Vacancy title:
Environmental and Social Impact Specialist

[Type: FULL_TIME, Industry: Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security, Category: Management]

Jobs at:
Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN)

Deadline of this Job:
Monday, July 14 2025

Duty Station:
kigali | Kigali | Rwanda

Summary
Date Posted: Friday, June 27 2025, Base Salary: Not Disclosed

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JOB DETAILS:

1. The Kigali Urban Fabric Initiative (UFI)

1.1. About the UFI

Sponsored by Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Urban Fabric Initiatives (UFIs) are participatory projects to develop public spaces and social facilities in a collaborative manner, bringing together all stakeholders involved in the production of the city.

The Kigali Urban Fabric Initiative (UFI) is an informal settlement upgrading project implemented in conjunction with the City of Kigali under the Kigali Informal Settlement Upgrading Project (KISUP). The aim is to fund small-scale public space upgrading and community infrastructure projects co-designed and co-produced by residents and urban stakeholders, implemented in close collaboration with local authorities (community representatives and the City of Kigali).

1.2. The UFI Operator

Three partnering firms have been appointed as a consortium to be the Kigali UFI Operator: Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN; based in Kigali), Bantu Studio Design & Research (Bantu; based in Johannesburg, South Africa but with staff in Kigali), and Espelia (based in France). RWN is a local non-profit organisation responsible for stakeholder and community engagement and project administration. Bantu is responsible for the co-design and co-construction of selected social facilities within the project, as well as quality control advising to the City of Kigali. Espelia is a French consulting firm with expertise in the design and implementation of economic, financial, institutional, and organizational aspects of public policies and projects in emerging and developing countries, and is responsible for the development of operation & maintenance (O&M) strategies and a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for the project.

Collectively, the RWN-Bantu-Espelia consortium has been engaged by AFD for a three-year contract to implement the Kigali UFI within three informal settlements of Kigali: Kagugu, Rwezamenyo, and Nyakabanda.

1.3. Modalities of Implementation

The UFI Operator (RWN-Bantu-Espelia) is responsible for the design and construction of a number of small social facilities as part of the upgrading process, as well as for assisting in the participatory needs assessment for facilities to be implemented by other consultants as part of a longer upgrading process. The UFI Operator is seeking a qualified Environmental and Social Impact specialist to perform ESIA studies for the remaining facilities.

The design process for some facilities is underway now and the design and construction process is for other facilities is expected to continue through March 2027. The chosen consultant will be engaged at relevant moments within that time frame.

No displacement of residents is anticipated for the implementation of these facilities. Sites have already been identified through a feasibility study, and the project and sites are already known to chosen community upgrading committees (CUCs).

Specific construction components are not fully known at this time, since the participatory co-design has not been completed. However, possible or likely site features are listed in the table below, along with the development size and relevant notes:

1.4. Services Required

The UFI Operator is seeking a qualified Environmental and Social Impact specialist to perform ESIA studies for the facilities mentioned above. Duties will include:

• Conduct preliminary environmental and social screenings for each facility.
• Identify applicable legal and institutional frameworks and advise on requirements during the design stage.
• Evaluate potential environmental and social risks and impacts, both positive and negative, and advise on practical, site-specific mitigation measures.
• Advise on phytoremediation measure for lightly contaminated wastewater runoff, including selection of indigenous plant species. The consultant may hire a sub-consultant for this purpose if necessary.
• Prepare high-quality ESIA reports for submission with construction permitting as required.
• Liaise with regulatory bodies during review and approval processes as needed.
• Ensure compliance with any environmental conditionalities imposed by national authorities or project funders.

2. Expertise and Skills Needed

2.1. Qualifications

Applicants will go through a technical qualification process which includes minimum qualifications and preferred qualifications with a technical score. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must meet all minimum qualifications. Applicants not meeting the minimum qualifications will be eliminated from consideration.

Applicants which meet the minimum qualifications will be scored against the preferred qualifications in a technical proposal.

Applicants achieving at least

 against the preferred qualifications, scored according to the details below. Amongst these applicants, the top 3 highest-scoring applicants will be invited to bid with a lump-sum cost. (Note: the UFI Operator reserves the right to invite more than 3 applicants if multiple applicants end up with the same score). The lowest bid will then be selected,

Applicants may bid as companies or as individuals. In the case of companies, the proposed lead Environmentalist’s profile should be presented, as the profile of the individual lead Environmentalist will form the basis of the evaluation.

