Consultancy: Team Leader for the Final Performance Evaluation of the Cereal Systems Initiatives for South Asia Manufacturing Extension, USAID Upoma Ba At EnCompass

EnCompass LLC is seeking a Team Leader to conduct the evaluation and lead a team of local subject matter specialists.

EnCompass is implementing the four-year United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bangladesh Upoma Activity, providing a range of analytical and advisory services in support of USAID’s design, performance monitoring, evaluation, and operational learning and adapting efforts. Under Upoma, EnCompass has been tasked to conduct a Final Performance Evaluation of the USAID-financed Cereal Systems Initiatives for South Asia Manufacturing Extension Activity (CSISA-MEA) in Bangladesh.

The goal of CSISA-MEA is to achieve agricultural resiliency enhanced through development of agricultural machinery MSMEs, gender inclusive workforce development, and with a special focus on crisis impacted areas of Bangladesh. The core objective of the activity is to enhance agricultural resilience through the development of agriculture-based light engineering (ABLE) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and develop a youth and gender-inclusive workforce with a special emphasis on crisis affected areas of Bangladesh.

Implemented by CIMMYT in partnership with iDE and the Georgia Institute of Technology, the activity works in southern Bangladesh and in the Rohingya crisis-impacted zones of the Cox’s Bazar district. CSISA-MEA is a five-year development project which aims to support the mechanization of agriculture in Bangladesh by developing the capacity of the private sector to develop, manufacture, and market innovative new technology which will enable the country’s farmers to mechanize their agricultural production.

To achieve the program goal and objectives, interventions under Thrive are grouped into the following Intermediate Results for the life of the program:

• Competitiveness and efficiency of domestic and private sector-led agricultural machinery manufacturing boosted.
• Enhanced institutional capacity for agricultural mechanization through the development of skilled and youth workforce.
• Enhanced farmer access to mechanization and other crop production and marketing services with particular emphasis on remote and underserved markets.

EnCompass LLC is seeking a Team Leader to conduct the evaluation and lead a team of local subject matter specialists.

The Learning Questions (LQs) of the evaluation are:

1. How successful has CSISA MEA activity been in terms of developing and expanding farmers’ access to the mechanized and related extension services? What were some of the challenges? What are some opportunities for further expansion of mechanization in the future?
2. Has access to mechanization improved in the communities adjacent to where CSISA-MEA has been active, and can any positive change be attributed to CSISA-MEA? What about at a ZOI-wide scale?
3. How successful was the activity in leveraging private sector investment in the agricultural machinery sector? What were some of the challenges in forming partnerships? management?
4. How have the resources that CSISA-MEA leveraged translated into additionality and sustainable expansion of Mechanization and associated businesses?
5. How sustainable are the businesses that have been developed by rural entrepreneurs/agriculture machinery service providers because of the activity? What have been the major constraints and opportunities with respect to sustainability of the LSP business model? What measures should be taken to enhance sustainability?
6. To what extent has CSISA MEA integrated or incorporated gender in the interventions? What have been the challenges and opportunities, if any? What has been the impact of mechanization on women’s economic empowerment?
7. To what extent Has CSISA MEA addressed the agri-mechanization value chain and how successful has the project been to capacitate the MSMEs in the light engineering sector?

Position Duties and Responsibilities

Essential functions:

• Lead the assessment team including one Mechanization Specialist, one Market System/Business Development Specialist, one Agronomist, and one Logistics Support Specialist.
• Develop an Inception Plan, including methodology, tools, and a timeline to execute the evaluation and answer the LQs.
• Review relevant secondary data, both to inform the Inception Report as well as the final report, integrating secondary data to answer the evaluation’s learning questions.
• Collect primary data through various means, such as interviews and focus groups, ensuring data quality and integrity.
• Act as the principal point of contact for USAID’s Activity Manager, providing regular updates on the progress of the evaluation. Conduct an in-brief meeting with USAID on arrival to Bangladesh and an out-brief meeting with USAID upon completion of primary data collection, prior to departure from Bangladesh.
• Manage the team’s primary data collection efforts, ensuring methods are ethical and thorough.
• Oversee the collection, analysis, and synthesis of primary and secondary data.
• Prepare the draft and final version of the evaluation report.

Deliverables and Timing**:**

• Inception report including work plan, detailed methodology, data collection tools, lists of KIIs and FGDs, outline of the final report presenting the proposed structure of the report, and timeline.
• In-brief meeting with USAID’s Activity Manager upon arrival in Bangladesh.
• Conduct any additional meetings with USAID, if needed.
• Regular progress reports/updates to the USAID’s Activity Manager.
• Out-brief meeting with USAID at the end of field work/data collection to share preliminary findings and recommendations.
• A draft version of the evaluation report, not to exceed 35 pages (excluding Executive Summary and annexes).
• Detailed notes or transcripts in English from the KIIs and FGDs.
• A PowerPoint presentation on findings and practical, actionable recommendations
• Facilitate a co-creation workshop with USAID to discuss findings and recommendations.
• A final version of the evaluation report, incorporating feedback from USAID from the co-creation workshop.

Period of Performance and Level of Effort (LOE):

The LOE for the Team Leader is approximately up to 59 days. The period of performance is from on or about August 15, 2024, to March 9, 2025.

Travel: The position requires travel by the Team Leader to Bangladesh.

Position Requirements

Qualifications

Academic Qualifications

• Master’s degree or higher in a relevant discipline such as Economics, Agriculture, Business Administration, Management, Marketing, or related field.

Experience and Skills

• At least 15 years of experience evaluating projects focused on agribusiness and market development, public-private partnerships, agricultural mechanization, value added agriculture enterprises and/or agriculture credit sector for USAID or other international development agencies.
• Proven track record leading and designing evaluations, with expertise in application of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
• Strong knowledge and experience of agriculture production, agricultural mechanization, postharvest management, and marketing processes.
• Knowledge of USAID Feed the Future program, USAID regulations and systems, performance monitoring and evaluation guidance, evaluation policy, gender policy, annual reporting etc.
• Experience working with private sector firms.
• Relevant experience in Bangladesh or South Asia preferred.
• Excellent communication skills in English are required.
• Fluency in Bengali is not required but preferred.
• Demonstrable experience in project management and team leadership within multi-cultural settings.
• Previous experience working in Bangladesh is not required but preferred.