Consultant on FSC-Chain of Custody Certification

INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT SCOPE OF WORK

A. DAI ORGANIZATION AND VALUES

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world.

DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work.  DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner.

DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.

B. PROJECT BACKGROUND

The USAID Sustainable Forest Management Project (the Project) will work with the Government of Vietnam (GVN) to reduce carbon emissions associated with deforestation, the degradation of natural forests, and poor plantation management. The Project will implement a “Green Prosperity” approach that strengthens local communities’ ability to protect their natural resource base and reduce emissions while building a strong foundation for sustainable livelihoods and equitable economic growth.

The Project will work in seven provinces (Lao Cai, Son La, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Quang Nam) and focus on five objectives:

1. Improve and expand community forest management
2. Increase conservation-friendly enterprises in forest-dependent communities
3. Increase functionality of law enforcement system for forest crimes
4. Improve production forest management practices
5. Mobilize domestic resources for forest management and protection

The Project will be implemented during the period 2020-2025 by DAI in collaboration with RECOFTC and Preferred by Nature as partners, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as the counterpart and the Management Board of Forestry Projects (MBFP) as project owner.

C. DESCRIPTION OF CONSULTANCY SERVICE:

I.            Background

Under the Objective 4 (Improve production forest management practices), there are three main tasks as follows:

1. Increase Production of Sustainable Timber by Small-Scale Foresters
2. Increase Demand from Processors for Certified Timber
3. Develop Market Linkages Between Timber Producers and Industry

Activities of under the section (ii) and (iii) focus on assessing the institutional, managerial, technical, operational and monitoring capabilities of processors to identify capacity constraints to design and build technical assistance activities supported by the Project are appropriate and effective. This group of activities is designed to engage wood factories and processors to drive the overall demand for certified timber through business plan development, access to finance, and support for chain of custody certification. At the same time, activities to develop communication materials to promote FSC, PEFC certification and Chain of Custody will also be supported to enhance the added value of growers and other actors in the wood value chain.

This Scope of Work (SOW) is to recruit the short-term consultant position of FSC Chain of Custody Certification Consultant to build institutional and technical capacity for wood processors in FSC Chain of Custody Certification, in the provinces of Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri and Quang Nam. This activity is under work plan of fiscal year 2022 and would directly contribute to three main indicators: ID1 – Number of people trained; ID2 – Number of institutions improved capacity; and ID9 – % organization performance improved (in 11 indicators of the Project).

II.              Purpose of the consulting work

The main purpose of this assignment is to build institutional and technical capacity (ITC) for wood processors who are willing to achieve or maintain FSC-Chain of Custody Certification.

III.         Expected outputs/results

• Five training courses on Chain of Custody (CoC) certification for processors’ managers/workers are conducted;
• At least 20 processors’ managers/workers (minimum 35% of females) in each of Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri and Quang Nam provinces are identified and trained in CoC based on their certification potential;
• At least five action plans for development or maintenance of CoC cerification of 5 processors are developed/updated;
• The competency in CoC of processors’ managers/ workers is improved (assessment before and after training);

IV.            Location

The consultant will be home-based and implement the field tasks in Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri and Quang Nam provinces.

V.            Tasks

In close collaboration with the Certification, Forestry and Silviculture Specialists; the wider project team, local partners and wood processors, the consultant will implement the following tasks, but not limited to, which include:

• Collect and analyze secondary data which includes (1) workplan of the Project fiscal year 2022[1], and (2) report on capacity building (CB) needs assessment for wood processors[2]; select most relevant/ priority topics for CB on FSC-Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification for wood processors who are willing to achieve or maintain FSC/CoC certification.
• Prepare detailed CB plan, agenda and methodology for conducting CB activities; discuss and reach consensus on CB plan and agenda with the Project’s technical staff, PPMU and wood processors before rolling out implementation;
• Develop/adapt Training materials on FSC-CoC certification for wood processors;
• Conduct training on FSC-Chain of Custody Certification for at least 20 persons of selected wood processors/local partners (if required) in each of five above-mentioned provinces;
• Develop/update five action plans for development or maintenance of CoC cerification of 5 processors;
• Prepare report on capacity building for wood processors on FSC/CoC;

VI.            Anticipated Level of Effort (LOE) and Deliverables

The estimated LOE for this assignment is 28 person-days, starting on January 3, 2022, and ending on July 3, 2022. The consultant will work for maximum 20 days per month. The employment contract has a maximum duration of six months but may be extendable depending on work performance, availability of budget and work demand. All final deliverables must be prepared in Vietnamese, except the final report which must be in both Vietnamese and English. The specific deliverables and timeframe are listed below in Table 1.

Table 1. Deliverables, LOE, due date and means of deliverable verification

VII.            Qualifications

• Have a bachelor’s degree or higher in wood processing, forestry or relevant areas
• Have at least 5 years of experience in FSC-Chain of Custody Certification
• Have at least 3 years of experience in capacity building on FSC-Chain of Custody Certification for local partners and wood processors;
• Have skills and experience in preparation of technical guidelines, presentation, analysis and report writing;
• Have skill and experience in working with local partners and wood processors;
• Have Vietnamese proficiency in speaking and writing. Communicable English is an advantage.

VIII.            How to apply and requested documents

Interested candidates are requested to submit:

• A CV in English/Vietnamese.
• A cover letter in English indicating why they are suitable for this position along with salary requirements and current contact details of at least three references.
• Scanned copy of highest related degrees.

via email to our recruitment email at [email protected] [1] and [email protected] [2] . Please quote the position title in the subject line: “Candidate’s full name _ Consultant on FSC-Chain of Custody Certification”

Deadline for application: 5.00 p.m. (Hanoi time), Jan 31, 2022

To learn more about DAI, please visit our website: https://www.dai.com/ [3]  

DAI is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer with a commitment to diversity. DAI does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, parental status, veteran status, or other non-merit factor.