Under the supervision of the Team Leader, the Entrepreneurship and Private sector development Technical Lead is responsible for the coordination and implementation of activities planned under Pillar 1 of LEAP IMPACT, as well as crosscutting activities that support the successful implementation of the overall project.

The Entrepreneurship and Private sector development Technical Lead will act as the main technical focal point for Pillar 1 and will be responsible for ensuring the quality, relevance, coherence and timely implementation of activities and deliverables related to business environment reforms, investment climate improvement and MSME digitalisation.

Pillar 1’s activities focus on: developing policy frameworks promoting structured and inclusive and gender-responsive MSME growth; improving of multi-stakeholder dialogue around inclusive private sector development; assisting business support network capacities to promote ecosystem development across the country and; increasing MSMEs digitalisation capacities allowing for improved, gender-inclusive market access.

Technical leadership and Implementation of activities

§  Under the supervision of the Team Leader, develop, coordinate and lead the activities linked to entrepreneurship and private sector development, in line with the objectives of the project, notably focusing on the following:

o   policy assessment and recommendations for business environment, investment climate and digitalisation;

o   strengthening public-private dialogues for private sector development and digitalisation;

o   capacity building for entrepreneurship support, business development services and digital transformation assistance;

o   MSMEs and entrepreneurs through practical digital skills development, digital support packages, voucher-based service delivery mechanisms and tailored support to women-led enterprises;

§  Lead the technical planning and implementation of Pillar 1 activities, ensuring coherence between capacity-building activities, public-private dialogue and technical assistance;

§  Develop projects tools and technical outputs (e.g. reports, tools, guidelines, voucher system, etc.);

§  Contribute to the preparation and quality assurance of studies, due diligence processes and advisory support;

§  Identify the needs for specific short-term expertise, coordinate and support external experts mobilised under Pillar 1, supervise their work and ensure the quality and relevance of their deliverables;

§  Identify partners and participants with relevant expertise and needs, to ensure maximum impact and coverage of the activities, paying special attention to inclusivity (women, minorities, youth, etc.);

§  Provide technical leadership, logistical support and guidance within the project team and to partners to ensure the activities and their outputs contribute to the project’s objectives;

§  Coordinate logistics and define technical agendas for events (e.g. public-private dialogues, capacity building activities, business fora, study visits, etc.);

§  Prepare and give input to the Trade and Private Sector Working Group (TPSWG) co-chaired by the European Union;

§  Support the Task Force in charge of the organisation of the Business and Investment Forum where needed;

§  Identify synergies across project activities and stakeholders, and initiate joint planning, information sharing and joint activities where appropriate.

Stakeholders Coordination

§  Liaise with and facilitate dialogue between key partners of the Action, including the Ministry of Industry and Commerce; the Ministry of Technology and Communication; the Department of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Promotion; the Lao National Chamber of Commerce; SME Service Centers; EU private sector (notably the Eurocham-ECCIL and other EU Member States’ chambers); innovation hubs; MSMEs, to build and maintain fruitful and trustful working relationships, hereby ensuring the successful implementation of activities and public-private dialogues.

§  Build and maintain fruitful and trustful working relationships with Lao public institutions, development partners, private sector representatives and investors, ensuring the successful implementation of activities and public-private dialogues.

§  Support the Team Leader in liaising with the European Union Delegation on technical inputs covered by Pillar 1.

§  Develop project’s contributions to the quarterly Technical Working Group (TWG) chaired and organised by Expertise France and gathering the EU Delegation and designated technical focal points from partner institutions.

§  Contribute to biannual Project Review Committees (PRC), including through the preparation of technical updates, progress notes, risk analyses and recommendations.

§  Identify and nurture synergies between LEAP IMPACT and other cooperation projects covering related topics, funded by the European Union or its Members States and/or implemented by Expertise France, especially in Laos and in the ASEAN region.

Quality assurance, Monitoring and Reporting, Outreach

§  Support the Team Leader and coordinate with the other team members to:

o   Develop and improve project monitoring systems, tools and templates

o   Collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data in line with M&E systems and against the project’s indicators

o   Monitor the technical progress of Pillar 1 activities and identify implementation risks

o   Support budgets tracking and budget forecasts

o   Contribute to narrative and financial reporting tasks

§  Provide quality assurance for the project’s deliverables developed under Pillar 1

§  Prepare technical briefings, analytical notes, risk analysis and recommendations to support the Team Leader in planning, decision-making and strategic positioning

§  Prepare outreach materials based on evidence and success stories of the project to showcase partners’ engagement and project results

§  Contribute to knowledge management and capitalisation activities, ensuring that tools, methodologies, lessons learned and technical outputs developed under Pillar 1 remain available and usable by Lao partner institutions beyond the project duration