• Ability to present technical issues in a clear and engaging manner. Cultural awareness and sensitivity to country specific issues is also important.

• Expert knowledge in the field of private sector development.
• Reliable and demonstrated ability to work independently.
• Well organized, strong problem-solving abilities.
• Have a flexible approach and persistence to optimize results.

Opportunity Summary: 

• Type of contract and modality:  Products and External Services Consultant PEC, Lump Sum.
• Length of contract: 3 months.
• Starting date: April 2022
• Location: Must reside in St. Lucia
• Responsible person: The technical and administrative responsibilities for this consultancy will be coordinated by June Alleyne, Coordinator for Innovation and Business Climate Reform of the Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility
• Requirements: You must be a citizen of one of the IDB’s 48 member countries and have no family members currently working at the IDB Group.  

Our culture: Our people are committed and passionate about improving lives in Latin-America and the Caribbean, and they get to do what they love in a diverse, collaborative and stimulating work environment. We are the first Latin American and Caribbean development institution to be awarded the EDGE certification, recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality. As an employee you can be part of internal resource groups that connect our diverse community around common interests.

Because we are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, we embrace all diversity and encourage women, LGBTQ+, persons with disabilities, afro-descendants, and indigenous people to apply.

About us: At the IDB, we’re committed to improving lives. Since 1959, we’ve been a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. We do more than lending though. We partner with our 48-member countries to provide Latin America and the Caribbean with cutting-edge research about relevant development issues, policy advice to inform their decisions, and technical assistance to improve on the planning and execution of projects. For this, we need people who not only have the right skills, but also are passionate about improving lives.

Our team in Human Resources carefully reviews all applications.