Background

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has been supporting the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for almost 30 years in the protection of its wildlife and natural ecosystems. Working primarily with the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), our field conservation work is focused on three large landscapes in eastern DRC: Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP - currently under a 10-year co-management agreement between WCS and ICCN) and surrounding Oku forests in South Kivu Province, the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Ituri Province (OWR - also under a 10-year co-management agreement between WCS and ICCN) and the Kabobo-Luama landscape in Tanganyika province. Collectively these landscapes span some of the considerable diversity of ecosystems found in the DRC, harbor some of the most biodiverse regions in Africa, and form the strongholds for some of DRC’s most charismatic endemic wildlife, including the Grauer’s gorilla and the Okapi. WCS is also pioneering a wide variety of novel forest governance, rights-based conservation approaches and protected area management structures, involving the government, civil society, and local community organizations. Local communities play a central role in managing and benefiting from the natural resources of these three landscapes.

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve is a stronghold for globally threatened species like the okapi, chimpanzee and forest elephant. Located in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it covers 13,700km2 of mostly intact forests and hosts more species of primate and forest ungulates than anywhere else in Africa. It was nominated as a World Heritage Site in 1996 for its unique biological and cultural values. Approximately 27,000 men, women and children live in the OWR, which is also home to some 5,000 (est) Mbuti and Efe Indigenous Forest People who have lived here for more than 40,000 years.

In 2018, WCS signed a 10-year Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) agreement with ICCN for the management and protection of OWR. Under this mandate, WCS is working to strengthen management systems, increase the transparency and efficiency of funding streams, and improve stakeholder collaboration. A critical step in this process is the development of a 10-year management plan (plan d'aménagement et de gestion – ‘PAG’). The management plan will provide a framework upon which to ensure sustained and effective management of OWR as a Congolese treasure, sustaining thriving ecosystems and benefiting local communities. The OWR management plan will be used as a practical management tool supporting Reserve management to carry out their duties. The plan will clearly outline the Reserve’s management goals and the means to achieve these with a focus on key conservation issues and approaches to address them. It will be developed through a participatory process with various stakeholders, particularly ICCN and Wildlife Conservation Global (WCG). This consultancy will involve leading the development of the management plan in close coordination with ICCN and the OWR senior management team.

Objectives

The main objective of the consultancy is to lead and coordinate the development of a 10-year management plan for OWR. The consultancy will adopt a participatory approach to ensure involvement of key stakeholders, and incorporation of OWR’s existing conservation strategies and PPP deliverables.

Principal responsibilities

The consultancy will involve:

Planning and background research

• Develop a comprehensive plan, methodology and timeline for the development of the management plan, including identifying relevant stakeholders for consultation.
• Establish relationships with key management personnel in OWR and ICCN at the national level (as required).
• Collate information from the PPP agreement, the previous draft management plan, the existing 5-year conservation strategy, workplan and business plan, as well as the literature, laws, and historical project documents.

Stakeholder engagement

• Forming a core planning team consisting of key OWR management stakeholders from WCS, ICCN and WCG.
• Facilitate core planning team meetings in Epulu to obtain input and consult on management plan contents.
• Ensure regular communication and coordination with the OWR senior management team.y

Production of management plan document

• Ensure alignment between the OWR management plan and existing WCS, ICCN and WCG strategies for OWR.
• Develop the management plan structure (including, for example, sections on plan foundations, management programmes, general activity work plan, plan monitoring framework, and annexes).
• Production of the management plan, including narrative text, visuals/tables, and cartographic products.
• Final draft management plan in French for validation by the Reserve’s Site Coordination Committee and Steering Committee.
• Following feedback and/or approval by the Steering Committee, production of the final management plan in French and English.

Special conditions

• The consultancy team should consist of a maximum of two consultants.
• The consultants will be required to travel to Epulu, Ituri Province in OWR, with WCS support and logistics.
• The consultants will be given flexibility in contributing their expertise and experience, but will follow the directions of WCS staff, as well as to follow all security and safety protocols.
• The consultants must comply with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s laws, the WCS Code of Conduct, as well as health and safety protocols.

Logistics and costs

WCS DR Congo will cover the costs and following aspects for:

• One economy return airfare to Kinshasa or Goma (if contracted internationally).
• Per diem and lodging, as per WCS DR Congo policy (lodging will be provided in all locations; per diem is provided by WCS in urban locations; food will be provided at field sites);
• All transport within DRC;
• An invitation letter for the visa application* (the consultant will have to apply and pay for a visa themselves in their country of residence, WCS will reimburse costs associated with this).

The consultant will be responsible for:

• Bringing their own laptop;
• Obtaining their visa for the Democratic Republic of Congo;
• Health insurance, providing proof of this in advance;
• Travel accident insurance, providing proof of this in advance;
• Ensuring they have any required personal medication, and all the required and recommended vaccinations (for entry to DR Congo).

Required qualifications and skills

• Master’s or PhD in a biodiversity conservation related topic.
• At least 10+ years of experience in protected area management planning in Central Africa.
• Experience with managing protected area field operations in Central Africa (desirable).
• Excellent knowledge of methods and approaches for conservation planning and monitoring (incl. the Conservation Action Planning methodology).
• Knowledge of DRC’s wildlife and conservation laws (desirable).
• Ability to sensitively engage with different stakeholders.
• Ability to tailor communication approach to audiences.
• Ability at high quality technical writing in French and English to tight deadlines.
• Ability to produce cartographic products using ArcGIS or QGIS (desirable).
• Ability to travel and work in remote tropical forest environments in developing countries.
• Ability to work in a multicultural context and in a remote field site with basic amenities.
• Fluency in French and English required, Kiswahili and Lingala desirable.

Expected length and dates of mission

Up to twelve weeks (60 days), between November 2023 and April 2024.

Interested consultants are invited to provide quotations with daily fees for the delivery of the work.

Deliverables

• Methodology and workplan outlining how and when the management plan will be developed.
• Background materials/literature identified, reviewed, and consolidated in shareable online library.
• Core planning team consisting of relevant internal stakeholders formed.
• A series of core planning team meetings held in Epulu to generate management plan inputs and deliberate on contents (with meeting minutes recorded).
• Final draft management plan document in French for approval, including photographs, visuals, tables, and cartographic products.
• Final approved management plan document in French and English.
• Shareable online library with all documents, data, meeting minutes, etc. generated through the consultancy.

How to apply

All interested professionals should send their proposal to drcprocurement@wcs.org no later than the 29 September 2023 at 00:00 am CET (GMT+2). Professionals can apply individually or as a firm.

The proposal should contain:

• motivation letter,
• CVs,
• two-page Expression of Interest outlining a proposed methodology and workplan (with dates),
• quotation,
• reference of 2 clients for similar works,

Questions should be addressed to drcprocurement@wcs.org before 15 September 2023.

Please note that WCS will at no stage of the pre-selection process request applicants to make payments of any kind.

Criteria for selection

Selection Process

• WCS will review and evaluate all proposals to determine each proposer's rating. This evaluation may include a request by WCS to interview proposers.
• The consultants offering the most advantageous terms based on the criteria below will be selected to complete the work. WCS may reject any or all proposals if, in its sole opinion, no proposal satisfies its criteria.

Evaluation Criteria

• Representation of DRC capacity on the consultancy team (i.e. presence of a DRC national on the team) (15%);
• The professional/firm technical capability to provide the services (20%);
• Project-related experience of the consultant/proposed staff and knowledge of the context (20%);
• Added-value for executing the scope of work in the best conditions for WCS including being in line with WCS mandate, vision and values (20%);
• Client References (5%);
• Financial Proposal (20%).