Terms of Reference:

Strengthening Environmental and Social Safeguards and Inclusion in TREPA Project Implementation and Monitoring:

Transforming Eastern Province through Adaptation (TREPA) Project.

1. Background

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International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) jobs in Rwanda

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union comprising both State and non-State Members. Created in 1948, it is the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of six commissions, and its more than 1,300 Member organizations and some 17,000 experts. IUCN finds pragmatic solutions to the world’s most pressing environment and development challenges and works with governments, partners, and the international community to mobilize and implement an ambitious global program aimed at restoring the functionality, productivity, and ecological integrity of landscapes for the benefit of people and nature. IUCN’s current programming is focused on three areas (i) Valuing and conserving nature; (ii) Effective and equitable governance of nature’s use and (iii) Deploying nature-based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development. 

The IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) operates in twenty-four countries in the Horn of Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean. The current ESARO programming is composed of a suite of mutually interrelated programs and projects designed to address some of the most profound challenges affecting people and nature in the region. Among the projects implemented by IUCN’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office is the TREPA Project – Transforming Eastern Province through Adaptation. It is a six-year project, based in IUCN Rwanda Country Office, and funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The TREPA Project intends to restore 60,000 hectares of drought-degraded landscapes into climate resilient ecosystems through re-forestation, agroforestry, restoration of pasture-lands, and soil erosion control measures in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. In addition, irrigation infrastructure projects in the targeted landscapes of the eastern province will be climate-proofed by the TREPA Project. These projects under MINAGRI could include Export Targeted Modern Irrigation (ETI) in Mpanga (600 hectares) and Mahama (1200 hectares), Kayonza Irrigation and Integrated Watershed Management Project in Kayonza (2000 hectares), Warufu- Mugesera in Gatsibo and Ngoma as well as Rurambi dyke in Bugesera.

The TREPA Project will finally support the national and local institutions to effectively plan, manage and monitor climate adaptation outcomes from improved land use at national and decentralized levels. 

The TREPA Project is implemented by IUCN (accredited entity) together with the Rwanda Forestry Authority and Enabel as executing entities in partnership with ICRAF, World Vision, and CORDAID. The Ministry of Environment is responsible for chairing the Project Steering Committee and ensures coherence with national strategies and policies.

For implementation of the TREPA Project, three components will be considered namely:

Component 1: Restored landscapes that support climate resilient agro-ecological systems and livelihoods in Eastern Province

Component 2: Market and value chain development for climate resilient agricultural and tree products linked to financial products and services for sustainable management of agro-ecological systems.

Component 3: Strengthened enabling environment to effectively plan, manage and monitor climate adaptation outcomes from improved land use at national and decentralized levels.

In order to ensure that the project activities are implemented in the respective Components, the Executing Entities will enter relevant subsidiary and/or procurement agreements with Service Providers and suppliers of Goods and Services and in respect of Component 3, relevant TA Provider(s) for the relevant Activities.

While 68% of TREPA budget is funded by GCF, the remaining is covered by co-finance from the existing projects run by the government of Rwanda (21%), IUCN, ENABEL and ICRAF. This financing structure implies the joint implementation and monitoring of those projects, including earmarked plans and performance targets of the districts, is aligned to that of TREPA.

Furthermore, IUCN and implementing partners have developed a Gender and Youth Action plan (GYAP) and Environmental and Social Management Framework to guide the project compliance to Gender and ESS policies while enhancing TREPA’s effectiveness in increasing resilience and wellbeing of women, men and youth alongside landscape restoration targets. These plans are critical for reaching, benefiting and empowering both women and men who plant, use and protect trees and forest, a necessary condition to achieve TREPA’s outcomes. To date, there is a GYAP/ESMF Task group composed of representative of each implementing partner. To successfully implement those plans, effective coordination of partners activities, through a dynamic task group, and building their capacities are critical factors.

2. Purpose

Under the implementation and operationalization of the GYAP and ESMF, IUCN intends to recruit a consultant  to Strengthening Environmental and Social Safeguards and Social Inclusion (ESSSI) in Implementation and Monitoring of TREPA and its complimenting projects COMBIO and AREECA by all implementing partners in the seven districts. The purpose of the assignment is twofold: On the one hand, the ESSSI Consultant will assist implementing partners to develop a deep understanding of the gender and ESS concepts applied to forest landscape restoration in Eastern Province. With the forest landscape restoration work starting in October 2023, there is a need for partners to deepen their understanding of the Gender and ESS issues that affect or are affected by they actions/work plans on the ground. A forest landscape gender action approach and related methodology could be adopted to the TREPA context before being cascaded to implementing partners. The emphasis will be on moving beyond the gender ‘REACH’ to also include ‘Benefit,’ ‘Empower, ’ and ‘Outcome’ dimension of women/youth integration. On the other hand, the ESSSI consultant will provide technical assistance to implementing partners in developing, implementing and monitoring of catch-up plans for ESMP and GYAP for the Quarter 4 of 2023 period. In a participatory way, after reviewing the progress in implementation of the ESMP and GYAP per each partner, the consultant will recommend areas of improvements and strategies to fast-track delivery of FY 2023 targets and will coach partners to adopt those strategies in the Q4 ESMP and GYAP in more efficient ways, without jeopardizing the on-going restoration, market development and institutional development activities.

