2 Consultants to Conduct Trainings on Financial Management Skills in CFM Models of the USAID “Vietnam Sustainable Forest Management” Project

Consultancy Announcement

Position: Two independent consultants for conducting trainings on financial management skills in CFM models of the USAID “Vietnam Sustainable Forest Management” Project, RECOFTC Viet Nam.

Sub-Activity Code:

• 1.2.8.3: Conduct trainings on financial management skills in CFM models in Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Tri provinces

Duration: from March. 2022 to April 2022

• For Son La: Total of 28 person-days
• For Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Tri: 23 person-days

Application deadline: 5.00 p.m. Hanoi local time, 25 February 2022

At RECOFTC, we believe in a future where people live equitably and sustainably in and beside healthy, resilient forests. We take a long-term, landscape-based and inclusive approach to supporting local communities to secure their land and resource rights, stop deforestation, find alternative livelihoods and foster gender equity. We are the only non-profit organization of our kind in Asia and the Pacific. We have more than 30 years of experience working with people and forests and have built trusting relationships with partners at all levels. Our influence and partnerships extend from multilateral institutions to governments, private sector and local communities. Our innovations, knowledge and initiatives enable countries to foster good forest governance, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

The USAID Vietnam Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Project supports the Government of Vietnam to reduce carbon emissions associated with deforestation, degradation of natural forests and poor plantation management. The project implements 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 works in seven provinces: Lao Cai, Son La, Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Quang Nam. It focuses on five main objectives:

1. Strengthening community forest management
2. Promoting conservation-friendly enterprises
3. Improving law enforcement to tackle environmental crimes
4. Enhancing the management of production forests
5. Mobilizing domestic resources.

RECOFTC is implementing Objective 1 by improving and expanding community forest management in the seven target provinces, in close coordination with other partners and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Background

Forest dependent communities’ participation is increasingly recognized as an important factor in effectively maintaining forests. Communities have been engaged into forest management and protection in various forms. Four main types of these engagements include i) traditional community forests, ii) introduced community forests, iii) groups of households managing forestlands, and iv) individual households, who all individually own forestland, collaborating in forest management.

Under the SFM Project, the concept of community covers two forms of local people's participation in forest management. The first modality is community forest management (CFM) in which residential communities/villages manage communities’ allocated forests. This also covers the modality where communities manage household’s allocated forests as a community group. The second modality is community-based forest management (CBFM) in which village communities manage contracted forests with protection forest management boards.

Under CFM models, local communities are likely to be able to access different financial sources generated from community forests, including but not limited to forest protection fee, revenue generated from the payment for forest environmental services (PFES) scheme, income from non-timber forest products, cooperation/joint investments or other credit schemes. To promote this model, it is necessary to improve communities’ capacities, particularly the financial management skills.

Objectives of the consultancy

The overall objective of this assignment is to improve capacity of  the communities and households participating in the CFM models on the financial management in Son La, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Tri provinces by successfully conducting training courses for selected communities.

Scope of work

The consultants are requested to conduct the following tasks but not limited to:

1. Review the relevant documents of SFM project and otherssimilar projects, with a strong focus on the capacity development needs assessment (CDNA) report, CFM baseline report and draft CFM manual, prepared by SFM project to better understand the specific training needs, the existing CFM models’ financial sources, and the financial management trends of communities;
2. Design a tailor-made training document (focus on the thematic topics: Regulations on management and use of CFM financial sources, micro credit fund models);
3. Conduct ten (10) training courses in four provinces.
   3.1. Conduct one Training of Trainer (ToT) course to the staff of Forest Protection and Development Fund at provincial and district levels, and district forest rangers in Son La province.
   3.2. Conduct six one-day training courses for participants from selected communes and villages in Son La province.
   3.3. Conduct three one-day training courses for Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Tri provinces
4. Finalize the training documents and prepare training reports

Level of effort, deadline and deliverables:

Total of 51 person- days for two independent consultants are allocated for this assignment, starting from March to April 2022. Deliverables will be in Vietnamese and English as below:

Qualifications and experience:

Essential:

The successful candidates must meet the following requirements:

• Vietnamese national
• Bachelor’s degree in economic, finance, accounting, MBA or other related fields
• At least 10 years of experience in the fields of forestry, agriculture and rural development.  Priority given to those with experiences in delivery of trainings and trainer of financial management skills, candidate familiar with conducting trainings on financial management skills and/ or micro-finance to communities.
• Knowledge of forestry policies and legal framework and familiarity with current development in the forestry sector, especially community forestry at central and local levels
• Understanding of implementation of forestry at grassroots level
• Good spoken and writing skills in Vietnamese with working knowledge and skill in English.

General:

At RECOFTC, our core values are the foundation of our culture and guide all our work. In addition to job specific skills and experience, the applicant should possess the following characteristics, attitudes and skills:

• Embrace innovation
• Adapt to, and learn from, challenges
• Collaborate with partners and stakeholders
• Nurture commitment, responsibility and ownership
• Prioritize sustainability
• Cultivate participation, social inclusion and gender equity

How to apply

Interested candidates are requested to submit their CV and a  cover letter indicating why they are suitable for this consultancy along with the expected fee or daily rate, number of work-days and current contact details of three referees, including recent supervisors to [email protected] [1]. Please quote the consultancy title in the subject line of the email. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.

For any further information you may need about the consultancy, please contact [email protected] [1].

To learn more about RECOFTC, please visit our website www.recoftc.org [2]