UNDP Nigeria Recruits International Consultant To Undertake Study of Inclusive Markets in Nigeria

UNDP has a Growing Inclusive Market (GIM) initiative that aims to demonstrate how business can significantly contribute to human development by including the poor in the value chain as consumers, producers, business owners or employees (‘inclusive business models’). GIM highlights portraits of successful simultaneous pursuits of revenues and social impact by private actors, from social entrepreneurs to local small and medium-sized enterprises, large domestic companies and multinational corporations, but also state-owned companies and civil society organizations. The GIM approach recognizes the poor as partners for wealth creation and seeks to:

•     Partner with  Southern experts to build and share knowledge and research;
•     Leverage resources and catalyze useful partnerships in implementing inclusive business models on the ground; and
•     Build a powerhouse of empirical evidence of proven strategies in inclusive market development to inform the above.

The Nigeria Facility for Inclusive Markets (FIM) aims to establish a GIM community in Nigeria and as part of this process seeks to establish an understanding of the societal context and local conditions for growing inclusive markets in Nigeria. The intention is to elicit information using appropriate research methods, to guide national efforts to achieve economic growth, sustainability and to create opportunities for a better life for poor people in Nigeria.
In promoting an understanding of a national context for inclusive markets, FIM plans to define relevant issues, develop a framework that can be used to map inclusiveness and apply this to markets critical to reducing poverty in Nigeria. FIM  also plan to explore how well corporations operating in Nigeria serve the society and how business contributes to development.
UNDP Nigeria is recruiting :

Job Tittle: International Consultant To Undertake Study of Inclusive Markets in Nigeria

Location: Nigeria

Responsibilities

• To undertake a rapid assessment of the Markets in Nigeria, with specific focus on value chains prioritized by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZ) and identify realistic opportunities for contributing to inclusive growth particularly for job creation in rural communities and the establishment of new businesses or expansion of existing businesses to service commodity value chains. The assessment will also take a cursory look at the donor funded projects in the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and how the value chains can be more integrated into the overall transformation in a clear synergistic manner.
• The study will also analyse financial institutions (including micro-finance and other banks), investment promotion agencies and other stakeholders able to support the business development in rural communities. Finally, it will determine potential  for systemic change to engender market growth and identify action areas that will result in benefits for rural farmers and businesses
• The consultant will work with  a national consultant to design and implement a strategy using the most appropriate methodology, including but not limited, to questionnaires, interviews, rapid evaluation and appraisal as well as focus group discussions to:       
• Identify local and international markets for goods and services that support selected commodity value chains and outline existing actors in these markets. The study should also identify market channels and missing markets.
• Develop a working definition for Inclusive Markets in the Nigerian rural and agricultural context taking into consideration:
•  Level of development in terms of literacy, access to basic services and public infrastructure
•  Availability of social capital
•   Barriers to building inclusive markets. Report should seek to enable understanding societal and economic context e.g. market fluctuations and other local conditions
• Demand and supply side inclusiveness alongside markets constraints that include but are not limited to availability of market information, regulatory environment, physical infrastructure, knowledge and skills and access to financial services
• Identify and characterize markets in key economic sectors that are critical to the livelihoods of youth, women and rural populations giving specific consideration to markets for goods and services that are crucial to opening up opportunities for the poor to enhance their standard of living, increase their income and expand their choices
• Analyse reports of surveys and use these to construct market heat maps, combining information in a visually compelling way to illustrate:
• Ability to earn income, consume, have assets and to secure access to productive financial and physical resources
• Ability to withstand economic and external shocks, cope with insecurity and vulnerability and respond to seasonal variation opportunities that exist for expanding value chains that will create jobs and business opportunities for rural populations.
• Reference should be made to reports and other publications by UNDP GIM to guide development of heat maps. Electronic copies of documents can be found : HERE
• Identify main actors and the flows of products, money and information for selected value chains
• Map key policies and institutions that influence the functioning of markets (focusing on selected sectors) and the inclusion or exclusion of small scale producers
• Identify critical constraints limiting the up-scaling of our smallholders into market driven production or commercialisation.
• Assess the potentials and readiness of the three tiers of Nigerian Governments to cope with expanded production and commodity marketing (e.g. warehousing, market infrastructures, good governance, committed extension agents) as a result of commercialisation.
• Identify key drivers, trends and issues affecting markets and market actors
• Outline options for better inclusion of small scale producers and make recommendations for strategies for supporting change of policies

Competencies
Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrable knowledge and experience of inclusive market developments in emerging markets
• A demonstrable understanding of market heat maps and their application
• Outstanding communication skills, verbal and written in English
• Excellent writing skills, as well as strong analytical aptitude, communication and presentation skills
• Expertise in issues related to the private sector, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and in-depth knowledge of “pro-poor” business and their potential to contribute to development.
• Understanding of the concept of inclusive markets.
• Extensive knowledge of development issues faced by countries at the base of the pyramid especially in Nigeria

 

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment

Qualifications

• Minimum of a Master degree in economics, development studies or public policy
• Experience working with governments of newly emerging market countries on similar isues
• At least 5-6 years of relevant experience in both the private sector and in international organizations
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills

Application Closing Date
13th June, 2013.

Method of Application
Qualified  and interesred Candidates should :
Click here to apply online