JOB DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. In Colombia, WFP’s support to the national government responds to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 and 17 by using innovative tools such as cash transfers and local food purchases through farmers’ associations. WFP’s activities in Colombia focus on the most vulnerable populations, including victims of violence, marginalized communities, and ethnic groups. The goal is to rebuild and strengthen their livelihoods, ensuring they have adequate access at all times to nutritious and diverse diets and increasing their capacity to recover and adapt to climate change. This is done progressively by developing the capacity of local authorities to implement responsible programs that contribute to reducing food insecurity and malnutrition.

The WFP is seeking a Legal Consultant who will be responsible for providing legal and administrative support for the formalization of the commercial company/legal status of the plantain processing plant. This will begin with the development of a legal concept and the research and development of participatory workspaces with the community. This will contribute to the consolidation of a production and management model aligned with a definition of the company’s mission and vision, contributing to the economic and social strengthening of the plant’s business management, the development of governance mechanisms, and the construction of accountability and reporting protocols for inter-institutional settings, facilitating impact on the company’s growth and resource management. Their contribution will be key to guiding business activities and ensuring that they are aligned with the political, social, and economic priorities of the region.

The role includes creating spaces for participation and inclusion to define a business model that facilitates productivity, profit generation, governance, levels of autonomy, and the relationship between the Board of Directors and plant management, Community Councils, clients, and the institutions involved.

The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Medellín Field Office Manager. They will have defined responsibilities within the consultancy, in addition to advising PMA on strategic issues related to the position’s objectives.

OBJECTIVE: To define a business model for the “Plantain Processing Plant” that facilitates governance through a Board of Directors with representatives from the Community Councils and the plant’s management. This model should include a business management framework with territorial acceptance, fostering community ownership and empowerment in the production of plantain flour, derived byproducts, and associated services.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The professional will be responsible for the following activities and functions:

Agree on and define a business model for the “Plantain Flour Plant” in coordination with government entities, the private sector, United Nations agencies, and other relevant stakeholders. This model must ensure the effective participation of the plantain-growing community and the Community Councils represented on the Board of Directors, promoting a collaborative governance and social management model adapted to the cultural and social contexts of the Afro-descendant peoples involved in the initiative.

Facilitate spaces for consultation and development of the business model, promoting ownership and empowerment of the community, Community Councils, and Municipal Administrations in the company’s area of ​​influence.

Provide support, guidance, and advice on governance, management, leadership, and representation issues to local stakeholders, including representatives of Afro-descendant organizations.

Design, update, or adjust the company’s bylaws, establishing its mission and vision in accordance with current legal regulations and within the applicable legal and tax framework.

Manage the company’s business registration and legal recognition before the Chocó Chamber of Commerce, the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, and other relevant bodies, ensuring a framework of legal guarantees aligned with business development and the target market.

Develop a Strategic Operation Plan that establishes legal and regulatory guidelines for the company in the short, medium, and long term.

Incorporate a gender perspective into the business model of the “Banana Processing Plant,” prioritizing women’s participation and roles in analysis, discussion, and decision-making.

Perform other activities assigned by supervision and that are related to the nature of the position.

DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENTS

First payment 30%

PRODUCTS:

Product 1: Plan that includes (i) schedule, (ii) methodological proposal.

Specifications: This document must include the planning of each of the activities included in these terms of reference and the deliverables provided below, as well as the methodological proposal for their scope.

% – Product Value 1: 10% – 3,000,000

Product 2: Legal concept document.

Specifications: Construction of the legal concept based on research into commercial company modalities and legal entities suitable for the formalization of Harinas del Darién as a commercial entity, based on the ethnic, cultural, economic, and territorial characteristics of this initiative.

% – Product Value 2: 20% – 6,000,000

Second payment 40%

Product 3: Minutes of community agreement defining the business model and legal status.

Specifications: This document must contain a detailed technical report of the conclusions reached in consultation with representatives of the four community councils present in the territory for the joint definition of the most suitable business model and legal entity, based on a detailed and simple socialization of the types or modalities existing in Colombia, their benefits, their short, medium and long-term costs and the commitments that must be acquired by each of the parties to move forward with the process.

% – Product Value 3: 15% – 4,500,000

Product 4: Internal statutes for the operation of the legal entity for the internal organization.

Specifications: This document must contain the legal entity’s bylaws, defining its internal and administrative organization, including the management of the plant’s assets and their availability for commercial activity, based on community consultation spaces.

% – Product Value 4: 15% – 4,500,000

Product 5: Manual for participation and involvement of third-party actors.

Specifications: This document must contain a participation manual for third parties interested in the plant’s business model (mayors’ offices, governorships, private companies, individuals, among others).

% – Product Value 5: 10% – 3,000,000

Third payment 30%

Product 6: Document formalizing the commercial company/legal entity of the plant.

Specifications: This document must summarize the formalization of the commercial company/legal entity of the plant.

% – Product Value 6: 30% – 9,000,000

* The total value of the contract is $30,000,000 and is subject to delivery and approval by WFP of the previously agreed products.

Note: Transportation, accommodation, and food expenses incurred to accomplish the activities proposed in the responsibilities and to achieve the deliverables previously described will be covered by the consultant and are included in the value of the consultancy.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

Education: University degree in law or related fields.

Specific Experience

Minimum seven (7) years of proven professional experience (does not include internships or degree projects), in advising on business generation processes, within the legal, legal and territorial governance frameworks with Afro communities and Community Councils.

Desirable: Legal support in community business development processes in Afro-Colombian communities and with Community Councils. At least two years of specific experience in supporting, advising, and mentoring community business model development processes with a governance focus and the participation of Community Councils.

Handling Office tools

Experience in developing training methodologies

Experience working with ethnic communities (indigenous and Afro-Colombians)

Languages: Fluency in Spanish and intermediate knowledge of English desirable.

Expected Products:

Defined and agreed-upon business model for the “Banana Processing Plant.”

Revised and adjusted company bylaws, mission and vision, duly updated.

Review and/or management of the corresponding business registration and legal records.

Strategic Operation Plan with legal and juridical guidelines.

Documents and proof of the incorporation of the gender perspective into the company’s structure.

Progress reports and a final activity report.

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements