PROGRAMME ON INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT AND ADAPTATION
TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE NIGER BASIN (PIDACC/NB)
Request for Expression of Interest (REOI)
FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT
TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
INTRODUCTION
The Agricultural Research, Production and Sustainability Division of the Agriculture and Industry Department (AHAI.2) of the African Development Bank (AfDB) is recruiting a consultant to provide technical assistance to the coordination of the Program for Integrated Development and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Niger Basin (PIDACC) and for the development of the Feed Africa loan program, portfolio management and preparation of completion reports.
CONTEXT
2.1 The Niger River, whose basin is shared by nine (9) West and Central African States (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria), is of paramount importance for the neighboring populations and the economies of these member countries of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA). The aridification of the climate and the decrease in water flow observed over several decades, associated with local land pressure, have strongly contributed to the widespread degradation of natural resources, worsening of water and wind erosion as well as silting of the Niger River. These phenomena, amplified yearly by recurring droughts, weaken the living conditions of the population and the survival of biodiversity of the basin.
2.2 The overall objective of PIDACC is to contribute in improving resilience of the population and ecosystems of the Niger River Basin through the sustainable management of natural resources. The program brings together 9 national projects implemented by member countries and a regional project component executed by the NBA to ensure synergy in implementation. It is organized around three components: (i) Building Resilience of Ecosystems and Natural Resources; (ii) Building resilience of populations; and (iii) Program coordination and management.
2.3 The program will directly benefit 4 million people in 9 countries, 51% women. The direct beneficiaries are small producers and vulnerable groups (women and youth) constituting implementers of sub-projects. The expected main results of the program are:
• Recovery of 140,000 ha of degraded land;
• The construction of 209 hydraulic infrastructures for agro-pastoral and piscicultural activities;
• The implementation of 450 agricultural chain development sub-projects and 184 youth SMEs;
• Strengthening the CC adaptation capacity of 1,000,000 households; and
• Operationalization of a sustainable financing mechanism for sustainable natural resources management activities
PIDACC has a budget of US$ 218 million from the African Development Fund of the AfDB, the Forest Investment Program, the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility and the European Union. It comprises nine (9) national projects and a regional project managed by the Niger Basin Authority (NBA).
TASKS OF THE CONSULTANT
3.1 He or She will be based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, and will carry out the following specific tasks under the direct responsibility of the Division Manager – AHAI.2 and under the supervision of the Coordinator of the Climate Smart Agriculture Program, Project Manager of PIDACC: The consultant will:
• Ensure that implementation of the 10 projects of PIDACC is of good quality, through a diligent processing of annual work plans, procurement packages, disbursement requests and reporting in the required timeframe;
• Support the PIDACC Project Manager in the coaching and supervision of the PIDACC technical team and the local / National PIDACC Project Managers (STS);
• Plan and organize PIDACC supervision missions;
• Oversee the production of annual reports of activities of PIDACC in accordance with the requirements of donors;
• Assist Project Implementation Units (PIUs) in the review of procurement packages and disbursement requests as well as ensure the hiring of project audit service providers and the submission of audit reports on time;
• Assist in ensuring that the collaboration and partnership between PIDACC and TAAT is effective with all the mutual benefits planned achieved.
• Perform or participate in supervision, mid-term review or closure of PIDACC.
• Contribute to the identification, preparation and appraisal of new operations in the agricultural sector;
• Participate, where necessary, in dialogue with the Government and exchanges with other partners on the development of the agricultural sector;
• Undertake any other activities assigned by the Division Manager or the Chief Climate Change Expert
SELECTION CRITERIA (INCLUDING SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND DESIRABLE EXPERIENCE)
4.1 The criteria for selecting the consultant are as follows:
• Hold at least a Masters 2 or equivalent degree in natural resource management, agricultural economics, rural engineering, hydraulics, agronomy, environment, or in any other related field;
• Have at least ten (10) years of relevant professional experience in the preparation, management and supervision of agricultural projects, as well as in the preparation of project completion reports, including at least five years of management and training experience in the oversight of climate resilience projects;
• Have good knowledge and understanding of agricultural policies and building resilience of people to climate change;
• Have good knowledge and understanding of Bank procurement rules and procedures;
• Have experience working in African countries, knowledge of the specific context of countries in west Africa region will be an additional asset;
• Have work experience with the Bank or other similar institutions;
• Have excellent written and spoken communication skills in French and a practical knowledge of English;
• Have a command of the software applications commonly used at the Bank, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, SAP, etc.
DURATION OF THE CONTRACT
5.1 The assignment is scheduled for a period of six (6) months, from March 1, 2023 renewable depending on the needs of the AHAI.2 Division and the performance of the Consultant.
5.2 The Consultant will be based in Abidjan but will carry out assignments as part of his / her work in PIDACC and other regions.
EVALUATION CRITERIA OF OFFERS
The evaluation criteria for the offers are as follows:
• General qualification for tasks to be performed 30%
• Specific experience on the tasks to be performed 50%
• Experience with international organizations 10%
• Proficiency in French and English 5%
• Knowledge of the African region 5%
Interested Individual Consultants may obtain further information and Terms of Reference (TOR), by sending a request through an e-mail address: F.KONDO@AFDB.ORG and A.BILGO@AFDB.ORG, or get a copy of TOR at the address below during office hours 8:00 -17:00 (Abidjan time);
Expressions of interest must be received at the address below no later than 31 January 2023 at 17:00 GMT and specifically mentioning: Agriculture Research, Production and Sustainability (AHAI.2) Division Consultant.
For the attention of:
Mr. BILGO Ablassé
African Development Bank,
Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire,
Email: A.BILGO@AFDB.ORG
Copying Mrs. KONDO Fati, E-mail: F.KONDO@AFDB.ORG
Job Email id: f.kondo(at)afdb.org
