Research Consultant

WRI Africa Research Consultant

Terms of Reference

Unpacking jobs creation for young women under circular economy for food in sub-Saharan Africa

Institution overview

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global non-profit research organization established in 1982. WRI has worked in Africa for over 30 years on forest protection, landscape restoration and more recently, sustainable cities, energy access, food systems transformation, and climate action. In 2017, these operations crystallized under the helm of African leadership and formalized as WRI Africa. Our overarching vision is an inclusive transformation for Africa’s people and landscapes to flourish. Our agenda is squarely African-led, and our approach is home-grown. We use research-based approaches to meet people’s essential needs to protect and restore nature, and to stabilize the climate and build resilient communities. WRI Africa generates actionable knowledge across four strategic pillars: vital landscapes; thriving and resilient cities; clean energy; and climate, economics and finance. Because Africa’s population will continue to grow rapidly in the next decades, and climate change will remain an obstacle for development, the Vital Landscapes Pillar has a vision to build the resilience of our natural ecosystems so that they can continue to provide vital ecosystems services – food, water, carbon sequestration and climate regulation sustainably but also catalyse comprehensive transformation of African food systems, so that the way we produce, transport, store, process, trade and consume food is done in a manner that protects the environment, guaranteeing human health and dignity, ensuring people live in an equitable society where they can meet their essential needs and livelihoods.

Purpose of the assignment

This assignment is part of WRI-Africa’s Vital Landscapes pillar in collaboration with Resilient Cities and Clean Energy pillars. The goal of the assignment is to elevate our understanding of the opportunities for jobs creation in circular food systems, and what needs to happen to realize those opportunities particularly for the young people especially women. 

Background

Half of Africa’s 420 million youth aged 15-35, are unemployed, underemployed or confined to the informal sector where jobs are precarious and low paying. Young women are particularly disadvantaged and this presents a crisis. This situation is set to worsen as an estimated 10 – 11 million young people in Africa enter the job market annually, while only 3 million formal jobs are being created[1]. By 2050, the number of unemployed/underemployed youth will double if no action is taken now. The Africa Development Bank estimates that close to 72% of African youth (300 million) live below the poverty line (on less than $2 per day); among these 80 million live in extreme poverty. In Eastern Africa, youth unemployment rates range from 21.5% in Rwanda (2.1 million), 23% in Ethiopia (11 million) and 35% in Kenya (4.5 million). In all these countries, the number of young people entering the job market is higher compared to the available opportunities, leaving many young people frustrated and vulnerable to abuse, criminality, and radicalization. The youth unemployment problem is made worse by climate change, which is disrupting agriculture exacerbating rural unemployment and forcing youth into crowded urban centres. In addition, limited access to reliable and affordable energy are significant barriers for entrepreneurial ventures which have the potential to deliver jobs.

Agriculture is a crucial part of most sub-Saharan Africa economies, contributing between 30-40% of their GDP. The agri-food sector is therefore an important sector for creating jobs. However, the potential to create those jobs is hindered by low productivity, and a staggering 30-40% loss or waste of the produced food. Food systems currently consume 30% of the world’s available energy, meaning that close to a third of agri-food systems’ GHG emissions stem from energy use, and a significant reduction would be achieved by expanding renewable energy access. Shift to circular food systems presents a fantastic opportunity to increase agricultural productivity, improve livelihoods, and drive profitability of businesses while increasing income opportunities. Circularity in food systems had been cited as a strong option for creating jobs and reducing GHG emissions.

The assignment

WRI Africa is seeking a highly qualified expert consultant to uncover the potential for green jobs creation through circular economy for food in Africa. In the context of this assignment, circular food systems embody three principles: (i) Food is produced in ways that regenerate nature; (ii) Food is not lost or wasted; and (iii) Commonly wasted resources are used productively. The transition to circular food systems must also be accompanied by a transition to clean energy for it to be truly circular. The consultant will examine the opportunities, kinds of jobs and the job creation mechanisms under regenerative agriculture, food loss/waste reduction, productive use of waste, and productive use of renewable energy with a special attention to dignified jobs for young women in three countries: Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda. The potential candidate must demonstrate deep understanding of the issues around jobs creation for young people in Africa, and the principles underpinning circular economy in food. The candidate is expected to be proactive and able to deliver autonomously, taking ownership for delivery of the work program.

