A4A Programme Adviser on Market Development and Market Linkages

Result of ServiceThe Consultant will submit reports, on a monthly basis, on the progress and completion of project activities for validation, as follows: Eswatini programmes • Product-market development plan and activities are developed • Dissemination of market information, trends, feedback from buyers to MSMEs are completed • Selected market promotional activities (Trade events, commercial activities) are organized • Inputs are provided to workshops delivered by sales advisors • MSMEs are supported on the product development and upgrade • Written report is submitted and validated on workshops conducted on market knowledge, product development • Written report is submitted and validated on new MSMEs and proposed engagement activities for market linkages • Written report is submitted and validated on market linkages created/supported to MSMEs (Local, Regional, and International) which are supported by survey results ACP • Product-market development plan and activities are developed • Dissemination of market information, trends, feedback from buyers to MSMEs are completed • Selected market promotional activities (Trade events, commercial activities) are organized • Inputs are provided to workshops delivered by sales advisors • MSMEs are supported on the product development and upgrade • At least 3 workshop sessions are facilitated on market knowledge for the SMEs and BSOs to increase their competitive in the regional and international markets. • At least two trade shows are coordinated where ACP SMEs exhibit in target markets for their coffee products, including preparation of SMEs, booth booking at set up, and market tours. • Agreed strategy proposals are submitted and meetings are organized for creating alliances with coffee sector actors in the EU and SMEs in the ACP countries. • Product development collaborations are coordinated, including quality improvement and new products, for SMEs in ACP countries. Food Security • Summary of product and market development strategies created or updated • Key promotional activities conducted (workshops, trade fairs, events, expert engagements) • Workshops delivered, including topics and attendance • Product catalogues and other promotional materials developed • Market linkages facilitated between MSMEs/producers and buyers/companies • Support provided to MSMEs for trade show participation (product reviews, coaching, etc.) • Impact surveys prepared, distributed, and any preliminary data collected • Results achieved, including sales generated and partnerships formed Gambia • Product and Market Development Framework: Developed including a workplan for the Gambia craft sector in collaboration with the national expert and A4A EU home décor consultant. This includes defining selection criteria for up to 10 MSMEs/young entrepreneurs, creating a validated capacity-building plan, and delivering at least 3 coaching sessions. • At least 3 selected MSMEs are supported to participate in one market linkage activity (e.g., trade fair, industry visit) between Q3 2025 and Q2 2026, in coordination with other A4A projects such as Eswatini, including potential participation in the Paris Design Show. • Technical inputs are provided to the agriculture backward linkages market development approach, including a review and analysis of the buyer mapping and engagement survey. Work Locationhome-based Expected duration12 months Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization for trade-related technical cooperation in developing countries. Alliances for Action (A4A) is an ITC initiative to establish a network that transforms food systems and advances the Sustainable Development Goals through producer partnerships that cultivate ethical, climate smart, sustainable agricultural value chains. With A4A, ITC aims at achieving resilience and growth for farmers and MSMEs through more mindful and responsible trade, production and consumption systems and improved opportunities to compete in global markets. This includes building resilience and competitiveness of MSMEs and enabling sustainable market linkages and value addition. The A4A approach is being implemented in several ITC projects including EU-African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Business-Friendly (BF), EU Alliance for Coconut Industry Development in the Caribbean and Promoting jobs and growth through competitive alliances in Eswatini and support to the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in Eswatini. ACP The European Union funded project “Support to Business Friendly and Inclusive National and Regional Policies, and Strengthening Productive Capabilities and Value Chains” Programme aims to complement the European Union support for private sector development in ACP countries, under the context of the joint ACP-EU Programme for ACP Private Sector Development Support, adopted by ACP-EU Council of Ministers in Nairobi in 2014, and is financed from the 11th European Development Fund. The focus of the project is designed to achieve two key outcomes: (1) adopting and implementing business-friendly, inclusive and responsible national policies and legal frameworks, and (2) strengthening productive, processing, promoting and marketing capabilities and value chains. ITC is collaborating with UNIDO and the World Bank in the implementation of the program. ITC is leading the implementation of the micro pillar level of the Programme, which focuses on two core themes: 1) Promoting inclusive productive and commercial Alliances and investment to strengthen VC governance and MSME competitiveness; and 2) Increase small farmers and processors value addition, productivity and competitiveness. Interventions at the micro-level aim to enhance value chain operators’ individual and collective competitiveness with specific attention to family farmers, agri-entrepreneurs and rural and urban MSMEs and processors. Notably, the action employs the Alliances for Action methodology, which is a market led approach that supports associations, improved productivity, and ecological intensification– cost efficient technologies, connections to markets, financial inclusion, diversification and value addition. Eswatini programmes The Eswatini Government identifies agriculture as one of the main drivers of growth and jobs as stipulated in the Eswatini National Development Strategy and Vision 2022 and developed the Economic Recovery Plan 2020 which identifies the private sector as an engine for economic growth. In collaboration with the Eswatini Government and through funding from the European Union, ITC is supporting the Eswatini Government to achieve its development objectives through the implementation of a Programme comprised of three interconnected programmes, namely: “Support for Job creation and the investment climate (JC & IC); Support to the implementation of the EU-SADC agreement (EPA) and the Livestock programme”. The programme aims to unlock the key constraints to competitiveness in Eswatini by improving the policy and regulatory framework for private sector development and through the development of selected value chains; and supports the enablement of a public-private platform for improving the country’s national competitiveness. The direct beneficiaries will be: 1. MSMEs 2. Social enterprises (SEs) 3. Producer Associations including cooperatives, farmers’ organisations and farmers/artisans groups 4. Smallholder farmers 5. Arts