So You Want to be an International

Development Consultant

Larry Hendricks

Manager vs. Consultant

• Manager• Mostly

Administration.

• Consultant• Technical issues

take precedence, • Work is time bound,

• Accomplish more technical work in half a day than is possible in a week as a manager.

Entrepreneurship• How do you decide whether consulting

is for you? You & Your Family• Three critical questions:

• Are you self disciplined enough? • Can you manage money without getting

stressed because you do not have a steady paycheck?

• Are you a procrastinator or a ‘do it now’ person?

Building Credentials

• Types of experience • Country• Technical

• Need both types of experience to be selected for a contract.

Building Credentials

• Do you have the technical skills?• Education – preferably Masters degree;• Experience.

• Experience levels – two types• Junior < 10 years – Entry Level• Mid Career• Senior 10-15 years - Advanced

• Experience impacts position & fees • Know market rate – too high will be rejected.

Pricing Yourself• Your objective is to get the contract at your

desired daily/ monthly rate. • The company biding bears the overhead and

in return deserves a reasonable mark-up on your fees.

• Consider that your rate does not writing the bid or incurring overhead costs.

• The amount the firm makes on your services is part of their strategy and should not concern you. Don’t get Greedy

• Try not to accept a rate below your best rate

World Market• What this means:

• You are competing on a world market; • You need to think of yourself as one of the

world’s foremost experts in your area; • Best available person the winning bidder

could find.

• You need to have a strategy to compete in that market = CV.• Expand your niche wherever possible

(technically and countries)

Market Demand• Consultants are technical experts that fill gaps:

• Administrative work;• Bid evaluation;• Design projects;• Project appraisal;• Recently a demand for people who speak French

• Project implementation;• Assess problems and recommend solutions

Monitoring and evaluation.• More locals and fewer ExPats

Marketing Tool

• CV is primary marketing tool, • CV needs to be complete;• Not 2 pages;• Must keep your CV up to date; • Update as you leave a job;• Accomplishments of an assignment

are fresh in your mind – NOT ToR.• Website – make one even if it is 1 page

Getting Found

• Get found in the database; • CVs circulates to more potential

contractors than any other information.• Search engines are based on key

words including countries;• Get as many hits as possible;• CV shows that you are a match to the

ToRs.

CV Format

• Your CV is a database that contains as many key words as possible in your technical area and countries.

• Update key words as they change.

• Use a modified version of the multilateral organizations as CV model

• Cut and paste for bids.

CV Format

• Takes a lot of work, • Get all the dates and length of the assignments

correct,• Start and end months, year, # of weeks, months or years

• Country;• Project name;• Your title;• Donor;• Accomplishments;

• Only put in the tasks you completed

ExampleDate From March 1998 To Present

Employer Hendricks & Associates

Position President & CEODuties Accountable for overall operation including Business Development, Profit and Loss.

Accomplishments: Successfully completed contracts with private firms, ADB, AusAID, CIDA, DFID, FAO, FSDT Tanzania, FinMark Trust, FIRST/World Bank, IFAD, UNDP, USAID, and NGOs in Canada, Asia, Africa and s.

Date From October 2011 December 2011 (7.5 weeks)

Employer Mid-Term Evaluation of the Rural Finance and Cooperative Development Program (RUFCOD) - USAID

Position Microfinance Specialist

Duties As technical specialist focused on the impact, legislation, operations, profitability, results, Afghanization, sustainability, expansion and related conclusions and recommendations. Also undertook a number of activities including:Drafting a questionnaire for a survey company to obtain information in areas not accessible by an expat;Trained the survey company supervisors in the project and questionnaire;Obtained data from the implementer and apex organization.

Application to Donor

• 12 Detailed Tasks • Assigned• [List all tasks to be

performed under this assignment]

 

• 13. Work Undertaken that Best Illustrates Capability to Handle the Tasks Assigned

• [Among the assignments in which the expert has been involved, indicate the following information for those assignments that best illustrate the expert’s capability to handle the tasks listed under point 11.]

• Name of assignment or project:

• Year:

• Location:

• Client:

• Main project features:

• Positions held: • Activities performed:

Being Part of a Bid

• Winning 1 in 4 bids is considered acceptable

• 60%+ of bid is personnel

• Minimum of 2 people per position

• = 1 in 8 bids you will be selected

• Best to have your name in on 10 projects – more people for position?

• Take 1st contract on the table

Saying No

• Flat out NO is not an option

• 2 Options• You are not available• Set your rate high

• 3rd Option for work in conflict/post conflict countries• You do not have your family’s support

CAIDP• www.caidp-rpcdi.ca/about-caidp• Quiz So You Want to Be an

International Development Consultant• Used a QLBS tool so people can assess

themselves• Sends you a report by email when you

are done

• The original article is on the website

• Hendricks@sympatico.ca