Short Term Consultant - Research Associate

 

A consulting firm of repute requires the services of a Research Associate for a Punjab-based Project, as per following detail.

 

1.      Scope of Work Summary:

 

The scope of this consultancy is to work in the newly proposed “Policy and Strategy Unit” (PSU) in Department of Agriculture (Government of Punjab), to undertake various office support activities on day to day basis and to assist the technical experts in performing their assignment, by providing necessary administrative and secretarial support.

 

For said assignment, the consultant will carry out all required tasks, including but not limited to secondary research, taking notes, arranging meetings and writing minutes of meetings as well as to develop reports, presentations, and other work essential for smooth functioning of PSU as well for delivery of technical experts of PSU.

 

2.      Background:

 

The Project has been designed to support advocacy for policy and regulatory reforms and early implementation of the same in agriculture sector (horticulture, livestock and dairy subsectors) of Punjab. This project would work in partnership with the Punjab’s public & private sector, civil society organizations and academia to create an environment that is more conducive to the growth of horticulture, livestock and dairy sub-sectors. The project will also develop and implement a set of activities that will result in significant policy reforms and capacity building of its partners.

The provincial Department of Agriculture (DOA) is a line department, responsible for development of agriculture (including horticulture) sector through policy formulation, institutional support and service delivery in province. Through its Planning and Evaluation section, DOA is undertaking short, medium and long term planning in consideration of available data of crops, land and farmers, and annual growth targets of government. The section is also responsible for evaluation of various ongoing interventions.

 

For provincial DOA, evidence based applied policy research and evaluation of various policy options and instruments is imperative for medium and long term development planning and setting priorities for allocation of resources to develop horticulture sub-sector for accelerated growth. Gap analysis of on-going interventions / regular operations / service delivery mechanism, identification of limiting factors, comparative analysis of various policy options and their budgetary and socio-economic impact can provide necessary inputs to the policy makers and top leadership of department to make strategic decisions in a holistic manner, backed by quantitative and qualitative analysis. Such analysis can lead to policy and institutional reforms that can meet current and emerging socio-economic challenges. Moreover, it can also serve as a stepping stone for annual development programs as well as to secure funding from multilateral and bilateral donors / development agencies.

 

To strengthen the policy and strategy formulation function, the Project and Department of Agriculture have agreed to set up a “Policy and Strategy Unit” (PSU) in the Department with the following objectives.

 

1. Strengthening strategy, planning, and policy formulation functions and processes of the department, by providing institutional support.

 

1. Identifying major policy challenges, and undertaking evidence based qualitative and quantitative research, either in-house or by other project partners, for developing policy recommendations for improving rules, regulations by-laws and pertaining standards, procedures and SOPs.

 

1. Facilitating the Department of Agriculture to develop business enabling environment through formulating conducive policies and taking strategic decisions. The Project will engage the policy communities on various policy issues through policy dialogue, seminars, round tables, conferences and workshops and will provide the synthesized information to Department of Agriculture through newly established unit for incorporating in new policy and institutional reforms.

 

With this backdrop, for the proposed PSU, the Project intends to hire the services of a short term consultant who can work as “Research Associate”, to undertake various support and administrative activities of PSU.

 

3.      Objective and Purpose of the Consultancy:

 

The overall objective of this assignment is to serve the proposed PSU unit as a technical resource, under the direct supervision and guidance of technical experts of PSU and / or nominee of Secretary, to provide secretarial and administrative support to technical experts of PSU to increase their productivity and to save their valuable time.

 

4.      Principal Duties & Responsibilities:

• To attend PSU office at designated office hours during the consultancy period.
• To liaise with the nominee of Secretary of DOA on daily basis for work assignments given by DOA and updating him / her about the progress, as and when required.
• To provide secretarial and day to day support to PSU unit necessary to ensure its successful operations.
• To ensure timely, high quality completion of all relevant reporting requirements.
• To exercise professional interpersonal skills to effectively work with all project staff, clients, and counterparts.
• To ensure close collaboration and teamwork with all project technical activities.
• To perform all other tasks as may be assigned in a manner that contributes to the achievement of the project’s work plan and objectives.

 

5.      Specific Tasks of the Consultant:

 

The associate shall use his / her education, experience, competencies, and skills to accomplish the following:

 

• Coordinate with technical team on day to day basis and report on progress to supervisors / experts to ensure smooth planning and implementation of the consultancy work plan.
• Provide technical support in report writing, documentation and filing, follow-up on activities, and decisions taken in meetings.  
• Maintain liaison with other sections / wings of DOA and external stakeholders.
• Provide administrative support to prepare communications, reports, charts, tables, presentations, work plan(s), budget(s) or any other documents in English and/or Urdu.
• Schedule meetings and organize meetings for supervisors and other project technical staff.
• Undertake necessary secondary and primary research to support the work of other technical experts.
• Arrange and participate in meetings, conferences, and PSU’s activities, take and prepare minutes of those meetings.
• Develop databases / excel sheets / presentations as per requirement.
• Manage, organize, update and file data related to PSU’s work.
• Print scanning, photocopying and other office routine work.
• Perform all other relevant duties that may be assigned by the Supervisor and/or the Nominee of the Secretary of DOA

 

6.      Deliverables:

1. Monthly report on every 3^rd working day of next month, encompassing all the major activities and tasks completed in last calendar month.
2. Final report after completion of consultancy assignment.

 

7.      Job Qualifications

• Bachelors‘ degree in business administration, economics, social sciences or related field from a leading Pakistani or international university;
• Minimum two (02) years’ experience working in private sector in similar positions; INGO experience will be advantageous;
• Experience in and an understanding of the development sector;
• Flexibility, creativity, and the ability to maintain a rapid and demanding pace of work;
• Strong interpersonal, writing, and oral communication skills;
• Detail oriented and ability to accurately document files;
• Fluency in both written and oral English and Urdu required.
• Good computer skills with ability to prepare and deliver PowerPoint presentations.

8.      Duty Station:

 

The duty station for this consultancy is Lahore. The consultant is supposed to attend PSU office daily during office hours.

 

9.      Reporting:

 

The consultant will report to the Project and Secretary Agriculture on their deliverables, and will be supervised by the Secretary or his designee for the day-to-day work. All the deliverables will be approved by the Project COP as well as DOA. The Project, thru the sub-contracting consulting firm, will pay the consultancy fee whereas Department of Agriculture will facilitate the consultant by providing office, stationery, furniture, IT equipment, and other support including conveyance, if required, for accomplishment of assigned tasks.

 

10.  Duration of the Assignment:

 

This assignment is planned for duration not to exceed 60 days LOE (based on five working days) extendable up to 120 days based on satisfactory performance and deliverables evaluated jointly by the Project COP and Secretary of DOA.

 

The consultant will work for 40 hours a week, in line with the working schedule, chalked out by Secretary or his nominee. The Secretary or his nominee will sign the time sheet of the consultant.

 

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