The ECOWAS Commission has secured funding under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Preparatory Support Program, and intends to use part of this funding to make payments under the ECOWAS Commission and Member States Institutional Capacity Building Project for Access to Climate Finance to support implementation of the agricultural sector priorities of the Regional Climate Strategy (RCS).

The subject of the Consultant's Services will be "implementation of the RAAF's climate and gender-sensitive Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)".

The ECOWAS Commission, represented by the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF) invites eligible Consultants to express their interest in providing the Services described above.

Brief Mission Statement

The general objective of the assignment is to develop the RAAF's Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) which integrates a gender-sensitive approach and takes into account climate risks in the agricultural sector. Specifically;

promote and facilitate the integration of environmental, climate and social concerns into the design, planning, implementation and monitoring/evaluation of projects and programs implemented by RAAF and other stakeholders;

facilitate the assessment of potential environmental, climatic and/or social impacts and risks associated with projects, as well as the monitoring of these impacts and risks throughout RAAF's project cycle as part of its “make it happen” principle.

Consultant tasks and responsibilities

The Consultant will perform the following tasks and functions:

• • Carry out gender assessments of climate-sensitive risks to the agricultural sector in the ECOWAS region in collaboration with the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre.
  • propose actions to foster synergies between national and regional agricultural policies, taking gender differences into account in the design, implementation and evaluation of projects and policies;
  • highlight the impact of climate change on gender relations, in particular for the most vulnerable social groups (women, young people, indigenous populations) in the three (03) agricultural sub-sectors (livestock and transhumance, crop production and food security, fisheries and aquaculture);
  • describe the environmental and social management procedure for the sub-projects for which RAAF is responsible as part of its "make it happen" principle;
  • describe environmental risk assessment procedures ;
  • describe the environmental and social management system ;
  • describe the environmental and social risk management methodology ;
  • facilitate the process of identifying and assessing environmental and social risks, with an emphasis on screening, environmental screening, environmental and social assessment, and environmental and social impact management;
  • describe the mechanism for handling environmental and social complaints ;
  • describe mitigation measures for identified negative impacts;
  • propose a capacity-building plan on concepts, gender analyses and their application dimensions for better monitoring of CRS implementation and equitable agricultural policies;
  • propose criteria and a methodology for tracing equitable and inclusive co-benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as part of the monitoring of RAAA projects ;
  • identify capacity-building and other technical assistance needs for the proper implementation of the CGES and climate-sensitive gender.

Main deliverables expected from the consultant

• One (01) inception report including detailed methodological note and work schedule;
• One (01) analytical assessment report on gender-related climate risks in the agriculture sector, including a capacity-building plan on gender concepts, gender analyses and their application dimensions for better monitoring of CRS implementation;
• One (01) report on the RAAF's climate-sensitive environmental, social and gender management framework.

Qualifications, experience and skills

Mission duration 

The duration of the mission is 60 calendar days.

Application form

The application file includes :

• Letter of expression of interest duly dated and signed, addressed to the Executive Director of;
• a recent curriculum vitae detailing professional experience and similar assignments;
• Professional references (full name, current and previous positions, telephone number and e-mail address);
• Certified copy of highest diploma ;
• Copies of certificates, attestations of employment or any other document justifying the consultant's experience, as mentioned in the curriculum vitae.

Submission of applications

Expressions of interest must be submitted no later than August 5, 2024 at 17:00 GMT, via an upload to Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/request/VrWDN6yEltY6G8qTULz0

The expression of interest must be submitted as a single PDF file.

The RAAF reserves the right not to consider expressions of interest that do not comply with the above conditions of submission.

Selection process

The consultant(s) will be selected according to the individual consultant selection method as defined in the ECOWAS Public Procurement Code, following the weighting below.

• • General qualification: 20%.
  • Relevance to the mission: 70
  • Local experience and language skills: 10%.

RAAF reserves the right not to act on this advice.

Request for further information

Interested consultants may obtain further information by writing to the following e-mail addresses: procurement@araa.org : cc ctienon@araa.org ; lbarnabo@araa.org ; mnakorba@araa.org , five (05) working days before the deadline for expressions of interest, with the subject "SCI016-FVC- CGES-RAAF".