JOB DETAILS:
Job Title: Local consultant
Organisation: Swisscontact
Project: Eco-Prosperity
Duration: 6 Months
Reports to: Project Manager and Country Director
About Swisscontact
Swisscontact was established in 1959 as an independent organization by prominent individuals from the worlds of commerce and science in Switzerland. It is exclusively involved in international cooperation and since 1961 has carried out its own and mandated projects. Since it was founded,

Swisscontact has maintained close ties with the private sector. Swisscontact is currently active in 38 countries implementing 120 projects with a workforce of over 1,000 people. The organization is based in Zurich. Swisscontact concentrates on private sector development, specifically in skills development, enterprise promotion and Trade.

For over 20 years now in Uganda, Swisscontact has been strengthening people’s competencies, improving their employability, increasing enterprise competitiveness, and promoting social and economic systems which promote inclusive development. We have reached over 70,000 direct beneficiaries (25,000 women) with innovative skills, diverse markets and information, various financial products/services, and life skills. Our current portfolio includes 7 projects focusing on skills development, enterprise promotion, trade, entrepreneurship and agribusiness in 30 districts in Uganda. Swisscontact plays a facilitative role in developing and implementing sustainable solutions that address underlying causes of poverty.
Project Overview
EcoProsperity is a 5-year project to be implemented by Swisscontact with funding from the Linsi Foundation aimed at increasing the climate resilience and incomes of young mothers, young women and men in 10 districts in Western Uganda and Eastern Uganda. The project uses a facilitative approach in engaging with the private sector (both local and international companies), public sector (Line ministry and DLGs) and collaborations with different civil society organizations.
The EcoProsperity project is a climate resilience and market development project aimed at improving the employability, food security, incomes and climate resilience of 12,000 young mothers, young women and men (70% women) by increasing their incomes by 78% in Uganda.

The project will support existing public and private sector actors to provide a wide range of innovative climate-resilient solutions to young mothers, young women and men. These actors will be supported in the assessment of demand, business model redesign, marketing of services and products and building the capacities of the target groups. Through access to these services and products, the target group will increase their skills and improve their performance in terms of the quantity and quality of the products they produce and avail in the market. Thus, Improving the competitiveness of agricultural market systems which is crucial for the growth of the selected sectors and for the benefit of all market players.

Objectives of the Inception phase:
• To support the Inception Phase of the EcoProsperity project including developing tools for primary data collection, and analysis.
• To define the project strategy, a program structure for implementation, and detailed operational work plans including milestones with clear targets and priorities.

• To define the project’s quality management plan and monitoring and result measurement framework.
• To develop a monitoring and result measurement system based on the project objectives, milestones, outputs and activities. The system is expected to incorporate both quantitative and qualitative data to measure project performance and systemic change resulting from project implementation

Duties and responsibilities of consultants:
Under the guidance and in consultation with the Project Manager of EcoProsperity, the project
team, and relevant stakeholders, the consultants will undertake the following tasks:
Task 1: Develop tools that will support the inception phase research:
• Prepare a detailed work plan for the data collection and analysis to inform project design.
• Develop all necessary data collection tools targeting young mothers, young women and men, their gatekeepers, market analysis, and value chain analysis.
• Conduct data collection
Task 2: Conduct consultation meetings with relevant stakeholders during the inception mission.
• Stakeholder mapping and analysis
Task 3. Develop the Project monitoring and evaluation framework:
• Review the project logical framework to ensure that indicators and milestones at the impact, Output, Purpose and Goal levels are measurable and updated, and verify assumptions.
• Review the MRM framework of the project, including:
• Yearly targets/milestones that must be linked to project outcome indicators (impact indicators), progress indicators, and the Project Logical Framework, and that will be endorsed
• Detailed monitoring and evaluation plans that indicate the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders that will be involved.
• Identify significant Project Risks (possible barriers to successful project implementation and identified externalities that may reduce project effectiveness). Validate the identified risks and prepare a risk management strategy.
Task 4: Set up an online monitoring & reporting system and database SQL server. In close engagement with the in-house MRM team, develop the MRM manual.
Task 5: Prepare an Inception Report that takes into account all analysis and updates as indicated above.
Task 6: Prepare a presentation and participate in a one-day Inception Workshop towards the end of the mission and finalise the Inception Report based on the outputs of this workshop.