and crafts producers Support institutions to be defined during the programme's inception phase • Trade and Investment Support Institutions (TISI) • Business support and training institutions (BSOs) • Professional associations • Farmers support institutions • Financial institutions Gambia ITC is implementing the EU Youth Empowerment Project (YEP)-Tourism and Creative Industries. The project has an overall objective of increasing the competitiveness, inclusiveness, and sustainability of the Tourism sector and Creative Industries in The Gambia. It has three main specific objectives of: a) improving business environment and institutional ecosystem; b) improving investment and market access; and c) increasing the competitiveness of MSMEs in The Gambia’s tourism and creative industries. These will be achieved by implementing a number of key actions, including: i) streamlining and supporting implementation of strategies and regulation for the creative industries; ii) strengthening the technical and operational capacities of business support institutions; iii) building the branding and marketing capacities of actors in the tourism and creative industries; iv) creating market linkages and investment opportunities; v) budling capacities of MSMEs engaged in the tourism and creative industries with a focus on sustainable and inclusive tourism; and vi) enhancing skills of target beneficiaries, mainly youth and women in areas which promote their employment in the tourism sector and creative industries. The project addresses a variety of challenges and constraints of the sectors, which include a) weak sector coordination and regulations, b) narrow product offering and sub-standard quality, c) limited market diversification and strong seasonality, d) skill gaps, e) climate vulnerability, and f) low sector integration and limited positive spillover effects of the sectors to the wider economy and society. The implementation of the project will enable the Gambia to diversify source markets and attract more visitors year-round, including tourists with higher purchasing power, and to boost its offering of green and inclusive products and services of the tourism and creative industries. Food Security The European Union (EU) funded project “Strengthening nutritious and sustainable value chains in the Caribbean through Alliances” (Food Security) aims to support agri-MSMEs, cooperatives and producers (smallholder farmers and fishers) to become more competitive and resilient through value addition, diversification, and new market development at the regional level. The project is aligned with various EU and CARICOM strategies, including the CARICOM strategy related to “Regional Food Production and Productivity Towards a Sustainable Import Replacement Programme: 25% by 2025 Reduction in the Regional Food Bill”, which has developed a comprehensive import-replacement programme with accompanying targets for selected commodities, geared towards achieving the overall 25% by 2025 objective. DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES: Under the direct supervision of the EU-ACP Programme Manager and under the overall supervision of the Chief of Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Division of Country Programmes and the Head of Inclusive Agribusiness Systems, Green and Inclusive Value Chains (GIVC) Division of Sustainable and Inclusive Trade (DSIT) the Market Development and Market Linkages Expert will be responsible for the following duties: • Work with project managers and local project team to facilitate the development and implementation of promotional activities for dissemination of market information, engaging experts, buyers and experienced MSMEs. • Formulate a product and market development plan based on the needs the project partners to facilitate market knowledge, product development and market linkages. • Identify and engage potential buyers in priority sectors and establish and maintain a regularly updated database of buyer contacts to support ongoing market linkage efforts and relationship management. • Provide advice on the development and implementation of product-market promotional activities: in coordination with the local project team, regional and international sales experts, buyers, export ready MSMEs and MSMEs with potential to export. • Coordinate with market and sales advisors provide directions on capacity development topics for workshop sessions as per project needs, market trends in selected sectors of the project (food, value addition, handicraft) • In coordination with project team, prepare product catalogues for MSMEs in the selected project sectors and promote the MSMEs to potential buyers using catalogues and other communication materials developed under the project. • Provide market linkage support to MSMEs and Producers to Buyers and Consumer-Facing Companies to develop and consolidate markets and or sales. • Research and propose relevant market linkages activities including trade shows for MSMEs to attend in 2025 and 2026 • Support the selected MSMEs to effectively attend trade shows (local, regional and international) by reviewing products, stands, brochures and coaching provided by sales advisors to pitch their products. • Coordinate with different project stakeholders for planning and activating product development collaborations and market linkages and south-south collaboration for potential joint venture opportunities. • Provide technical backstopping to relevant Business Support Organizations and/or sector associations on market development and linkages, including, where relevant, delivering TOTs to these institutions to enhance their offerings on market development. • Assess potential new MSMEs and propose engagement activities for market linkages. • Contribute to the preparation and dissemination of impact surveys to collect data of sales generation and partnership engagements. • Prepare written report/presentations on market and product development with results achieved for the relevant projects’ reporting period. Copyright Clause: The consultant has to ensure that she has obtained the necessary permissions with regard to intellectual property rights required to perform her services under this consultancy contract and for the subsequent dissemination by ITC in any form. Documentary proof is to be submitted to ITC. Should any license fee be due for the use of copyrighted materials of third parties, the consultant shall request the prior written permission from ITC. ITC champions workforce diversity, inclusion, gender equality and gender parity and considers all qualified persons - of all genders - equally, including those with disabilities, without discrimination or prejudice of any kind. Qualifications/special skillsPostgraduate studies in Social Communication or related fields. At least 4 years of experience working with sustainable and inclusive food systems. Experience in communication and networking with interlocutors from different backgrounds. Skills: • Ability to work with minimum supervision, efficiency, competence and integrity and in harmony with people from different backgrounds. • Extensive knowledge of the food and hospitality industry • Ability to produce documents for official circulation among institutions and international organizations. • Good understanding of international development project functioning and dynamics. LanguagesFluency in written and speaking of English Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.