Consultant – Workshop Facilitator – Jordan At Mercy Corps

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.

Under the funding of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mercy Corps in partnership with Agriterra, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and Advance Consulting is implementing a three-and-a half year, €7.4 million program. The program aims to improve the income opportunities and longer-term resilience of smallholder farmers in Balqa, Irbid, and Ajloun in Jordan with a series of complementary interventions to strengthen the broader horticulture sector. Building off ongoing efforts supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other stakeholders, the program will conduct activities on three levels:

The program targets three main outcomes:

Smallholder farmers have adopted improved agricultural practices;

Horticulture value chain for Smallholder Farmers operating at scale, efficient and inclusive;

Improved ecosystem to support and strengthen smallholder farmers.

The project just completed an eight-month inception phase that resulted in the submission of a final and updated proposal, Performance Management Plan, and budget. During the inception phase, consortium members identified several challenges working effectively and efficiently. Many of these challenges may lead to poor outcomes as the project starts the implementation of its activities. To address these issues, the consortium will conduct a three-day workshop to improve team cohesion and understanding as well as solidify project guiding principles and documents. The workshop is scheduled for October 11- 13, 2021 in Amman. All partner organizations will have representatives physically present and the representatives will be part of the Project Management Committee, a project management level group that will oversee the day to day implementation of project activities.

Purpose / Project Description:

The Jordan HortiFuture project is seeking a qualified facilitator consultant/s with proven expertise and experience to provide services as follows:

• Pre-Workshop Preparation
• Pre-workshop discussions on reflections of the experiences from the inception period (interviews with partners)
• Pre-workshop planning / agenda development
• Review of workshop agenda and materials
• Develop presentation materials, team building activities, design activities to maximize participation and come to agreement/resolution of topics
• Workshop Work with consortium partners to conduct a 3-day workshop, including:
• Facilitate the 3-day workshop, coming to agreement/resolution on path forward and final decisions
• Conduct team building activities
• Post-Workshop Assistance – provide support to post-workshop activities, including:
• Review and refine retreat minutes as required to ensure these accurately reflect the actual discussion.
• Support in the review of the workshop proceedings and prepare summary report on observations and next steps recommended, stemming from the retreat within two weeks.

Consultant Objectives:

The objective of this consultancy is to facilitate and manage a consultative process involving multiple consortium partners to strengthen partner relationships, reflect on the project’s inception phase, identify relationship building needs, agreement on communication tools and processes, review and amend project tools (e.g. PMP, including MEL tools, and ToC) and plan for the first six months of implementation. The facilitator, in consultation with the Mercy Corps Jordan Senior Program Manager and Mercy Corps Deputy Country Director, will prepare the workshop programme, facilitate the workshop and produce workshop documentation.

Consultant Activities:

The consultant will:

• Interview organization representatives to obtain feedback on the inception phase, discuss and refine the agenda with the Deputy Country Director and other stakeholders as necessary, gather any necessary materials, and review project documents and any last-minute preparations for the workshop.
• Facilitate workshop: Monday, October 11, 2021 through Wednesday, October 13, 2021 (with a possibility of slight adjustment).
• Document the workshop proceedings + review and produce the workshop report.

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will deliver:

• A comprehensive planning meeting agenda and facilitation plan with appropriate methodologies and tools
• A comprehensive workshop report documenting results and associated agreements

The assignment must be completed by October 18, 2021. Mercy Corps will pay for air travel, accommodation and meals during the meeting days.

Timeframe / Schedule:

In line with Terms of Reference, we propose 9 days of facilitation and consultancy work as follows:

• 4 days preparation: to interview organization representatives to obtain feedback on the inception phase, discuss and refine the agenda with the Deputy Country Director and other stakeholders as necessary, gather any necessary materials, and review project documents and any last minute preparations for the workshop.
• 3 days facilitation of workshop: Monday, October 11, 2021 through Wednesday, October 13, 2021 (with a possibility of slight adjustment).
• 2 days post-workshop support: to document the workshop proceedings + review and produce the workshop report.

The Consultant will report to:

Deputy Country Director, Mercy Corps Jordan

The Consultant will work closely with:

Mercy Corps Deputy Country Director, Mercy Corps Jordan HortiFuture Project Manager, Jordan HortiFuture Consortium Partners (Agriterra, Advance Consulting, and Wageningen University and Research)

Required Experience & Skills:

The ideal Consultant will have knowledge of and/or proven expertise in the following:

• Extensive and advanced technical expertise and experience in facilitating multi-partner and multi-level project review and planning meetings.
• A minimum of 10 years of facilitator and coaching experience is required;
• Motivated, committed, responsible, and able to work independently with limited direct supervision.
• A minimum of 8 years of experience working with non-profit organizations in humanitarian and/or development field;
• Commitment to and understanding of Mercy Corps mission, vision, and values.
• Strong usage of digital tools.
• Strong analytical skills as well as fluent and effective writing in English.
• Experience working with a dispersed team.
• Experience working with multicultural teams and negotiating cross-cultural communication challenges.
• Demonstrated experience facilitating workshops including project planning;
• Experience building teams with different organizational cultures;
• Experience in the agriculture sector is preferred.
• Bachelor degree required; Masters preferred

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.