MENAE Regional MSD & Economic Opportunities Consultant Roster

Mercy Corps; Portland (OR); Remote; USD 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a dynamic consultant to join their team focused on Market Systems Development and Economic Opportunities. This role involves engaging with donors, supporting business development, and providing technical guidance to enhance program quality. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in international development, particularly in the MENA region, and possess strong skills in proposal writing and program management. This opportunity offers a chance to make a significant impact in economic recovery and market systems development across diverse contexts.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of experience in international development work.
• Minimum of 5 years in Market Systems Development and Economic Opportunities.
• Excellent writing and presentation skills required.

Responsibilities

• Support business development for economic recovery projects.
• Contribute to program quality through training and development.
• Engage with donors and write competitive proposals.

Skills

Market Systems Development

Proposal Design

Program Management

Technical Advising

Partnership Building

Research and Learning

Writing Skills

Presentation Skills

Language Skills (English)

Language Skills (Arabic or Russian)

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Formal Training in Market Systems Development

Job description

Project Title: MENAE Regional MSD & Economic Opportunities Consultant Roster

Consultancy Title: MSD & Economic Opportunities Consultant

Location: Remote (ideally within similar time zones of MENA/Europe region)

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future. Mercy Corps implements a variety of programming throughout the Middle East and Europe in response to the diverse humanitarian and long-term development needs of the region. Mercy Corps has ongoing programs in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine, and Georgia. Mercy Corps is committed to delivering high quality, high impact programming that reaches communities or individuals in need, wherever they are.

Purpose / Project Description:

Mercy Corps has a growing portfolio of Market Systems, Private Sector Engagement and Economic Opportunities programs in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. As such, we are seeking to develop a pool oftechnical experts in this area with strong contextual knowledge and expertise in the region to support specifically our Business Development work and Technical Program Quality Support.The Economic Opportunities and Market System Consultantswill support country teams in the region to grow their capacity to design and deliver high quality and impactful economic recovery and market systems development (MSD) programs. Their support includes program design and development, share best practices and innovation within the industry, write competitive proposals for submission to donors andconduct specific assessments and analysis. Applicants will join our RegionalEconomic Opportunities and MSD consultants' rosters and broadly, consultant activities will be determined based on the needs of each assignment. However, scopes of work could take the form of literature review, analyses, inputs into strategic documents, and providing technical leadership and capacity building to country offices.

Technical Coverage: This consultancy includes experts in the following Sub-sector areas:

Market System Development – across sectors (Water Security, Food Security, Economic Opportunities, Energy etc..)

Markets in Crisis

Market System for Employment (MSD4E)

Jobtech

Green Jobs

Youth Employment

Private Sector Engagement

Financial Inclusion (Digital)/Access to Finance

Blended Finance

Social ImpactFinancing

Climate Finance

Consultant Objectives:

Engage donors and support business development for economic recovery and market systems developmentprojects in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe including writing competitive proposals for submission to donors

Contribute to program quality through delivering training to country teams, project participants, or implementing partners on subjects pertaining toEconomic Opportunities and MSD including: Financial Inclusion, Youth Employment and Agriculture

Lead/support in grant implementation by assisting program teams in developing relevant SOPs and program guidelines, leading on relevant project activities

Contribute to Mercy Corps’ Evidence and Learning agenda through the development and execution of research and learning pieces around peacebuilding and good governance sub-sectors, as well as to agency-wide opportunities to advance thought leadership.

Consultant Activities:

As mentioned above, consultant activities will be determined based on the needs of each assignment. Specific examples of assignments will include one or more of the following activities:

Proposal Development and Design:

Support strategy development work at country level, in collaboration withthe Institutional Donors Engagement (IDE) Team,Technical Resources and Quality Unit (TRaQ), regional and country focal points

Support country team with engagement to donors to increase awareness and interest in MSD & Economic Opportunities

Provide technical advice on concept notes, proposals, donor presentations, strategy documents and research

Guide the development of assessments and prepositioning documents, ensuring they align with strategic objectives

Provide guidance or training to country teams on MSD approaches and principles in support of prepositioning with strategic donors

Analysis and Assessments:

Contributing toward learning documents and evaluations for external audiences, including donors and other MSD practitioners

Conduct secondary data collection and prepare literature review pieces.

Develop data collection tools, train enumerators and conduct analysis using Mercy Corps and donors guidelines.

Prepare conflict analysis or context assessment reports.

Lead workshops with country teams to understand findings and provide tailored recommendations for the programs.

Review work plans and project logframes.

Program Quality & Capacity Building

Provide technical support to ensure programs meet high-quality standards

Lead the maintenance, technical orientation, rollout, socialization, and sustainability planning for newly established technical working groups.

Lead/support grant implementation by assisting program teams in developing relevant SOPs and program guidelines, leading on relevant project activities

Design training material tailored to Mercy Corps programs needs.

Deliver training at country and regional level.

Prepare reports on the training conducted.

Develop standalone country and/or program level gender strategies/action plans

Lead participatory strategy/ action plan workshops on a program/country or regional level.

Consultant Deliverables:

Specific deliverables and timeline will be determined based on the needs of each assignment.

These will be discussed and agreed between the consultant, the program and the regional team at the start of the assignment.

Deliverables could include at least one or more of the following:

Country-level strategy documents that reflect the MSD approach

Tailored communication materials that highlight the MSD approach in alignment with priority donors

Documented discussions and action items as a result of progressing new business opportunities

Development of concept notes, proposals, and/or prepositioning materials

Assessment reports, research or learning pieces.

Timeframe / Schedule:

Consultancy timeframe / schedule will be determined based on the needs of each assignment. These will be discussed and agreed between the consultant, the program and the regional team at the start of the assignment.

The Consultant will report to:

Deputy Regional Director- Programs, Middle East, North Africa and Europe and closely work with Mercy Corps Economic Opportunities Team.

The Consultant will work closely with: Regional Technical team, Regional Evidence and Learning team, Country Directors, Directors of Programs, Program Managers, Regional and Global Business Development teams.

Required Experience & Skills:

Bachelor’s degree required. Formal training in Market Systems Development or M4P preferred.

5-7 years of experience in international development work, with a minimum of three years in a program management or technical advisor role, including proposal design.

Minimum of 5 years of experience in Market Systems Development and other key Economic Opportunities technical areas -including experience with program design, partnership building, technical advising, and/or learning and research.

Experience working in the MENA and Eastern Europe required. Experience working in fragile contexts and humanitarian settings preferred.

Excellent writing skills required.

Strong presentation and representation skills required.

Very strong English skills, Arabic or Russian skills preferred

Application:

To apply, please submit your CV, sub-sector speciality/expertise, and daily rate.