Market Access and Exports Facilitator

PROGRAM BACKGROUND:

AMENCA is an Australian aid program initiated in 2005 in the Palestinian Territories. This third phase runs from 2015 to 2021 and has a focus on supporting economic growth in the agricultural sector through market systems development (MSD).

The program itself is implemented by three Australian non-government organisations (ANGOs) – CARE, Oxfam and APHEDA - and their Consortia. Cardno manages a pool of technical specialists providing advisory services to the ANGOs and to the Australian Representative Office (ARO) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) based in Ramallah, Palestinian Territories.

POSITION BACKGROUND:

In the Palestinian Territories, agriculture is a vital sector for food security and eradication of poverty, in addition it symbolises resilience and provides protection against reductions in income and food insecurity during times of crisis. Around 12% of the Palestinian labour force is employed in agriculture.  The Palestinian Territories has the potential to establish a vibrant and profitable agricultural sector. A range of private and public efforts has demonstrated strong potential and that growing markets can be unlocked. 

The Israeli market is a strategic market for the Palestinian farmers and is the easiest market to access, not just because of the logistics, but also its standards are relatively easy to adopt for Palestinian farmers. Around 80% of the Palestinian Territories agricultural exports go to Israel through intermediaries. There is an additional opportunity with Israel acting as an agricultural exports gateway to several countries in the region, in addition to Europe. 

Accordingly AMENCA 3 is interested in better understanding Israel’s domestic and international agricultural economic and policy structures, and complementarities for exports of Palestinian produce.  This is especially so for those labour intensive agricultural commodities.

It is a fundamental requirement of this assignment that the consultant work in full consultation and cooperation with the Ramallah based Program Adviser, so that the Program Adviser will be in a position to take things forward as needed.  

The overall goal of this assessment is to foster competitive, resilient, and inclusive market systems that provide increased opportunities that open and strengthen access to the Israeli market for Palestinian value chains and identify potential target commodities to develop or scale up. This assignment will provide technical direction and implementation oversight to support increased trade and market access to the Israeli market, including value addition, and improved producer and agribusiness practices. There are two key outcomes required from this role:

1. Develop trade relationships for AMENCA 3 private sector actors; 
2. Support AMENCA 3 Private Sector Actors to understand and meet the needs of the Israeli market.

CONSULTANCY ASSIGNMENT TASKS:

The consultant shall carry out the following key tasks.

Develop Trade Relationships for AMENCA 3 Private Sector Actors

• Work with ANGOs to determine windows for complementarities or gaps in supply in Israeli market for AMENCA 3 value chain products and bi-products;
• From that, develop and maintain business contacts within the Israeli domestic and international agricultural market in these areas; focussed on key import/export market opportunities for AMENCA 3 value chain products (raw, produced, and/or by-products);
• Ensure AMENCA 3 private sector partners, through the Program Managers, are successfully linked with these Israeli business contacts and support the development of a fruitful relationship; 
• Ensure AMENCA 3 private sector partners gain a good understanding and insight of trade capability in the sector, build key stakeholder relationships and awareness to support objectives;
• Facilitate a business to business (B2B) event to support direct business linkages (or online event if required under COVID), and, if appropriate, facilitate exposure visits for Palestinian traders;
• Support ANGOs and partners and business contacts to efficiently and effectively determine solutions to any barriers for supply of AMENCA 3 value chain products to the Israeli market;
• Facilitate quotations (if needed), contract negotiations and signing of agreements, ensuring value for money for the ANGOs; and
• Ensure consistency and fairness in business opportunities between the three ANGOs.

Support AMENCA 3 Private Sector Actors to understand and meet the needs for entry or growth in the Israeli market

On agreed AMENCA 3 value chain products and bi-products (as above):

• On value chains agreed by the Program Adviser, gather and provide to the ANGOs current and accurate information on the Israeli domestic and international import/export market. Providing technical direction and implementation oversight to support increased trade and Palestinian suppliers’ access to the Israeli market. This shall:

• Provide recommendations on best avenues to increase trade with Israel for Palestinian products, including details on supply gaps, complementarities and potential; 
• Provide market entry points, potential leads, and business relationship building opportunities;
• Profile main competitors including name, origin, history, competitive power, etc.
• Assess/estimate potential for augmenting demand and/or changing to new sources of supply (supply-demand gap), also providing demand/supply statistics;
• Include detailed information on barriers and risks to increasing trade and how these may be practically mitigated (including examples and lessons); and
• Include detailed regulatory information if required. 

