MARKUP Internationational Consultant - Rwanda National Coffee Quality Strategy Development

Result of ServiceInception Report – by 31 March 2026 • Leading in producing a joint report provided in conjunction with the National Consultant, detailing proposed methodology, work plan, and stakeholder engagement approach covering the four areas described above. • Incorporate input from ITC and NAEB for a final report. Work Locationhome-based Expected duration01.03.26 - 31.03.26 Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP II) is funded by the European Union (EU) and runs from 2023-2027. With a view to contribute to economic development in the East African Community (EAC) through increased sustainable intra-African and EU-Africa trade, MARKUP II has been designed to improve livelihoods, employment, export competitiveness for MSMEs and economic growth in Africa through supporting the development and strengthening of key export-oriented priority value chains with high potential. MARKUP II aims at strengthening MSMEs’ market access and export competitiveness by enhancing value addition and diversification and by promoting business to the regional and international markets. The programme will cover activities in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda through the provisions of partnerships with national, regional and international institutions. To continue strengthening Rwanda’s coffee quality and achieve more consistent performance at internationally competitive levels — thereby bolstering confidence among national and global stakeholders (eg buyers and consumers) — NAEB aims to establish a robust quality management framework that improves operational staffing, technical competence, and systematic quality assessment in coffee quality control points such as: • Coffee washing stations, • dry mills, storage and export warehouses • roasting, grinding and packing facilities • private coffee quality training centres (quality controllers, roasters, cuppers, baristas) • processor and exporter quality control laboratories, • national public quality control laboratories. Drawing from experience and leveraging existing initiatives, NAEB, with support from the International Trade Centre (ITC) under the EU-EAC MARKUP programme, will engage consultants to develop a comprehensive National Coffee Quality Strategy. This strategy will provide clear guidance and actionable frameworks to the public and private sector on: • Oversight structures: Coordination mechanisms and information flows across the value chain. • Quality management: Quality control protocols, procedures, and traceability system frameworks for processors, exporters, roasters and coffee shops. • Skills and Capacities: Guidance frameworks on staffing structures, roles, training and qualification standards and competence development pathways for personnel working in roles related to quality control and concerning aspects of quality control, coffee grading, sensory analysis, standards compliance and certification, and traceability. • Regulations, licencing and standards: national quality standards and alignment with international market requirements, certification systems and regulatory/licensing frameworks The approach will combine to assess global and local best practices incorporating input from local stakeholders, to ensure a strategy is well grounded to drive the improvement of Rwanda’s coffee quality infrastructure and support consistent delivery of specialty coffee that meets demanding export and domestic market expectations. There are four target segments in the national quality management structure as outlined below: 1. National Quality Oversight, Certification and Regulatory Services Within Rwanda’s coffee sector, NAEB plays a central role in safeguarding national coffee quality by drafting, being the repository for and enforcing regulations, minimum standards, and export requirements, and by providing quality oversight through institutional mechanisms that include enforcing national coffee quality standards and export certification, coordinating public and private actors in quality control, operating digital traceability and sampling systems, issuing certificates of origin and compliance, and monitoring enforcement and compliance against both domestic regulations and key international market requirements. Processors, exporters, and roasters, in parallel, implement quality control processes that remain essential for day-to-day quality management, consistency, and continuous improvement across the value chain. Review oversight structures, standards certification and regulatory frameworks. A review will examine existing institutional arrangements for coffee quality control and assurance, alongside an assessment of the respective roles and responsibilities of public and private actors involved in coffee quality oversight. It will also analyse coordination mechanisms and information flows across the coffee value chain. In addition, the assignment will review national coffee quality standards, certification systems, and regulatory instruments, assess their alignment with international standards and market requirements, and identify gaps in enforcement, monitoring, and compliance mechanisms Benchmarking To ensure effectiveness and international relevance, NAEB’s quality control and assurance systems will be benchmarked against those of comparable coffee authorities and institutions in leading and comparable coffee-producing countries. Such benchmarking may include comparisons of quality protocols, laboratory practices, training frameworks, and sensory evaluation systems, drawing on best international practices. This would support continuous improvement, strengthen institutional credibility, and position Rwanda’s coffee quality governance in line with global expectations. In this regard, it is worth noting the ongoing shift within Specialty Coffee Association around the definition of “specialty.” Advisory and training Beyond its regulatory and assurance functions, NAEB also has the potential to act as a technical reference and support institution for the private sector by providing advisory services, guidance, and targeted training on coffee quality control practices. By strengthening alignment between national quality requirements and enterprise-level quality systems, NAEB can help improve overall sector performance, support skills development, and reinforce a shared understanding of quality expectations, while maintaining its core role in standard-setting and market confidence building. The consultants will assess the private sector’s interest and receptiveness to expanded advisory and training services from NAEB, evaluate institutional capacity, and resources to deliver such services effectively, and identify examples of comparable coffee institutions globally that provide similar technical support to inform practical recommendations and potential models for adaptation in Rwanda. Segment Objectives: • Review NAEB’s existing coffee quality control and assurance systems, including oversight structures, standards certification processes, and regulatory frameworks. • Assess institutional roles and responsibilities of public and private actors involved in coffee quality oversight, as well as coordination mechanisms and information flows across the coffee value chain • Identify gaps and constraints in enforcement, monitoring, and compliance systems related to national coffee quality standards and export requirements. • Benchmark NAEB’s quality standards, laboratory practices, training frameworks, and sensory evaluation systems against those of leading and comparable coffee-producing countries. • Assess the relevance and operational feasibility of evolving international quality frameworks, including the Specialty Coffee Association’s CVA approach, for Rwanda’s coffee sector. • Provide recommendations on the potential development of a Rwanda-specific specialty or premium coffee grade aligned with national market positioning, industry needs, and institutional capacity. • Evaluate the private sector’s interest in and demand for advisory and training support from NAEB, and assess institutional capacity, and resources to effectively deliver such services. • Propose practical and institutionally feasible options for advisory and training support that would strengthen alignment between national standards and private sector quality practices, drawing on examples from comparable coffee institutions globally. 