Senior Advisor

Request for Proposal

Senior Advisor: Brand engagement and environmental and social performance

About ISC

The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) is an international non-governmental agency working to unleash the power of people to transform their communities in the face of climate change. ISC’s mission is to help communities, cities, and industry around the world address environmental, economic, and social challenges to build a better future shaped and shared by all.

Background

Aiming to strengthen the lower Mekong region as a competitive and environmentally sustainable manufacturing hub, the Mekong Sustainability Manufacturing Alliance (MSMA) program is a newly awarded USAID-funded Alliance, led by ISC, driving private-sector adoption of improved environmental and social safeguards by factories in the food processing, electronics and textiles sectors. The program will focus primarily on Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, with both country-specific and region-wide activities.

Scope of Work

ISC is seeking a Consultant to drive the program’s engagement with global brands in the textiles, food processing and electronics sectors, as well as with supply chains, industry associations and financial institutions in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The Consultant will collaborate with country team(s) to develop strategies for improvement in environmental, social and governance practices in the manufacturing sector. The Consultant will also support other program activities including market analyses, capacity-building, access to finance, coordination with relevant government entities, and high-level regional convenings to disseminate learnings. The Consultant will also ensure the effective integration of the program’s Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) strategy across the program.

ISC seeks applications from individuals from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The Consultant can express interest for a specific country(ies) or specific sectoral focus (eg, social compliance, environmental sustainability or governance performance) based on expertise and experience.

Candidates will be expected to perform a number of technical and/or administrative functions to support program activities.

Specifically, the Consultant will:

• Work with brands and local manufacturers to develop ESG strategies for Thailand, Cambodia and/or Vietnam.
• Review assessments and conduct analyses to ensure alignment with the needs and requirements of the program.
• Assist in development of curricula and pilot projects to develop manufacturers capacity and adoption of environmental, social and governance best practices.
• Lead outreach to national and regional organizations who specialize in advancing environmental, social and governance adoption and engage with public and private sector stakeholders relevant to the program.
• Support engagement with financial institutions offering to finance for environmental, social and governance improvements.
• Estimated level of effort is variable, up to 40 hours per week for 2-3 months.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated capability in working effectively with the private sector, with a particular focus on industry and in-depth knowledge of the lower Mekong region.
• Strong communication skills, including interpersonal, and fluency in written and oral English, to fulfill the diverse technical requirements of the program and to effectively coordinate with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Experience working with companies around the sustainability of their suppliers.
• Experience working with factories to improve ESG performance via capacity building initiatives and an understanding of the sustainability audit process.
• Experience with supporting factories to secure finance for sustainability investments, including practical skills in working with banks, non-banking financial institutions, and donors in increasing access to finance.
• Project management skills required; familiarity with international donor grant regulations and programs preferred.

Submission Requirements

Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services, along with cost information, by submitting a proposal via email to msma@sustain.org, with RFP – Senior Advisor: Brand engagement and environmental and social performance in the subject line. Deadline of submission is 17 June 2021.

Proposals should include the following information: 

• An expression of interest letter with contact details and examples of past performance relevant to the consultancy
• Description of qualifications in a CV (maximum 3 pages)
• Three references who can speak to consultant’s successful completion of similar work, with contact details (email and telephone)
• Consulting rate in USD

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