RE-ADVERTISEMENT OF THE REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT

GEOSPATIAL HUB PROJECT

PROJECT NO: CRW 106601N

Assignment Title: RE-ADVERTISEMENT OF THE REQUEST FOR EXPREESION OF HIRING A PROJECT MANAGER FOR GEOSPATIAL HUB PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

1. Background

Rwanda has distinguished itself as a country that is deeply committed to leveraging digital transformation as a means to accelerate growth and reduce poverty. The Government is committed to using digitally enabled solutions, wherever possible, to leapfrog traditional approaches and support innovation in service delivery. Beginning as early as 2000, Rwanda began charting an ambitious course for achieving rapid digitization, through a series of five-year plans – culminating in the SMART Rwanda Master Plan. These policies have resulted in the progressive roll-out of digital infrastructure, impressive public e-services expansion (though from a very low base), as Ill as initiatives to support digital skills and to position Rwanda as a regional ICT hub, underpinned by government institutions and leadership committed to this agenda. Today, Rwanda continues to articulate ambitious strategies in relation to many of these areas.

The Government of Rwanda (GoR) has received funding from the Agence Française de Development (AFD) for the digitization of the administration and innovation for development project. The General Objective of the project is to "Leverage ICT to improve public services and promote innovation for socio-economic development in Rwanda". This is in line with the dual mandate of Ministry of ICT & Innovation (MINICT) to accelerate the use of Information and Communication Technologies for the socio-economic development of the country and to promote innovation and emerging technologies.

The project is subdivided into three components, which are independent from each other:

• Network Modernization: Improve the efficiency of the Rwandan administration and its capacity to provide quality public services.
• Geospatial Hub: Use geospatial data to develop and plan public policy
• Drone Operations Center (DOC): Support the development of the drone sector.

Additionally, a component 4 of the project corresponds to the management of the project.

The Project will be coordinated through the Ministry of ICT and Innovation (MINICT), with the Rwanda Space Agency (RSA) as the Project implementing institution. The RSA will have overall responsibility for supporting project preparation, implementation Monitoring and Evaluation. To effectively implement the Geospatial Hub project, the Rwanda Space Agency (RSA) is seeking to hire a Project Manager.

2. Objective

The main objective of the assignment is to oversee the project, ensuring its successful execution through supervision, monitoring, and reporting.

3. Scope of work

The Consultant will be responsible for the overall management of the project including execution, monitoring & follow up of the implementation of the project in order to achieve the objective.

4. Duties and Responsibilities

• Participate in the drafting of the procurement plan and ToRs for the contractors / Consultant to be hired for the Geohub set-up, Geospatial experts/analyst/specialist, Geohub systems security, Integration and interconnection with existing geo-related data repositories. High Level & Low Geohub Ecosystem, infrastructure, security and platform Design for geospatial digital service delivery, Geohub Operation Control Center and related Training provider
• Ensure the supervision of Geospatial hub project including monitoring and evaluation
• Follow up the implementation of the procurement plan for the GeoHub project until contract signing.
• Participate in the review and approval of proposed Geohub Ecosystem, infrastructure, applications development design and BoQ, Technical Specifications/Terms of references (Validate unit prices and quantities)
• Participate in The Geospatial Hub Stakeholder, partners’ institution and end users Engagement
• Ensure adherence to AFD guidelines and procedures, and effective disbursement of project funds;
• Anticipate possible problems that might be encountered during project implementation and recommend appropriate solutions (in particular, identify possible sources of delays, cost overruns, and propose measures to overcome them)
• Managing project budget, forecasts, and financial reporting
• Support the implementation of recommendations from the AFD and stakeholders’ assessments of the Project;
• Ensuring that project deliverables meet quality standards and are consistent with project objectives
• Managing project communications, including regular status updates and project-related correspondence
• Identifying and implementing process improvements as needed
• Reporting: The Project Manager in charge of Geospatial Hub will report to the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at RSA & to the Global Project Coordinator.

