Consultancy – Supply Chain/Logistics Consultant, Uganda

Project Overview and Role:

The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a 7-year and €134 million programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that aims to create a prosperous future for 230,000 young women and men in the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel & West Africa, and Horn of Africa regions. The Fund will be supporting initiatives in 12 focus countries that will offer youth, in particular young women, opportunities for work that is demand-driven and productive, offering a stable income and safe working conditions, and that is contributing to their personal development and social protection.
The portfolio of projects is selected from business cases that were proposed by private sector, civil society, and knowledge institutions. Each business case has outlined scalable solutions for creating more and better jobs and income generating opportunities for youth. Solutions in particular focus on an integrated approach that addresses the shortcomings on the demand side (jobs) and supply side (skills) and bridging the mismatch between these two in the labour market.

Assignment Overview:

Eco Brixs, one of the CFYE’s Implementing Partners (IPs), is a plastic waste recycling company in Uganda, running an elaborate network of plastic waste collection through (informal) waste pickers, who deliver plastic to Eco Brixs facilities where it is sorted and processed into valuable resources such as plastic pellets and flakes and other processed plastic (intermediate) products.  This way, Eco Brixs creates sustainable income opportunities for both rural and urban waste pickers and its employees. Because of this employment effect, Eco Brixs was selected as a beneficiary of the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment.
Eco Brixs recognizes the need to enhance its supply chain operations to optimize the flow of collected plastic waste and its processing into recycled plastics and is therefore looking for a highly skilled expert/consultant with extensive knowledge of supply chain operations, preferably in the (plastic) recycling industry.

Objectives and Activities:

Eco Brixs is a young company (established in 2017) and has seen a rapid growth in the past few years, which it expects to further build out in the coming years. Where the average monthly processing sits at 50 tons of plastic waste, the ambition is to build this out to 230 tons per month in the next few years. For this, Eco Brixs and its partner Taka Taka Solutions are building out its supply chain with buyback centres, waste collection micro-franchisees, baling facilities and more. To further consolidate this growth and optimize the design of its supply chain and logistics (including freight), Eco Brixs is looking for a consultant with supply chain experience, ideally in the manufacturing and/or waste collection and management sector. For this to be achieved, we expect the consultant to assume the following activities:

– Conduct an in-depth assessment of the current supply chain processes (from sourcing to point of sale and freight) and identify areas for improvement.
– Develop and implement (together with Eco Brixs management and partners) an improved supply chain strategy to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain of Eco Brixs and its partners.
– Provide coaching and guidance to staff of Eco Brixs and partners for optimal supply chain management.
– Facilitate training sessions for staff of Eco Brixs and partners to build capacity in supply chain best practices.

Deliverables:

– A comprehensive assessment report on Eco Brixs current supply chain, including references and suggestions for improvements based on lessons and best practices from other recycling supply chain initiatives. The report should also include a stakeholder analysis that identifies opportunities for collaboration with new stakeholders in Uganda’s plastic recycling sector.
– A detailed plan for improving Eco Brixs recycling supply chain in the next 12-18 months, with specifications of activities, required budgets, necessary expertise and capacity and other relevant operational considerations.
– Development (training materials, training manual etc.) and implementation of an in-person training (spanning a total of 1,5 to 2 days) on supply chain management provided to key staff within Eco Brixs and selected staff from its main supply chain partners.
– Bi-weekly coaching sessions after the training for key staff members within Eco Brixs
– The consultant is expected to provide CFYE and Eco Brixs with a monthly high-level progress report.
– The assignment is closed off with a final report documenting key activities taken place and key improvements realized during period of engagement, including suggestions for further improvements.

Operational Arrangements:

The consultant will be contracted by CFYE and will provide regular progress reports (at least monthly) to both Eco Brixs management and CFYE country lead. For the coordination of day-to-day activities, consultant will liaise with Eco Brixs Management representative. The consultant is expected to work intensively with the Eco Brixs team and its partners, requiring frequent participation in different meetings and where necessary site visits to buyback centres, baling facilities and other relevant locations. Consultant is expected to work at least 1 day/week on average from the Eco Brixs central office.

Level of Effort and Reporting:

We expect the consultant to be engaged for a period of 4 months. For the initial stage of engagement (first two months) we expect a more intense involvement around the supply chain assessment and improvement plan, and the training on supply chain management to Eco Brixs team and stakeholders’ colleagues. The subsequent 2 months are more focused on coaching on monitoring of implementation of improvement plan.
Hence for the first two months, we expect an average level of effort of 2 to 2,5 days/week (total of 20 days) and for the second two months, we expect an average level of effort of 1 day a week (total of 8 days) A maximum of 28 days is available for this assignment. We expect the consultant in his/her proposal to indicate a tentative planning for the activities, including indication of days needed per activity. 

Minimum Requirements:

– Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field to supply chain management and/or logistics management.
– Hands-on demonstrated experience working on supply chain management in the private sector in Uganda, preferably in the recycling sector.
– Years of experience advising and consulting Uganda companies on supply chain management and/or logistics.
– Sound understanding and work experience in Uganda’s waste management/plastic recycling sector is considered a big plus.

Core Competencies :

– Strong background in supply chain management, ideally with a focus on recycling projects.
– Proven experience in providing coaching and support to businesses.
– Proven experience in developing and providing in-company training.
– Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
– Good reporting skills

Deadline: 26 March 2024