2.1.1 Minimum Qualifications

The candidate will possess:

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Natural Resource Management, Social Sciences, Geography, or related field.
• Active professional registration with the Rwanda Association of Professional Environmental Practitioners (RAPEP).
• Familiarity with Rwanda’s environmental regulatory framework, especially REMA and RDB ESIA requirements.
• Registration with the RRA Electronic Billing Machine (EBM) system.
• Availability (intermittently) for the entire project duration (through March 2027).
• Fluency in Kinyarwanda and English.

2.1.2 Preferred Qualifications (25 points)

Candidates meeting the minimum qualifications will be scored against the following criteria in their technical proposal:

• Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Natural Resource Management, Social Sciences, Geography, or related field. (2 points).

15+ years of relevant experience conducting or managing ESIAs in Rwanda:

• 0-2 years: 0 points
• 3-5 years: 1 point
• 5-8 years: 2 points
• 9-12 years: 3 points
• 12-15 years: 4 points
• 15+ years: 5 points

Demonstrated experience working on small-scale, community-based projects:

• 0 projects: 0 points
• 1-2 projects: 1 point
• 3-4 projects: 2 points
• 5+ projects: 3 points

• Evidence of ability to advise on practices and compile complete ESIA reports for construction permitting (submitting sample of 1 previous report) (up to 5 points based on quality of the submitted sample)
• Evidence of ability to advise on phytoremediation systems, including selection of indigenous plant species, for small-scale, lightly contaminated runoff remediation. The consultant may propose to hire a subconsultant for this purpose if needed. (up to 5 points based on the degree of evidence and qualifications)
• Brief methodology (1-2 pages) explaining how the candidate proposes to set up a working process with the UFI operator, and standards to be used (up to 5 points based on quality of methodology).

Work Hours: 8

Experience: No Requirements

Level of Education: professional certificate

Job application procedure
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2.2.1 Submission

All documentation should be assembled into two PDF files, a technical proposal and a financial proposal. These proposals must not be in the same file.

Each PDF should be named with the applicants name and type of proposal in the following format: Name_technical.pdf or Name_financial.pdf, where 'Name' is replaced with the applicant's surname or company name.

All documentation should be submitted via email to rwawnet@rwanda1.rw by 12:00 on 21 July, 2025,Failure to provide all requested documentation may lead to disqualification. Documentation includes:

(a) Technical Proposal (25 points)

Technical proposals must include:

• An individual or company summary profile, maximum 1 pages, indicating the range of services the candidate is able to provide, and any information the candidate wishes to highlight.

A summary of previous project experience, up to a maximum of 5 projects, with each relevant project summarized on a single page including:

• basic project information (size, location, type);
• the role of the applicant and services performed;
• if relevant, photos of the implementation.
• Contact information for three references (name, email, and phone number) of previous clients.
• An up-to-date and signed Curriculum Vitae (CV).
• A sample ESIA report from a previous project.
• A copy of the applicant’s academic qualifications.
• A copy of the applicant’s RAPEP certificate.
• Evidence of registration with the RRA Electronic Billing Machine (EBM) system.

(b) Financial Proposal (10 points)

Financial proposals should be submitted as a separate PDF, should be tax and VAT inclusive, should have costs for facilities 2 and 4 in the table above itemised separately, and should be signed by the applicant. Financial proposals will be evaluated out of 10 points as indicated below.

2.2.2 Evaluation

Technical proposals will be scored out of 25 points as indicated above. Applicants achieving fewer than 15 of 25 points will be eliminated from consideration. Applicants achieving 15 or more points will have their financial proposals opened and considered.

The lowest evaluated financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 10.

The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as following:

Sf = 10 x Fm/F

in which "Sf" is the financial score, "Fm" is the lowest price, and "F" the price of the Proposal under consideration.

Proposals will then be ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores to achieve a overall score (So) as follows:

St + Sf = So

The highest scoring bid will be invited to contract negotiations.

2.3. Additional information

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