5. Expected Outputs and Deliverables

• Report the Geospatial Hub project progress to the RSA CTO and always inform the Global Project Coordinator on the progress of the project every month.
• Draft Terms of References for the procurement of Geospatial Hub suppliers within the first month after contract signing.
• Managing project communications, including regular status updates and project-related correspondence.
• Regular reports on project budget, forecasts, and budget disbursement of the project.
• Ensure contract management of Geospatial Hub project until completion of the contract.
• The Project manager shall be required to submit a monthly report for the activities undertaken and shall be paid monthly against an approved monthly report.

6. Competencies

• Technical competencies

• Track record of effectively leading and managing complex and technical projects of similar nature.
• Proven ability to engage with complex policy and strategic issues is essential;
• Demonstrates sound technical knowledge of Rwandan’s ICT and Innovation sector, including familiarity with issues tackled by the project, is an added value;
• Proven ability to develop and sustain highly effective relationships with development partners and other stakeholders, adopting a highly inclusive and collaborative approach, building strong networks with the range of stakeholders;
• Staff supervisory experience and demonstrated excellent team management, leadership, communication and organizational skills;
• Demonstrable working knowledge of fiduciary operations in program/ project management (Financial Management; and Procurement);
• Experience in implementation and oversight of projects and programs and in the Monitoring and Evaluation of these programs;
• Excellent conceptual and analytical skills, including ability to think strategically and
• innovatively about the role of Geospatial digital technologies for socio-economic development and for transformation in other sectors of the economy;
• Strong business judgment and analytical decision making, analysing facts and data to support sound and logical decisions.
• Equipped with skills and experience in Software engineering sector is an added value

• General Competencies (management, leadership, communication, problem solving, monitoring, coordination, stakeholder management etc.)

• Strongly results-oriented and able to manage a complex and multi-faceted workload with minimal supervision;
• Ability to lead and work in multi-disciplinary teams;
• Excellent team building, interpersonal relationship management and negotiation skills, and ability to resolve conflicts constructively;
• Demonstrated ability to listen and integrate ideas from diverse views, create partnerships and collaborate with others, advocate and influence, resolve conflicts constructively, and work effectively across boundaries even without active guidance from the management;
• Ability to maintain strategic overview and manage priorities yet be detail-orientated within a dynamic, fast-paced environment;
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including report writing and presentation skills;
• Strong problem-solving abilities;
• Ability to make forward-looking and practical decisions and operate effectively in a results-oriented and implementation culture;
• Fluency in English is essential; Ability to communicate in French is added advantage
• Solid IT skills are an added value, including proficiency in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Should demonstrate a high degree of professionalism and integrity.

7. Working Arrangements

The Consultant will work under the overall supervision of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at RSA & to the Global Project Coordinator.

8. Duration of the Work

The project management activities will be spread out over a duration of one year, renewable twice based on performance and the availability of funds.

9. Duty Station

The duty station for the Project Manager consultant is at RSA premises for the entire duration of the contract. The Consultant will observe the working hours, Weekends and holidays as applicable to RSA staff.

10. Criteria for technical evaluation are:

The minimum technical score is 70%

Note:

1. Only consultants who have obtained 70 points or more will be subject to further consideration and will be ranked in descending order. The consultant ranked first on the list shall be invited to submit a financial proposal and participate in contract negotiations. The same process will continue with the next highest-ranked consultant if the negotiations fail to result in an acceptable contract.
2. Expression of Interest must not contain any financial information.

11. Submission process

The Expression of Interest No. 000002/C/NCB/2023/2024/RSA shall be submitted online via the Umucyo E-procurement System for Rwanda platform (www.umucyo.gov.rw) to the RSA account by May 13th, 2024, at 11:00 am. The opening of the submitted Expressions of Interest shall take place on the same day at 11:30 am Kigali time.

Done at Kigali on 21^st April 2024.

Sincerely,

Francine UWANYIRIGIRA

Chief Finance Officer