Terms of Reference for Consultancy Services to Develop a Booklet of Local Leaders’ Responsibilities in WASH Management Tender at IRC

1. Background and Context

The Government of Rwanda (GoR) recognizes that sustainable and inclusive access to water and sanitation services requires strong local leadership, community ownership, and accountability at all levels. The National Water and Sanitation Policy (2023) introduced major institutional changes, notably redefining mandates within the WASH sector and operationalizing a delegated rural water supply management model whereby the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) is the national service provider for both urban and rural water supply. Under this model, WASAC contracts private operators for the day-to-day management of some rural water systems, while Districts remain with the service authority role, ensuring oversight, coordination, and accountability in service delivery.

The new policy guidance has reshaped the local WASH governance landscape, requiring clearer articulation of roles and responsibilities for all actors—including local leaders at sector, cell, and village levels—who are the frontline agents for community mobilization, infrastructure protection, and hygiene behavior promotion. Local leaders are expected to ensure that communities play a role in the protection of water and sanitation facilities, monitoring the application of the approved tariff structures especially at the public taps, and prevention of vandalism or misuse of WASH infrastructure, all of which are critical for the sustainability of WASH services under the delegated management framework.

Through various WASH sector consultation meetings, the persistent challenges undermining the sustainability of WASH services were discussed and highlighted and among them include the following: limited awareness among local leaders at grassroot level (sector, cell, villages) of their defined roles in WASH management, weak community ownership of WASH infrastructure, inconsistent follow-up on private operator performance at the local level, and inadequate coordination between local governance structures and service providers. As a result, issues such as vandalism, irregular tariff enforcement, and poor maintenance of facilities continue to affect service reliability and sustainability.

It is against the above background that Isoko y’Ubuzima through IRC in partnership with Ministry of Infrastructure is hiring a consultant to develop a booklet outlining the roles and responsibilities of the local leaders in WASH management as well as the responsibilities of the community as responsible citizens in the sustainability of WASH infrastructure.

2. Objective of the Assignment

Overall Objective:

The overall objective of this consultancy services is to develop a user-friendly booklet of Local Leaders’ roles and responsibilities in WASH Management as well as community responsibility , aligned with 2023 National Water and Sanitation Policy and Delegated Rural Water Supply Management Model, to guide local leaders at sector, cell, and village levels in performing their WASH-related duties effectively as well as in community mobilization to ensure sustainability of WASH related services.

2.1 Specific Objectives

1. Review national WASH policy, delegated management models, and relevant frameworks to extract mandates applicable to local leaders.
2. Identify and define the key roles and responsibilities of local leaders (sector, cell, village) in supporting WASH services governance, infrastructure protection, and behavior change in alignment with National water and sanitation policy
3.  Illustrate practical actions and coordination pathways between local leaders, WASAC branches, private operators, and district structures.
4. Develop and design a concise, visual, and practical booklet (in English and Kinyarwanda versions) suitable for community dissemination and training.
5. Validate the booklet with national and district stakeholders, including MININFRA, WASAC, RURA, and selected districts.

3. Scope of Work

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Task 1: Desk Review

• Review the 2023 National Water and Sanitation Policy and the Delegated Management Model (2025) to extract provisions on decentralized WASH governance.
• Review the relevant WASH sector reports and other relevant materials to capture real challenges, best practices, and examples of leadership in WASH service sustainability.
• Review related instruments such as the DWASHB SOPs, National Decentralization Policy, and regulatory frameworks of community works and community participation in the activities of the public utilities. 

Task 2: Stakeholder Consultations

• Conduct key informant interviews and focus group discussions with local leaders (sector and cell levels), district WASH staff, DWASHB members, and private operators to capture field insights.
• Engage with MININFRA, MINALOC, WASAC, LODA and RURA to ensure policy and operational coherence.
• Identify coordination and accountability mechanisms currently used by local leaders (sector, cell and village) in terms of sharing the information related to WASH related services

Task 3: Development of the Booklet

• Develop a draft structure and content for the booklet, including:

• Introduction and purpose
• Overview of the national WASH framework
• Roles and responsibilities of local leaders in:

• WASH planning and coordination
• Infrastructure management and protection
• Community mobilization and hygiene promotion
• Monitoring and accountability mechanisms
• Community responsibility in the sustainability of WASH infrastructure and sustainable WASH services

• Key messages and examples of good practices
• Coordination flowcharts between leaders, DWASHB, WASAC, and private operators

• Prepare both English and Kinyarwanda versions emphasizing roles and responsibilities of local leaders and community in sustainability of WASH infrastructures and sustainable of WASH services. 

Task 4: Validation and Finalization

• Present the draft booklet in a validation workshop with national and district stakeholders.
• Incorporate feedback and submit a final, publication-ready version of the booklet (Word and print layout versions).

4. Deliverables

Total Duration: 8 weeks 

5. Methodology

The consultant will apply a participatory and iterative approach, combining:

• Desk-based policy analysis and literature review
• Review some of the community scorecard reports to get insights of local issues in WASH.
• Field consultations and key informant interviews
• Collaborative drafting and validation with IRC, MININFRA, MINALOC and WASAC
• Integration of case studies and illustrations for user-friendliness

6. Duration and Level of Effort

The consultancy is expected to take 30 working days over a 8-week period (January – February 2026).

7. Reporting and Coordination

The consultant will report to IRC WASH Rwanda under Strategic Objective 1 (Decentralized WASH Governance Improved) and work closely with MININFRA and WASAC technical teams. Coordination meetings will be held bi-weekly or as agreed

8. Required Qualifications and Experience

• Master’s degree in public administration, WASH Management, or Policy Studies.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in the WASH sector, preferably in Rwanda.
• Proven expertise in WASH governance, policy implementation, and communication materials development.
• Experience in producing user-friendly guidance tools or training manuals for decentralized institutions.
• Strong English and Kinyarwanda writing skills; French an added advantage.

9. Application Requirements

Interested applicants should submit:

• A technical proposal describing understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, and work plan.
• A financial proposal (in Rwandan Francs) detailing consultancy fees and any related costs.
• Updated Curriculum Vitae (or team CVs if applying as a firm).
• Evidence of previous similar assignments (assignments performed in the past three or five years with minimum three references).
• Relevant legal and tax registration documents (Company Registration certificate (RDB), VAT certificate, tax and RSSB clearance certificate Where applicable).

10. Technical Evaluation Criteria

11. Financial evaluation

Following the technical evaluation, only bidders who score 80% or higher will advance to the financial evaluation stage. The bidder must attain a minimum score of 80% for each of the technical evaluation marks scoring sections: 1. understanding, methodology, work plan; 2. Experience and Qualifications; and 3. Three evidence of previous similar assignments. 

At this stage, financial proposals will be assessed, and the bidder with the lowest price will be selected. Financial proposals must be password-protected, and passwords will only be requested from bidders who qualify for the financial evaluation.

Note: Any arithmetic error in the financial report will result in an automatic disqualification.

12. How to apply

If you feel qualified and interested in the assignment, please send your documents (including the technical and financial proposals as two separate documents) to: mutesi@ircwash.org
no later than 10th December 2025 with the following subject: “ Consultancy services to develop a Booklet of Local Leaders’ Responsibilities in WASH Management’’ Hard copies and late submissions shall be rejected.

Done at Kigali, on November 26th, 2025.