External Facilitator/Partnership Broker

Terms of Reference

External Facilitator/Partnership Broker (National)

Location	Hanoi (main office), Lao Cai, Son La
Assignment duration	12 months
Days	35 Days
Start date	April 2020
Deadline to apply	23 April 2020

ABOUT US

With more than 30 years of experience, Cowater International is Canada’s global leader in management consulting services specializing in international development. We have managed the implementation of over 800 projects in more than 80 countries around the globe for clients such as DFID, DFAT Australia, the World Bank and Global Affairs Canada. We work with governments, partner organizations, communities and civil society to design and implement sustainable solutions that generate lasting social, economic and environmental impacts. Our adaptive approach to management has led to our award-winning work and recognition as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies in 2017 and 2018.

BACKGROUND

Cowater International is seeking to recruit a highly qualified international Training Innovation Consultant for the Aus4Equality|Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) Program.

The GREAT Program is a flagship initiative of the Australian aid program in Vietnam – it commenced in November 2017 and will run for five years (2017 to 2021). The Program seeks to promote women’s economic empowerment (WEE) in the ethnically diverse north-west region of Vietnam. The primary beneficiaries are women living in the provinces of Son La and Lao Cai with a focus on economic inclusion for of women from ethnic minority communities.

The objectives of the Aus4Equality|GREAT Program are:

Objective 1 – Empowering local women: Women living in local communities have increased capacity, space and choices to beneficially engage with agriculture and tourism businesses.
Objective 2 – Inclusive businesses partnerships: Selected private sector actors within the agriculture and tourism sectors innovate to profitably and sustainably trade with more women entrepreneurs and operate in gender sensitive ways.
Objective 3 – Improving sector governance and policy: Government agencies reinforce policies, and enact plans, regulations and services that enable more inclusive socio-economic development.

Key approaches applied by the program include: Market system development (MSD), Partnership, Adaptive Management, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI), Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) and Innovation. The program is partnering with approximately 50 partners to deliver results, including private sector actors, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and research institutions.

GREAT is seeking to appoint an External Facilitator/Partnership Broker to help independently facilitate “partnership health checks” with a selection of current GREAT partners. The partnership health check is a tool applied by GREAT to quickly assess the quality of day to day engagement between GREAT and selected partners during the implementation of agreed Partnership Agreement. It reflects the partnership guiding principles, and considers the governance arrangements, responsibilities, added value and partnership risks.

SUMMARY OF ROLE

Reporting to GREAT’s Deputy Team Leader, the External Facilitator will support GREAT to facilitate a series of partner health check sessions involving GREAT team members and partner representatives. The partner health check process is an opportunity for GREAT and partner organisations to openly discuss what is working well, what are the challenges, and to jointly agree on actions following the review. The objective is to create a conducive working environment between GREAT and partners for the effective and efficient delivery of activities and to achieve the End of Program goals of improving the lives of ethnic minority women.

SPECIFIC TASKS

Preparatory activities for health check (approximately 3 hours per partner)
- Reviewing project background
- Preparatory discussion with GREAT and partner
Facilitate the health check discussion (approximately 2 hours per partner)
Draft meeting notes and joint agreement (approximately 3 hours per partner)
Prepare an annual synopsis on consistent finings including common issues, strengths and weaknesses (1 day per summary)

OUTPUT

Facilitate and write up approximately 35 partner health checks (15 in 2020 and 20 in 2021)
Prepare two annual synopsis reports (2020 and 2021)

Demonstrated Knowledge and Skills:

Excellent people, negotiation and facilitation skills.
Experience in coaching and capacity building.
Practical experience with international development projects.
Ability to synthesise information and prepare reports.
Relevant tertiary qualifications such as international development, communications or psychology.
Understanding of Women’s Economic Development.
Experience working with ethnic minorities is an advantage.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please apply by sending a CV to aus4equalityrecruitment@gmail.com and cover letter no later than 5pm 23 April 2020, with the position title in the subject of the email and proposed daily rate. Please note that remuneration must be inline with EU/UN cost norms.

Tags: Aus4Equality| GREAT Program