• Support ANGO key private sector partner’s capacity to meet Israeli market requirements, including:

• Assess ANGO key partner’s capacity, market linkages, constraints, and potential to meet the demands of Israeli market;
• Consider non-market barriers to Palestinian exports and practical ways these may be addressed;
• Discuss with individual ANGOs and their private sector partners how they can best meet the import / export requirements, and how they may overcome any barriers;
• Facilitate links between ANGO partners and regulatory or other bodies that may assist or be required;
• Recommend innovative and possibly market accepted marketing models that can be adopted by the Palestinian agribusiness sector; and
• Recommend capacity and competencies development for Palestinian traders and farmers (quality improvement, packaging modernisation, labelling, etc).
• Upon agreement with the Program Adviser, provide similar market information and recommendations to improve ANGO partner capacity to capitalise on or develop three to four other high-potential commodities in the Israeli market. This shall also include descriptions of the characteristics and structure of the market, including the identification and details concerning individual importers/end-users; consumer power, price elasticity power, and main consumer behaviours and preferences.

Overall Requirements

• Preparation:

• Agree approach to and parameters of the work with ARO, taking into account stakeholder requirements, DFAT/ARO objectives, AMENCA principles and outcomes, relevant policy, the Palestinian context, which will further inform the scope of the work;
• Inform the work through stakeholder consultations, and collaboration with ARO / ANGOs / Consortia / Advisers.

• Implementation: 

• Carry out in a timely manner; raising any unexpected delays with ARO and Cardno;
• Work collaboratively and in very close consultation and coordination with the ANGOs, Program Adviser, and other advisers and specialist as relevant, throughout the undertaking of this assignment;
• Work with the AMENCA advisers to support ANGOS to put systems in place to ensure consistency in planning and implementation of their own trade facilitation activities. 

• Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Work with the M&E Adviser to ensure the outcomes of this TOR are in line with trade targets and indicators.

• Communications:

• Report to ARO any ANGO resource constraints or requirements that would impede yourself or ANGOs from carrying out any activities related to Trade Facilitation. Provide ARO with reasonable solutions;
• Determine any further capacity building requirements for ANGOs, Consortia and local partners, and provide recommendations to ARO;
• Maintain strong communication with the Program Adviser;
• Attend meetings with Cardno and the advisory team upon request;
• Liaise with the Jordanian Exports Facilitator to the extent necessary and useful;
• Meet with ARO Ramallah if and when requested; 
• Debrief ANGOs and advisers at the end of the duration of the contract, if requested.

• Other reasonable and related tasks as determined by Head of Cooperation Ramallah and/or the Cardno Contractor Representative.

Note: any travel to Palestinian Territories, if required (and safe/approved), will be located in Ramallah, with some travel in West Bank and Gaza. If travel is required, this will be by written agreement with Cardno and shall include provision or reimbursement of accommodation (if needed), transport and travel.

DELIVERABLES:

1. B2B facilitated event
2. Facilitated exposure visits for Palestinian traders (upon request by Program Adviser)
3. Documentation of Point (2) above for each product, in a format agreed by the Program Adviser  and of a quality standard approved by Cardno, submitted to the Program Adviser  as completed but at least two weeks before the end of the contract. These documents shall also outline any ongoing recommendations for the AMENCA 3 program.

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SELECTION CRITERIA:

Essential:

• Advanced degree in agricultural economics, business, economics, finance, or other relevant field;
• Extensive experience in market facilitation for domestic and international markets, competitiveness, trade, and/or export development;
• Willingness to work collaboratively with stakeholders;
• Excellent analytical skills, as well as interpersonal and written and oral communication skills in English, Hebrew and Arabic;
• Proven understanding of and experience in the Israeli operating and market environment and regional markets, regional trade, trade agreements;
• Good insight and knowledge of the Palestinian market and policy context;
• Demonstrated experience of trade facilitation in the agricultural sector.

Desirable:

• Professional experience working with or on DFAT, USAID, DFID or other donor programs;
• Demonstrated experience with capacity building;
• Experience integrating gender and youth programming into trade facilitation;
• Experience in private sector-led development interventions, buyer-led approaches, M4P, and sustainable market integration and development;
• Ability to draft and provide succinct reports, working to tight deadlines;
• Proven dissemination ability of best practices and lessons learned across market actors;
• Demonstrated experience working with senior-level country counterparts and regulatory bodies; 
• Ability to work and quickly adapt in a complex and fluid regional environment;
• Ability and willingness to travel (if COVID conditions allow, and if agreed/approved by Cardno).