TERMS OF REFERENCE
Title:	Marketing Expert – Aqualink
Locations:	Lilongwe
Expected Period:	November 2024 to December 2024

 

1. CASA PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

CASA is an FCDO-International Climate Finance (ICF) funded programme driving global investment for inclusive climate-resilient agri-food systems that increase smallholder incomes. CASA makes the case to impact and return-oriented investors for increased investment in agribusinesses that work with smallholder supply chains. The programme achieves this goal by:

• Demonstrating the commercial viability and investment-readiness of small and medium-sized (SME) agribusinesses with significant smallholder supply chains
• Helping investors to increase the impact of their investments through the provision of inclusive technical assistance
• Strengthening the socio-legal empowerment of smallholders within value chains
• Tackling the information and evidence gaps holding back investment

For demonstrating the commercial and development potential of smallholder sourcing models, CASA focuses on catalytic interventions in the agriculture sectors of Ethiopia, Malawi, Nepal, and Rwanda that support agri-SMEs prepare for and secure investment while connecting smallholders to commercial markets.

 

CASA’s work on research and communications is structured around identifying constraints, opportunities and addressing evidence gaps through research; shaping the debate on smallholder agriculture to influence actions of investors, governments, and donors; and creating networking opportunities through events and stakeholder engagement.

 

2. ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND

Smallholder farmers dominate Malawi’s poultry and aquaculture sectors. Despite their vital role, smallholder fish and poultry producers in Malawi struggle with efficiency. Rising costs of imported and locally produced feed for both the aquaculture and poultry sectors continue to prevent smallholder farmers from being productive and efficient. To address the efficiency challenges faced by these smallholder farmers, CASA has partnered with AquaLink Services to improve smallholder farmers’ production efficiency and output, and ultimately increase their incomes.

 

The partnership aims to promote sustainable strategies to secure an affordable and consistent supply of raw materials for feed production, moving away from increasingly expensive soy-based feeds. The partnership aims to reduce production costs, increase smallholder marketing efforts and improve climate resilience, providing a viable solution to low productivity exacerbated by exorbitant feed costs. In this regard, the partnership with AquaLink Services will promote the use of Black Soldier Fly-based feeds among smallholder fish and poultry farmers across the country by producing and selling on-farm BSF production units to farmers and other customers. AquaLink will also be tasked with training the end users of the BSF production units on on-farm BSF production and the use of BSF larvae as the main protein source in livestock diets, including the establishment of appropriate feeding regimes and growth monitoring. In this regard, CASA is seeking the services of a Short-Term Technical Assistant (STTA) to assist AquaLink in developing marketing the novel idea of BSF production units.

 

About AquaLink Services Limited

AquaLink Services is a Malawian-owned company established and registered as a partnership in 2020. The company has three partners, each with an equal share in the company, namely Pemphero Kumbani (Operations Director), Precious Sanjama (Marketing Director) and Moses Simwaka (Production Director). AquaLink Services supplies aquaculture inputs, equipment and related services to smallholder farmers, NGOs and government projects throughout the country. The company has its head office in Lilongwe and three branches in Blantyre, Zomba and Mzuzu. The company is currently piloting a new business model full-scale local production of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) based feed in Malawi, by producing and selling on-farm BSF production units to smallholder farmers whilst also providing technical expertise on the use of the units to the customers.

3. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT

In line with Workstream C Activity (ii) and budget line 2.3.1 of AquaLink Project Business Plan, the main objective of this assignment is to support AquaLink Services to market their BSF production solutions to smallholder farmers through commercially viable distribution channels. Specifically, STTA will:

• Review of profiles of onboarded early adopters of the technology – smallholder aquaculture and poultry farmers – to design targeted messages that will increase uptake and adoption of the BSF production units
• Design marketing and communication tools to be used to attract early adopters to AquaLink BSF production units to targeted smallholder farmers
• Recommend design distribution channels for AquaLink’s BSF production units
• Produce regular progress reports and outputs for relevant project interventions in accordance with communication guidelines and requirements; and,
• Adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual and other relevant requirements of NIRAS Malawi.

 

4. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the direct management of AquaLink’s Managing Director with oversight from the CASA Market Manager for aquaculture, the Expert will support AquaLink to establish a feasible distribution channel for the new product the company is rolling out.

 

The specific tasks of the Expert will include the preparation of the following:

• Inception report, to be produced after an inception meeting for the assignment. The inception meeting will outline the assignment delivery methodology and approach to for the assignment and detailed delivery schedule for all tasks planned under the assignment;
• A set of targeting messages, which will be designed from the profiles of early adopters to be provided to the expert by Aqualink Services. The type and scope of the messaging will be agreed upon by Aqualink Services and the STTA;
• Marketing communication tools in line with the targeting messages developed and agreed with Aqualink Services. From Aqualink’s understanding of their needs, thee tools will include posters for both print and electronic media, audio-visual materials, social media pages and potentially a website; and
• An assignment completion report outlining the activities conducted as part of the assignment with recommendations for continuous improvement of AquaLink’s marketing efforts.

Deliverable Timelines

 

#	Deliverable	Man-Days
1	Inception Report	0.5
2	BSF production unit targeting messages	3
3	Marketing communication tools	6
4	Assignment completion report	0.5

 

5. ASSIGNMENT MANAGEMENT and DURATION

a. Duration

Expected Start Date: November 2024

Expected End Date: December 2024

 

b. Assignment Days

Up to 10 Workdays.

 

c. Reporting Lines

The consultant will report directly to the Aqualink Services’ management with oversight from CASA´s Aquaculture Market Manager.

6. REQUIREMENTS and EXPERTISE

Key qualification and field of expertise for the ideal expert are:

• Possession of a bachelor’s degree in relevant fields like Marketing, Business, Logistics,  Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, or ant closely related field. Those with a master’s degree in the same field will have an added advantage;
• Extensive knowledge and experience in the marketing and distribution of agricultural products, that aligns with sales goals and expansion plans;
• Ability to optimize inventory levels to meet demand while minimizing holding costs;
• Excellent organizational and time management skills;
• Excellent writing and oral communication, listening and interpersonal skills with the ability to deal tactfully and diplomatically with a wide range of people combined with an appreciation of the importance of confidentiality;
• Willingness to take on new tasks at short notice and travel to remote places if need be;
• Ability to make decisions regarding own work, often in ambiguous situations and suggest recommendations regarding own function/discipline;
• Ability to function with minimum guidance and under pre-set procedures with attention to detail; and
• Able to exercise independent judgment within defined policies and practices.

 

7. MODE OF APPLICATION

Applicants should send an EOI comprising the following:

1. An EOI submission letter outlining your suitability for the role and stating your preferred daily rate in GBP (maximum two pages)
2. A proposed methodology for the assignment (Maximum 4 pages)
3. Up to date CV suitably tailored to the TORs concentrating only on relevant experience. Emphasis will be placed on consultancy experience in the last 10 years (Maximum 3 pages)

 

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis and we will settle for the first suitable candidate we get even before the deadline.

Applications should be received by Thursday, 31^st October 2024. Send applications to rhch@niras.com

Indicate the position being applied for in the subject line.