International Landscape Restoration Advisor

CALL FOR EXPRESSTION OF INTEREST (EOI):

INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPE RESTORATION ADVISOR

RESTORING LAND AND LIVELIHOODS IN SON LA AND LAM DONG PROVINCE, VIETNAM (RESTORE) PROJECT

E AGRICULTURE SECTOR

BACKGROUND

About SNV

SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation driven by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Founded in the Netherlands in 1965, we have built a long-term country presence in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Our global team of local and international advisors works with local partners to equip communities, businesses, and organizations with the tools, knowledge, and connections they need to increase their incomes and gain access to markets and basic services - empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own development. Our work focuses on three sectors - Agrifood, Energy, and Water.

SNV has been working in Viet Nam since 1995, and currently has over 40 national and international staff. SNV Viet Nam’s team works hand-in-hand with communities, government agencies, and businesses in about 40 provinces, including the most remote and poorest areas of the country. We operate from a country head office in Hanoi and regional offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat.

SNV Viet Nam’s Agrifood programme today is strongly focused around promoting socially inclusive climate resilient agriculture. In recent years, SNV Viet Nam has implemented a wide range of projects promoting climate smart approaches and inclusive value-chain development throughout the country in numerous sub-sectors, including rice, shrimp, non-timber forest products (NTFPs), medicinal plants/herbs, coffee, fruits, vegetables, and spices. Many of our interventions support vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities in rural uplands access markets and opportunities and women’s economic empowerment (WEE) in agricultural value chains.

For more information on SNV, please refer to our website: www.snv.org [1]

About the RESTORE project

“Restoring Land and Livelihoods in Vietnam” (RESTORE) is a 5-year programme to be implemented from 2024 to 2028. SNV Viet Nam is the prime recipient of the funding and leads the preparation and implementation of the programme in consortium with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Council for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF).

The project aims to deliver sustainable and resilient livelihoods for local communities, improved biodiversity conservation, and restored ecosystem health in the target landscapes. It will do this by the promotion of agroforestry, forestry and fruit tree value chains. By planting over 16 million trees, the project aims to restore over 25,000 hectares of agricultural land with sustainable forestry and agroforestry models, and bring livelihoods benefits to over 20,000 farming households. RESTORE focusses on two key climate-vulnerable landscapes in Viet Nam – the Central Highlands and Northwestern Region.

The objective of this consultancy is to provide technical support to the SNV Project Manager for programme preparation and ensure the delivery of a high quality programme document.

About the inception phase

The Project is currently undertaking an Inception Phase led by SNV to secure support by relevant ministries, provinces and donors. The Inception Phase, starting in April 2024, aims to (1) Establish the project management structure including (approved) coordination mechanisms with the different national provincial government, public agencies and partners; (2) Precise identification of, and agreement with local government on, the target locations and communities of the project’s activities; (3) Develop full technical and financial sections of the project implementation document; and (4) Submit the official Vietnamese version ‘project document’ as per Decree 80 for provincial approvals.

This is a key consultancy under this inception phase and will inform the design and delivery of the various deliverables described above. SNV seeks a qualified, experienced and international short-term consultant to undertake the important tasks.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Under the management of the SNV Programme Manager, the Consultant will provide technical guidance and support to a range of inception phase assessments, and based on the findings, prepare and finalise a detailed programme document, including supporting annexes. The assignment is expected to comprise the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Review existing programme proposal, donor/investor comments and requirements as well as any relevant principles, criteria and standards.
• Draft a programme design document that meets the donor/investor as well as SNV’s own requirements for a high-quality programme design
• Draft ToRs for various assessments i.e. Livelihoods and Socio-economic Assessment, Gender Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) Analysis, Environmental & Social Safeguards Assessment. Support the Programme Manager to discuss with consortium partners and draft agreed Scopes of Work for them.
• Review approaches and methodologies of selected consultant teams and provide technical guidance for the conduct of the assessments and analyses.
• Prepare report formats/outlines (e.g. also including GESI Action Plan/Framework, Environmental and Social Management Framework etc.) to ensure that consultant teams produce high quality outputs with the relevant information that informs programme design.
• Participate in programme consortium meetings and provide technical inputs and direction for SNV’s partners on requirements for their contracted preparation and design works e.g. Landscape Assessment (ICRAF) and Biodiversity (IUCN).
• Contribute to the preparation of and participate in inception phase launch workshops in Ha Noi and the project provinces
• Support the SNV Programme Manager by critically reviewing consultant reports and outputs of the above-mentioned assessments.
• Based on the findings of the assessments and the associated deliverables, collate inputs and prepare a draft programme document (including relevant annexes)
• Contribute to the preparation of and participate in a consultation workshop on the detailed programme design document i.e. present the programme document/support workshop facilitation and invite comments and inputs from key stakeholders.
• Present the draft final programme document to the donor/investor.
• Support revision of the programme document, as required.

KEY DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

The work specified above is expected to be completed within 6-8 months, commencing May 2024 and completed by December 2024.

The precise timeframe for the deliverables will be discussed based on a submitted workplan with the successful candidate. The expected deliverables are:

• Detailed and phased workplan no later than a week after signing the contract.
• Overview of what is expected for each of the assessments and the roadmap towards developing the program documents;
• Draft Programme Document Outline, including: 1) Programme Document; 2) Technical Annexes; 3) Environmental & Social Assessment Report and Environmental and Social Action Plan; 4) GESI Analysis and Action Plan; 5) M&E Framework; 6) Risk Management Framework; 7) FPIC Implementation Guidance
• Other consultations in Hanoi, online, etc., as needed.
• Draft Programme Document
• Participate in and present at, in close cooperation with SNV and consortia partners, a validation workshop with stakeholders to validate the findings of the study (project presentation materials for consultation and validation)
• Final Programme Document with incorporated comments from key stakeholders from the validation workshop.

For more details on the Expression of Interest process, submission requirements, and evaluation details, please see corresponding sections below:

Selection Process

SNV will review all Expressions of Interest received in accordance with the guidelines and criteria in this solicitation. SNV reserves the right to exclude any EOIs that do not meet the guidelines. Please note that SNV is unable to provide detailed feedback to those EOIs that are not selected.

Step 1: SNV will shortlist selected EOIs, and unsuccessful respondents will be notified. Successful applicants will be contacted by SNV.

Step 2: SNV will release Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for the specific activities and contract with the selected organizations/ consultants.

Protection of Information

We request that Expressions of Interest responses be free of any intellectual property that the applicant wishes to protect. Should offerors wish to include proprietary intellectual property that they believe would be helpful for SNV, please note the proprietary nature of such information. Costing information will be kept confidential and will not be shared beyond SNV.

Issuance of this EOI does not constitute a commitment, award, or engagement on the part of SNV nor does it commit SNV to any future commitment or engagement.

Note: SNV reserves the right to change or cancel this requirement in the EOI/or solicitation process at any time.