Tenders Are Invited For Recruitment Of A Consultant To Capitalize On Existing Livestock Feed Targeting And Distribution Methods

Tenders are invited for Recruitment of a Consultant to Capitalize on Existing Livestock Feed Targeting and Distribution Methods in West Africa Pastoralism is a vital system of production, subsistence, and trade in the Sahel region. It contributes to food security, household incomes, and market supplies, but remains highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, droughts, natural resource degradation, insecurity, conflict, animal diseases, and market volatility. These crises lead to fodder shortages, declining animal health, increased feed prices, and economic losses for pastoral households. In this context, beneficiary targeting is a crucial element in protecting pastoral livelihoods. However, current practices remain poorly harmonized and face challenges related to data quality, population mobility, insecurity, accessibility of pastoral areas, and low participation from certain groups. Improving targeting, distribution, and post-distribution monitoring therefore requires transparent mechanisms, reliable and digitized data, strengthened institutional coordination, and objective criteria to minimize inclusion and exclusion errors. The study, conducted within the framework of the Stock II project funded by the European Union and implemented by ECOWAS with support from AECID and AFD, aims to build upon existing experiences to develop a harmonized regional framework for targeting, distributing livestock feed in pastoral emergencies, and monitoring post-distribution. This framework will specify the criteria for triggering and targeting interventions, information sources, quantification of needs, distribution methods, governance, complaint management, monitoring and evaluation, data protection, and control mechanisms. It will also integrate gender and youth considerations and lead to a roadmap to support pilot countries in the harmonized, transparent, and effective implementation of pastoral interventions. Further information is contained in the terms of reference, accessible via the OneDrive link : https://bit.ly/4z3RIv5 or by downloading them from the ARAA website : Recruitment | ECOWAS Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food V.1 Training University degree at least at Bac+5 level in livestock farming, pastoral economics, food security, risk management, rural development or related disciplines. V.2 General Experiences · At least 10 years of professional experience in the fields of pastoralism, food security, resilience or pastoral crisis management. · Proven experience in conducting regional studies in West Africa in the pastoral field; · Good knowledge of regional institutions (ECOWAS, WAEMU, CILSS, OPE -RBM, APESS, CORET, national OPE -, ARAA) of pastoral projects - PRAPS, PRADEP, PEPISAO-, and of international organizations: FAO, NGOs operating in the pastoral field; · Experience of collaboration with regional organizations and international agencies involved in responding to pastoral and agro-pastoral crises; · Demonstrated experience in designing or evaluating mechanisms for targeting or supporting livelihoods in emergency situations will be a significant advantage. · Excellent writing skills in French; knowledge of English is an asset. V.3 Specific Experiments The consultant will need to provide evidence of experience in: · Expertise in pastoral crisis governance: analysis of public policies, institutional crisis management mechanisms, capitalization of good practices and development of harmonized regional reference frameworks in accordance with the frameworks of ECOWAS and WAEMU; · Mastery of targeting and vulnerability analysis approaches: community, geographic and vulnerability-based targeting, analysis of forage deficits and use of early warning systems (PREGEC, Harmonised Framework, SAP); · Experience in protecting pastoral livelihoods: design and implementation of livestock feed distribution mechanisms, management of Livestock Feed Banks (LFBs), pastoral reserves and resilience and anticipatory action approaches; · Regional experience in a Sahelian context: conducting interventions and coordinating actions in fragile, cross-border and regional contexts, in collaboration with institutions, pastoral organizations and technical and financial partners. V.4 Technical Skills The consultant will need to demonstrate proficiency in: · Study and analysis methods: collection of quantitative and qualitative data, conducting interviews, focus groups, participatory workshops, statistical analysis, data processing, mapping and spatial analysis; · Expertise in developing technical tools: design of harmonized reference frameworks, methodological guides, operational procedures, policy notes and other technical documents with national and regional scope; · Skills in consultation and facilitation: facilitating workshops, conducting multi-stakeholder consultations with pastoral organizations, technical services and regional institutions; · Taking into account aspects related to accountability and beneficiary protection, complaints management mechanisms, prevention of inclusion/exclusion errors, data protection and principles of conflict sensitivity in emergency interventions. · Excellent communication skills: perfect command of French and good knowledge of English, facilitating exchanges and consultations at the regional level. VI. Location and duration The mission will take place over a period of three (3) months, starting from the date of notification of the contract commencement, with an estimated workload of 30 person-days. The consultant will provide a detailed breakdown of these 30 person-days by phase and deliverable in their proposal. The schedule must clearly indicate the review and validation periods by the Regional Food Security Reserve Division of the ARAA and stakeholders, without reducing the actual time allocated to the technical work. VII. Deliverables During the period of his mission, the consultant will be required to produce the following documents: · A methodological framework note (maximum 15 pages) including the work plan, data collection tools (interview guides, comparative grid) and the report template; · A report summarizing approaches, tools, vulnerability criteria and targeting mechanisms, approaches to monitoring distributions and post-distribution evaluation of vulnerable pastoral households (maximum 50 pages excluding annexes); · A harmonized regional reference framework for targeting beneficiaries and distributing livestock feed in emergency situations (maximum 30 pages); · Tools and training and support materials for national and regional actors on harmonized methods of targeting, distribution and monitoring and evaluation of pastoral interventions; · A plan to strengthen the capacities of stakeholders (maximum 10 pages); · An operational roadmap for starting the pilot phase, including a timeline, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders; · A report from the regional validation workshop. Interested consultants can obtain further information by writing to the following email addresses: [email protected] ; cc: [email protected] ; [email protected] and with the subject line SCI 025- capitalisation of targeting methods. [Disclaimer: The above text is machine translated. For accurate information kindly refer the original document.] Tender Link : https://www.araa.org/fr/recrutements