Cooperative Creation Consultant

About Palladium:

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 3,000 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

Palladium Americas:

Our Americas’ business team has brilliant and passionate colleagues working in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America as well as the Caribbean, fulfilling projects and assignments for clients from institutions, corporations, governments, and foundations based in the Americas. We have offices in Washington, DC, New York City, and Raleigh-Durham, NC.

This Opportunity:

E4 IDIQ project activities are directed towards building Central Asia’s economy of the future, which is resilient, independent, and interconnected. These activities foster the creation of an environment conducive to youth development, women empowerment, and the promotion of innovation and technology. The Future Growth Initiative (FGI) Task Order increases competitiveness, creates and improves jobs, increases sales, and attracts investment in ICT, tourism, light manufacturing, and food & beverage target sectors. FGI achieves that by building and strengthening partnerships and alliances with and between large companies, mature MSMEs, startups, academia, and various associations.

Work performed under the E4 project:

• Component 1: Enterprises – Fostering Competitive Industries
• Component 2: Employment – Developing a Capable Workforce and Entrepreneurship
• Component 3: Enabling Environments – Creating Conditions for Jobs and Investment

FGI will increase the competitiveness of target industries to provide jobs and incomes for Central Asia’s growing workforce, propelling the region toward self-reliance. FGI will transform market systems in ways that help high-potential firms and sectors grow, foster market linkages to match the demand for workforce skills with training offered to youth and women, link entrepreneurs to high-growth markets, and build more business- and worker-friendly policy environments and institutions to sustain private sector-driven growth.

Market Background and Purpose

The cooperative movement plays an essential role in gender equality and women’s empowerment by increasing access to resources and economic opportunities. A “cooperative” is defined by the International Co-operative Alliance and International Labor Organization as “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned democratically-controlled enterprise.”

There are numerous examples of women using cooperative business models to support themselves, their households, and their communities in many countries. Women cooperatives offer their members particular opportunities to control their economic prospects and overcome social and cultural constraints in the workforce and labor markets.

Location:

The position is based in Kazakhstan.

You and Your Career:

If you are a problem-solver, collaborator, and doer, and you have expertise in cooperatives movements, we are interested in hearing from you.

We are a learning organization and provide growth opportunities from the start. We pride ourselves on giving you the freedom, resources, and guidance to chart a fulfilling career!

Reporting and Supervision:

The Consultant will report to the DCOP of FGI
Level of Effort: Up to 60 days
Duration: March 2022 to March 2023

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

FGI plans to contribute to the creation of the women’s cooperative movement in Kazakhstan by raising public awareness of the essence, role, and principles of cooperatives through providing training in partnership with Women Resource Centers and the Arnur Credit company. FGI will also conduct feasibility research on the preparedness of women to cooperate and provide practical, hands-on support to women willing to create a cooperative.

The goal is to help women activists generate cooperative business ideas through brainstorming, business planning, and registering with the state authorities. Also, FGI intends to help newly created women cooperatives with business connections and integration into local supply chains.

Thus, Palladium is seeking a Cooperative Creation Consultant with comprehensive cooperative movement knowledge and experience to help implement this Scope of Work.

The deliverables for this consultancy will consist of the following:

• Three trainings: one introductory and 2 foundational trainings on the creation and functioning of a cooperative.
• Helping women willing to cooperate with generation business ideas and their validation.
• Proposing possible supply chains where cooperatives can integrate.
• Assisting women to create two cooperatives if feasible by Law.
• Helping women in the initial stage of the cooperative business life cycle.

Key Competencies Required:

• 5+ years of professional work experience in the cooperatives movement.
• Proven track record in the creation of cooperatives.
• Proven track record in developing and delivering trainings.
• Proven knowledge in the cooperatives movement.
• Minimum of bachelor’s degree in the supply chain, logistics, international trade, or related field.
• Proficiency in spoken and written Russian.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion – Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at [email protected] and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding – We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.