Near East Foundation (NEF)

Revolving Credit Fund (RCF) to Support livelihoods Recovery in Northwest Syria - PhII

Background

For over 100 years, NEF has worked to build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East and Africa through education, governance, and economic development initiatives. Working through a network of country offices and local partners, NEF currently operates in nine countries: Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Sudan. Its programs are organized around three themes: Inclusive Economic Development, Climate Resilient Development, and Peacebuilding and Stabilization.

1. Objectives of the Consultancy

NEF is seeking a consultant to design the business ideation and development training component for the RCF program in NWS. This consultancy aims to develop in-person intensive sequenced support in business creation, market research, business development and planning. The selected consultant will evaluate existing training materials, identify gaps, and develop new content tailored to the specific needs of targeted locations. The primary beneficiaries of this training program are women who are willing to participate in the RCF but lack viable businesses for investment.
 

1. Work and Deliverables

• Review the current training materials, identify gaps, and submit a 1- to 2-page report detailing findings and recommendations.
• Develop a new training material in Arabic, designed to cover the below topics over a 5-day training program. Training material to include visual objects to enhance understanding and engagement. Topics to cover:
  • Introduction to entrepreneurship
  • Business ideation and development
  • Business planning. Business plan template to be designed so each trainee submits a full plan by the end of the training program. Successful business plans will qualify for the RCF loans with an amount up to $ 1,200. The plan template to include;
    • Business description
    • Market research and digital marketing
    • Products and/or services
    • Financial plan; including revenue, COGS, OPEX, and CAPEX projections, and funding structure
    • SWOT analysis
    • Financial planning for startups
• Develop a corresponding PowerPoint presentation to facilitate engaging and interactive sessions
• Provide training material in professionally designed digital ready to print format
• Deliver Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions to equip NEF’s team with the skills and knowledge to effectively deliver the designed training program
• Develop an assessment system for the submitted business plans to guide the NEF’s team while reviewing the submitted business plans.
• Design a knowledge assessment to be administered both before and after the training

1. Qualifications

• University degree in business, finance or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in business development and training, with specific knowledge of startups & MSMEs in Syria.
• Proven experience in developing business development curricula
• Excellent communication skills
• Proficiency in Arabic is required; English is highly preferred.

1. To Apply

Kindly share the below documents to https://neareast.bamboohr.com/careers/391?source=aWQ9MTk%3D

• Resume. For consulting firms, please attach the resumes of relevant key staff
• Technical proposal including a proposed methodology, work plan, description of relevant past experience and sample of available work
• Financial proposal including the level of efforts (LoE) in days and the expected daily rate in USD
• Contact details of three references

NEF will accept a rolling application until the position is filled. Review of applications will begin on Aug 7th, 2024. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.