Private Sector Development Business Services Advisor
Capacity Building and Change Management Program (CBCMP)
Position: Private Sector Development Business Services Advisor
Program: Capacity Building and Change Management Program (CBCMP)
Location: Kabul, Afghanistan
Duration: 18 total days consisting of14 days in country with two prep days and two report writing days.
Target Start Date: No later than July 16, 2012
The International executive Service Corps (IESC) seeks an experienced Business Advisory Services Expert to assist Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock’s (MAIL) Private Sector Development Directorate in clarifying its role and identifying concrete services it can provide to private sector actors in the agriculture sector.
About the Program: Under the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) consortium, the International Executive Service Corps (IESC) was awarded the Capacity Building and Change Management Program (CBCMP) for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL). The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and is scheduled to run from November 2010 to November 2013.
CBCMP is working to assist MAIL to become an effective and self sustaining ministry, which can provide necessary services to Afghan farmers and herders. Despite 9,600 employees across all 34 provinces and 364 districts, MAIL’s service delivery capacity is severely limited. Its services reach less than 2% of Afghan farmers and herders. Moreover, it was only able to translate 25% of its development budget, a majority of which is funding provided by international donors, into agricultural services and projects.
In response to these challenges, IESC is working to support MAIL’s development into an effective, efficient, and accountable Ministry through two primary program components:
Component 1 (C1) focuses on building MAIL’s capacity to manage GIRoA- and donor-funded programs as well as the Ministry’s human and physical capital. CBCMP supports five key Directorates inside the Ministry to enable MAIL to build its internal capacity on a sustainable basis.
Component 2 (C2) is developing and implementing a program of change management to build the overall capacity of MAIL to increase its effectiveness in key technical areas that have the most immediate impact at the provincial and district level. This component will concentrate on building MAIL’s capacity to provide effective leadership, management and technical assistance to the agriculture sector. MAIL and USDA have agreed that there is an immediate need to “push” service delivery and management capacity to the provincial and district level.
Assignment:
- This consultancy will build upon a previous assessment conducted by a CBCMP consultant, which sought to identify and assess MAIL’s role in private sector development within MAIL.
- Working closely with the Director of the Private Sector Development Directorate and CBCMP staff, the consultant will identify specific services that the PSDD can provide along with a concrete timeline for implementation.
- The consultant will also work closely with the Strategic Planning Advisor who will be deployed concurrently and will work complementarily to develop the organizational approach to providing these services.
Outputs and Deliverables:
- Concise written plan itemizing services that the PSDD can begin providing to entrepreneurs and private sector entities, as well as activities it can undertake in partnership with other relevant business support entites including chambers of commerce. This plan shall be sufficiently detailed and include a timeframe as appropriate. The report is due within 10 days of completion of the assignment in Kabul.
- Participation in a workshop conducted by the Private Sector Development Strategic Planning Advisor to build PSDD’s capacity to implement recommendations.
- Final trip summary report due within 14 days of completion of the project
Qualifications:
- Master’s degree, preferably in business, organizational development, economic development, agricultural development or agricultural business
- Experience (10+ years) in private-sector agriculture development supported by departments/ministries of agriculture in developing countries
- Excellent communication both written and oral; clear and effective writing is a must
- Ability to compile and analyze diverse ideas and action proposals into a coherent whole in writing
- Able to successfully work with technical and director-level government staff and through translators and/or Dari language skills
- Prior experience as USAID consultant preferred
- Previous work in Afghanistan preferred
About IESC: IESC is a Washington, DC based not for profit international economic development organization that has been promoting stability and prosperity through private enterprise development for nearly 50 years. We design, implement, manage and evaluate economic growth programs under contracts and cooperative agreements for clients including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of State, multilateral development banks, as well as private companies and foreign governments.
How to Apply: Please submit a detailed resume and a brief message summarizing your interest and qualifications to
‘+’jobs’+’@’+’iesc.org’+’
jobs(at)iesc.org
with “PSD Business Services Advisor” in the subject line.
Only finalists will be contacted.
No phone calls please.
IESC is an Equal Opportunity Employer