Inactive

STATEMENT OF WORK Technical and Project Management Support for Agriculture and Irrigation Projects - Francophone Africa INTRODUCTION The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has a requirement for te... STATEMENT OF WORK Technical and Project Management Support for Agriculture and Irrigation Projects - Francophone Africa INTRODUCTION The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has a requirement for technical and project management support for agriculture projects in MCC affiliated countries. The MCC will obtain the required services through a competitive procurement to provide professional expertise. On January 23, 2003, the United States established the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an innovative foreign assistance program designed to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable economic growth. MCC, a U.S. government corporation, is based on the principle that aid is most effective in countries that promote good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people. For more information on the MCC, please visit www.mcc.gov. MCC’s overriding objectives are to promote economic growth and a significant reduction in poverty in our partner countries. MCC does not take it for granted that programs that stimulate growth will invariably reduce poverty. MCC looks at the likely distributive effects of projects and, to the extent that data are available to perform such an analysis, identifies the beneficiaries and estimates the impact on poverty reduction. Ultimately, MCC seeks significant and measurable increases in incomes of large numbers of poor people and significant reductions in poverty. MCC analyzes the likely impact on economic growth of its programs by analyzing whether they are consistent with international and country evidence on drivers of economic growth and by use of economic rate of return (ERR) analysis. The essence of such an analysis is a straightforward comparison of costs and benefits, where the costs are the MCA grants, other front-end project development costs, and associated project life cycle operating and maintenance costs, and the benefits are increases in incomes in recipient countries. SCOPE The overall objective of this contract is to support the MCC Agriculture and Land Practice Group and members of relevant MCC country teams and implementation support teams in their efforts to (i) assess proposed Compact projects and activities in agriculture and (ii) provide implementation oversight and assessment of implementer and project performance for projects with agricultural components in on-going Compacts. Specifically, the expert shall be expected to explore opportunities that add value to planned projects or activities, bring creativity to resolve problems in implementation, to think critically and strategically about implementation and resolution of problems, track progress against goals, and assist in prioritizing actions, activities, or components of Compacts, including those in development. COUNTRY Niger, Tunisia and any other MCC eligible country and/or country with on-going or recently completed MCC compact or threshold program, particularly French-speaking countries. TASKS AND DELIVERABLES Tasks: Work closely and proactively with MCC Technical Leads and third parties (MCA counterparts and/or other Experts or implementers) as requested by MCC to ensure strong coordination in the development or implementation of projects. Become intimately familiar with the Project, Project Activities, and Sub-Activities including budgets, schedules, implementers, beneficiaries and related parties in order to provide informed technical advice/support as needed throughout implementation and review and recommendations related to key project deliverables requiring MCC clearance/no-objection. Travel to country to support work with counterparts at the MCA level, oversight missions for work being implemented by experts and/or missions in support of evaluation audits and follow-up. Assist in the definition of project scope and objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility. Make verbal presentations to MCC local, Embassy and MCC Washington on project progress. Review feasibility assessments of MCC-Eligible country agricultural, irrigation and natural resource management projects. Review and assess the policy and regulatory environment paying particular attention to how it promotes or hinders efficient management of resources and private sector investment. Provide advice on agriculture or agribusiness technical areas for Compacts where benefits are accrued in the agricultural sector. Support the development of Economic, Cost/Benefit Analysis (ERRs) with research, and identification of data related to agriculture and irrigation costs and benefits. Provide input in the identification of agriculture related indicators, theory of change or program logics. Support the design and implementation of agriculture projects in a way that incorporates market principles, private sector investment, and gender and social inclusion. Review proposed impact evaluations approaches, methodologies, surveys and questionnaires and report. Overall support for project using management skills and strategic planning to ensure that projects are delivered on-time, within scope and within budget. Help identify resource availability and allocation. Support the development, updating and tracking of detailed project plans to monitor and track progress. Coordinate with the relevant government agency, civil society, private sector, donor, and Project Management Unit staffs to facilitate Activity Oversight operations. Provide detailed and comprehensive written reports on progress of a Project, Project Activities, and Sub-Activities to the compact development and/or implementation teams and Senior Management as appropriate and directed by the COR Support work related to estimation and recalculation of project costs using appropriate verification techniques (price reasonableness or other). Measure project performance using appropriate tools and techniques. Report and escalate issues or problems to MCC technical leads proactively. Support in the identification, prevention, and management of risks in projects throughout their lifecycles. Support in creating and maintaining comprehensive project documentation. Develop spreadsheets, power point presentations, summary reports, diagrams and other information for internal or external audiences, Support reviewing deliverables of other contractors ensuring quality and adherence to terms of reference and other requirements of the tasks and contracts. Review and provide critical feedback on MCC-generated evaluations of agricultural projects or those that accrue benefits in the agricultural sector. Perform other related duties as assigned. The designated Expert shall be expected to coordinate with local authorities and MCA (Accountable Entity) responsible for MCC Compact implementation as well as other donors and private sector, where relevant. However, designated Expert shall report directly to the designated Contracting Officer’s Representative/Project Monitor (COR/PM). Deliverables: COR/PM will provide technical directives or task for expert outlining specific tasks. In response to technical directives, the expert shall provide trip reports, written technical assessments, and implementer performance assessments, reviews of other contractors or institutions’ deliverables, project audits, among others. Trip reports to