ToR Technical Assistant to support the implementation of the regional certification scheme for solar PV installers as well as the development of regional RE standards

Background

For successful Solar Photovoltaic (PV) installations and projects, there is a need for quality assurance at various levels. This includes quality assurance of equipment e.g. through the establishment and enforcement of product standards. However, high-quality products will only provide the desired services if renewable energy systems are designed, installed and maintained by highly qualified individuals. As such, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) in cooperation with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and with support from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and other partners is in the process of establishing a Regional Certification Scheme (RCS) for sustainable energy skills to  improves quality of solar PV Installations and to accelerate the deployment of solar PV in the ECOWAS region.

In the first phase, this scheme will focus on installers of off-grid solar PV systems. Installers who successfully pass an exam administered by ECREEE as the Regional Certification Body (RCB) in collaboration with national partner institutions in the participating countries will be awarded a certificate. This exam will assess whether the person taking the exam has all the skills described in the Job Task Analysis (JTA) for Off-Grid Solar PV Installers which has been developed in a participatory process involving a large number of industry practitioners and solar PV training experts from all ECOWAS member states in 2015. Currently, ECREEE has preselected 21 training institutions (TI) from eight countries (Cabo Verde, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone) that will participate in the pilot phase. In addition, ECREEE has formed a Technical Committee with representatives of the 15 ECOWAS member states to serve as an advisory group to the RCB. The TC will be consulted at key stages of the implementation and further development of the RCS.

In addition, ECREEE in cooperation with GIZ is also planning to develop regional standards for selected RE products and components such as solar PV modules.

Objective

The objective of the consultancy is to provide support to ECREEE and its partners a) in designing and implementing activities for the pilot phase as well as for the further development of the RCS and b) in developing regional standards for RE products and components.

Activities

Under the supervision of the manager of ECREEE’s RE and EE Capacity Building and Certification Programme and of the ECREEE officer in charge of RE standards, the Consultant will implement the following activities:

Devlopment of regional RE standards

• Work with the ECREEE and GIZ team to take stock of the existing national RE product standards and analyse the frameworks for their enforcement (incl. test labs)
• Work with the ECREEE and GIZ team to select the products/components for which regional standards will be developed
• Work with the ECREEE and GIZ team as well as with the international consultants who may be hired for this purpose to develop the draft regional standards, present them to stakeholders from the ECOWAS region (standardization bodies, stakeholders from the RE sector) and incorporate their input
• Work with the ECREEE and GIZ team to make sure the draft regional standards are discussed and approved by the relevant committees of the ECOWAS Standards Harmonization Model (ECOSHAM) and later by the relevant political instances (e.g. Ministries in charge of quality)
• Participate in coordination meetings, conference calls and workshops with ECREEE staff and other institutions involved in the development and enforcement of standards and labels (e.g. GIZ, UNIDO, PTB etc.) as well as their consultants.

RCS - coordination

• Participate in coordination meetings, conference calls and workshops with staff and consultants from ECREEE and other institutions involved in the RCS (e.g. IRENA, GIZ, and UEMOA),
• Liaise with IRENA Consultants who will also support  in the further development of the RCS and in piloting it in the eight countries mentioned above.
• Liaise with national institutions (e.g. Ministries in charge of TVET, CERMI) as well as existing and potential partners that are implementing similar or complementary activities (e.g. bilateral GIZ projects, LuxDevelopment).

RCS - cooperation with partner training institutions

The consultant will work together with the selected partner training institutions to adopt and use the validated rules for the operation of the RCS.

• Agree with TI on the modalities of their cooperation with ECREEE and draft MoUs based on the validated rules for the operation of the RCS.
• Present the MoUs to all the 21 selected TI and follow up on the signing of the MoUs by ECREEE and the TIs.

RCS - cooperation with the Technical Committee

The consultant will assist ECREEE to engage the Technical Committee to support the operation of the RCS:

• Interact with all TC members via email and teleconference regarding the operation of the Scheme and get them committed to the voluntary activities listed in the TOR (approx. in 3-month intervals).
• Assist ECREEE to prepare a workshop meeting with TC for the validation of the Guidelines for the Scheme.
• Keep the TC members informed about progress in the operationalization and further development of the RCS.

