Consultancy- Project Data Ecosystem Expert

Introduction and Context

The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is a specialized technical office of the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE) of the African Union Commission. AU-IBAR provides leadership and integrated support for the sustainable development and utilization of animal resources in Africa, with the aim of strengthening food and nutrition security, livelihoods, trade, investment and prosperity in African Union Member States.
Under this mandate, AU-IBAR implements the Africa Pastoral Markets Development (APMD) Platform, a continental initiative designed to accelerate the integration of pastoral producers and operators into formal, structured and high-value livestock markets. APMD focuses delivery on two prioritized pastoral market pathways: (i) linking pastoralists to export-grade meat value chains; and (ii) linking pastoralists to enhanced regional livestock trade corridors, with a specific Sahel-to-Nigeria corridor focus.
APMD organizes pathway delivery through a common Evidence-to-Adoption process: Evidence Assessment, Pathways Validation, Decision Materials, Interest Generation and Adoption Support. These pathway stages are reinforced by Continental Pathways Mobilization, which uses AU-IBAR's continental mandate and convening role to engage Member States, Regional Economic Communities, private-sector actors, investors, financial institutions, technical partners and other stakeholders around validated market pathways and defined adoption or investment decisions.
The APMD Results Framework seeks to achieve three outcomes: (1) increased access of pastoral producers and operators to formal, structured and high-value livestock markets; (2) increased private-sector investment and commercial activity in pastoral livestock markets; and (3) increased adoption of proven pastoral market approaches by Member States and continental institutions. By February 2028, APMD aims to support the integration of at least 25 pastoral producers/operators into structured market channels, identify and actively advance a qualified pathway-linked investment pipeline of at least US$500 million, and support adoption or application of validated pastoral market approaches by at least three Member States or continental institutions.

Purpose of the Assignment

Provide the data integrity, evidence-quality, traceability and pathway information architecture required for credible Evidence Assessment, validation, investment decision-making and adoption of the two prioritized pastoral market pathways. The role is the technical owner of pathway data requirements and the data layer of the pastoral market reference function, but is not the owner of the overall Evidence Assessment cycle or the APMD performance dashboard.

APMD Results Accountability

The position contributes to the approved APMD Results Framework as follows:

Result	Approved APMD Result	Role	Required Contribution
Outcome 1	Increased access of pastoral producers and operators to formal, structured and high-value livestock markets.	Enabling contributor	Ensure pathway market-integration claims and performance evidence are based on defensible data.
Outcome 2	Increased private-sector investment and commercial activity in pastoral livestock markets.	Enabling contributor	Strengthen investor confidence and qualification of the US$500M+ pipeline through credible market, traceability and performance data.
output 1.1	PMDs and corridor models studied with collated evidence and learnings using a widely accepted market-evidence due-diligence framework.	Technical lead-data integrity	Define minimum data requirements; verify provenance, completeness, comparability and limitations; lead data-related evidence-gap integrity.
Output 1.2	Priority pathways successfully validated for packaging and adoption by a well constituted independent validation panel.	Technical Contributor	Provide defensible data and traceability evidence for validation questions and disclose material data gaps.
Output 2.1	Credible pastoral market reference function established for selected pathways, evidenced by investor-facing reports, decision products and a functioning information portal.	Technical lead - data layer	Own data architecture, source standards, update rules, metadata, quality assurance and traceability of statistics; KM&A owns decision-facing content and use.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Function/ Stage	Lead Responsibility	Required Collaboration/ Handoff
Pathway data requirements - technical lead	Define the minimum quantitative and traceability evidence required for the two pathways, including relevant volumes, prices, weights, trade flows, animal movements, margins, producer/operator participation and performance data.	Work with Private Sector on commercial variables; Policy on SPS/movement requirements; external Evidence Assessment Team on collection/analysis; KM&A on evidence synthesis.
Evidence integrity - technical lead	Verify data provenance, definitions, denominators, comparability, completeness, triangulation, source credibility and limitations; maintain clear caveats where data are incomplete.	Provide quality-assurance inputs to the external Evidence Assessment Team and KM&A.
Evidence-gap management - domain lead	Own the technical integrity and closure status of data-related evidence gaps; identify must-have versus nice-to-have data for validation.	KM&A remains accountable for the consolidated Evidence Gap Log and evidence-cycle readiness.
Pathways Validation - technical contributor	Provide data/traceability evidence, respond to technical questions and identify gaps that materially affect pathway confidence.	Work with validation process owner, M&E, KM&A and other domain leads.
Decision Materials - evidence QA	Verify quantitative claims, tables, charts, statistics and caveats used in investor, government, REC and adoption materials.	KM&A remains accountable for final decision materials.
Pastoral Market Reference Function - technical data owner	Design and maintain the pathway data layer: source protocols, data model, metadata, update schedules, quality controls and traceability.	Work with KM&A on investor-facing content and curation; Private Sector/Policy on domain content; M&E on results definitions.
Continental Pathways Mobilization	Provide credible pathway intelligence for APMF, investor engagement, Member State dialogue and continental mobilisation, and identify data/traceability constraints requiring collective action.	Work with KM&A on presentation/use; Private Sector and Policy on actor-specific interpretation.

