Catholic Relief Services recruits an International Consultant in charge of a study on natural resources management and nrm-related conflicts – Mangaria-Dungass / Niger
Description :
Context Girma is a project funded by Food For Peace (FFP)/USAID and implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Niger. It aims at improving and sustaining food and nutrition security and resilience among extremely poor and chronically vulnerable households and communities. It will be implemented over five years (2018-2023), reaching 898,914 direct activity participants across 11 communes in two departments of the Zinder region, Magaria and Dungass. The departments of Dungass and Magaria are located in the southern part of the Zinder region. Population growth and climate change are the main causes of growing pressure on natural resources in Southern Niger, which faces challenges such as: (i) land degradation and decreasing agricultural yields; (ii) pollution and slower regeneration of natural resources, and (iii) increasing competition and conflicts over natural resources. To improve livelihoods, inclusion and social cohesion in Girma’s intervention zone, effective ways of preventing and resolving conflicts over natural resources need to be found.
For this reason, a study will be carried out in order to gain a deeper understanding of NRM and NRM-related conflicts in Girma’s intervention zone, but also for defining Girma’s strategy for improving NRM, and NRM-related conflicts’ prevention, mitigation, management and resolution.
Objectives of the consultancy :
- Main objective :
Allowing the Girma team to gain a deeper understanding of NRM and NRM-related conflicts in Girma’s intervention zone, and defining Girma’s strategy for improving NRM, and NRM-related conflicts’ prevention, mitigation, management and resolution.
- Specific objectives :
- Describing and analyzing how natural resources (and especially water, pasture and arable land) are currently managed in Girma’s intervention area ;
- Describing and analyzing local conflicts over natural resources and how they are currently managed ;
- Describing and analyzing the linkage between NRM-related conflicts and other kinds of open/latent conflicts in Girma’s intervention area ;
- Providing Girma with a strategy for improving NRM, and NRM-related conflicts’ prevention, mitigation, management and resolution in its intervention area, in order to make natural resources a source of social cohesion.
Key research questions of the study :
- Which are the biggest natural resources-related concerns in Girma’s intervention area?
- Which NRM approaches are currently adopted by Government services, development projects, local institutions and communities in Girma’s intervention area?
- Which NRM-related conflicts currently exist in Girma’s intervention area?
- How are NRM-related conflicts linked with other kinds of open or latent conflict?
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- Which ones work well, and which ones do not?
- Why?
- How are women, youth and people with disabilities involved in these approaches?
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- Where?
- Since when?
- Around which kind of resources?
- Between whom (ex.: farmers vs. farmers, pastoralists vs. farmers, farmers practicing irrigation vs. potable water users, etc.)?
- What are their drivers/background?
- How are women, youth and people with disabilities involved/affected?
- How are these conflicts currently managed? How effectively? What would be needed for managing them more effectively?
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- Which other conflicts exist in Girma’s intervention zone? Are they linked to NRM-related conflicts?
- How is youth involved in NRM-related or other conflicts?
- How can NRM be a source of peace instead, increasing solidarity and social cohesion?
Deliverables :
A final study report including main findings (one chapter per key research question) and Girma’s strategy for improving NRM, and NRM-related conflicts’ prevention, mitigation, management and resolution.
Methodology :
This study will be conducted by a team of two consultants (an international consultant and a national consultant) with proven expertise in the subject. The consultants will be hired by CRS Niger following two separate processes.
Submission of a technical and financial proposal :
The bidding consultants must submit a technical and financial proposal to CRS Niger. Only individual applications will be considered. Applications must be submitted electronically to NigerRecruiting@CRS.org mentioning in the mail object: Offer N° 190651, INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT IN CHARGE OF A STUDY ON NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (NRM) AND NRM-RELATED CONFLICTS IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF MAGARIA AND DUNGASS (NIGER ), until July 5th 2019 COB latest.
The technical offer should include: a one-page summary of the objectives and deliverables of the consultancy, including any changes or improvements that the Consultant proposes to improve the results of the study; the technical design and methodology proposed for the study, as well as a detailed work plan; finally, the technical offer must present the relevant experience of the consultant, the schedule and timing of the service, and references to similar services already performed by the consultant. The Curriculum Vitae has to be attached to the submission.
The financial offer must be presented in the form of a table specifying the total amount and the detail of the costs of the service.
Responsibilities of CRS Niger :
- Make available to the selected consultant the necessary documentation on the project, on CRS and on the Girma project area ;
- Make available to the selected consultant the financial means required for the full performance of the service as agreed in the service contract ;
- Deploy one project staff (the Resilience Sector Lead) for supporting the consultants’ activities ;
- Monitor the implementation of the study in the field ;
- Participate in briefing and debriefing meetings with the consultants ;
- Provide support in the organization of a feedback workshop with stakeholders ;
- Evaluate and assess the level of compliance with the commitments contained in the service contract.
Consultant’s responsibilities :
- Conduct the consultancy according to the scope of work of the study (context, objectives and deliverables listed above) and to the technical offer validated by both parties ;
- Participate in briefing and debriefing sessions with project staff ;
- Respect the work plan validated by CRS ;
- Provide a draft study report ;
- Consider the comments provided by the project team on the draft report before finalization ;
- Provide a final study report.
Consultant’s profile :
The international consultant must have:
- A Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field for the study ;
- At least a 20 years’ professional experience in NRM and NRM-related conflicts management and resolution ;
- Experience in monitoring and evaluation, project and strategy design ;
- A very good knowledge of the Sahel and especially of Niger ;
- At least three publications on NRM ;
- Fluency in both English and French .
Counting and analysis of offers and selection of the consultants :
Although it is expected that one of the applicants will be selected as a result of this call, CRS has the right not to accept any of the offers submitted. The evaluation of the offers will cover both the technical and the financial part. The technical offers will be evaluated on a total of 100 points. Only technical offers with at least 70 out of 100 points will be considered for the financial evaluation. The evaluation criteria are in order of importance:
Technical offer: 80 points
Methodology: 25 points
Understanding the mandate: 10 points
Expertise of the Consultant: 25 points
-Implémentation Schedule : 15 points
References (to similar services): 5 points
Financial bid least distant: 20 points.
The expenses incurred by the applicants to respond to this solicitation are under their entire responsibility.
After the result of the overall analysis, the technical commission chooses the contractor to conduct the service.
Deadline :
Consultants wishing to respond to this announcement are invited to send their technical and financial proposals no later than July 5th, 2019 COB to NigerRecruiting@CRS.org mentioning in the mail object: Offer N° 190651, INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANT IN CHARGE OF A STUDY ON NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (NRM) AND NRM-RELATED CONFLICTS IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF MAGARIA AND DUNGASS (NIGER ).
CRS’s skills development procedures reflect our commitment to protecting vulnerable children, youth and adults from abuse and exploitation. As well as people living with disabilities.
An equal opportunity-friendly employer and gender sensitive, CRS strongly encourages female candidates.
NB: any application whose email does not contain in object, the offer number will not be considered.