CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCY – ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING FOR COMMUNITY NURSERIES
Title: Individual Consultant Trainer-Community Nurseries Entrepreneurship Programme
Project Name: Growth Poles Project 2.0
Duty Station: Lilongwe, Malawi
Type of engagement: Short-Term Individual Consultancy
Reporting to: Ecological Systems & Resilience Manager
Duration of assignment: Approximately 6 weeks, starting within one week of contract signing
Deadline to Apply: April 17th, 2026, by 17:00hrs CAT
Company Overview:
Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. With a global team and network of experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people’s lives.
Project Overview:
The Growth Poles Project 2.0 (GPP 2.0) is a five-year initiative (Oct 2023–Sept 2028) led by Palladium International and funded by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. It aims to accelerate inclusive, sustainable, and resilient wealth creation in Malawi by mobilizing private sector investments in agriculture and natural resource management. Its development objective is to advance a more inclusive, diversified, and resilient private sector that drives sustainable wealth creation while enhancing environmental and ecological diversity.
Consultancy Purpose:
As part of its sustainability and livelihoods agenda, the Growth Poles Project 2.0 (GPP 2.0), in collaboration with the Lilongwe Water Board (LWB), is transitioning traditional community nursery clubs into functioning, community led restoration enterprises that combine environmental stewardship with sustainable income generation.
To successfully support this transition, Palladium seeks to engage a short‑term Consultant Trainer to design and deliver targeted entrepreneurship training that strengthens the entrepreneurial readiness of community nursery clubs. The consultancy will address critical capacity gaps that currently limit nurseries’ ability to operate as sustainable, market‑oriented enterprises.
Assignment Background:
The Growth Poles Project, working closely with the Lilongwe Water Board (LWB), is actively supporting community nursery clubs to evolve into viable, self‑managed enterprises. While nursery clubs have demonstrated technical capacity in seedling production, many are not yet operating with the systems, behaviours, and mindset required for enterprise‑level performance.
An assessment of current operations has identified critical gaps in production planning, cost recovery and pricing, marketing and sales, record‑keeping, market linkages, and enterprise mindset, which must be addressed to support a successful transition.
In this context, entrepreneurial readiness requires:
- Basic business discipline- production planning, cost awareness, and record‑keeping
- Market orientation- selling strategies, customer engagement, and market linkages
- Organisational capacity to manage income and reinvestment
- Mindset transformation toward natural resource management as a community‑led, profitable, and sustainable enterprise
Therefore, the project seeks an experienced Consultant Trainer to design and deliver targeted entrepreneurship training that directly addresses these gaps across 20 selected community nursery clubs.
Objective of the Assignment:
The primary objective of this assignment is to equip community nursery clubs with the entrepreneurial capacity required to operate as sustainable, community‑led restoration enterprises.
Specifically, the consultancy aims to:
- Strengthen production planning and consistency to support reliable seedling supply
- Promote a mindset shift toward self‑led, community‑managed, and profit‑oriented enterprises
- Build practical skills in cost tracking, pricing, and basic financial management
- Strengthen marketing, pricing and selling strategies appropriate to nursery enterprises
- Impart the importance of market/customer awareness
- Improve simple record‑keeping systems to support transparency, decision‑making, and reinvestment
The training is expected to focus on practical, usable systems and behaviors that nursery clubs can immediately apply within their operational context.
Scope of Work:
The Consultant Trainer will co‑design and deliver twenty 1-day entrepreneurship trainings tailored to the operational realities of community nursery enterprises, to be approved by the Deputy Team Leader. Key activities will include:
- Reviewing relevant project documentation
- Developing or adapting entrepreneurial readiness training modules suitable for community‑based nursery enterprises
- Delivering participatory entrepreneurship training sessions aligned with the objectives of this assignment, using practical, hands‑on methodologies appropriate for community groups
- Conducting an evaluation of participant knowledge of key training topics before and after the training
- Supporting nursery clubs to establish practical enterprise systems and behaviours that enhance long‑term sustainability
- Document a comprehensive training report summarizing sessions delivered, participant engagement, tools introduced, and recommendations for next steps.
- Develop community led action plans linked to the training and best practices.
Expected Deliverables:
- Complete 20 one-day training sessions – Training Delivery and Records: Delivery of community entrepreneurship trainings, with attendance registers, pre and post training assessments, and basic session documentation.
- Pre- and post-training competency tests administered to participants at the beginning and end of each 1-day training.
- Nursery Group Enterprise Outputs: Completed enterprise tools (e.g., production plans, costing sheets, sales records) and brief coaching notes.
- Community Nursery Action plans
- Training Design Package: Tailored entrepreneurship curriculum, session plans, bi-lingual facilitation guides, and practical business tools.
- Workplan and Schedule: Inception note and final workplan outlining methodology, sequencing, and training schedule.
- Final Reporting Package: Consolidated training report, completion report, and digital toolkit of templates and trackers
Consultant Qualifications and Experience:
The Consultant Trainer must meet the following minimum requirements:
- A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Agribusiness, Community Development, Entrepreneurship, Economics, or a related field.
- At least 5 years of experience delivering entrepreneurship, financial literacy, or business development training to community‑based groups.
- Demonstrated experience designing training curricula and participatory training materials tailored to low‑literacy or rural audiences.
- Experience working with farmer groups, cooperatives, village savings groups, or community‑based enterprises.
- Proven ability to produce high‑quality reports, tools, and training documentation.
Preferred Experience
- Prior experience supporting group‑based enterprises, including facilitating market linkages or providing basic enterprise coaching (e.g., producer groups, VSLA groups, youth enterprises).
- Practical knowledge of tree nurseries, forestry, or restoration‑related livelihoods, including seedling production or nursery management, is a strong advantage.
- Ability to communicate fluently in Chichewa and English, both written and spoken.
Required Skills and Competencies
The consultant must demonstrate:
- Strong facilitation skills with adult learning and participatory methodologies.
- Ability to translate business concepts into simple, practical tools suitable for low‑literacy groups.
- Strong interpersonal skills and sensitivity to community dynamics.
- Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and manage multiple training sites.
- Fluency in both English and Chichewa
Application Requirements
Interested consultants must submit:
- CV highlighting relevant experience
- Technical Proposal (1–2 pages) outlining training approach
- Financial Proposal indicating daily rate for 20 training sessions (1 session per day)
- Sample training materials previously developed
- Three references from similar assignments
Interested applicants must send their Curriculum Vitae with cover letter and copies of certificates indicating position being applied for in the subject matter to HRGPMW@thepalladiumgroup.com . Only qualified shortlisted applicants may be contacted.
Deadline to apply is April 17th 2026 by 17:00hrs CAT.
Post expires at 10:44am on Wednesday April 15th, 2026