Other field-related responsibilities. Undertake other responsibilities within the professional scope of the assignment, and directly relevant to approved APMD pathways, results, governance or continental mobilization, as may be assigned by the APMD Project Coordinator and the Director of AU-IBAR.

Cross-Functional and Country Interfaces

The position shall collaborate through defined functional interfaces; collaboration does not create parallel reporting lines.

Interface	Required Interaction
Kenya Country Adoption Lead	Secure operator/PMD datasets and verify source, definitions and access conditions relevant to the export-grade meat pathway.
Nigeria Country Adoption Lead	Identify and obtain corridor trade-flow, market, movement, price and traceability evidence and maintain a clear source/gap map for the Sahel-to-Nigeria corridor.

Governance and Continental Pathways Mobilization

All APMD personnel operate as one integrated delivery team. Technical functions organize expertise; the prioritized pathways organize delivery; and the Results Framework defines success. The position is therefore expected to work through the APMD Platform Secretariat, contribute to the monthly Project Delivery Committee, provide technical and performance inputs for the Project Steering Committee, and support the African Pastoral Markets Forum (APMF) and other approved continental pathway-mobilization moments.

1. Provide data-quality, source and traceability issues to the Project Delivery Committee where they affect pathway milestones or claims.
2. Provide the Project Coordinator with evidence-quality and pathway-data inputs for Project Steering Committee consideration; attend when requested.
3. At APMF, provide validated pathway intelligence and data products that support specific investment, policy or adoption decisions rather than stand-alone data showcases.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Timing	Required Deliverable
Immediate /Q4 2026	Minimum pathway data/evidence standard; source-provenance register; export pathway data-quality assessment; corridor evidence-source map; prioritized data-gap log; reference-function data requirements note.
Monthly	Updated pathway data-gap and source-quality status with unresolved material gaps escalated.
Quartely	Data/evidence assurance note for Results Framework reporting and pathway decision materials.
As Required	Validated datasets, traceability/data-system requirements and quantitative QA for validation, investment and adoption products.

Operating Boundaries

1. Shall not operate a stand-alone continental livestock-data agenda unless it directly unlocks an approved pathway result.
2. Shall not make commercial, policy or adoption conclusions solely on the basis of data without the relevant domain lead.
3. All activities must be linked to an approved APMD pathway, Results Framework output, continental mobilisation requirement or governance obligation.

Duty Station

AU-IBAR offices in Nairobi, Kenya, with travel on specific assignments approved by AU-IBAR Management.

Duration

The duration of this assignment is 6 months.  Any renewal is subject to availability of funds, continued need for the assignment and satisfactory performance. 

Remuneration

The remuneration for this Consultancy shall be an all-inclusive monthly fee equivalent to P2 Step 5 on the AUC Salary Scale and shall not exceed US$ 5,303 per month. The expert will be responsible for his/her medical and travel insurance cover for the duration of the consultancy. Expenses for travel on official missions will be covered separately by AU-IBAR in accordance with the applicable African Union Commission rules and regulations. 