RCS - cooperation with examination institutions

The consultant will work together with all stakeholders and partner institutions that will play the role of examination institution (EI).

• Assist ECREEE in selecting national partner institutions that will administer the exams on behalf of ECREEE.
• Agree with these partner institutions on the modalities of their cooperation with ECREEE and prepare draft MoUs based on the validated guidelines.
• Assist ECREEE in getting MoUs signed with all EI.
• Assist ECREEE and the EI in organizing the first round of exams in the pilot countries.

RCS - finalization of certification guidelines and development of examination procedure and materials

The consultant will support ECREEE in finalizing the certification guidelines and in developing the examination procedure as well as the examination materials, which will be based on the JTA.

• Assist ECREEE in finalizing the draft certification guidelines.
• Assist ECREEE in developing the examination procedures as well as a set of examination materials for theoretical and practical exams in all three ECOWAS languages.

RCS - country strategies

The consultant will assist ECREEE in developing strategies for the implementation and roll-out of the RCS during the first 5 years (incl. roll-out to institutions not participating in the pilot phase) in all member states. He or she will provide comments on the two draft strategies to be developed by the IRENA consultants and assist ECREEE in developing the strategies for the remaining member states.

RCS - Training of Trainers

Coordinate with the LuxDevelopment and the Centro de energias renováveis e manutenção industrial (CERMI) to organize training of trainers for the staff of the participating TIs.

RCS - knowledge management and communication

The consultant shall assist ECREEE to properly document all relevant information about the Scheme: as well as the examination and administration processes of the Scheme.

• Assist ECREEE in documenting how the Scheme has been developed
• Assist ECREEE in maintaining a database of key contacts and documents on the RCS, which will cover all participating institutions, the individuals who participated in the exams, the certified installers, legal and regulatory frameworks in the member states etc.
• Assist ECREEEE in publishing details of RCS on its website

Deliverables

1. ToR for a consultancy assignment that will combine a stocktaking and market analysis and the development of regional RE product/component standards
2. Comments on draft reports from the consultants working on regional RE product/component standards
3. Revised Certification Guidelines
4. Country Strategy for all ECOWAS member states
5. Report about the workshop with the Technical Committee
6. Signed MoUs with the participating TIs
7. Sign MOUs with selected EIs
8. Examination procedures and contents in the three regional languages (English, French and Portuguese).
9. Reports about the pilot examinations in the two first countries
10. List of documents provided to ECREEE for storage in ECREEE’s internal document database.
11. Final report incl. a summary of all the above-mentioned activities as well as lessons learned and recommendations for future activities.

Profile of Consultant

1. Citizen of one of the ECOWAS member states
2. At least 5 years relevant work experience in West Africa
3. Experience with solar PV training and examination as well as RE product standards
4. Knowledge of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector as well as the institutions in charge of developing and enforcing RE standards in at least one ECOWAS member state
5. Experience with national and/or regional skills certification schemes
6. Fluency in English and French; Portuguese skills would be an asset
7. Network of relevant contacts in the ECOWAS region.

Timeline

1.3.2018 – 15.12.2018 (10.5 person months)

Required documents

The application should include the following documents:

• A motivation letter including a phone number and email address
• An updated CV with a picture (no more than 4 pages)
• Copies of relevant diplomas (university degrees, etc.)
• A short technical proposal including the following chapters: interpretation of objectives, proposed methodology, proposed workplan.
• The financial proposal should indicate the daily/monthly rate and the cost for travelling to/from Praia at the beginning and at the end of the assignment, if applicable. Other travel costs will be covered by ECREEE outside of this contract.

Submission of proposals

Interested candidates should send their technical and financial offer to ECREEE by email on or before February 17^th, 2018 using the following address: Tender@ecreee.org. The individual email size should not exceed 10 MB.