Economic Assessment Consultant

The LINQ project is in its last year of implementation. Project close-out has already started and results and impact need to be tracked, analyzed and reported to USAID.

As part this process, LINQ will design economic studies on 8 selected partners to assess the impact of LINQ/USAID investment from an economic perspective, including sales (export, local), market growth, staff increase, job creation, and improved income for farmers or suppliers. This exercise aims at showcasing the impact of LINQ/USAID assistance on these select partners. The economic expert will collaborate closely with the MEL consultant to complete this assignment. The general methodology will be a mix between qualitative and quantitative approaches, including a questionnaire to collect relevant information that are needed to complement the data in hand.

The Economic expert will be responsible for outlining the overall economic approach to be applied on all of the eight selected grants and the development of four economic impact assessments on four grants selected by LINQ team. For that, he/she will collaborate closely with the team, namely with the MEL team of LINQ, the Communications and Outreach Specialist and the Technical team, to ensure access to hands on data and to perform needed Key Informant Interviews  for the completion of the economic impacts assessments. The economic expert will be responsible of suggesting the proper methodology/economic approach for conducting these studies. 

He/she will use quantitative and qualitative data that was made available to the project team during the monitoring effort and complement it with additional data collected from selected KIIs.

The recruited expert is expected to have the following skills and qualifications:

• Master’s Degree, economics, finance, or related field. 
• Minimum Seven years of relevant and progressive experience in conducting economic analysis or assessments. 
• Well-developed conceptual, analytical and innovative problem-solving ability. 
• Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate to proactively work as a team member.  
• Demonstrated analytical skills and experience in recommending solutions to economic problems or implementing approaches.  Experience in quantitative and qualitative research, data analysis, for assessments or evaluation is an advantage.  
• Full computer literacy and proficiency in use of Microsoft Office software required.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel required.
• Previous experience with USAID or other U.S. Government funded development programs is considered an advantage.