Regional Markets and Trade Consultant 18 views0 applications

Since its establishment in 1985, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) project aims to sustainably prevent food insecurity and famine across the globe by delivering to the U.S. Government and partners early warning on the location, causes, and magnitude of current and future food insecurity; improving the quality and timeliness of information and analysis useful for achieving sustainable food security; and strengthening innovative local, national, regional, and international capabilities to understand and appropriately address current, recurrent, and likely future food insecurity. Chemonics has been implementing FEWS NET since 2000, beginning its eight phase (FEWS NET 8) in 2024.

FEWS NET 8 Knowledge Base (KB) is a $65 million project which will, among others, create and update FEWS NET’s knowledge base about market systems on which FEWS NET’s acute food insecurity early warning analyses are predicated.

These updated products will better equip FEWS NET analysts to monitor key commodity markets and assess food availability, affordability, and access to project food security status. Updated market information for commodities key to food and/or income data will ensure that FEWS NET scenario development and decision support are based on accurate and time-relevant understandings of people’s capacity to access food throughout the year, the capacity of the market system to operate in a competitive way to meet the population’s needs and to provide relevant services, and to efficiently distribute key commodities throughout the country. More explicitly, Market Fundamentals (MF) research explores the market conditions and market dynamics during a typical year, for commodities that represent the most significant sources of food kilocalories or income for poor households. This market knowledge base will be valid for at least the next five to ten years, barring structural shifts in the overall market system and its enabling environment.

Chemonics is seeking two agricultural markets and trade specialists to support FEWS NET 8 KB Market Fundamentals research activities as “Regional Markets and Trade Consultant” (RMTC) (the “Consultant”). Each consultant will be responsible for a three-country portfolio: RMTC 1 will cover Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso and RMTC 2 will cover DRC, Burundi, and Madagascar.

The anticipated period of performance for these consultancies runs from March to October/November 2026, with the possibility of extension in alignment with the overall activity timeline. Country-level activities are expected to take place at different moments between late March and September 2026, depending on country sequencing and implementation needs. As such, each consultancy will span about nine months within the March–November 2026 window, with the majority of activities anticipated to take place between March and September. The estimated total level of effort (LOE) is 140 days.

Position Description

Each Consultant will collaborate with the FEWS NET KB Market Fundamentals team, and other collaborators as necessary, to plan, coordinate, and carry out field activities across their assigned three-country portfolio These activities include data collection, stakeholder engagement, and data analysis that will generate inputs for a country-wide Market Fundamentals Report and related products in each of the assigned countries. Each Consultant will support the organization of stakeholder meetings and workshops, assist with data collection efforts, ensure adherence to research protocols and data quality standards, and contribute to analysis and reporting efforts. Data will be collected through key informant interviews, visits to markets, and participatory discussions with key stakeholders during workshops.

In each country, the analysis will cover up to 10 commodities of importance to food security, such as: rice, maize, sorghum, dry beans, cowpea, groundnuts, cassava, plantain, and cooking oil. Depending on the country’s context, other products (including livestock and fish) may also be considered.

Responsibilities

The consultants will work under the technical direction of Gabriela Alcaraz, Deputy Chief of Party – Market Fundamentals or other designated person in the FEWS NET 8 KB MF team. The consultants will collaborate with other participants in the activity and will travel to various locations to participate in the project activities across their assigned country portfolio.

For each opportunity, the consultant should be based in any of the three countries within their assigned portfolio and must have active work authorization in that country. The consultant must be willing to travel to the other two countries within the regional opportunity as required by project activities.

The following responsibilities apply to each Consultant across their assigned three-country portfolio. The same activities will be carried out in all three countries, with timelines staggered to accommodate overlapping schedules. The percentages shown reflect the estimated distribution of the Consultant’s total level of effort by type of activity, rather than by individual country. Since the nature of the work is consistent across countries, these proportions apply to the portfolio as a whole and are provided for planning purposes only.

• Desk research (15%)
  • Identify and review market assessments and value chain analyses conducted in each country over the past 5 years, for the commodities of interest
  • As needed, help identify, acquire and compile relevant market-related secondary data and reports,including price series, agricultural production, trade statistics, and existing market studies
  • Draft preliminary commodity-level summaries based on the literature reviewed
• Planning (10%)
  • Contribute to the planning of in-country activities providing subject matter expertise and relevant country-specific contextual knowledge
  • Support the organization of a stakeholder introductory meeting to socialize the activity and establish communication protocols
  • Help identify key informants and potential participants for the stakeholder workshops in collaboration with FEWS NET staff and local partners
  • Support the development of materials for data collection teams training sessions
  • Help draft letters of introduction and other activity-related materials as necessary to meet local protocols and requests for authorization prior to fieldwork
• Data collection (50%)
  • Collaborate and deliver training sessions for data collection teams in coordination with the KB team, using materials and guidance to be provided by the KB team
  • Provide technical support to data collection teams to ensure consistency and alignment of activities across countries
  • Coordinate and collaborate with data collection teams across countries to support the implementation of activities
  • Support data collection activities and field meetings on commodity market dynamics (including market structure, conduct, performance) in the countries of interest. Note: the Consultant will bear the main responsibility for data collection. The Consultant will only support this process
  • Support the review of primary data collected for accuracy, completeness, and quality
  • Maintain close and regular communication with the MF team during the data collection process and provide timely feedback on emerging issues and field observations.
  • Provide inputs to the documentation of the data collection process, including recommendations for future MF activities
  • Participate in and contribute to data collection debriefs with country teams
  • Co-facilitate stakeholder workshops in the countries of interest in collaboration with the KB team and local partners, using materials and guidance provided by the KB team
  • Contribute to the preparation, collection, and organization of all workshop materials and outputs for further analysis and submission to the MF team.
• Analysis and reporting (20%)
  • Support analysis of the data collected
  • Assist in synthesizing findings from stakeholder workshops
  • Contribute to technical discussions and to the development of MF products
  • Prepare written summaries for each commodity under analysis, drawing on insights from the literature review and primary data analysis
  • Provide additional written inputs as required by the MF team
  • Contribute to and provide feedback to the MF report
• Other support (5%)
  • Provide additional technical or logistical support as required by the MF team, including arranging interviews, facilitating translation, coordinating with local partners and institutions, and supporting general field operations
  • Offer general support, as necessary, to ensure the successful completion of the MF activities and products.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience; Master’s degree preferred; education in a discipline relevant to the work of FEWS NET, such as economics, agricultural economics, agronomy, nutrition, climatology, anthropology, livelihoods, or social geography is preferred;

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience conducting market assessments for agricultural products;
• Minimum 3 years of experience collecting primary data through key informant interviews and group participatory discussions;
• Demonstrated experience analysing qualitative data;
• Demonstrated supervisory experience and experience leading teams, preferably overseeing fieldwork or research teams.;
• Experience working in or familiarity with the country of interest market systems; prior residence or long-term assignment in-country strongly preferred.

Knowledge and Skills

• Substantive knowledge of the agricultural markets, trade systems/landscape, and related policies supporting development and/or humanitarian efforts/programming in the countries of interest;
• Excellent analytical, writing, and presentation skills;
• Strong interpersonal and coordination skills, including the ability to work well with field-based and remote teams using collaboration tools/platforms.

Language

• Professional-level fluency in English and French required.

Location

Each Consultant should be based in one of the three countries within their assigned portfolio and must be available to travel to the other two countries as required by project activities.

The consultant may be required to travel domestically within each country for the implementation of activities. International travel will be necessary. Per-diem and transport costs will be covered according to FEWS NET policies.