Specific tasks

1. Lead in defining what green jobs entail (primary, secondary and tertiary) in circular economy for food and the metrics for measuring and tracking them with a lens on regenerative agriculture, food loss and waste, productive use of waste and productive use of renewable energy. 
2. Conduct a scoping analysis of potential pathways for creation of green jobs for young women in circular economy for food focusing on regenerative agriculture, food loss and waste, productive use of waste, and the application of productive use of energy across the aforementioned areas.
3. Conduct a scoping analysis to provide granular level statistics of the sectors, value chains, and landscapes producing green jobs including the type of jobs, relative numbers and stratification by gender, skills, and capabilities. 
4. Analyse the potential gaps and opportunities within agri-food value chains and adjacent sectors, providing insights into the implications for green jobs, as well as constructing informed projection of the number of green jobs that can be created for young women. 
5. Map out other projects, programs, and investments within circular economy for food that are creating jobs for young women in the three counties (Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda)
6. Determine the costs of creating and sustaining green jobs (value for money) and the potential cost reduction strategies in the focus area and the target countries above based on analysis of past programs in Africa or elsewhere (e.g.., Asia). 
7. Map the relevant stakeholders and potential local (including regional partners with local presence in the Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda) who would be critical for investments targeting jobs creation jobs for young women focusing on regenerative agriculture, food loss and waste, productive use of waste, and the application of productive use of energy across the aforementioned areas. 
8. Participate in a validation workshop to share findings of the consultancy assignment. 

Deliverables 

• Deliverable I. Inception report outlining the methodology and approach for delivering the assignment. 
• Deliverable II: A comprehensive scoping report outlining
• Definition and metrics for measuring and tracking green jobs.
• Pathways for creating green jobs for young women in the target sectors and countries 
• Granular level statistics on the sectors, value chains, and landscapes producing green jobs including the type of jobs, relative numbers and stratification by gender 
• Potential gaps and opportunities for creating green jobs for young women with informed projection of the number of green jobs that can be created in the target sectors/countries. 
• Deliverable III: Stakeholder mapping report outlining
• Projects, programs and investments within circular economy for food that are creating jobs mainly for young women and the potential synergies
• Stakeholders and potential local (including regional partners with local presence in the countries) who would be critical in creating jobs for young women in circular economy for food. 
• Costs of creating and sustaining green jobs (value for money) and the potential cost reduction strategies. 

Duration of the assignment

This is a one-month assignment scheduled to take place in between October and November 2024 for a duration of 30 direct engagement days spread across 2 months.

Required qualifications.

• A master’s degree or above in social science, development studies, labour economics, environmental economics, Agricultural economics, Energy economics, or a related field. 
• Extensive experience in conducting research in the agricultural sector, specifically jobs creation in the agri-food and adjacent sectors including productive use of renewable energy.
• Strong analytical skills (qualitative and quantitative) and ability to synthesize large amount of data to produce desired outputs. 
• Knowledge of Africa’s agri-food sector with a strong understanding of circular economy and productive use of renewable energy. 
• Experienced researcher with ability to work multiple stakeholders including public and private sector. 
• Proven track record of producing high-quality, policy-oriented research papers. 
• Excellent English writing and oral communication skills 
• Good work ethics 

Expression of Interest

Expression of Interest should contain:

• A brief (Max. 2 pages) document outlining your approach. This should explain why you are qualified for this assignment. It should also illustrate your grasp of the concepts involved, methodologies you intend to apply and timelines.
• An indicative work plan and budget proposal. The budget should provide a breakdown of the consultant fee and the costs of field activities.
• CV(s) 
• All these documents should be in one pdf file.

We invite qualified persons to submit their Expressions of Interest by October 22, 2024 to [email protected] for the attention of Samuel Gaturu, with cc to [email protected] for the attention of Christopher Mutungi, Senior Research Associate-Food Program at WRI Africa; [email protected] for the attention of James Wangu, Food Systems Associate, Food Program WRI Africa; and [email protected] for the attention of Robert Mbeche, Director Food program at WRI Africa.

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