3. Specific Tasks

3.1. Deepen partners’ understanding of gender and ESS concepts applied to forest landscape restoration in the Eastern Province:

a. Review of the existing gender analysis, baseline studies, any landscape restoration related study applied to Eastern Province as well as the status of ESMP implementation and grievance reported and addressed to establish relevant and transformative gender approach and environmental and social safeguards management methodologies more suitable to TREPA and allied projects (COMBIO and AREECA).

b. Develop and roll out practical training to partners that expand the gender mainstreaming dimensions from REACH (e.g., focus on participation/targeting, numbers) to BENEFITS, EMPOWER and OUTCOME. The idea behind this framework is to ensure activities implemented by partners resolve gender (women/youth/men) barriers while empowering them to equally benefit from the project activities and outcomes. To be practical, a logical flow of gender gap addressed, type of intervention and Action or Policy, and transformative gender indicators will be used.

c. Develop and roll out practical training to partners approaches to implement social and environmental safeguards as well as specific methodologies for interaction with communities. Beyond deep exploration of IUCN and GCF ESS Policies, the training will cover fundamental skills (e.g., community engagement in problem/conflict resolution, implementing grievance redress mechanism) to carry out forest restoration work that is as beneficial as possible to the communities, seeking to ensure the reduction of collateral negative impact that may exist.

d. Conduct pre- and post- training evaluation to not only inform the content and methodology of the training but also devise critical gaps that the PMU and Gender Officer will continue to strengthen and monitor.

3.2. Provide technical support provide technical assistance to implementing partners in developing, implementing and monitoring of catch-up plans for ESMP and GYAP for the Quarter 4 of 2023 period:

e. Review the progress in implementation of the ESMP and GYAP per each partner and recommend areas of improvements and strategies to fast-track delivery of FY 2023 targets.

f. Assist partners to develop catch up plans for ESMP and GYAP for the period of October – December 2023.

g. Coach partners in the implementation, monitoring and reporting of their Q4 ESMP and GYAP

4. Methodology

The consultant will work closely and report operationally to the TREPA Chief of Party while providing proximity advisory services to the six implementing partners.

While will identify and describe the most appropriate and efficient methodology and approach for delivering on the scope of this assignment as part of the inception report (deliverable #1), this task is highly participatory and result oriented. Both training and technical assistance will result into practical deliverables/changes that the project is striving to produce.

5. Deliverables/Outputs of the Assignment

The key deliverables of this assignment include:

a. Inception report detailing the work plan and schedule of deliverables and communication plan.

b. Capacity building program for Forest Landscape Gender Action Approach (Module 1) and Best Practice in Environmental and Social Safeguards Implementation (Module 2)

c. Report on successful training delivery with pre- and post-training evaluation report in the annex

d. GYAP and ESMP Fast tracking plans for Q4 (October – December 2023) Period

e. Consolidated GYAP and ESMP Fast tracking plans Implementation Report

6. Required Experience, Skills and Competencies - The Consultancy team.

The ESSSI consultant is expected to be an experienced gender, environmental and social safeguards expert who meets the following conditions:

• A relevant post-graduate degree at or above MSc level in Sustainable development, development studies, Environmental or Natural Resources Management, and Gender/Social Inclusion Studies,
• At least five (5) years’ experience in implementation support of large-scale forest landscape restoration or natural resource management-led climate adaptation projects with a focus on gender and environmental and social safeguards.
• Demonstrated experience in the field of forest landscape restoration, and knowledge of environmental and social inclusion standards of the World Bank Group or IFC, GCF or bilateral donors such as USAID,
• Proven knowledge and best practices in their application in community-based forest and agroforest development projects and timber and non-timber forest value chain development programming preferred.
• Strong skills and exposure to project stakeholder engagement especially with multiple implementing partners and multiple layers of field level activities with involvement of districts and provincial leadership
• Demonstrated experience in training implementation using learning by doing approaches and able to deliver training while considering aspects of adult learning principles. 
• Ability to communicate ideas clearly and confidently, articulate issues and recommend solutions,
• Ability to influence, motivate, and collaborate with others. A good team player who can work as a member of a multi-disciplinary, motivate and lead group efforts and network effectively across boundaries,
• Fluent in spoken and written English.
• Knowledge of Kinyarwanda language is desirable.

7. Reporting lines

The selected candidate will work under the supervision of the Chief of Party of TREPA.

8. Timeframe of the Consultancy

The assignment will be conducted within a period between 01^st November 2023 and 31^st December 2023.

9. Workstation

The Consultant will operate mainly from the PMU office in Kigali with travels to the project landscape hub office and sites in Eastern Province.

10. How to apply

Interested consultants should email their i) Expression of interest outlining a) the consultant’s best fit for the assignment, b) a technical proposal – detailing the methodologies to be used for delivering deliverables and c) a financial proposal – detailing a number of days and daily fee needed for each deliverables, ii) detailed CVs outlining the consultant’s working experience, iii) scanned copies of relevant academic qualifications and professional certificates to tenders.rwanda@iucn.org no later than October 16^th, 2023 at 05:00p.m, local time in Rwanda. 

During the course of this procurement, i.e., from the publication of this ToR to the submission date, if you have any question, please, address all correspondence and questions to the following IUCN Contact: Name: Olivier Habimana, E-mail: Olivier.Habimana@iucn.org