Consultancy (Nigeria) – Development of Carbon Credit Framework and Certification Approach – Agribusiness

This job will be suitable for those who have a solid understanding of Nigerian agribusiness as well as a thorough knowledge of climate smart agricultural practices and its application within the Nigerian (market) context.  

CFYE Overview 

​​The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a 7-year and €134 million programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that aims to create a prosperous future for 230,000 young women and men in the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel & West Africa and Horn of Africa regions. The Fund supports implementing partners in 11 countries that will offer youth, in particular young women, opportunities for work that is demand-driven and productive, offering a stable income and safe working conditions, and that is contributing to their personal development and social protection.​ 

Private sector, civil society and knowledge institutions work on projects geared to scalable solutions for creating more and better jobs and income generating opportunities for youth. Solutions in particular focus on an integrated approach that addresses the shortcomings on the demand side (jobs) and supply side (skills) and bridging the mismatch between these two in the labour market.  

Assignment Overview 

In its Nigeria portfolio, a significant number of Implementing Partners (IPs) are active in the agricultural sector, where they work on creating (green) job opportunities for youth through various pathways. At the same time, the Nigerian agricultural sector is faced with the adverse effects of climate change, which is increasingly impacting agricultural productivity in Nigeria, affecting food security, incomes, and rural livelihoods and changing the way farming is done.  As much as climate change is threatening the agricultural sector, it also offers business opportunities and opportunities for (new) jobs for youth. 

Thrive Agric, a company part of the CFYE portfolio in Nigeria, is already working on embedding climate-smart practices in their company and in their collaboration with value chain and ecosystem partners. Building on this, Thrive is interested in further exploring and working on the implementation of carbon credit certification, with the aim of generating carbon credits together with its farmers so that these credits can provide an additional source of income for farmers and for Thrive.    

For this to happen, Thrive and CFYE are looking for the support of a consultant to develop and/or build out the company’s strategy towards generating carbon credits. This Scope of Work lays the details for the related consultancy assignment.  

Objectives and Activities  

The primary objective of this consultancy is to advise the agribusiness on the best way to obtaining carbon credit certification, to ensure the agribusiness and its farmers can generate and trade carbon credits effectively.  Central to this endeavour is ThriveAgric’s Dorewa (www.dorewa.io) platform, where it aims to bring together the efforts of different projects aimed at offsetting carbon emissions.  

Specific objectives for this assignment include: 

• Developing a carbon credit framework 
• Designing and advising on the implementation of a Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) framework 
• Identifying and recommending suitable carbon credit standards and design and advise on its certification process 
• Create a market strategy to for sales of certificied carbon credits on (international) markets.  

To achieve these objective,  the consultancy assignment will include, but is not limited to, the following activities: 

Design the Carbon Credit Framework 

• Develop a framework including project types and methodologies for quantifying emissions reductions or removals as well as governance and processes for project validation, registration, and credit issuance. 

Define MRV Requirements 

• Identify specific MRV tasks based on the selected carbon credit standards and project types as well as key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics per selected project. 

Develop MRV Protocols and Tools and Data System Integration with the Dorewa platform 

• Design protocols for data collection, quality control, and emissions calculations and also recommend tools for monitoring, reporting templates and verification and leverage data system on the Dorewa platform. 

Prepare Certification Documentation 

• Develop a select Project Design Document (PDD), detailing the project’s methodology, baseline, and expected emissions reductions.. 

Engage Stakeholders for Feedback 

• Facilitate meets with internal and external stakeholders and Incorporate feedback to refine the framework ensuring practicability and scalability. 

Deliverables  

The consultant(s) will be expected to deliver the following: 

• Carbon Credit Framework Document: A comprehensive framework outlining project types, methodologies, governance, and processes. 
• MRV Requirements Document: A detailed outline of MRV tasks, KPIs, and metrics tailored to Thrive Agric’s projects. 
• MRV Protocols and Tools Guide: A manual describing data collection, calculation, and reporting protocols, along with recommended tools. 
• Certification Documentation Package: Project Design Document, supporting documents, engagement and audit reports. 
• Market Integration Strategy: Outline the pathway to selling and monetizing carbon credits. 

Operational Arrangements 

The consultant will report to the management of Thrive Agric as well as to the Nigeria  country team of CFYE. The consultant will be contracted for this assignment through CFYE’s lead partner Palladium (Nigeria office) and  contracting will be done in Nigerian Naira. Approvals on reporting (see also below) will be done together by Thrive and CFYE, which will also serve as trigger for payments.  

On a day-to-day basis, the consultant will collaborate closely with  the management teams of Thrive Agric. This means that the consultant is expected to visit the respective head offices, and those of its partners, frequently, as well as frequently join the companies on field visits to better understand the characteristics of their respective value chains.  

Core Competencies & minimum requirements   

The consultant should possess the following qualifications and expertise: 

• At least a Bachelor but preferably a Master degree in agriculture, environmental science, climate change, or a related field. 
• Minimum of 8 years of experience working in agricultural policy, CSA, agri-financing and/or sustainable agribusiness, working with agribusiness SMEs and farmers.  
• Track record of effectively and successfully advising SMEs on business strategies.  
• Extensive knowledge of carbon credit certification and accounting processes and standards. 
• Strong stakeholder engagement and capacity-building skills. 
• Knowledge of Nigerian and international climate policies and carbon markets. 
• Expertise in developing MRV frameworks and conducting feasibility studies. 
• Ability to produce high-quality reports and documentation  

Level of Effort and Reporting  

The consultant can ideally start as soon as possible but no later than April 2025 and engage on the assignment for approximately 3-4 months. This engagement is ideally taking place on a full-time basis, even though also candidates can be considered that are available on a 75% of their time (or upward) basis. In its proposal, the consultant is requested to provide an overview of how he/she intends to distribute working time (in weeks) over the different activities throughout these 3-4 montjs.  

During implementation, the consultant shall provide a monthly log of days worked, detailing the activities performed. This should also lay the foundation for monthly invoicing for the assignment.  Besides the abovementioned deliverables, the consultant will also provide a monthly progress report to both the companies as well as CFYE, and will write a final report in conclusion on all activities 

How to Apply 

A short technical proposal, a budget (in NGN) based on the abovementioned LoE at a monthly rate (inclusive of taxes) and CVs and relevant track record of the consultant should be submitted. The CV and track record should include detailed and recent information about similar, recent assignments or jobs taken up by the consultant. Preferably the CV also contains contact details for reference checks on past employers/assignments. Applications should be send to Amarachi.kalu@cfye.nl and niek.vandijk@cfye.nl

Deadline: 28 March 2025