the MCC COR/PM, shall include at a minimum the summary of any consultations and meetings held, and key findings and recommendations and any next steps, as appropriate. Other ad hoc reports and inputs, as requested by MCC COR/PM. Acceptance Criteria The deliverables will be evaluated according to the following criteria: Thoroughness and timeliness in complying with all of the elements in the tasks specified. High quality finished products in a timely manner, and clarity of analyses and work produced. Timeliness and efficacy of communications with relevant counterparts at MCC, MCA, and other relevant organizations. All reports are to be submitted in English in hard and electronic copy (in MS Word), with tables, data and calculations in MS Excel. TECHNICAL DIRECTIVE The Expert shall provide services to MCC on an as needed basis, as required. To support MCC in the flexible and timely manner needed to meet the evolving needs of Compact development, negotiation, implementation and evaluation, technical directives under this statement of work shall be issued by the COR/PM and the Expert deployed each time the Expert’s services are needed over the course of this contract. No additional directive shall imply any additional costs to the United States Government (USG) beyond the amount allowed for in the initial statement of work; however, this this statement of work may be amended to reflect additional costs associated with implementation planning and oversight requirements. In each technical directive, the COR/PM will define the specific tasks, dates and location of services, and assignment deliverable(s) at least one week prior to date of expert deployment. The technical directive will, in one paragraph to two pages, provide clear and concise instructions on tasks and deliverables requested of the expert. Upon acknowledging acceptance of the technical directive by the expert to MCC in writing (email or fax to the COR/PM is acceptable), the expert will be deployed by MCC to conduct the specific tasks described therein. The expert shall not conduct any specific work under this contract unless such a technical directive is issued and acknowledged in writing. The expert will notify the contract officer if the tasks appear to fall outside the scope given herein. The expert is expected to submit electronic copies of all written deliverables in English and to brief MCC staff verbally upon request. PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE All work shall be completed between the dates of the award through a one-year base period of performance, with four additional one-year options. The estimated level of effort is estimated at up to 1,240 hours per year (Niger: 800, Tunisia: 200, Multi-Country: 240) with an estimated 3 trips per year to each country (total 6 trips per year). MCC anticipates this level of effort but does not guarantee this level of effort as it may increase or decrease. The expert shall perform the services and tasks generally identified above at the expert’s home facilities, periodically in MCC’s DC offices, and in any MCC-eligible countries. CONFLICT OF INTEREST The expert would be precluded from bidding on work and services (design, assessment, construction and supervision) to be procured by the local MCA accountable entity or using funds advanced under a Compact in the relevant country, unless the expert submits a mitigation plan sufficient to ameliorate any conflict of interest pursuant to the rules applicable to the procurement process. SUBCONTRACTING The expert is authorized to subcontract data collection, data preparation, social and gender analysis, and related services as needed. The overall costs for subcontracting shall not exceed 25% of the expert’s total negotiated unloaded direct labor cost. EVALUATION CRITERIA Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Agro-Economy, Public Policy, International Development, Natural Resource Management or related. Minimum 10 years working in agriculture development projects, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa Proven working experience in project management including: Developing and Tracking Budgets Process Improvement Work Planning development and tracking Experience in negotiating contracts and other aspects that can impact a project Financial management Excellent written and verbal communication skills Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office Project Management Professional (PMP) / PRINCE II certification is a plus French language skills (highly desirable). Applicant should identify the level of language skills using the following categories: Native Language Proficiency Professional Working Proficiency Intermediate Working Proficiency Elementary Working Proficiency No Knowledge Sectoral Skills and Expertise (at least in 3 areas): Small- or large-scale irrigation development including water management, systems management, water user associations Cooperative or producer association’s development and capacity building Agribusiness development /enterprise development with a focus on market led solutions and crowding in private sector investment Value chain analysis and/or development of inclusive value chains (inclusive of women, youth, smallholder farmers, herders) Farmer training /extension services Development of output markets, strengthening market linkages or improvement of marketing of agriculture products, out-grower schemes, contract farming. Natural resource management (restoration, conservation, agro-forestry, sustainable management of soil/water) Knowledge or experience of post-harvest technologies (cold chain, inoculation, conservation, processing, packaging) Input supply development (knowledge of seed /fertilizer market), development expansion of agro-dealers Economic analysis Soft Skills: Proactive personality and self-motivated Critical thinking and strong analytical skills Ability to research, understand, and apply the concepts and good practices in agriculture and agribusiness development projects Accuracy and attention to detail TIMING AND REPORTING All formal communication with MCC, including reports, will be submitted to the COR/PM. The COR/PM for this requirement will be identified via separate correspondence. The COR/PM will have technical responsibility for monitoring the contractor’s performance. The COR/PM will review and evaluate the contractor’s performance, and also will coordinate any communications with relevant counterparts and other donor agencies and organizations. Any changes in the terms of the Call Order will be made in writing and approved by the Contracting Officer. No representation of the COR/PM shall serve as a basis for an alteration in the general scope of this Call Order or of the terms and conditions of the Call Order unless confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer. The contractor must communicate with the Contracting Officer on all matters that pertain to the Contract terms. Proceeding with the work without proper contractual coverage could result in nonpayment for that work. The designated Expert would be expected to coordinate with local authorities responsible for MCC Compact implementation as well as other donors, where relevant. However, designated Expert would report directly to the designated COR/PM. OTHER REQUIREMENTS International travel may be required. The Expert may be requested to mobilize on a short notice and will be expected to deliver high quality finished products in a timely manner based on the instructions of the COR/PM.