Description

Background

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Mercy Corps is currently building its regional approach to market systems development in the region. This work firstly involves conducting market assessments in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq specifically to identify growth-oriented sectors and defining opportunities to implement the MSD approach more widely across Mercy Corps’ regional portfolio. Findings of these assessments will feed into external-facing documents, concept notes and proposals, and a regional capacity statement for market-based programming in the Middle East.

Secondly, in May, Mercy Corps will run a one-week MSD training in Erbil, Iraq for Mercy Corps Iraq and Syria staff. The first three days of the training is to equip team members with a basic understanding of MSD and how they might apply it in their work. The second half of the training will be a validation workshop to review the PERMA programme design and support the team with knowledge, skills and tools on how to operationalize MSD within their work.

Purpose / Project Description:

The goal of this consultancy is to: work with the Mercy Corps Regional Market Systems Advisor, Middle East to provide technical expertise for the market assessments in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. This includes contributing to the design of the research plan, coordinating inputs with local consultants, and conducting Analysis" id="link" class="link">Technical Analysis with the data that is collected. Additionally, the consultant will also be responsible for supporting the development of an MSD training in May, including slides creation, facilitation notes, exercises and case study examples.

Consultant Objectives:

1. Provide technical leadership and Project Management Support in the design and implementation of the market assessments for Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
2. Support the development of an MSD training for MC Iraq and Syria team members.
3. Provide ongoing support and advice as needed to the Market Systems Advisor to finalize key deliverables

   Consultant Activities:

   The Consultant will:

   1. Provide technical leadership and project management support in the design and implementation of the market assessments for Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. This includes supporting the Regional Market Systems Advisor to:
      1. Prepare a virtual kick-off meeting with country teams at the start of the assessment
      2. Lead on the development of Data Collection tools before and during the assessment
      3. Develop sector selection criteria in Coordination with country teams
      4. Develop the long list and shortlist of sectors based on research findings
      5. Work with local consultants and country team members to develop a stakeholders list within each sector
      6. Support to local consultant and country team during data collection process
      7. Support an analysis workshops with local research consultants, Crisis Analytics Team and country leaderships to develop findings
      8. Develop preliminary market donuts and market mappings
      9. Providing an analysis of potential opportunities for market-based programmes in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen
      10. Providing an analysis on cross-cutting themes such as gender, youth, climate, Access to Finance, as agreed with the country team
      11. Contribute to the overall write-up of the report
      12. Support on the development of an MSD training for MC Iraq and Syria team members. Tasks may include:
          1. Provide advice on the structure and flow of the MSD training agenda
          2. Update existing material and/or develop new content and training materials
          3. In collaboration with the Regional Advisor, implement the agreed upon actions to upgrade, expand and update existing training material. This will likely include developing facilitation notes, and identifying case studies in fragile contexts, and tailoring examples that are fit for purpose for PERMA.
          4. If necessary, support the development of new training materials to fill gaps of existing materials
          5. Provide ongoing advice and mentorship as needed to the Market Systems Advisor

             Consultant Deliverables:

             Market Assessments:

             • Project workplan for market assessments
             • Kick-off meeting and accompanying slide deck laying out the assessment plan
             • Inputs into research tools
             • Market donuts and market mappings
             • Data Analysis and report writeup
             • Lead a validation workshop for Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen

               Training:

               • Finalized agenda with activities, breaks, and technical sessions clearly laid out
               • Training outline, including facilitation notes
               • Review of training slides, any relevant hand out materials, as determined by the agenda and training outline
               • Creating new or updated case study examples, communicated in a digestible format

                 The finalization of all deliverables will occur only after Mercy Corps’ markets technical team reviews and agrees to the quality of the materials.

                 Timeframe / Schedule: 50 working days - April through June 2023

                 The Consultant will report to:

                 Regional Market Systems Advisor, Middle East

                 The Consultant will work closely with:

                 • Regional Market Systems Advisor, Middle East
                 • Crisis Analytics Teams - Yemen and Lebanon
                 • Mercy Corps Yemen Country Director and DCD
                 • Mercy Corps Lebanon Country Director and DCD
                 • Middle East Energy Specialist

                   Required Experience & Skills:

                   • Minimum 5 years experience in Market Systems Development (MSD), including implementing and advising MSD programs
                   • Experience developing resources for workshop facilitation, guidance for implementers in multiple and digestible formats
                   • Experience delivering introductory and more advanced MSD training to people unfamiliar with MSD concepts
                   • Strong knowledge and access to high quality resources, case studies, and examples for MSD program implementation
                   • Experience coaching and mentoring program teams
                   • Strong communication and writing skills

                     Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
                     Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

                     We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

                     Equal Employment Opportunity
                     We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

                     Safeguarding & Ethics
                     Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.