Consultancy - Senior Lab Procurement Advisor

**Consultant - Senior Lab Procurement Advisor**

**Background on the assignment**

The USAID TRADE project aims to improve trade and investment policy, regulatory and institutional environment under result 3, which includes five focus areas. The second focus area aims to speed up and reduce the cost and time of moving goods across borders in compliance with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
In this regard TRADE hired a consultant to conduct a gap analysis for Egypt’s General Organization for Export & import Control’s (GOEIC) capabilities in biodegradability testing and develop an integrated workplan for lab development.

The main pillars of the work plan include:

- Capacity Building: Fundamental technical and administrative training needs, including the description of required training programs, objectives, and numbers of the targeted trainees, coaching (On-The-Job and Advanced Practical Staff Validation Training Programs), study tour(s) for GOEIC’s senior lab leadership staff, lab supervisors, on international best practices concerning biodegradability testing laboratories and internationally accredited bodies specialized in testing, examination and conformity assessment and certification for biodegradable products, considering sharing knowledge as per best international practices in this field and, potentially, to facilitate partnerships and MOUs with such bodies, including for Proficiency Testing (PT).
- Equipment: A list has been developed of all required laboratory apparatuses, equipment, devices, tools, and Certified Reference Materials and Standards necessary for the effective operation of the Biodegradability Testing Laboratory, with detailed technical specification considering international best practices.
- Accreditation: An action plan has been developed that includes all technical and administrative requirements for International Accreditation of the Biodegradability Testing Lab, and for GOEIC to be a Biodegradable Products Conformity Certifying Body.

**Primary Duties and Responsibilities**:
The consultant will participate as a member of the Technical Evaluation Committee and is required to perform the following tasks:

- Review procurement documentation for work plan components (training/coaching, study tour(s), standards, equipment, accreditation) and, as needed, provide feedback/input.
- Review offers submitted by the bidders (individual or firms) for all procurements, technically and financially, and provide detailed analysis to the TRADE’s Technical Committee. This analysis should include (but not be limited to) the capacity range of the bidder to supply/implement high-quality work on time, personnel qualifications, the extent to which the technical specifications are met, feedback from the offerors’ past/current clients, financial offer, and recommendations. The consultant must also provide a list of questions to each bidder and review the responses provided.
- Participate physically or virtually in technical review meetings with GOEIC’s technical team.
- Participate in Q&A sessions with the offerors whenever needed.
- Submit a draft memo following each procurement detailing the evaluation process and the recommended/selected contractor.

**Deliverables**:

- Analysis of each offer for each procurement covering at least technical approach/specifications/methodology, bidder’s capacity to perform high-quality work on time, past performance review, personnel, financial proposal, strengths/weaknesses (and questions to ask), and recommendations.
- Draft a memo following each procurement detailing the evaluation process and the recommended and selected contractor.
- Final consultancy report outlining Brief USAID consultancy report describing the purpose of the consultancy, progress achieved, observations, issues and/or problems encountered, and details of expected follow-on activities by USAID TRADE or its stakeholders.

**Required Qualifications**:

- At least twenty years of experience in laboratory testing, equipping, and accreditation.
- Should have a good history, previous work and consulting in equipping testing Labs, and international accreditation requirements.
- Knowledgeable about international trade, particularly regarding scientific testing equipment and qualified trainers.
- Should have high proficiency in English. Arab language is preferable.

**Project Overview and Role**:
Palladium was awarded the USAID/Trade Reform and Development in Egypt (TRADE) Activity contract, which has a 5-year timeframe and a ceiling of $36.3 million. The Project will be active throughout Egypt. The goal of the TRADE Activity is to increase Egypt’s international trade by increasing exports from SMEs, and in particular New and Expanding Export-Ready Enterprises (NEEREs). This will be achieved by addressing the constraints that impede the competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

In order to achieve the Activity’s goal (increasing exports in selected sectors), P