Hiring Consultants for Capacity Assessment of Local Environment Councils

Request for Expressions of Interest for Consulting Service

Country: The Republic of the Gambia

Project Title: The Gambia Public Administration Modernization for Citizen Centric Service Delivery (PAMP) Project.

Assignment Title: Capacity Assessment of Local Environment Committees (LECs)

Grant Number: IDA-E3820

Project ID NO: P176924

Procurement Method: Individual Consultant Selection Method (IC)

Reference No. GM-CPCU-MOFEA-516922-CS-INDV

• Background: The Gambia Public Administration Modernization for Citizen Centric Service Delivery Project (PAMP) supports the implementation of the Government program, the Recovery Focused National Development Plan (RF-NDP) 2023-2027. In January 2024, the GoTG approved and adopted the RF-NDP 2023-2027, i.e., program implementation is currently in its infancy. The RF-NDP aims to consolidate gains in democratic governance, accelerate green economic and social transformation, and build resilience to shocks and crises. It has three major strategic objectives: (1) building household and community resilience to address shocks and crises arising from climate change and economic volatility and to counter the effects of pandemics like COVID-19; (2) consolidating gains and addressing critical development gaps in governance and economic and social transformation; and (3) strengthening accountability, building partnerships and setting up robust and sustainable resource mobilization strategies for effective delivery of development actions and expected outcomes. The RF-NDP is organized across seven pillars.

The proposed PforR focuses on a subset of RF-NDP priority actions related to enhancing domestic resource mobilization and financial reporting, human resources management, and citizen engagement in the education sector. These include the second pillar on Governance Reforms priority actions to “enhance governance and management of civil society organizations” and “professionalize and instill meritocracy, ethical conduct, transparency and accountability in the public service and personnel management” and the third pillar on Macroeconomic Stability and Inclusive Growth priority action to “enhance Public Financial Management (PFM) for macro-fiscal stability and strengthening democracy.”

• Objective of The Assignment: The Government of the Gambia (GoTG), through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) has received a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank, for the financing of the Public Administration Modernization for Citizen Centric Service Delivery Project (PAMP). Coordination and implementation of the PAMP is being undertaken by the Central Projects Coordination Unit (CPCU) of the MoFEA.

The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) are the two key service-delivery ministries selected to participate in the PAMP, that has a key objective to support service delivery in these two sectors of education and health.

The Program Development Objective (PDO) of PAMP is to enhance domestic resource mobilization, expenditure and human resource management, and mechanisms for citizen engagement. In turn, these reforms support downstream service delivery in the education and health sectors. The PDO is to be achieved through the delivery of activities measured by disbursement-linked indicators in three Results Areas; which are; Results Area 1: Strengthening Management of Public Revenues and Expenditures; Results Area 2: Strengthening the Public Administration and Results Area 3: Improved Transparency and Citizen Engagement in Service Delivery.

• Scope of Work: Review capacity assessment of the governance (regulatory, institutional, technical, and financial) framework underpinning LECs absence/inability to be established or operate effectively, the concerns, and challenges across both the national and local government levels.

Preparation of a detailed and comprehensive report, including recommendations and implementation plan for the GoTG through the NEMC to establish and operationalize all LECs.

• • Inception report
• Review of documents
• Stakeholder mapping
• Comprehensive analysis
• Stakeholder engagement and consultations
• Final report and recommendations

The full Terms of Reference (TOR) will be made available upon request

• Qualification and Competency
• Master's degree from a recognized university in Environmental Management, Natural Resource Governance, Public Policy, Public Administration, Development Studies, Social Sciences, or a closely related field. Additional professional certifications in institutional capacity assessment, results-based management, or participatory planning are desirable.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in institutional capacity assessments, organizational development, or governance strengthening assignments, preferably with public sector bodies or decentralized local government entities.
• Demonstrated experience working with environmental management institutions, local government authorities (municipal or area councils), or community-based natural resource management structures in Sub-Saharan Africa. Experience in The Gambia or the West Africa region is a strong advantage.
• Proven track record in assessing legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks, including identifying gaps between policy mandates and operational capacity at local level. Experience referencing instruments such as the NEMA Amendment Bill 2025, the Local Government Act, or equivalent legislation in comparable jurisdictions is an advantage.
• Experience designing practical institutional strengthening plans with clear recommendations, indicative costing, and realistic timelines.
• Strong experience in designing and executing inclusive, participatory stakeholder mapping and consultation processes involving government ministries, local councils, civil society organizations, and community structures. Full TOR Availability Notice

The full Terms of Reference (TOR) will be made available upon request. Please send your request via email to the addresses provided below. Contract duration is 3 months.

Submission of Expressions of Interest:

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MoFEA) through the Gambia Public Administration Modernization for Citizen Centric Service Delivery (PAMP) Project, through the National Environment Agency (NEA), now invites eligible individual consultants to express 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 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” dated February 2025 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with Individual Consultant Selection Method (IC) method set out in the Consultant Guidelines. Further information and Terms of Reference can be obtained at the address below during office hours from 09:00 to 16:00 Monday to Thursday and 09:00 to 12h30 on Friday.

Expressions of interest should be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail) on or before 05th August 2026 at 12:30 GMT

Central Project Coordination Unit

Royal Insurance Building

2nd Floor, Bertil Harding Highway, Kotu

The Gambia

Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]