RWANDA WOOD VALUE CHAIN ASSOCIATION

TERMS OF REFERENCE

National Consultant for conducting PPD, for the Wood sector in Rwanda.  

1. BACKGROUND OF RWVCA

The Rwanda Wood Value Chain Association (RWVCA) is a member-based organization that is dedicated to supporting the development of a wood value chain and representing the interests of the wood sector operators in Rwanda. The wood value chain has five clusters that are tree nursery, forest Management, 1^st processing, 2^nd processing, 3^rd processing, and sales distribution.

The wood sector is playing a vital role in the Rwandan economy. Most Rwandan households rely on wood for cooking energy and wood is mostly used in construction and furniture production which are the growing sectors in Rwanda. The wood sector is also providing job opportunities to many Rwandans along the wood value chain.  However, there is a deficit in supplying the high demand for wood and wooden products in Rwanda, which heavily results in the importation of wooden products. 

The mission of RWVCA is to develop and improve the wood sector by strengthening the capacity of wood operators through capacity building, business development services, and advocating professionally for solving the issues facing the wood sector so that the members could contribute significantly to the vision and aspirations of the Rwandan government of having a medium and high-income country by 2035 and 2050, respectively led by the private sector.

The strategies used by the association to achieve its mission include improving the competitiveness of members through technical and managerial training so that they can compete in national and regional markets, sharing information on available opportunities, researching issues facing the wood value chain, and making advocacy by initiating the dialogues with the public institutions and organizations to resolve the challenges. Additionally, the association organizes networking events that help the members to exchange ideas and experiences and can encourage collective investment. These strategies result in having competent wood operators who promote the made-in-Rwanda products and create job opportunities.

The association mainly represents the interests of members through advocacy. During the needs assessment activity conducted last month, the association found  a lot of issues that were raised by wood operators in Rwanda,  so it needs to make evidence-based advocacy on it.

It is in this context that RWVCA is looking for a consultant who will conduct this PPD and facilitate the PPD meeting.

2. OBJECTIVE OF ASSIGNMENT 

The objective of the assignment is to conduct, facilitate, and communicate PPD dialogues with the one of priority issues identified during the need assessment made by RWVCA members, in the wood value chain sector in Rwanda. 

3. TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONSULTANT 

Organize and facilitate dialogues. 

• Develop an inception report detailing the understanding of the assignment and methodology.
• Develop an advocacy agenda document including a position paper on the priority issue given by RWVCA,
• Elaborate the PPD including the implementation plan of the identified issues raised depending on the priority of the association.
• Organize and facilitate the PPD meeting.
• Follow up on the resolution taken during the PPD meeting. 

Communication of dialogues 

• Recording all activity including PPD meetings which are planned and producing reports,
• Edition and publication of the records on the RWVA website, and other social media available
• Share with all members of the RWVCA all videos conducted in the wood sector using the RWVCA website and other social media platforms of the organization

4. DELIVERABLES OF THE CONSULTANT 

• Inception report detailing the understanding of the assignment and methodology.
• Provide a position paper on the issue to be advocated.
• Provide a detailed PPD program including a PPD implementation plan and public institutions field visit plan
• Submit a final report of the whole activity. 

5. REQUIRED EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATION 

Required qualification and experience.

The consultant must meet the following minimum eligibility criteria:

• Degree in communication, journalism, public relations, and other related fields
• Being a social media and public influencer will be an added value,
• The consultant should have executed at minimum 3 similar tasks in Rwanda proven by certificates.
• The consultant should be fluent in English and Kinyarwanda. 

Competencies and skills 

• Having the proven experience in conducting PPDs
• Experience in journalism, meeting organization, and facilitation, having experience in the wood sector
• Having knowledge of and experience with the wood value chain sector is an added advantage.
• Extensive knowledge of participatory facilitation techniques,
• Excellent organization and time management skills,
• Strong communication skills including active listening, effective questioning, and awareness of non-verbal communication,
• Ability to manage group interactions and engage with a variety of people from different backgrounds.
• Punctual with a high degree of professionalism
• Confident public speaker; energetic, positive, and enthusiastic
• Fully fluent in English and Kinyarwanda

6. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS AND PROCESS 

Contact 

In case of questions regarding this assignment, please send an email to info@rwvca.org.rw with a copy to rwvca2018@gmail.com  by December 27^th, 2023. Please note that for a fair tender process, we will only respond to the publicly available information. 

Reporting 

The consultant will report to the RWVCA Executive Director. The consultant will share the results from time to time of the progress of the activities under this contract. 

Timeframe 

The entire work is expected to be completed in an estimated duration of 5 working days over the course of 2 months starting from the signing of the contract. 

Submission of proposal

Interested candidates should submit their applications by hand delivering the proposal at the RWVCA office located at Zinia Kicukiro Opposite Zinia Market or send the application documents to the email: rwvca2018@ail.com with a copy to dushimirimana@rwvca.org.rw

• Technical proposal detailing the timeframe, proposed methodology, detailed deliverables etc.
• CVs and relevant experience of the team proposed,
• Financial proposal including the detailed cost involved,
• Evidence of experience from at least 3 references with contact,
• Possession of EBM invoice 

The potential candidates should also send electronically the proposal (technical and financial) to the following email: info@rwvca.org.rw with a copy to dushimirimana@rwvca.org.rw. The subject line subject marked ‘National consultant for conducting PPD in Wood Value Chain Sector in Rwanda.’

Not later than Friday, 29^th, December 2023 before end of business day (5 PM).

Kigali, December 19^th ,2023

RWVCA President