MSA to Conduct Organic Coffee Certification
TechnoServe
工作地點
Democratic Republic of the Congo
雇用形式
全職工
招聘資訊詳細
Opportunity Title:
MSA to Conduct Organic Coffee Certification
Short Description:
TechnoServe seeks a certification body that can provide technical services to conduct organic certification audits at coffee washing stations in various territories during harvest in the DRC.
Detailed Description
TechnoServe is seeking proposals from qualified consultants for the following scope of work. For information on timeline, application requirements, and evaluation criteria, please review the full Request for Proposals here. Please submit your proposal for this consultancy to buy+US+P0015508@tns.org by March 31, 2023.
Scope of Work: Organic Certification Audits
Date: February 20th, 2023
• Introduction to TechnoServe
TechnoServe works with enterprising people in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. We are an international non-profit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital, and markets. Our work is rooted in the idea that given the opportunity, hardworking men and women in even the poorest places can generate income, jobs and wealth for their families and communities. With more than four decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.
TechnoServe is widely recognized for developing and catalyzing high-impact market-led partnerships that expand smallholder market access. Operating in 30 countries, we work along the length of the agricultural value chain from smallholder farmers and farmer-owned cooperatives to the processing sector and multinational corporations.
• Background In January 2020, Nespresso and TechnoServe launched a pilot program in DRC, called Reviving Origins, to identify potential AAA coffee washing stations (CWSs) to supply high quality coffee to Nespresso. The program is now well complemented by Gorilla Coffee Alliance (GCA) and another TechnoServe project funded by Global Environmental Facility (GEF). A key goal of each of these projects is to support coffee washing stations in adhering to Nespresso’s requirements of
i) supplying high quality coffee
ii) paying farmers a price in line with best practice benchmarks
(targeting a doubling of the current farmer share of export price), and
iii) delivering traceable, organic certified coffee.
• Purpose of this Procurement In consultation with Nespresso, TechnoServe regularly identifies new potential organic coffee suppliers to meet future demand of organic certified coffees from the South Kivu region. As a part of activities under GCA, TechnoServe will support the washing stations to prepare Internal Control Standards for an organic certification audit. The purpose of this procurement is to identify an accredited certification body to conduct certification audits as requested. TechnoServe is seeking to establish an ongoing relationship with the accredited certification body, arranged as a Master Services Agreement (MSA).
The specific certification audits will be identified based on the convergence of opportunities in the coffee market, in accordance with the abilities of the coffee suppliers. These certification audits will include - but will not be limited to - EOS, NOP and BRA organic certification audits.
• Structure of the Agreement The relationship between TechnoServe and the selected accredited certification body will be structured as a Master Services Agreement (MSA). The MSA will establish all terms and conditions for future work, with no fees or deliverables at the time of signing the MSA. When certification services are needed, a Task Order (TO) will be issued under the terms of the MSA. The specific TO will establish the fees, deliverables, and deliverable due dates for the services requested.
• General Requirements & Scope of Work TechnoServe seeks a certification body that can provide technical services to conduct organic certification audits at coffee washing stations in various territories during harvest in the DRC.
The audits will be requested during one of the two seasons listed in section 7. The coffee washing stations should be audited for all requirements of the certification requested at the time of issuing the TO.
Below are examples of activities that will be the responsibility of the certification body:
• Provide technical updates throughout the process to ensure all parties understand organic certification processes and requirements and notify team if any regulatory changes are made during the contract;
• Provide each washing station on-site (in DRC) with an audit schedule to allow for preparation before each audit;
• Collect, manage, and analyze all data required for the organic certification;
• Analyze the results of the audits and develop a report on the certification findings and results and provide recommendations and corrective actions to potential audit findings.
• Work with DRC based coffee exporters on export licensing for shipments from the stations if the certification decision is positive.
• If the audit is successful, the certification body will verify and provide issuance of IC / TC (inspection and transaction certificates) Lots of 5 IC / TC.
Interested parties should develop a one-page proposal demonstrating their capabilities to perform the aforementioned services. In the proposal, the applicant should demonstrate the following:
• Current presence in the DRC. Please provide information on whether you have an auditor in DRC or whether the auditor would need to travel to DRC.
• If traveling regionally/internationally, please provide a COVID and/or security contingency plan to ensure that activities could continue given difficulties in physically accessing DRC.
• Have experience conducting accredited EOS/NOP/BRA certification audits.
• Ability to support DRC based coffee exporters on export licensing for shipments after certification.
• Ability to work with the cooperatives during audits provide documentation that waives the conversion period given DRC organic production system.
• Availability for auditing in DRC:
• Main season is March through July;
• Off season August-November.
• Cost Proposal Cost proposals should provide a fee table for all costs associated with conducting certification audits for cooperatives in DRC. The fee table must detail costs for EOS, NOP and BRA certification audits, and all other certification audits that the bidder is licensed to perform. The number of members in the cooperative will range. We request quotes for cooperatives with the following sizes:
• 300 members;
• 800 members; and,
• 2,000 members.
Please provide the cost of a combined EOS, NOP and BRA audit and certification.
Please include travel costs (by # of days/rate).
All costs must be in United States Dollars (USD). Quotes must be valid for 60 days from date of submission. If the certification body requires payment in any currency other than USD, this must be listed in the fee table, alongside an approximate fee in USD.
• Period of Performance The period of performance for any TO under this MSA is anticipated to be during one of the two coffee growing seasons in DRC. For this reason, the certification body must have major availability during both seasons:
• Main season is March through July;
• Off season August-November.
• Criteria for Selection The evaluation of each response to this RFP will be based on the requirements set out in the solicitation. At the sole discretion of TechnoServe, the top proposals may be selected for follow- up questions.
The following weighting and points will be assigned to the proposal for evaluation purposes:
Category Breakdown Total
Technical Proposal - 50%
• Experience conducting accredited
EOS/NOP/BRA certification audits
• Experience documenting derogation with cooperative
and local authorities in order to waiver the period of
conversion in DRC
• Proven experience working with DRC based coffee
exporters on export licensing for shipments after
certification.
Availability – 20%
• Presence in the DRC/ability to travel to the DRC
• Availability in the agreed upon time frames above starting
in 2023
Cost Proposal – 30%
TechnoServe will examine the proposals to determine whether they are complete, whether any
error has been made, whether the documents have been signed, and whether the proposals are generally in order.
The TechnoServe committee will reject a proposal determined as not substantially responsive. The bidder with the winning proposal will be notified in writing. Those who were not selected may or may not be notified, at the sole discretion of TechnoServe.
END OF SOW
