Job Description

Winrock International
SCOPE OF WORK
Agribusiness Competitiveness Activity in Tajikistan

Position: Agri-logistic Center Development Expert
Post category: Short-term Consultant
Reports to: Enterprise Development Specialist
Location: Bokhtar City and Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Period of Assignment: March 2022 - March 2023
Travel: Three trips, with one of 14 days and two of 10 days each during a cycle of 12 months. An initial trip of a minimum 14 days in the country is required with expected trip to take place no later than May 2022.
Total LoE: 50 LoE days

Background
The USAID-funded Agribusiness Competitiveness Activity in Tajikistan (ACAT) supports agribusinesses in the diversification of product lines, which leverage promising domestic and international market opportunities and contribute towards a competitive, inclusive, and resilient agricultural sector.
ACAT has three objectives:

• Objective 1: Diversify the agricultural sector to include higher-value commodities and value-added products
• Objective 2: Strengthen linkages between aggregators, wholesalers, exporters, and international and domestic end-markets
• Objective 3: Partner and leverage resources to catalyze systemic change in the agribusiness sector

In support of the project's Objective 1, ACAT is building agribusiness competitiveness within targeted value chains, especially within Feed the Future's thirteen focus districts in southwestern Khatlon on the border with Afghanistan. Specifically, ACAT will provide demand-driven assistance to agricultural associations, cooperatives, market integrators, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in specific sub-sectors to take advantage of domestic, regional and international market opportunities.
Purpose of Assignment

ACAT is partnering with micro and small processing enterprises in dairy and horticulture in Khatlon region of Southern Tajikistan. Partner enterprises are selected on a competitive basis. ACAT is empowering these enterprises' development through investments in improved processing equipment and technical assistance, specifically in in product development and marketing. As a part of this process, ACAT has partnered with three newly-founded Agri-logistics Centers (ALCs), which primarily support the horticulture sector, in three districts of Khatlon: Bokhtar city, Panj and Vakhsh districts. Under these ALCs, MSMEs can find the infrastructure that they need to expand their distributions networks including: aggregation, storage, auction, quarantine, transport, shipping, processing, and expert advice.
Place of Assignment and LOE

The consultancy will be based out of Bokhtar City in Tajikistan. An initial trip of a minimum 14 days in the country is required with expected trip to take place no later than May 2022. The assignment envisions a total of three trips, with one of 14 days and two of 10 days each during a cycle of 12 months.

Key Duties / Responsibilities

ALC Business Development

• Provide recommendations, shared best practices of similar business models based on research and own experience with similar scale entities particularly in the region of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan) particularly bring in skills on:
• Commodity in-field sorting;
• In-field pre-cooling or transfer to a pre-cooling facility;
• Grading, sorting, washing, waxing, packaging, and additional value-added services conducted in ALC;
• Cold storage/handling and temperature regimes;
• Forward linked to distribution facilities (domestic market); and,
• Commodity sorting, grading and packaging.
• Mentor the three ALCs to become hubs for a wide spectrum of horticulture value chain actors. The primarily goal of the ALCs is to provide new value chain services for all actors engaged in horticulture produce, such as aggregation, sorting, grading, packing, storing and value addition. The consultant will work with the ALC enterprises to develop their business models and advise on capacity building approaches to capacitate the ALC in becoming strong actors within their respectful business ecosystems.
• Effective Agri-logistic center management:
• Organizational structure with number of employees with their job descriptions; and,
• Introduction/adaptation of user-friendly tool (may be software or MS Excel) for storage management. Minimum one staff member from the enterprise must be fully trained on using a "tool".
• Contract farming mechanisms and establishing supply chains.
• Carryout research on similar-scale ALC in bordering countries, prior to arrival and present ideas on business models, growth or expansion.
• Together with each of the three enterprises develop a business model, with specific focus on selected services, approach to supply chain, and approach to value addition and export (or domestic sales.
• Provide recommendations on running ALC through hands-on mentoring.
• Develop with each of the ALC a value chain actor map, where the centers will be able to identify potential value chain actors that can benefit from and work with ALC.

Deliverables

• Site visit reports on the activities of each of the established ALCs. Report should include identified gaps in activities of ALCs and addressing steps.
• Develop road map and business plan considering ALC owners' expectations and plans. Business plans should be individually developed for all three ALC.
• PPT presentation on implementing business plan, recommendations and road maps to ACAT staff and ALC managers.

Requested Qualifications

• Candidates should have proven record of experience of at least 5 years in carrying out similar tasks with a focus on capacitating agro-logistic centers.
• Candidates who have experience in working with value chains and enterprise development in in agribusiness, particularly horticulture, including nuts, fruits and vegetables are preferred.
• Candidates must be able to advise on value chain services and have a good understanding on operations of ALC.
• 3-5 years of experience with business enterprise development, with strong knowledge of cost-benefit analysis on aggregation/storage and export.
• Candidates with experience in Central Asia are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Candidates must have strong mentoring, training and coaching skills and be able to design learning materials and write comprehensive reports
• Experience working with international development projects is an advantage.
• Candidates must be able to communicate in Russian or Tajik. Final reports are expected to be written in English.
• Candidates must possess an academic degree from a higher institution with a specialization in business administration, economics, logistics, agribusiness, agriculture or other related areas.

Winrock is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all people and value diversity and inclusiveness. Winrock recruits, employs, trains, promotes and compensates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, or any other basis protected by law.

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Job Type: Full-time