RFQ 6058 - Food processing consultant

­­Project/Consultancy Title:  

FORSA Food Processing Consultant  

Project Location(s):

Lebanon, travel throughout the country

Background:

Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. The agency pursues its mission through emergency relief services, sustainable community development, civil society and economic development initiatives. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has implemented community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they emerged in the country.  In 2012, the program portfolio shifted in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria and Mercy Corps in Lebanon has solidified its emergency response programming while integrating longer-term development programming by focusing on key sectors: Protection, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Governance and Conflict, and Livelihoods. 

Purpose / Project Description:

With funding from Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‘Addressing Root Causes Fund’ (ARC), Mercy Corps is implementing a three-year program designed to reduce inter-communal tensions between refugees and host communities by alleviating competition over livelihoods. FORSA (Fostering Resilience by Strengthening Abilities) will focus on expanding economic opportunities by improving access to employment, supporting MSME, and building technical capacity of private and government run vocational training centers.

Mercy Corps is seeking qualified experts in food processing to provide technical assistance for an apple chips product to a company specialized in processing apple chips products in Chouf district.

Consultancy Objectives:

The objective of the technical assistance is to support the business in developing the product that meet the market demand. The food processing expert consultant will work closely with the business owner and staff to ensure the implementation of the FORSA program and to ensure that the project meets its targets and deliverables on-time and within budget.

Scope of work includes:

• Assess the production facility, the manufacturing equipment and the production process
• Provide plan for the improvement and growth in production, in terms of equipment, process and required staff  
• Ensure knowledge transfer for the facility staff in the apple processing established for apple chips processing
• Provide recommendations on label improvements in the area of nutritional facts and regulatory requirements to meet target markets
• Help processor develop new products portfolio
• Abide by FORSA reporting mechanism to allow for continuous monitoring of activities by FORSA team
• Identify and communicate risks to FORSA team and call for intervention when required
• Work collaboratively with the FORSA program team to ensure that the technical assistance provided to MSMEs supports the overall objectives of the program

Deliverables:

The consultant will complete:

• Phase 1 report: Report summarizes the consultants work plan including interventions in product development and needed equipment
• Phase 2 report: Final completion report identifying achieved objectives
• If requested by MC, a progress report throughout implementation detailing milestones,  risks and challenges

Qualifications:

Firm qualifications

• Expertise and proven experience in the areas of product development and food processing

Evaluation Criteria:

• Proposed intervention plan (20%)
• Innovative and practical proposed methodology and tools (capacity building, trainings, follow up...) (30%)
• Proposed Outcomes (30%)
• Budget (20%)

The Consultant will work closely with: FORSA Program Manager, Field Coordinator, and Field Officers.

Submission guidelines: Applicants are requested to submit the following documents to Mercy Corps, in the order defined below. Please mention the title "FORSA Food Processing Consultant”: 

1. Brief proposal outlining coaching methodology and relevant tools
2. Budget for the MSME intervention

Payment: In bank checks or wire transfer, after the successful delivery of the service based on agreed upon milestones with an approved consultant deliverable report.

Incidentals, including transportation, per diems and communications costs, will not be covered separately by Mercy Corps, as they should be included in the consultant’s daily rate.