Entrepreneurship Consultant

Catholic Relief Services

Jerusalem, West Bank, & Gaza (JWBG)

 ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONSULTANT

Salalem Leadership Institute

 Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States and has been present in the Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza (JWBG) since 1961. The CRS JWBG country program currently supports development/relief programs and activities in the sectors of civil society, humanitarian assistance, youth empowerment, education, and peace & justice. For further information about CRS, please visit: www.crs.org.

Through generous funding from Global Affairs Canada, CRS is working with partners to implement Salalem, an innovative, five-year project that focuses on improving the skills and professional networks of young women and youth with disabilities, enabling them to enter and remain in the labor market. This project further seeks to build support from key influencers in the home, workplace, and community, creating an enabling environment in which young women and youth with disabilities realize increased agency and self-reliance. Through Salalem, these marginalized individuals in Gaza and the West Bank will become better prepared for jobs, with opportunities to contribute to the well-being of their families and communities. As a part of the project, the Salalem Leadership Institute will provide young women and youth with disabilities with increased skills and the opportunity to apply these skills, while also creating access to professional networks intended to improve their sense of agency and thereby employability.

Purpose: This Terms of Reference (TOR) describes the tasks and responsibilities of the entrepreneurship consultant(s) who will provide technical assistance to the Salalem project through her/his participation as a member of the Salalem Entrepreneurship Startup Award Selection Panel. As a member of this panel, the selected consultant(s) will participate in reviewing the business plans submitted by the entrepreneurship training graduates, will provide technical advice to graduates to strengthen their business plans, and will share her/his recommendations as to which plans should receive a financial award through Salalem. These recommendations must be supported by solid justifications in accordance with the CRS identified business viability criteria and scoring rubrics.

Under this consultancy: The consultant will primarily be responsible for the following activities:

• Review of the business plans submitted by Salalem entrepreneurship training graduates: the consultant will act as the external technical expert within the Salalem project Entrepreneurship Startup Award Selection Panel which also includes CRS and Partners’ teams. The consultant will review the submitted business plans by each entrepreneurship graduate in order to score the business plan in accordance with CRS identified business viability criteria and scoring rubrics. The consultant will share with CRS her/his technical review feedback and recommendations to strengthen each business plan alongside solid justifications for recommending or not recommending business plans to receive the startup financial award.
• Attend the business plan pitching presentations by Salalem entrepreneurship training graduates: the consultant will attend business plan pitching presentations by the entrepreneurship training graduates, where she/he is expected to raise questions to get clarifications of submitted plans as well as to provide technical advice to presenters to further strengthen their business plan. For example, technical questions / advice may include (but is not limited to) the following: business idea and targets, budgets, production plan, marketing plan, risks mitigation measures, etc. The consultant will share her/his selection report with CRS including recommendations for the qualified businesses to receive the startup awards through Salalem Please note, all final selection decisions are made by the Salalem project leadership team, taking into considerations the recommendations of the panel.

COVID-19 Precautions and Adaptations: Due to the rapidly evolving context related to COVID-19, the Entrepreneurship consultant(s) will be expected to be vaccinated or/and to follow a strict mitigation measure during delivery of the consultancy services to ensure safety of CRS staff, partners, participants, and the community.

Level of Effort and Timeline:

• Reviewing and scoring of business plans are planned for approximately 40 hours ~ 5 working days every 4 months.

Note: the exact number of consultancy days will be calculated based on the exact number of submitted business plans by training graduates (approximately 80 plans each quarter). Reviewing and scoring time per plan is estimated to be 30 minutes based on experience to date.

• Attendance at business plan pitching presentations is planned for approximately 15 hours ~ 2 working days every 4 months.

Note: the exact number of consultancy days will be calculated based on the number of highest scored and shortlisted Salalem entrepreneurship training graduates who will be invited to participate in the pitching event (approximately 30 plans every 4 months). Attendance time per pitching event is estimated to be 30 minutes based on experience to date.

• Reporting the final selection of business plans qualified to receive the awards following the pitching presentations including recommendations and follow up actions  is planned for approximately 16 hours ~ 2 working days every 4 months. The consultant will share reports using CRS’s templates including scoring sheet, selection report, recommendations, and follow up actions report.  

Minimum Required Qualifications:

• Has proven track record and experience in entrepreneurship business development and formal small business management settings within the Gaza context for a period of no less than 4 years.
• Has demonstrated coaching and facilitation skills and at least 3 years of experience providing mentorship and technical support for business management, networking, and development.
• Has proven experience in business startup plan evaluation, preferably previous experience participating in business awards selection panels.
• Has experience in culturally appropriate, gender-responsive business development services and coaching.
• Has Arabic fluency (required) and working knowledge of English language (preferred).
• For interested consultancy firms, the entity should be legally registered with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and any other business regulators, with supporting documentation provided upon request.

General Rules:

• CRS has the right to request illustrations or modifications/negotiations after awarding decision.
• CRS is NOT committed to the least price offer and has the right to cancel or re-advertise this TOR without explicating the reasons.
• CRS may select more than one consultant(s) to complete the full scope of this TOR. If this is the case, the components for which each firm is responsible will be made clear in each respective contract.
• CRS requests that the selected consultant(s) be flexible regarding the timing of consultancy due to any changes in schedules or needs of project team and/or project participants. Emphasis should be on accommodation of the participants (including women, youth with disabilities) as much as possible.

Tentative Dates*: 

• Submission deadline: 30 September 2022, 4:00 pm
• Selection decision: 10 October 2022
• First quarter engagement expected time: October – November 2022
• Delivery of the final report: 15 November 2022
• Tentative dates for these activities in the following quarter will be agreed upon between CRS and the consultant(s) after the completion of each round.

*Final dates are subject to change based on consultant selection and start date of the work assigned.

How to Apply: Interested applicants with relevant experience and qualifications are encouraged to submit an application as follows:

• Application form and the complete TOR are available at (http://jobs.crsjwbg.org/Tenders/index).
• Applications will be accepted from specialized entrepreneurship and small business development and management consulting/training firms and/or individuals.
• Submit a technical application that includes at minimum:
  • Cover Letter summarizing relevant previous experience of the consultant
  • CV highlighting relevant experience
  • Sample of previously done piece of work in relevant topic – business plan evaluation report
  • A clarification letter of availability and suggested duration/timing of engagement.

• Submit a financial proposal. Prices should be in New Israeli Shekels and must be valid up till 90 days after the submission date. The financial proposal must identify the daily rate and the total cost and should respect the scope of work described and maximum limit mentioned in this TOR.
• Please submit your complete application online at: (http://jobs.crsjwbg.org/Tenders/index) no later than 30 September 2022.

• Important Notes:

• • The successful bidder will sign all donor required documents.
  • CRS reserves the right to reject all bids, and to decide not to pursue this procurement.
  • CRS is not obliged to procure the lowest priced offer, when the lowest price does not offer the best overall value and all other factors considered.
  • For any questions, kindly contact CRS at: [email protected] or 1800277277

Women, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented populations are encouraged to apply and to seek CRS support on the application process where additional accommodation is required.