Individual Consultant

 United Nations Development Programme -UNDP

Individual Consultant – Block Technical Coordinator _Enterprise Promotion, Gadag, Karnataka (3 Posts)
Location :	Gadag, Karnataka, INDIA, INDIA
Application Deadline :	28-Jan-21 (Midnight New York, USA)
Time left :	15d 0h 47m
Type of Contract :	Individual Contract
Post Level :	National Consultant
Languages Required :	English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)	01-Feb-2021
Duration of Initial Contract :	One Year
Background
Background: The DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission) is the flagship program of Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India relaunched in 2016 for promoting poverty reduction by building strong institutions of the poor, particularly women. The programme creates and enables community-owned institutions of women to empower and make them economically self-reliant by improving their agency to access a range of livelihood and financial services and maximize their resources for creating sustainable livelihood opportunities.  The state governments are mandated to set up dedicated Mission Management Units at the state, district and village/community level for the effective implementation of the NRLM scheme.  The mission provides regular hand-holding support to SHG/federations for a period of 5-7 years.  At the end of a full implementation cycle, the SHGs/federations are well prepared to become resource institutions at the community level for providing evidence and support to other social initiatives.  Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) The State Government is implementing DAY-NRLM scheme in phases through Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society in the name of “Sanjeevini”. The mission statement of KSRLPS is: “To reduce rural poverty by providing gainful wage and self-employment opportunities through community institutions resulting in sustainable improvement in their livelihoods”. Sanjeevini is a community-driven and process-oriented programme. The processes include different activities such as awareness building, social mobilization, development of Community Resource Persons (CRPs). Formation of CBOs, strengthening SHGs/ CBOs/federations/Livelihood Collectives, the establishment of linkages and promotion of livelihoods. The conventional methods of monitoring focus on physical, financial and logistic aspects of projects, but do not capture the processes of community perception, satisfaction with project services, inclusion and institutional dynamics. As the community processes do not conform to pre-set rules, deadlines, targets or blueprint approaches, a responsive and adaptive implementation is necessary. It is in this context that the State government of Karnataka has partnered with UNDP to implement The National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP) in Karnataka. NRETP proposes to implement higher-order economic activities which are cross-cutting in nature, for instance, the project design envisages that there will be an organic link between the model Cluster Level Federation (CFLs) and financial inclusion strategies, insurance and pension schemes, producer groups and organisations, product marketing and enterprise development. The financial inclusion strategy will also have a key role in the financing of farm and non-farm enterprises. UNDP will be uniquely positioned to quickly transfer the technical know-how gained at the national and state-level working across the country.  The state SMMU will be fully synchronized with the National level team working at the centre, important for better alignment of state priorities with those of the national programme while formulating the State-specific poverty reduction action plans. Under the scheme, UNDP is looking for a Block Technical Coordinator - Enterprise Promotion, Consultant to undertake the activities as provided below. The incumbent will be based at KSRLPS and will perform duties under the direct supervision of an official designated by the Mission Director.
Duties and Responsibilities
·        Candidate should be willing to travel across the districts of the State of Karnataka ·        Ensure provision of Business Support Services by OSF (one stop facility) to all the entrepreneurs in the block ·        Ensure that OSF has the required technical information (information about schemes etc) for the services that need to be rendered ·        Create various data sets of enterprise and entrepreneurs in the block including the baseline survey of existing enterprises; ensure that this data is updated at regular intervals ·        Assist in preparing the necessary content for training and capacity building of various stakeholders ·        Ensure that financial requirements of enterprises are met, both from CEF and through Formal Financial Institutions ·        Coordinate amongst TSA, OSF, CBOs and project staff for effective implementation ·        Assist in the identification and selection of Community Cadre and Mentors for OSF ·        Institutionalize OSF and governance mechanisms (infrastructure, opening bank- account, appointment and rotation of signatories, etc.) as per norms ·        Support the CBOs in operationalizing the various activities under the programme and in building their capacities to take over all the programme elements at the end of the project period ·        Identify new business opportunities and markets for setting up the enterprise ·        Ensure regular monitoring and reporting of entrepreneurship development activities in the block ·        Ensure that both the quantitative and qualitative targets are met ·        Ensure MIS and monitoring reports are submitted as per the defined timelines. ·        Provide handholding and business management support to the clusters /incubated enterprises being supported in the block. Any other tasks/responsibilities as assigned by the Mission Director
Competencies
·        Strong in numeracy, analytical, and business skills ·        Good team player with strong ability to work in teams and with people with no direct reporting relationships ·        Data-driven, open to learning and adaptable, should be willing to adapt to ground realities ·        Compassionate for the poor and willing to look at issues from their lens ·        Honest, fair and objective in work ·        A Self-starter and a target-oriented person Willing to travel extensively in the field and stay in a village for 15 days a month
Required Skills and Experience
Qualifications: Postgraduate in management/commerce/engineering background and relevant field background from an institution of repute. Experience: Minimum of 1+ year of experience of working in non-farm livelihoods promotion or in a business organization preferably in rural-based value chains. Languages Required: Fluency in English and Kannada– spoken, read and write for all official communication is essential. Duration of The Work: The contract will be awarded for one year initially. Working days will be as per the State Government/KSRLPS policy. Official Travel In case of official journey within/outside the state, candidates will be entitled to reimbursement from KSRLPS. All official travel must be authorised and certified in advance by KSRLPS.  SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS Consolidated annual consultancy fees (Remuneration) of INR 4,20,000/- payable in equal monthly instalments of INR 35,000/- upon submission of monthly progress report certified by the reporting officer. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT: ·        The contract will be administered by UNDP on behalf of the KSRLPS. Government of Karnataka. ·        The consultant should report to the Mission Director and Senior Technical Expert – Enterprise Promotion ·        The consultant should also report to any Official designated by the CEO. ·        All the logistic support related to official travel will be borne by the KSRLPS, Government of Karnataka. ·        The consultant will be entitled to 2 days of leave per month (non-cashable). The accumulated leaves will be forfeited on the termination/further extension of the contract period. Documentation Required Personal CV indicating all past experiences from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least 3 professional references. Evaluation Method and criteria Preliminary shortlisting would be done based on the following criteria: ·        Educational Qualification 30 marks. ·        Relevant Experience 40 marks. ·        Interview for 30 marks Those who obtain a minimum of 70% of a total of 70 marks (Educational Qualification & Relevant Experience) will be eligible to appear for the interview.  Interview for the shortlisted candidates would be either conducted face to face in Bangalore or by telephone/over skype. The contract shall be awarded on a merit basis. For more information and online application click here