Scope and Working Arrangement:

This consultancy, set to commence in March 2024 and conclude in October 2024, involves an effort of approximately 80 working days.

The role is predominantly home-based, complemented by some international travel, particularly to East Africa. Travel is paid for by CGIAR.

We have a strong preference for candidates situated within -3 or +3 hours of the Central European Time (CET) zone to facilitate coordination.

Background

In the face of today’s fast-evolving global challenges, finding innovative solutions in agriculture is more crucial than ever. CGIAR stands out as a key player in this space, committed to fostering groundbreaking ideas that bring meaningful change to smallholder farmers, consumers, and communities worldwide. Notably, the CGIAR team has been hard at work developing frameworks to measure its performance and results.

Now, CGIAR is recruiting a consultant to support developing, piloting, and mainstreaming a scaling strategy design process for organization-wide use. The scaling strategy design process is to build on existing experiences within the sector and collaborating with partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). In this partnership, we will co-develop a process to support CGIAR and partner innovation teams in creating and implementing strategies for scaling their innovations. This partnership acknowledges and seeks to build on the knowledge and experiences existing in different CGIAR Centers and programs. UC Davis and Wageningen University are key partners in the project to ensure that scaling strategies process builds on key responsible/ inclusive innovation and scaling principles.

Requirements

Objective and delivery

Join us in revolutionizing agricultural innovations and scaling! Our mission is to establish a ‘scaling strategies’ process that CGIAR can adopt across our diverse innovation ecosystem, ensuring the design, implementation, and monitoring of practical, responsible, and impactful scaling strategies.

As an experienced consultant, you will spearhead the co-creation, testing, and integration of a Scaling Strategy design process aligned with CGIAR Innovation Package and Scaling Readiness (IPSR)[1] approach. Over a 9-month period, you will lead a collaboration with three high-impact CGIAR Initiatives and partners, aligning with CGIAR’s 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy and UN Sustainable Development Goals. Your central role will involve driving the process, bringing stakeholders together for successful co-creation and implementation.

This will include developing a basic model for market sizing and establishing a framework for market prioritization. Additionally, our work will explore an impact model, assessing the potential role of given innovations in contributing to agricultural sector transformation, and their economic, gender, climate, and nutrition impacts. We will also consider the pipeline and financing requirements for selected scaling partners, their access to finance, and necessary financial instruments to scale the innovations. Moreover, we will examine sources of co-financing and the financial return profile, as well as the structure and governance of the proposed financing mechanism, ensuring alignment with strategic goals of scaling partners and co-investors. This integrated approach will enhance our scaling strategy design, aligning it closely with the needs and insights identified by key stakeholders and partners.

To accomplish this, we are looking to bring on an experienced consultant with a deep understanding of innovation processes and the realities of agribusinesses and smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries, who will skillfully facilitate the process of co-creating three scaling strategies, while aiming to address the following questions:

Harvest existing experiences

· How can existing experiences, approaches, tools, funding mechanisms, and expertise for responsible scaling strategy design by BMGF, and other organizations inform the design of CGIAR’s approach for scaling strategy design?

Collaborative design and validation

· What steps and mechanisms are essential in developing, testing, and validating a responsible scaling strategy design process with CGIAR Initiative and Centers innovation teams and partners?

Pilot the scaling strategy design process with SAPLING, EiA, and ILRI BMGF-funded bilateral projects.

Learn and scale

· Document key lessons that can be drawn from the co-creation process, and how these lessons can form the basis for mainstreaming and broader roll-out of responsible Scaling Strategies within CGIAR. Use learnings to finetune the process for broader roll-out across the CGIAR.

Requirements:

1. Advanced degree in a relevant field.

2. Over 15 years of proven experience in strategy development within sustainable food systems.

3. Deep understanding of CGIAR’s operational landscape and the global agriculture challenges.

4. Experience working with governments, private partners to expand pilot programs, and understanding of development finance in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

5. Prior experience in developing business plans, market sizing, and financial forecasting.

6. Proven ability to assess the viability of agricultural products or services, and practical experience in leading highly successful scaling interventions.

7. Demonstrated ability to build and leverage a strong network, convening diverse stakeholders for collaborative processes, and synthesizing the outcomes into clear communication products.

8. Expertise in participatory approaches, particularly in LMIC contexts, with a focus on understanding and integrating farmer household economics into scaling strategies.

9. Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to analyze and validate different business models for a range of innovations, considering their impact on farmer households and communities.

10. Strong and proven project management skills to independently lead project implementation, administration, and reporting.

11. Knowledgeable of gender and social inclusion in innovation processes, ensuring a comprehensive and socially responsive approach, particularly in the context of farmer household dynamics.

Application Process:

Candidates interested in this opportunity are invited to apply online by 5pm CET Thursday, 7 March, 2024.

Applications should include:

• an updated CV,
• a cover letter, and
• the proposed daily rate.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read Annex 1, which contains vital information pertinent to this role.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Who can apply for this position?

We welcome applicants with an advanced degree in a relevant field and over 15 years of experience in scaling strategy design, preferably in agriculture/agribusiness or development sectors in low and middle-income countries. Familiarity with CGIAR, BMGF, and similar organizations, along with strong analytical, communication, and project management skills, is highly desirable.

For this position, we have a strong preference for candidates situated within -3 or +3 hours of the Central European Time (CET) zone to facilitate coordination.

What should I read before applying?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read Annex 1, which contains vital information relevant to this role. It provides deeper insights into the responsibilities and expectations, helping candidates to understand the scope of the consultancy better.

How can I apply for this consultancy?

Interested candidates can apply online. The application should include an updated CV, a cover letter, and the proposed daily rate. The deadline for applications is 5pm (CET) Thursday, 7 March 2024.

What are the expected working arrangements?

The consultant will work part-time from March 2024 to October 2024, approximately 80 working days. The role is primarily home-based, with some travel to East Africa.

What does a ‘daily rate’ mean in this context?

The daily rate refers to the compensation paid for each day of consultancy work (In CGIAR, 8 hours of work equals one full working day). It is important to note that this is not an employment contract, or a commitment from CGIAR to buy all available time from the consultant. Therefore, the consultant will not receive employee benefits such as health insurance, pension contributions, or paid leave etc. The rate should reflect the consultant’s expertise and the market standards.

Annex 1: Further background on CGIAR Strategy and Innovation Portfolio Management

CGIAR has developed a 2030 Research and Innovation Strategy with a mission to “End hunger by 2030 through science to transform food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis,” focusing on impact areas such as nutrition, poverty, gender, climate, and environment. Innovation and scaling are positioned at the core of CGIAR’s mission, embracing an innovation systems approach that underscores the importance of partnerships with governments and other sectors for achieving impact at scale. CGIAR’s Performance and Results Management Framework (PRMF) serves as a companion to the 2030 Strategy, operationalized through Technical Reporting Arrangement and the Performance and Results Management System (PRMS).

CGIAR’s commitment to performance and results management is exemplified through its Scaling Readiness approach, now known as Innovation Packages and Scaling Readiness (IPSR). This approach is being integrated into CGIAR’s pooled initiative portfolio with four primary objectives: (1) evidence-backed tracking of innovation development and scaling processes, (2) enhancement of synergies in agricultural innovation systems, including CGIAR and its partners, centered around Innovation Packages, (3) the design and implementation of responsible scaling strategies to address bottlenecks—a focal area of this consultancy, and (4) guiding CGIAR innovation portfolio management, including resource prioritization, risk management, and strategic resource mobilization.

The year 2022 marked the rollout of CGIAR’s Performance and Result Management System (PRMS), which recorded 477 innovations. The subsequent year, 2023, saw a shift towards packaging these innovations, which involved a structured process for identifying scaling enablers and assessing their current effectiveness. The design of Scaling Strategy, as the third critical component of IPSR (and the subject of this consultancy!), aims at targeting innovations with high scalability potential. It integrates principles of responsible innovation and scaling, enabling Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) actors to scale more effectively in specific contexts.

Benefits

CGIAR is committed to fair, safe, and inclusive workplaces. We believe that diversity powers our innovation, contributes to excellence, and is critical for our mission. We offer a multi-cultural, multi-colour, multi-generational, and multi-disciplinary, collegial working environment, with a competitive salary, excellent benefits, and flexible working arrangements. We are consciously creating an inclusive organization that reflects our global character and our commitment to gender equity. We, therefore, encourage applicants from all cultures, races, ethnicities, religions, sexes, national or regional origins, ages, disability status, sexual orientations, and gender identities.