Market Access Expert

1.Background

Since 2005, SDC has supported the project Poverty Alleviation through Livestock Development in the Northern Uplands of Vietnam (PALD). The project has been implemented by “Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières” (AVSF). The project has gone through different phases with a difficult start in 2005-2006, then taking off in 2007-2008. By the end of 2010, the project has achieved good results:  income increase for 5600 households as direct beneficiaries (98% women, 90% ethnic minorities) and more than 43’000 indirect beneficiaries through improved services (e.g. veterinary, access to finance). The technical documents developed by PALD are highly appreciated by the government agencies and widely applied by other development partners.

Early 2011, SDC decided to support a third phase of the project to scale up the most successful income raising models in 64 communes of four districts, through local partners involved in small livestock development, capacity building and strengthening of market linkages. This last phase aims at achieving the following outcomes:

Outcome 1: Farmers adopt skills and knowledge on pig and poultry production technologies and benefit from better access to livestock related services, which are consolidated through supporting local partners’ capacity building.
Outcome 2: Farmers’ incomes increase by strengthening house-based economic calculations and building and consolidating reliable market linkages.
Outcome 3: Experience is capitalized and shared between all related stakeholders in order to scale up at provincial and national levels.

The target of this phase is very ambitious as it aims to have larger impact on poverty reduction by using the government system and tackle the market aspect of the livestock production. It sets out to reach more than 10’000 households as direct beneficiaries and more than 60’000 households as indirect beneficiaries.This phase is planned for the period from February 2011- December 2014.

At the end of 2012, a Mid-Term Review (MTR) was carried out to assess PALD based on OECD/DAC criteria (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability) and analyzed the potential for replication at the local and regional level as well as the gender aspect of the project. Besides some positive aspects of PALD (highly relevant, highly appropriate partners and excellent partnership, good potential for long-term sustainability, impressive coverage), PALD has not been able to materialize all potentials. There are some weaknesses particularly in the market component and further strengthening of existing actions is needed, as well as careful planning for expansion and replication in the remaining 2 years.

To strengthen the market component, PALD has decided to recruit a markets expert to assist the current team. The position will be managed by AVSF and report to the Markets Coordinator and the Chief Technical Advisor.

2.Job Objective

The Market Access Expert will provide technical assistance to SDC and PALD team to find market-related solutions, which enable the local beneficiaries to overcome poverty and suffering.
Specifically, the post holder will:

- Work directly with PALD team and its partners and beneficiaries to identify market potentials, build capacity for local partners and beneficiaries on pro-poor market issues, and develop market interventions and linkages with potential markets;
- Advocate and campaign for policies, knowledge, attitudes and practice changes on pro-poor market issues to help achieve PALD’s strategic objectives.

3.Key Responsibilities

a.Project development
- To actively conduct designing, implementation and management of the PALD project with focus on pro-poor markets, which target the ethnic minorities, and making sure that gender objectives and specific measures to promote gender equality based on gender analysis are included into design and implementation process;
- To work with the Market Coordinator and project team to carry out market research and community-based work to understand the market-based causes of poverty, related gender issues and potential opportunities relevant to target communities;
- To participate in project review and new analysis as part of the project renewal process;
- To develop monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual planning and review processes within the PALD project team, including the collation of information and compilation of reports;
- To develop and maintain a coherent and organized workplans and to liaise with the CTA and coordinator on these on a routine basis.
b.Technical assistance
- To work on market initiatives to provide crucial inputs for PALD team with particular focus on the access and control of the poor and women over the resources and markets;
- To assist PALD in identifying and implementing collective marketing strategies for FIGs (farmer interest groups) as well as collective purchase of input supplies.
- To assist/advise FIGs in communication and negotiation with traders for PALD products.
- To review and up-grade training material for TOT with project partners on market access for PALD beneficiary groups.
- To ensure the PALD project has mechanism in place so that SDC/AVSF is able to demonstrate its impact on poverty;
- To participate in learning events on markets for the poor, and document lessons learnt on pro-poor market and gender mainstreaming in her/his work to share with the wider team;
- To co-operate and exchange learning with various staff within PALD team and other projects in SDC;
- To contribute to SDC’s country and regional analyses in particular to become fully appraised of the pro-poor market context in Vietnam and the region.
c.Advocacy
- To actively engage with relevant strategic actors (Government, INGOs, bilateral and multilateral agencies) and to build a network with partners and development actors in project provinces and Vietnam;
- To support the development of Vietnamese organisations and businesses in a manner that supports the sustainable development of pro-poor market chains;
- To represent PALD team’s work in the pro-poor market area within various forums in Vietnam.
4.Skills and Competence
a.Job specific competencies
- Understanding of household economics, business or market development experience including value chains, microeconomic/sector development, business development services, business plan development, product marketing, sector analysis, micro-credit access etc;
- Openness and willingness to promote gender equality and demonstrating basic competencies to promote gender equality;
- At least 5 years of working experience in rural development in Northern mountainous Vietnam;
- Master qualifications and clearly demonstrated expertise in a relevant area or undergraduate degree and 10 years practical experience;
- Rural or agricultural sector experience;
- Design and management of community development projects;
- Partnership and alliance building including design and delivery of collaborative projects;
- Reporting and communicating outcomes to a range of audiences to deadlines;
- Experience with an international development organization or consultancy;
- Experience  in a cross-cultural team context and mixed team;
- Work experience in remote or difficult areas and with poor, rural, ethnic minority communities;
- Good English and computer skills.
b.Behavioural Competencies
- Ability to work under pressure;
- Ability to work independently with limited supervision;
- Ability to travel to remote areas for up to 50% of the working month;
- Conceptual thinking;
- Ability to achieve results;
- Communication skills, including remote ethnic minority communities ;
- Ability to support others;
- Good organisational skills.
5.Job Duration and Contract
- The job holder will be based in Hanoi with frequent travelling to the project districts in Yen Bai, Phu Tho and Son La (up to minimum 50% of total working days).
- The consultant contract will be intermittent in 20 months until the end of 2014, subject to 3-month probationary period. Detailed terms and conditions will be discussed during the recruitment process.
- This TOR is intended as a guide as it may be varied from time to time in the light of strategic developments following discussion with the job holder. The job holder will be expected to work to agreed objectives that should facilitate achievement of key responsibilities in accordance with the performance review process.
6.Contact
Applicants interested in this job should send their CV and application letter, which specifies how you are well-matched with the job requirement, directly to:

Mrs Nguyen Thi Van Anh, email: [email protected]
The title of the email must be ‘Market Access Expert” in the subject line as per the position description.

Closing date for your application is 8 March 2013. The recruitment process will be from 11 to 15 March 2013.