Fairtrade Consultant

SCOPE OF WORK

Position: FAIRTRADE CONSULTANT

Period of Performance: March 28 – July 30

Total Level of Effort: Short-term Technical Assistance; LOE of 20 days

Activity Background:

The Feed the Future Ghana Trade and Investment Activity (GTI) aims to grow and diversify exports to boost national GDP and household income for Ghanaian citizens through the adoption and enforcement of internationally recognized standards along agricultural value chains, the reduction in time and cost to move goods across borders, and increased investment, especially among small and medium enterprises.

A component of GTI is to improve the quality of high-value agricultural goods and products by strengthening traceability systems, incentivizing SME awareness and use of these systems, and ensuring that the enforcement of SPS standards aligns at the national and international levels. To do this, GTI seeks to support export-oriented enterprises in adopting and achieving compliance with internationally recognized market-driven standards.

Ghana is well-placed and has a very high potential for the commercial production of fruit and vegetables for export. However, for the country to access international markets, the products must comply with international standards for certification.

GTI is looking for a Fairtrade Certification expert (consultant) to train 15 producers and exporters in preparation for obtaining the certification. The consultant will build the compliance capacity of 15 exporters and producers and get them ready for the local and international audit required for obtaining the Fairtrade Certification. With this certification, the 15 exporters and producers can export their products (shea butter, cashew, mango, etc.) to the U.S., EU, and other major markets.

The consultant will work closely with producers, processors, aggregators, and cooperatives. The consultant will refine the developed Fairtrade audit checklist and conduct an assessment against the checklist for 15 SMEs. The consultant will provide a tailored list of recommendations for each SME for improvement and training that will support Fairtrade compliance. This assignment will commence in March and continue through July .

Responsibilities and Tasks:

The Scope of Assignment for Fairtrade consultant includes:

·Conduct an assessment according to Fairtrade standards for 15 enterprises.

·Provide gap analysis of 15 enterprises (especially women and youth-owned) following the Fairtrade standards relevant to specific agricultural products (fruits, shea, and cashew).

·Review and revise the developed Fairtrade audit checklist that enterprises can use to aid them in complying with the Fairtrade guidelines.

·Provide training on Fairtrade standards to the enterprises.

·Administer pre and post-tests to trainees and analyze the results from these tests for access knowledge improvement. Consultant must use GTI’s M&E forms.

·Provide audit recommendations to each enterprise with guidelines that can lead to certification.

Deliverables

·A comprehensive list of 15 SMEs and their audit reports against standards. The assessment report should include recommendations for capacity building, upgrading requirements for compliance with Fairtrade standards, and recommendations for personnel training.

·Pre-training and post-training questionnaire and an analysis of pre and post-test results.

·5 trainings for the 15 SMEs, grouped based on their location and availability.

·Training materials (e.g. PowerPoint and training guide with handouts) for 15 SMEs to address the gaps identified in Fairtrade assessment.

·List of Attendance sheets from all trainings.

·End of Assignment Report to the GTI team summarizing activities completed and key, actionable takeaways.

Qualifications and Skill

Must have experience working in the Horticulture sector and export commodities in Africa and Globally. Educational requirement: a bachelor's degree in Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crop Science, or a related field with experience training and preparing farmers and exporters in Fairtrade Certification. Must have at least 7 years of practical experience developing and training producers/exporters in Fairtrade Certification. Must have in-depth practical knowledge of challenges facing producers and exporters in attaining Fairtrade Certification. Experience in developing materials and delivering training in Fairtrade readiness. Experience working on USAID-funded programs is preferred.

Location and Reporting:

This STTA assignment will be conducted in…. The consultant will liaise with GTI’s Quality Standards Director and the Quality Standards Coordinator. Activities and progress on deliverables will be reported to the designated lead to ensure deliverables are attained as targeted.

Level of Effort and Period of Performance:

The expected Level of Effort (LOE) for this assignment is a maximum of 20 days for all tasks. This assignment is expected to take place between March – July .