Supervision and Reporting

The Consultant shall work under the direct supervision of the APMD Project Coordinator and under the overall supervision of the Director of AU-IBAR. The Consultant shall operate as part of the integrated APMD delivery team and maintain the functional relationships required by the approved workplan and Results Framework.

Requirements

Academic and Professional Qualifications

Minimum of Master's degree in Statistics, Data Science, Information Systems, Economics, Agricultural Economics, Computer Science, Monitoring/Data Management or a closely related field. A relevant postgraduate degree or data-management certification is an advantage.

General Experience

Minimum seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in data systems, statistics, market information, data governance, traceability, analytics or evidence management, preferably in livestock, agriculture or trade.

Specific / Relevant Experience

1. Demonstrated experience in designing, managing or strengthening data architectures, market information systems or evidence systems relevant to pastoral livestock markets and value chains. 
2. Demonstrated experience in analysing pastoral livestock, market, trade and investment data, including prices, volumes, animal movements, market flows, producer/operator participation and other indicators relevant to formal market integration. 
3. Practical experience in data governance, traceability, data-quality assurance, source verification and management of data limitations in livestock, pastoral or cross-border market systems. 
4. Experience in reviewing evidence, identifying material data gaps and determining the additional evidence required to support pathway assessment, validation, investment decisions and adoption. 
5. Experience developing or managing information portals, market-intelligence products, dashboards or analytical tools that support investment, policy or market decisions in pastoral livestock systems. 
6. Demonstrated experience working at continental and regional levels, including with African Union institutions, Regional Economic Communities and Member States, on pastoral livestock, regional trade, market information or related data initiatives. 
7. Experience coordinating data and evidence partnerships with research institutions, development partners, private-sector actors, Member States and regional organisations relevant to pastoral markets.

Skills and Competencies

The successful candidate should demonstrate strong quantitative and analytical judgement and the ability to assess the quality, provenance, comparability and limitations of evidence relating to pastoral market pathways. The candidate should have practical skills in data-system design, traceability and quality assurance, and be able to translate data into credible market and investment intelligence. Strong coordination and partnership-management skills are required, together with the ability to work effectively with commercial, policy, knowledge-management and monitoring functions across AU, REC and Member State processes.

Language

Proficiency in one African Union working language is required. Working knowledge of an additional AU working language is an advantage. English proficiency sufficient for technical drafting, reporting and stakeholder engagement is required where English is the working language of the assignment.

Performance Assessment

Performance shall be assessed against agreed deliverables and due dates; contribution to assigned APMD outputs and indicators; quality and usefulness of technical work; cross-functional delivery and handoffs; timely action closure and risk escalation; and compliance with the APMD operating model, governance requirements and approved workplan.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated on the basis of relevant technical qualifications, experience and competence. The weighting below retains the established AU-IBAR evaluation structure while making the role-specific experience criterion decisive.

Criterion	Assessment Basis	Score (%)
Academic and professional qualifications	Relevance of academic and professional preparation to the assignment	15
General professional experience	Depth of relevant professional experience, including multidisciplinary and institutional delivery	20
Specific experience relevant to the assignment	Role-specific experience, scored using the subcriteria below	40
Technical, analytical and delivery competencies	Judgement, analytical ability, execution discipline, stakeholder management, drafting and cross-functional delivery	20
Language	Required AU working-language capability and relevant additional language capacity	5
Total		100

Gender Mainstreaming

The African Union Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Submission of the application.

The deadline for submission of proposals is 12th October 2026, 23.45 hours, Nairobi Local Time.

Applications should be submitted through email to: procurement@au-ibar.org with a copy to emmah.boro@au-ibar.org and should include the title “APMD Project Data Ecosystem Expert” in the subject of the email

Applications should include the following:

a)    A Letter of Interest highlighting competence and suitability for the consultancy;
b)    Detailed curriculum vitae;
c)    Copies of academic and professional qualifications;
d)    Completed declaration on exclusion criteria in the format attached;
e)    Copies of identification documents.

A Personal Data Protection and Privacy Statement is attached as information for the applicants.