ABOUT THE COMPANY:

IITA is an award-winning, research-for-development (R4D) organization, providing solutions to hunger, poverty, and the degradation of natural resources in Africa. Since 1967, IITA has worked with international and national partners to we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is guided by an ambitious strategy–to lift 11.5 million people out of poverty and revitalize 7.5 million hectares of farmland–by 2020. As one of 15 research centers in the CGIAR, a global partnership for a food secure future, IITA is engaged in several CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs).

IITA has delivered more than 70% of the CGIAR’s impact in sub-Saharan Africa and remains committed to science-driven improvement of agriculture and related food value chains. Our R4D programs are focused on four crucial areas: Biotechnology and Genetic Improvement, Natural Resource Management, Social Science and Agribusiness, Plant Production and Plant Health and Nutrition and Food Technology. IITA’s R4D programs have attracted the best and brightest minds from all over the world. Thousands of scientists and professionals have been involved in IITA training and research programs and continue to benefit from the knowledge they have in turn passed on to others.

To help address poverty and the high number of unemployed young men and women in, IITA has initiated a Youth Agripreneurs program to create jobs by making agriculture and agribusiness appealing to the youth. The program is integrated in the Business Incubation Platform (BIP), the technology delivery arm of IITA, which serves as a model to stimulate product development and to provide opportunities for market expansion.

JOB SUMMARY

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT SERVICES

SECTOR: Agriculture

CONSULTANCY SERVICES:  Environmental & Social Safeguards (E&SS) Technical Assistants for West, Central, East and Southern African Regions (Clusters 1-4)

Financing Agreement reference: P-Z1-AA0-139

Project ID No.2100155041681

_______________________________________________________________________

This request for expression of interest (REOI) follows the General Procurement Notice for this Project that appeared on the African Development Bank Group’s Internet Website (www.afdb.org) 12th August 2022.

The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has received financing from the African Development Bank toward the cost of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Phase II and intends to apply part of the agreed amount of this grant to payments under the contract for TAAT Environmental & Social Safeguards Technical Assistants.

The Executing Agency (IITA) intends to engage four (4) individual consultants (as Regional Environmental and Social Safeguard Technical Assistants) at the TAAT Program Management Unit (PMU) to ensure that the program is implemented in compliance with the AfDB’s Integrated Safeguards System (ISS) and specific country national safeguard regulations.

Under the supervision of the E&S Safeguards Specialist, each individual consultant will be responsible for a region – West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa and will oversee planning and implementation and monitoring of Environmental and Safeguards activities in the select countries clustered as follows:

1.   Benin, Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, and Sierra Leone – West Africa Region (Cluster 1)

2.   Chad, Cameroon, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – Central Africa Region (Cluster 2)

3.   Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Sudan – East Africa Region (Cluster 3) and

4.   Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – South Africa Region (Cluster 4).

Specifically, the Technical Assistants shall assist in providing technical environmental and social safeguards oversight for the project preparation and implementation under the general management of the TAAT Program Coordinator.

He/she shall: (i) visit and assess various sites in select countries under the program to screen and develop a screening report in accordance with country requirements as well as the AfDB Integrated Safeguards System (ISS) requirements; (ii) develop annual workplans and monitor progress of E&S related work in TAAT; (iii) where required, prepare TORs for additional E&S Instruments and coordinate the preparation of the E&S Instruments under the supervision  of the Lead Environmental and Safeguards Specialist at the PMU; (iv) establish, support and supervise the implementation of environmental and social safeguard processes, based on, but not limited to the findings of the Screening reports and required E&S instruments; (iv) prepare and submit timely monthly safeguards monitoring reports to the Lead Environmental and Safeguards Specialist: (v) coordinate the preparation of  third party Environment and Social Compliance Audits to be submitted to PMU for onward forwarding to AfDB annually; (vi) keep accurate records of safeguards supervision of project activities in a systemic manner that allows easy search-and-find of all documents upon request of the PMU, the AfDB, and national authorities; and (vii) perform any other duty assigned by the Lead E&S Safeguards Specialist for TAAT or the Program Coordinator.

The selected Consultant will be a member of TAAT PMU to be based in one of the IITA Priority Countries within the West, Central, East and Southern Africa Regions and will report to the TAAT Program Coordinator through the Lead Environmental & Social Safeguards Consultant.

The assignment shall be for an initial period of One (1) year and subject to renewal with satisfactory performance.

The selected consultant should possess a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in the field of Environment, Social Sciences or related fields.

The Consultant should have at least 3 years of relevant experience, working on projects financed by multilateral/ bilateral international financial institutions in Africa. Experience in the Agricultural Sector in Africa will be a plus. These multilateral/ bilateral international financial institutions include but not limited to the African Development Bank, the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, among others.

The relevant experience should be in the application of Environmental & Safeguard standards in conducting environmental due diligence assessments, monitoring, and evaluations for projects.

Registration by host country Environmental Protection/Management Agency; good understanding of agriculture sector governance and management issues and demonstrated E&S management experience; knowledge of E&S risks across sectors, commodities, and geographies and experience assessing and mitigating risks on complex commodities supply chains; regional experience and flexibility to travel within specific region, and experience in development and delivery of E&S related training.

Proficiency in English is a must and working knowledge of French language is required.

IITA now invites eligible individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services.

Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (including their detailed CV and letter of motivation detailing past related experience similar to this assignment.). Potential consultants are requested to submit their Expressions of Interest (EOIs) corresponding to the cluster they are interested in.

This implies that, the successful E&S Technical Assistant will be designated and contracted for the cluster they applied for.

Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s Procurement Framework, October 2015, which is available on the Bank’s website at https://www.afdb.org/en/projects-and-operations/procurement/new-procurement-policy

Interested consultants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours (0800-1630hrs).

Expressions of interest should be delivered to the address below on or before 16th August 2024.

Attn: Chrysantus Akem; PhD

TAAT Program Coordinator | Program Management Unit

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, www.iita.org

Headquarters & West Africa Hub

PMB 5320, Oyo Road, Ibadan 200001, Oyo State, Nigeria

International Mailing Address: IITA, Carolyn House, 26 Dingwall Road, Croydon, CR9 3EE, UK

Tel: +234 2 7517472   | USA Tel: +1 201 6336094 | Fax: +44 208 7113785 | Mobile No: +234 8169020531

Email: C.Akem@cgiar.org, and Copy: m.a.bakare@cgiar.org

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