Vacancy: Consultant - Organization Capacity Assessment

Company Profile

Nathan, a Cadmus Company is a leading provider of analytic and economic consultancy services worldwide. In the past decade, we have implemented more than 120 projects in more than 50 countries leveraging our global presence in Washington DC, London, and India. From improved transparency and deeper stakeholder engagement to more effective policies and more resilient businesses, we deliver results that impact economic growth, human development, and poverty reduction. We are passionate about applying our deep analytical expertise and advanced proprietary tools to generate economic solutions tailored to our clients’ unique challenges.  Nathan focuses on a range of economic development subject matter areas including Trade & Logistics; Economic Policy & Governance; Private Sector Development; Women’s Economic Empowerment; and Financial Solutions. 

Job Description

Background

The Feed the Future Ghana Trade and Investment (GTI) Activity is a four-year program that seeks to improve the enabling environment for Ghana’s economic growth by (1) facilitating growth in export-oriented trade; (2) improving and developing product standards; (3) catalyzing investments in private enterprises related to high-value commercial crops; (4) promoting job creation, particularly among women and youth; (5) promoting economic growth. GTI seeks to strengthen the food safety enforcement systems to enhance exports and foster SME growth. 

GTI aims to address the root causes of under-investment in agriculture and build the capacity of marginalized populations to participate more fully in agribusiness and trade. To improve quality standards and certification in the domestic value chain and build strong small and medium enterprises (SMEs), GTI engaged in extensive outreach and laid the foundation for SMEs to pass the audits required for certification and improve the management of SMEs organization for sustainability. GTI as part of its support to export firms from its inception has given out 36 grants to organizations made up of 4 public organizations and 32 selected private SMEs to improve and develop product standards, certification, and markets. With the grants, GTI is also expected to assist USG-assisted organizations improve organization management performance using a standard measurement of capacity improvement.

Using the organization capacity assessment (OCA) process with public, private, and trade associations in the past years to institute capacity-building resources, GTI has provided organizations with criteria to assess current management capacity and identify key areas for strengthening. Key areas were prioritized with action plans developed to address the gaps. Areas covered included management, compliance, and program components that ensured a holistic understanding of the organization's strengths and challenges. The process involved a guided self-assessment by a skilled facilitator who instilled ownership on the part of the organization for its improvement plan. The assessment aimed to understand the strengths and weaknesses of these organizations, prioritize and plan for addressing identified gaps, and support the implementation of solutions for the organization-specific gaps identified through the organization capacity assessment action planning.

Based on the successes, GTI is seeking to scale up OCAs to include all current grantees and provide technical support to address specific issues in the development of action plans. The expansion of the OCA will involve interviews and evaluation of the capacity of organizations, analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and prioritizing and developing action plans based on the assessment findings.

The short-term consultant(s) will engage and review together with the management of SMEs to assess and identify gaps in the management process in seven key areas including governance, financial management, administration, human resources management, organization management, and program and project performance management.  The consultant will utilize the relevant available materials for review and analysis to identify gaps and prioritize and develop action plans. S/He will organize internal meetings. and present the final document.

Position Summary

GTI works with public, and private organizations (SMEs) as well as trade associations to improve the enabling environment for Ghana’s economic growth by providing grants and capacity building for government and Small and Medium Enterprises that spearhead export growth, product standards, and creating investment opportunities. The support is expected to lead to improved organizational performance through structured capacity development support to improve the enabling environment for Ghana’s economic growth. To institute training resources with partners, GTI seeks consultant(s) to conduct an organizational capacity assessment (OCA) of GoG partners and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprise) grantees and beneficiaries’ organizations. The consultant(s) is expected to work with each partner to identify gaps, prioritize areas, and develop a capacity-building plan. The consultant is expected to assist organizations in assessing critical elements for effective organizational management and identify those areas that need strengthening or further development. The OCA process should enable grantees and SMES organizations to define a capacity-building improvement plan, based on self-assessed needs in key domain areas and monitor improvement in their performance.  A review after implementation would determine the level of capacity improvement of USG-supported organizations.

Required Skills or Experience