Josh's Water Jobs – EOI - Consultancy Firm Services for Development of Village Land Use Action Plans in Rusizi District

Description

The Bank is financing the Government of Rwanda (through the Rwanda Water Resources Board) to implement a Nature-Based Flood Adaptation Project in Western Rwanda. The project aims to reduce flood risks, prevent siltation, improve land productivity, and build local capacity through nature-based solutions and soil conservation. It addresses flooding, erosion, and climate change with sustainable, nature-driven interventions. To support implementation, the Bank and RWB seek an experienced consultancy firm to develop Village Land Use Action Plans in Rusizi District.

Application Close Date	2026-02-16
Engagement Type	Firm
Job Family	10.Management and Leadership
A. Background Objectives	The Government of Rwanda (GOR), through the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB), has requested and secured a grant from the African Development Fund (ADF) under the Climate Action Window (CAW). The grant will facilitate the preparation of the Village Land Use Action Plans (VLUAPs) in Rusizi District and conduct detailed engineering design and the preparation of bidding documents for flood adaptation measures in Rusizi and Karongi Districts, under the “Nature-Based Flood Adaptation to Increase Community Resilience in the Western Part of Rwanda” Project.This project aims to apply nature-based flood adaptation and soil conservation measures to reduce flood risks, mitigate siltation in water bodies, improve land productivity, and build local capacity in Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and catchment management. To ensure effective implementation of the project activities, AfDB and RWB seek an experienced consultancy firm to develop Village Land Use Action Plans in Rusizi District.1. Background Soil erosion is one of the biggest climate change issues Rwanda is facing as rainfall intensity increases. On average, soil erosion leads to a soil loss of 25 tons/ha/year. Given that most of the soil lost is the topsoil, which is rich in minerals and crucial for agricultural productivity, it’s important that soil erosion be addressed. With this, the Government of Rwanda developed a strategy and investment framework to maximize the impact of soil erosion risk reduction activities across the country; the Sustainable Landscape Management Investment Framework (SLM-IF). SLM-IF leverages the use of the community approach to implement catchment restoration activities across the country. The community approach is an implementation method that relies on the participation of community members to ensure that catchment restoration activities are planned, implemented, and maintained for the long-term. To achieve this, RWB relies on the use of Village Land Use Action Plans (VLUAP); plans that are developed with technicians and community members to determine soil erosion control activities that need to be implemented in a village. Through the VLUAP development process, the commitment of community members, at Village level, is secured for the implementation of activities selected and planned for in their respective Village’s VLUAP. Additionally, VLUAPs identify issues of interest to overall catchment management including flood issues, land management issues that can used in the future development and investment. 2. Objective of the Consultancy The consultancy will coordinate and facilitate the development of micro-catchment actions plans and village land-use action plans (VLUAPs). Specifically, the consultancy, in collaboration with local government and communities, will develop Village Land Use Action Plans and Micro-catchment Action Plans (MCAPs). Technical specifications for all landscape restoration activities (e.g., plant species used; indigenous specifies preferred; width, length, slopes, tree density, pruning density, terrace types, etc.) and supporting measures (breeds, Rainwater Harvesting Systems, materials to be used, volume to be stored, gutters dimension, foundation, filters for water quality, guidelines for maintenance etc.…) will also need to be detailed, drawing strongly from the Operational Framework developed to guide the planning of sustainable land management activities.3. Approach and Methodology The participatory village and micro-catchment development-based approach to planning is at the heart of the program where the local communities’ needs are expressed and taken care of during the planning and implementation of project activities. The approach is also informed by technical guidelines that have been developed based on practical experience in implementing sustainable land management practices in Rwanda. Both the participatory planning process and technical guidelines have been recently consolidated as part of two g
B. Scope of work	Task 1: Planning & Coordination RWB will lead early planning efforts, which will include the prioritization and selection of catchments for planning, together with the establishment of community coordination committees in selected catchments. The expected role of the consultant in the following activities is required: • Prioritization and selection of micro-catchments and villages for planning and Establishment of community coordination committees: These two activities are led and implemented by RWB with the support of various stakeholders. • Training of facilitators to participate in the VLUAP process: The consultant is expected to participate in the training of facilitators organized by RWB for the villages they have been assigned. The training is expected to build the skills and confidence of selected facilitators to lead their communities in developing a tailored VLUAP, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment to the planning process. The training must be gender-sensitive and promote active dialogue with women in the training process. The training will be gathered (invitations) by RWB and supported financially by the consultant firm (the cost is expected to not exceed 25,000USD). The trainers will be provided by the RWB (no additional cost beyond the 25,000USD mentioned will be required for the trainers). RWB will prepare training agenda and the content of the Training and deliver the training. The Consultancy firm is expected to be present as the last item of the training is the field plan for rolling out the VLUAPs. • Scheduling site visits and village planning team meetings: This process will be led by the consultant team with the support of RWB and Local AuthoritiesTask 2: Prepare draft VLUAPs through a participatory planning process • Develop basemaps of targeted catchments: The consultant team, with