Project Description
Despite the potential to become an exporter of milk, Mongolia is a net importer due to low efficiency of milk production and lack of technical expertise. The number of modern, commercial dairy farms will need to increase more than a hundred-fold in the near future to meet the increasing demand for milk. There is a lack of knowledge and capacity on modern approaches to milk production and handling and processors buy raw milk without major quality considerations if suppliers can offer significant volumes. This discourages farmers from investing in higher quality production. Larger dairy-processing units are unable to acquire higher quality milk from small farmers, and they are very interested in supporting better productivity at the existing commercial dairy farms and attracting new investors into commercial milk production.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“the EBRD”, “the Bank”) has been supporting the Mongolian agribusiness sector since 2007, by investing over EUR 80 million. The Bank’s financing included investments in almost all major dairy market players in the country, amounting to over EUR 46 million.
In 2014, the EBRD also conducted an audit of dairy farms in Mongolia (Phase I), which outlined various bottlenecks that impede the development of the sector and highlighted the need for capacity development and improvements in safety, hygiene and efficiency standards of dairy products. The audit has highlighted a large gap between demand and supply for processed milk with significant growth and investment prospects in the future. The audit concluded that further technical assistance is needed to improve the linkages between dairy producers and processors and their raw milk suppliers, to better structure the dairy value chain in Mongolia, and ultimately to attract more investments in the sector.
Through Phase II, the EBRD will aim to support current and potential investment clients in Mongolia’s dairy sector, to be able to ensure regular supply of higher quality milk. This will be achieved through transfer of the know-how on modern approaches to dairy farming. The ultimate goal is to improve the efficiency of milk production, as well as to increase food quality and safety of the dairy sector products through promoting higher efficiency, organization and hygiene standards at production level (the Project).
In view of the above, the EBRD will hire a Project Manager (the Consultant) to coordinate and administrate the implementation of all activities under the project “Mongolia: Improving Productivity of Dairy Farmers (Phase II)”, full-time based in the EBRD’s Resident Office in Ulaanbaatar (the Assignment).
Assignment Description
The primary responsibility of the Project Manager will be to manage the Programme’s day-to-day activities, as follows:
· Coordinating the implementation of all Project activities, including monitoring the work of international consultants hired to conduct on-farm trainings in Mongolia;
· Providing administrative support to the Project and liaising regularly with the EBRD Operation Leader (OL) of the banking operation;
· Reporting on all outcomes of the Project;
· Carrying out all planned visibility and communications activities for the Project;
· Capturing and disseminating all lessons learned and achievements.
The Project Manager is expected to provide the following services:
Project execution and monitoring
· Manage day-to-day operations of the Project, including regular updates on the implementation progress to the EBRD Operational Leader (OL);
· Manage the Project budget, including careful tracking of committed and disbursed funds and ensuring cost-sharing of the herd management software;
· Coordinate between the farmers participating in the training in Mongolia and the dairy experts hired under the Project;
· Assist with dissemination of the training manuals to other interested stakeholders, including educational institutions and professional associations to strengthen stakeholder networks in Mongolia’s dairy sector;
· Ensure that the Project is carried out in a timely manner and that the training and associated manuals have been delivered.
· Review draft deliverables submitted by dairy experts hired under the Project.
Project reporting, administration and visibility
· Collect information and report on Project results on a regular basis to the EBRD Agribusiness team, the OL, as well as donors as required;
· Handle all necessary administrative tasks related to the Project, including the necessary logistical arrangements for the consultants, including travel arrangements and on-the-ground logistical support;
· Organize all visibility activities and communication planned under the Project, including press releases and other external/internal communication;
· Carry out other tasks related to the implementation of the Project, as requested.
Status of Selection Process: Interested individuals are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.
Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start on June 2016 and has an estimated overall duration of 10 months.
Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 10,000 (exclusive of VAT). Additional budget for travel as required by the Assignment will be provided. No extension is envisaged to this Assignment.
The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.
Funding Source: It is expected that the Assignment will be funded by the EBRD’s Shareholder Special Fund (SSF). Please note that selection and contracting will be subject to the availability of funding.
Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions.
Consultant Profile: Individual services are required. The Project Manager should be a junior professional preferably with 1-3 years of previous work experience in:
- Project management, including budgetary administration of programmes and projects in international development, monitoring deadlines and work schedules of consultants, as well as preparing progress reports for donors;
- Managing relationships with local stakeholders from private sector, international development and donor agencies;
- Undertaking visibility and communications activities;
- Assisting with logistical arrangements.
Excellent language skills in English, and in particular English written proficiency, are required. Strong preference will be given to individuals with native Mongolian language abilities.
Professional experience in and knowledge of (1) the banking and financial sector; (2) agriculture/agribusiness sector; (3) Mongolia and the region, will be considered an advantage.
Submission Requirements: In order to determine the capability and experience of a Project Manager seeking to be shortlisted for this Assignment, the information submitted should include the following:
- Cover letter (maximum 1 page) summarising why the expert believes they satisfy the requirements as defined in the Project Manager profile;
- CV (maximum 2 pages) which should include full descriptions of responsibilities carried out, not just a job title, including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided (if different from duration), main activities, objectives;
- Completed Consultant Declaration Form and Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link:
http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc.
Expressions of Interest should be submitted in English electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date. The complete expression of interest (including cover letter, CV, declaration and contact sheet etc.) shall be one file (pdf) to be uploaded to eSelection. The EBRD reserves the right to reject applications of experts submitting more than one file. Only if the permissible file size (4 MB) is exceeded, the Consultant may split the expression of interest into further files.
Bank Contact Person:
Julie Michel (Ms)
Technical Co-operation
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 20 7338 7556
e-mail: michelj@ebrd.com (submissions should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)
Notes:
- The selection will normally be made from responses to this notification only. Project Managers will not be asked to submit a proposal. The highest-ranked Project Manager will be selected from a shortlist and be invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
- The Evaluation Committee intends to interview the shortlisted candidates as part of the selection process. It is expected that interviews will be held in April/May 2016 at the Bank’s HQ in London, or via video-conference / Skype. Invitations will be issued to interviewees at least 10 calendar days prior to these dates. Candidates not selected for interview will not be considered further.
- Candidates selected for interview will also be asked to complete a short written test to establish their proficiency in written English.
- The highest-ranked Project Manager after the interview will be invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
The shortlist criteria are:
- Proven project management and administration skills – 50%
- Interview and completed written test, assessing the candidate’s proficiency in English and suitability for the role – 40%
- Mongolian language skills – 10%
