Consultancy for training on early warning systems and hydromet resilience — Regional Climate Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa 2 (…

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRM SELECTION) Name of Project: Regional Climate Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa 2 Project (RCRP2). Project ID: P181308 Assignment Title: Consultancy Services for the Development and Implementation of a Training Program in support of strengthening the capacities of key senior Hydromet and DRR practitioners among the RCRP countries, AU, SADC, ICPAC and other key regional entities. Reference No. ET-AUC-567618-CS-QCBS The African Union Commission has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of The Building Institutions and Systems to Harness and Realize Agenda (BIASHARA) 2063 Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The consulting services (“the Services”) include Consultancy Services for the Development and Implementation of a Training Program in support of strengthening the capacities of key senior Hydromet and DRR practitioners among the RCRP countries, AU, SADC, ICPAC and other key regional entities The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment are attached to this Request for Expressions of Interest. The African Union Commission now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria are: • Firm’s core business: The firm should have a core business on training in hydrology, meteorology, climate sciences, physics, information and knowledge management, disaster risk management, Knowledge of MHEWS / AMHEWAS and has a license from a national or regional professional Body. • Years in Business: The firm should have Minimum of 5 years’ experience in carrying out such trainings. • Specific Experience: The firm should complete a minimum of 5 relevant similar projects financed by the World Bank or International financing Institution. • The firm Should have adoption and use of proven training Quality Assurance measures. • The firm should have demonstrated experience of having undertaken similar assignments in Africa at continental or regional levels

• The Firm should have an adequate staff with the required skill and qualification Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage. The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” July 2016, revised November 2020 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultants’ Quality and Cost-based Selection method set out in the Procurement Regulations. Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0900 to 1700 hours. Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by e-mail) by October 8, 2026. African Union Commission, Head of Supply Chain Management Division Building C, 3rd Floor, P.O Box 3243, Roosevelt Street Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel: +251 (0) 11 551 7700 – Ext 4305 Fax: +251 (0) 11 551 0442; +251 11-551-0430 E-mail: Tender@africanunion.org Terms of Reference Consultancy Services for Development and Implementation of a Training Program in support of strengthening the capacities of key senior Hydromet and DRR practitioners among the RCRP countries, AU, SADC, ICPAC and other key regional entities. • Introduction

Africa is facing accelerated social-economic challenges, compounded by hydrometeorological induced disasters such as droughts, floods, tropical cyclones, mudslides and windstorms which have intensified in frequency and magnitude. This upsurge can be attributed, in part, to lack of mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in development planning, inadequate investment in hydromet and early warning infrastructure, and lack of data management, open access and innovation in systems along with weak financial and human capacity to prepare, anticipate and respond to disaster emergencies. During the last 40 years, Africa has experienced more than 1000 disasters affecting more than 460 million people. In response to increasing disasters, the African Union Commission (AUC) with the support of the World Bank is implementing the Regional Climate Resilience Programme for Eastern and Southern Africa (RCRP-2) Series of Projects (SOP). This programme is a second operation in the SOPs funded by the World Bank. The programme aims to enhance climate resilience across Eastern and Southern Africa, including the African Union (AU), Comoros, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique and South Sudan. The AUC is an implementing partner, tasked with strengthening regional coordination and capacity building within RCRP-2 countries. The AUC, therefore, seeks to recruit a team of consultants to undertake this assignment within sub-component 1.4: Strengthening capacity on hydromet services, Disaster Risk Management (DRM), and climate finance mobilisation. This sub-component aims to establishing and strengthening standardized regional systems and fostering technical expertise required to effectively respond to climate shocks and build long-term resilience. The training will build and enhance the capacities of RCRP-2 countries to implement the Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Early Action System (AMHEWAS) Programme and enhance capacity of hydromet services to produce actionable forecast, alerts, warning advisories in coordination with AMHEWAS Situation Rooms, National Hydromet Agencies and National Disaster Management Agencies. Consequently, the AUC, in collaboration with the World Bank, seeks to recruit a team of consultants to organise a series of three short training courses (over a period of 6 months) to build the capacity of RCRP-2 countries. The training will cover the capacity needs of hydrometeorological and disaster risk management experts in RCRP-2 countries and respective Regional Economic Communities (RECs), particularly the Southern Africa Community Development (SADC) and IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC) as well as the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres and other relevant entities within Africa East and South. • Objective of the training programme

The overall objective of the training programme is to strengthen the capacities of representatives from National Hydromet agencies, National DRM agencies, the African Union, Regional Climate Centres, Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres, and DRR situation rooms from SADC and ICPAC regions for improved understanding, analytics, management and access of weather, water and climate information to support decision support tools that aid policy makers. • Scope of assignment

The proposed training programme aligns with Component 1.4 of the RCRP-2 project and is a critical mechanism for achieving the Project Development Objective: “To improve resilience to climate- related shocks in Malawi and the Eastern and Southern Africa region, and in case of an Eligible Crisis or emergency, to respond promptly and effectively to it.” • Synergies between the training programme and the overall RCRP-2 project objectives;

The capacity building initiatives under the AU Commission’s component 1.4 directly contribute to the Project Development Objective (PDO) and Series of Projects objective by addressing critical regional capacity gaps. This training consultancy will be aligned with another activity – Consultancy to support regional hydromet diagnostic, regional engagement, support for systems and capacity building. This training consultancy is to be implemented within the framework of: • Integrated EWS and DRR preparedness;

The short training programme strengthens the capacity of national and regional institutions including hydromet, DRM agencies and related regional agencies, to strengthen EWS. The programme brings together selected data producers (hydromet) and users (DRM), specifically decision makers to facilitate common operational understanding and procedures. This addresses current data-to-action gaps and ensures that warnings are met with synchronized early actions, directly supporting the objective of responding “promptly and effectively” to shocks. It underpins the successful roll-out of the AMHEWAS programme. • Need for a Community of Practice for Collaboration and partnerships:

Products produced by National Hydrometeorological Agencies are used by National Disaster Management Agencies and other sectors. Lack of national coordination, collaboration and partnerships results in ineffective use of the information and inadequate preparedness and/or response by weather-dependent sectors. This leads to delayed response time to take anticipatory action by the users of hydrometeorological information. By bringing the relevant institutions in the same training, the training courses will foster interoperability, collaboration and improving the producer-user needs. Fostering a shared community of practice would allow for greater understanding and coordination. • Regional coordination:

The programme formally strengthens regional mechanisms for cooperation, which are essential for managing transboundary climate and weather-related challenges and harmonizing data and response protocols across borders, a core tenet of the RCRP SOP. The Consultancy will deliver a training program and support the establishment of the abovementioned community of practice. This will contribute to strengthening