Recrutement d’un consultant pour fournir des services consultatifs et un soutien opérationnel dans la mise en œuvre d’intégrer l’Afrique, Côte d’Ivoire

Request for Expressions of Interest

[Individual Consultant]

African Development Bank www.afdb.org Headquarters: Abidjan (Côte D’Ivoire) Avenue Joseph Anoma, 01 BP. 1387, Abidjan 01 Côte d’Ivoire

Regional Integration Coordination Office (RDRI.0)

Expressions of Interest are being requested from Individual Consultants.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Consultant to provide Advisory Services and Operational Support in the Implementation of Integrate Africa

Background :

The African Development Bank Group (the Bank) is the premier pan-African development institution promoting economic growth, social progress and regional integration across the Continent. The Bank’s operational focus has been placed on the High Fives: powering Africa, feeding Africa, industrializing Africa, integrating Africa and improving the quality of life of Africans.

The Bank’s regional integration agenda is driven by the Regional Integration Strategic Framework (RISF) and five Regional Integration Strategy Support Papers (RISPs). The RISF focuses on three key pillars: i) trade and investments; ii) regional infrastructure; and financial integration while the RISPs provide the programmatic and financing frameworks for the implementation of the RISF.

Collectively, the RISF and RISPs represent the Bank’s strategic and programmatic frameworks for the implementation of Integrate Africa as well as the realization of continental regional integration objectives such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.

The Hiring Department :

Within the Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Complex (RDVP), the Bank has five (5) Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Directorates, one in each region of Africa: North, South, East, West, and Central. The Complex also includes a dedicated directorate for Nigeria, a department for Transition States, and a department for regional integration: the Regional Integration Coordination Office (RDRI).

RDRI provides strategic direction for the Integrate Africa and RISF work streams. The department leads the design of regional integration (RI) related strategic instruments, supports regional programming through RISPs and drives RI mainstreaming in Bank strategies and operations.

RDRI also manages the Regional Operations Envelope; a dedicated set-aside of the African Development Fund (ADF) for regional operations in low-income countries. The department monitors the performance of the Bank’s multinational operations portfolio in order to generate lessons learned that influence the design of future regional operations.

RDRI also pioneers the design, publication and maintenance of flagship analytical products and advocacy tools such as the Africa Visa Openness Index and the Regional Integration Index. Lastly, it leads the dialogue with the African Union Commission (AUC), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and development partners operating in the regional integration space.

In the context of the start of trade under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Bank would like to deepen engagement and scale-up investments on regional integration.

RDVP and RDRI are seeking the services of an experienced international consultant to provide analytical, technical, advisory and operational support services to the Bank.

Scope of Assignment :

The Consultant will work under the overall guidance of the Vice-President, RDVP and

Director, RDRI. Detailed responsibilities are listed below :

• Provide technical and advisory support to Bank staff and Senior Management in the design of country implementation strategies for the AfCFTA. At least 5 low-income countries should be supported. The studies should clearly identify potential export and investment opportunities and provide detailed recommendations for policy reforms ;
• Provide a detailed analysis on what will be required to operationalize the AfCFTA, including completing Phase I and Phase II negotiations ;
• Assess the potential impacts of Non-Tariff Barriers to trade in the EAC, ECOWAS and SADC regions within the context of the AfCFTA and make detailed suggestions on ways that they could be eliminated ;
• Using the findings of the Bank’s Africa Visa Openness Index and Regional Integration Index, provide a political economy analysis of the impediments to free movement of people in Africa ;
• Actively contribute to the mid-term reviews of the Regional Integration Strategic Framework and relevant Regional Integration Strategy Papers ;
• Actively support the publication of the Bank’s first Africa Trade Report. The Trade Report should provide detailed insights on Africa’s trade structure with policy recommendations on how to promote intra-regional trade development ;
• Provide advisory services to the Vice-President of RDVP and the Director of RDRI on high-policy dialogues with RECs and RMCs. This may include the preparation of policy briefs, analytical notes, opening remarks or presentations on a wide range of policy-related areas such as trade, investments, debt management, regional infrastructure or financial integration.

Timeframe and Deliverables :

The expected deliverables shall be :

1. Five finalized AfCFTA country briefs and implementation strategies ;
2. Support provided to the finalization of the study on the operationalization of Phase I and II of the AfCFTA ;
3. Support provided to the finalization of the mid-reviews of the RISF and RISPs ;
4. Quality of the analytical notes, policy briefs and other technical documents provided to Senior Management ;
5. Study on the political economy of free movement of people in Africa, including the potential impacts of greater visa liberalization;
6. Detailed study on the impacts of NTBs and solutions to eliminate them within the context of the operationalization of the AfCFTA ;

The assignment is expected to start in March 2020 and last for a period of 1year.

Location :

The assignment will be home based and conducted via desk review but may include travel once COVID-related restrictions are lifted.

Qualification Requirements :

• A minimum of a  Master’s degree or  its  equivalent  in Economics, International Relations/Trade, Law, Social or any other related international development fields ;
• A minimum of 10 years of extensive experience in regional integration issues ;
• Experience obtained from a similar international development institution is desirable ;
• Experience in designing or supporting analytical studies or research work on transport, agriculture, trade, regional infrastructure or financial integration ;
• Strong understanding of Africa’s regional integration architecture, particularly the working relationship of the African Union vis-à-vis the Regional Economic Communities ;
• Strong analytical skills and ability to review and analyze and synthesize complex information and formulate sound policy recommendations;
• Proven experience in preparing briefing and policy notes, analytical research and related materials.

Evaluation of Offers and Performance :

Individual Consultants are invited to indicate their interest in providing the above-described services.

The eligibility criteria, the establishment of a short list and the selection procedure shall be in conformity with the Bank’s Rules and Procedure for the Selection of Corporate Consultants. Interest expressed by a Consultant does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include him/her in the shortlist.

Interested consultants should provide information on their qualifications and experience demonstrating their ability to undertake the assignment (documents, reference to similar services, experience in similar assignments, etc.).

A shortlist of three to six individual consultants will be established at the end the request of expressions of interest. The consultants on the shortlist will be judged on the following criteria based on their updated resume.

Only consultants scoring a mark of 75 points or more will be considered for the assignment. All consultants will be ranked and the first on the list will be selected for the assignment as long as his/her fee rate is within the budget.

Fees & Payments

The applicant should submit their financial proposal consisting of their professional fees.

The consultant shall meet the cost of any insurance and medical examination, or treatment required by him/her in the course of performing the Services.

The Consultant shall seek and obtain any visas or resident permits that he/she may be required to carry out the Services and perform his/her obligations under the Contract. The Bank shall, as necessary, assist the Consultant in obtaining such visas and/or permits.