NIRAS is submitting a bid for the tendered “Consulting Services for Strengthening Capacities of EAC Secretariat and its Partners to Manage Nature-Based Solutions in East Africa,” funded by GIZ. The project aims to enhance the ability of the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and its regional partners to effectively implement nature-based solutions (NbS). It falls under the broader “Support to management of nature-based solutions with EAC (EAC4Nature)” GIZ project, and focuses on improving the integration of NbS into the EAC’s political and regulatory framework, strengthening the technical and managerial capacities of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) the Lake Tanganyika Authority (LTA), and the Lake Kivu and the Ruzizi/Rusizi River Basin Authority (ABAKIR), and enhancing information management systems related to water and environmental issues. The consulting services will provide advisory support, technical assistance, and capacity-building activities to ensure that the EAC Secretariat and its partners can manage NbS initiatives effectively and sustainably.
Key activities include revising EAC’s Climate Change Policy and Action plan, drafting EAC’s Framework for implementation of NDCs and EAC’s Carbon Credit Exchange Mechanism concept with a focus on NbS, developing concept notes for bankable NbS projects, and preparing MoUs on hydrological knowledge and data between and information sharing agreements. The project also involves operationalizing the Water Information System (WIS), developing State of the Basin Reports, and improving information management. Capacity-building measures will target technical and managerial personnel from the EAC Secretariat, LVBC, LTA, relevant ministries of EAC Partner States, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). By the end of the project, the consulting services aim to have significantly strengthened the region’s ability to manage natural resources sustainably, improve climate resilience, and promote gender-sensitive and inclusive approaches in all project activities.
The project is expected to start in July 2025 and will run for 33 months (with possibility for extension).
Tasks of the Team Leader will include, but are not limited to:
- Overall responsibility for the advisory packages of the Contractor, incl. services provided through sub-Contractors
- Representing Contractor at LBVC Secretariat in Kisumu, Kenya
- Advisory services related to LVBC and LTA NbS and institutional strengthening,
- Ensuring the coherence and complementarity of the Contractor’s services with other services delivered by the project and accompanying implementing partners (such as the LVB-IWRM programme financed by KfW)
- Design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of capacity development measures for partners (LTA, LBVC)
- Responsibility for taking cross-cutting themes into consideration (gender equality, environmental aspects, climate change adaptation, inclusion, human rights and do-no-harm approach)
- Staff management, in particular identifying the need for short-term assignments within the available budget and in close consultation with GIZ, planning and managing the assignments and supporting local and international experts
- Ensuring that monitoring procedures are carried out according to deadlines and in line with GIZ requirements
- Regular reporting in accordance with deadlines and requirements as specified by GIZ and partners
- Responsibility for checking the use of funds and financial planning in consultation with the officer responsible for the commission at GIZ
- Supporting the officer responsible for the commission in updating and/or adapting the project strategy, in evaluations and in preparing a follow-on phase
- Overall responsibility for the timely, high-quality implementation of all processes implemented and deliverables submitted on time to GIZ
Qualifications
- University degree (Master, PhD or equivalent) in water resources management, environmental sciences, economic sciences with a specialisation in institutional/organisational development e.g. for transboundary water management institutions
- English C2-level and French C1-level (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
Professional experience
- General professional experience: 10 years of professional experience in water resources management, including 5 years of experience in capacity development measures and five years in the development and implementation of strategies and concepts for technical cooperation projects in East Africa regional bodies
- Specific professional experience: 5 years experiences working in or with transboundary water management institutions or on support to specialised regional institutions in TWM.
- Leadership/management experience: 8 years of management/leadership experience as project team leader or manager in a company
- Geographical experience: 10 years of work experience in Sub-Saharan Africa; 5 years of work experience in Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania or Zambia; 5 years of work experience in regions of Africa outside the East African Community
- Experience in the field of development cooperation: 10 years of experience on development cooperation projects