The consultant will take the lead in undertaking all the tasks described above. The MRM officer will assist the consultant with coordinating consultation meetings, taking notes during the meetings (tasks 5 and 6), and collecting and analysing data and documents (Tasks 1,2 and 3).
The consultant and the MRM officer are required to work closely with the Project Manager, the
intervention manager and the partnership managers of the EcoProsperity project.

Expected outputs:
The local consultant for the Inception Phase shall deliver the following:
• Functional online monitoring & reporting system
• Database SQL system/server
• Monitoring and Results Measurement Manual (developed in close engagement with Organizational MRM focal persons)
• Draft Inception report
• Final Inception report

The Project Inception Report should contain the following key elements:
• Project operational strategy
• Detailed first-year work plan; and work/activities allocation for the following two years.
• Detailed annual monitoring and evaluation plan with means and verification indicators;
• Possible linkages and coordination mechanisms between the project and other Climate Change initiatives and programs;
• List of project risks and risk management measures;
• Minutes of the Inception Workshop;
• MRM systems with clearly articulated log frame;

Competencies
1- Technical competencies;
• Good understanding of the DCED monitoring and results measurement guidelines
• Analytical skills to review and evaluate the sustainable agriculture processes and climate change responses;
• Good understanding of DCED monitoring criteria
• Proficiency in statistical software (e.g., SPSS, Stata, R etc) and qualitative data analysis tools
• Ability to design performance indicators, data collection methods, and results-based management.
• Ability to use data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau etc) with integration in the monitoring and Result Measurement system
2- Sector-specific knowledge;
• Excellent ability to quickly grasp and synthesize inputs from a range of disciplines related to sustainable agriculture, climate change, food security and employment;
• Awareness of the relevant policies, regulations and best practices related to sustainable agriculture, climate change, food security and youth employment.
3- Project management;
• Excellent knowledge of project lifecycle management including planning, implementation and closure
• Familiarity with project management tools to plan, track, and report on project progress
• Experience in integrating these tools with the Monitoring and Result Measurement (MRM) system for seamless project oversight.
4- Soft skills;
• Excellent written and verbal communication, networking and interpersonal skills; team oriented work style; interest and experience of working in multi-cultural environments.
5- Adaptability
• Openness to feedback and continuous improvement
• Flexibility to adjust plans and approaches in response to changing project needs or contexts
6- Additional IT competencies;
• Proficiency in data management systems, GIS and mapping tools, data security and privacy.

Required skills and Experience
• Experience in setting up MRM system in compliance with DCED guidelines
• Experience in managing DCED monitoring and results measurement systems
• An advanced university degree (Masters or equivalent) in disciplines such as sustainable agriculture, climate change, environmental studies, and social sciences.
• Experience with cloud-based data storage solutions for secure and scalable data management.
• Strong background in data management systems, GIS, mapping tools development, data
• visualisation and MRM systems development and management
• Experience in conducting project inception including developing data collection tools, data collection, data analysis, and data presentation (both in PPT and narrative Word).
• Excellent spoken and writing skills in English.
• Past experience in conducting the same assignment, particularly with international Organizations

Swisscontact is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply by submitting their CV along with a cover letter explaining why you are a suitable candidate for this position to ug_info@swisscontact.org  and copy suzanne.oweka@swisscontact.org  and kenneth.aedu@swisscontact.org. Please indicate the name of the position applied for in the “subject” line of your email.
Female candidates with a private sector background are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information, visit www.swisscontact.org