the support of RWB, will prepare the initial basemaps to inform community engagement. • Field Diagnostic: This engagement typically takes place over a period of one day per village. The consultant is required to arrange a transect walk(s) to familiarize themselves with the socio-economic status, topography, current land use, land degradation features, land management practices, cropping patterns and to initiate discussions with community members to understand problems facing the community. Any gullies must also be identified and classified as either small, medium and large gullies according to RWBs gully classification guidelines. An initial meeting with community representatives must be undertaken as part of this activity to understand community goals, communicate project objectives and potential interventions and to agree on a set of priority actions and indicative target areas. • Initial Village Land Use Actions Plan (VLUAP) consultation meeting: This meeting will typically be held at places of target villages, identified by local authorities. During this meeting, the community is introduced to the project and issues the project is trying to address. Using aerial maps, village members are then led through a problem tree analysis of the village, to identify issues, causes, and solutions on integrated water resources management problems. The approach of engagement must facilitate gender-sensitive dialogue by creating a safe and comfortable environment for different groups to freely express their views, concerns, and insights regarding existing issues and potential solutions. • Prepare Preliminary Development Plan Map: The outcomes of the field diagnostic must be integrated with the recommendations from CROM DSS to develop a preliminary development plan map that clearly outlines the spatial location of different planned interventions including gully protection, buffer zone management and catchment management interventions. This must be developed with reference to the guiding framework for landscape and ecological restoration, prepared for different interventions to ensure that critical aspects s
C. Deliverables Expected	Its estimated that the work will take 5 calendar months, including validation workshops. Milestones and deliverables, as laid out in the table below, need to be achieved for a service order of 60 villages submitted to the consulting team. 1, Inception report (For the entire assignment) One month after contract signature; The inception report must build on the technical proposal and specifically outline: • Micro-catchments and villages selected; • Work plan to deliver VLUAPs and MCAPs. • Data management and transfer procedures. The Inception period will also include the Training of Facilitators2, Draft VLUAPs , Three months after training of facilitators Draft VLUAPs completed for all selected villages including all Task 2 activities and validation by the respective CCCs 3, Final VLUAPs and MCAPs Two weeks after validation of draft VLUAPs Final VLUAPs and MCAPs completed and approved by respective DPCCs.
D. Duration and Timetable for the Assignment	The duration of the assignment is 5 months
E. Bank Contribution and Institutional Arrangement	The Bank will manage the consultancy contract. However, the Consultant will work under the guidance and supervision of the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB). All deliverables will be cleared and accepted by the Rwanda Water Resources Board.
F. Duty Station	The consultant will be based in Rwanda, specifically in Rusizi District
G. Essential Specialized Skills/Knowledge/Competencies	Requirements for the Consulting Firm General experience: The consulting firm should have at least 5 years of demonstrated experience operating in the Environment, Natural resource management or Agriculture sector, with clear evidence of sound experience in the planning of landscape restoration and natural resources management plans, stakeholder engagement plans, community mobilization exercises, ecological restoration, or climate resilient related projects. It should also demonstrate experience in one of the following areas: participatory rural planning and development, community facilitation, watershed or village land use planning, with at least one relevant proof (certificate of good completion or certificate of project completion etc.). The consulting firm should demonstrate capacity to implement medium to large contracts (at least one contract larger than 50,000 USD). Specific experience: The consulting firm shall have successfully completed at least two (2) assignments (proven with certificates of good completion from the clients) in landscape restoration management planning, development and implementation or climate change adaptation project design, soil and water conservation participatory approach design, development project impact evaluation with participatory or community-based approach component. Experience working with Rwandan government agencies would be preferred. Required Experts/Staff Key Expert Number Qualification requirement Experience Team Leader 1 Master’s degree in: Agriculture Sciences, Water Resources Management, or Environmental Sciences Ten (10) years of working experience in: Environmental and natural resources policy analysis; or catchment management and planning. Experience in community-based approach/participation would be an advantage.Landscape Restoration Specialist (2) Master’s degree in water resources management, land husbandry, forestry, or agriculture sciences Seven (7) years of working experience in land husbandry, soil conservation or ecological interventions. GIS Specialist (2) Master’s degree in geographic information system and/or geomatics Five (5) years of working experience in: • Spatial Data management and processing. • Remote sensing and satellite imageries processing. • Expertise in participatory mapping would be an advantage.Community Engagement Specialist (2) Bachelor’s degree in communication, journalism, or social sciences Two (2) years of working experience with community awareness campaigns. Content development skills across video, print, social media platforms. Familiarity with rural communication channels
H. Supervisor	The Client is the African Development Bank (AfDB). The Consultant will be managed by a Task manager assigned by the bank and will be supervised by the Rwanda Water Resources Board (RWB). Outputs of the study will be technically reviewed and approved by the RWB. The Client and RWB will hold discussions with the Consultant at various stages of the consultancy to assess work progress and discuss constraints and possible interventions to ensure quality and meet deadlines.