2. Processing and Export Processor and Exporter Quality Control Systems and Skills Rwanda being a comparatively small exporter can find competitiveness on international markets through high quality coffee, capturing high value market segments – but such buyers expect consistency of quality to fell assured to buy consistently over the long term and to offer higher prices. Export competitiveness hinges on consistency, not peak scores: International buyers may celebrate high scores, but what drives repeat contracts and premiums is predictability at a defined quality level consistently delivered. To achieve this, strong quality management within the coffee supply chain is essential. The function of quality controllers at procurement, washing station management, dry milling and export control levels are all very critical to measure and manage quality. These quality controllers work in parallel to processing managers, traders and business managers providing information for making decisions on adjusting practices to improve and optimise quality and to make sure international buyers are receiving contracted quality, and to overall enhance the image of Rwanda coffee, positioning the country as a premium supply of high-quality coffee, bringing in higher revenues. It is imperative to not conflate certification as a Q Grader (for example) with a quality control system or the ability to manage quality. While some of these QCs’ may have been trained on basic or certified SCA/CQI courses of green coffee and sensory skills or to the Q grader level – these courses focus on quality assessment skills but do not train on the essential element coffee quality control management – that is, establishing, managing and implementing a system of quality management. plainly speaking just because someone is a Q Grader, while they have good sensory analysis skills, it does not mean they know how to manage quality. Sensory assessment skills are tools to quality management but are not on themselves a quality management system. Segment Objectives Mapping of best practices (national and international) of quality control systems for processors and exporters in terms of the: • Systems and procedures in place to support understanding of quality dynamics and subsequent decision making to ensure NAEB quality thresholds are enhanced to meet specific buyer requests. • QC lab minimum equipment, Sampling protocols, Lot quality parameters database and Record keeping systems, processing and blending authorisation protocols etc • Staffing training and qualifications: What training should QC staff have as a minimum on quality management and on quality assessment 3. Domestic Consumption Coffee roasters, coffee baristas and café staff and managers The domestic and regional market for coffee while comparatively small against the export market, is a growing market that provides many opportunities and benefits. As a complementary market to exports, it can provide a more uniform market outlet at less risk than the export market and provide shorter payment terms. In addition, the segment of roasters and cafes offers significant entrepreneurial and employment opportunities especially for the youth. The interface to promote coffee drinking amongst the Rwanda public especially for the purchase of higher quality, higher value coffee, are the café managers, baristas and roaster, the ones interacting everyday with consumers and can promote coffee drinking. It is essential therefore these people have the skills in coffee knowledge, roasting coffee, and preparing and serving coffee. Segment Objectives: Mapping of national roasters and cafes and interview staff to guide recommendations on protocols and training to promote quality coffee on the domestic market. Specifically to recommended staff skills qualifications levels for: • Roasters: roast profiles for target segments (eg, tourists, cafes, hotels) and guidance on attaining and managing quality (roasting time, cupping etc) • Cafes, hotels: barista, brewing and similar 4. Training centres There are a number of independent training centres or academies in Rwanda offering skills training on coffee assessment, roasting and barista type courses. Some certified trainers offer SCA or CQI courses with internationally recognised certificates upon completion, but most training centres are offering courses using their own curricula without a recognised certificate of completion. There appears there are no courses on quality management or quality control. While these centres contribute to the sills within the Rwanda coffee sector affecting overall quality and empowering people to gain employment opportunities, fragmented and unregulated curricula and potentially poor quality of training can have a negative impact. Segment Objectives: Assess the number of training centres, their course offerings, the knowledge of the trainers and business models: • Assess national institutional capacity, and resources for regulation and licencing. • Mapping of training providers (private business offering training - academies/training centres), their target audience, types of training, fees charged, frequency of training, number of students, accreditation/licencing if any (eg, SCA) • Mapping of accredited/authorised trainers in Rwanda on SCA/CQI modules, • Evaluation of training content provided particularly by academies/training centres eg what is content based on and what qualifications of trainers. , • Recommend thresholds of content and trainer skills for courses offered for general quality control, processing, sensory skills, roasting, café. • Recommend a licensing or guidance framework for academies/training centres Assignment – Rwanda National Coffee Quality Strategy Development Mode of work The approach will combine to assess global and local best practices incorporating input from local stakeholders, to ensure a strategy is well grounded to drive the improvement of Rwanda’s coffee quality infrastructure and support consistent delivery of specialty coffee that meets demanding export and domestic market expectations. • The International consultant will be hired under ITC MARKUP against TORs jointly developed by NAEB and ITC. • Two consultants will be hired, one National and one International, to work as team in performing the work and producing the deliverables: the National consultant will primarily conduct interviews, interact with national stakeholders, and contextualise for Rwanda industry characteristics. The International consultant will lead the work providing global benchmarking. • Consultants will be under supervision of and report to the ITC MARKUP hiring manager and interact with the NAEB focal points. • The Terms of Reference present here are a guiding reference: contracting for the consultants will be on an individual basis with contracts done in sequential basis aligning overall with the reference (see under Deliverables) and depending on quality of work. • An initial meeting between the consultants, NAEB and ITC to discuss the scope of work, mode of work, deliverables and timelines will be conducted. • It is envisaged the consultants will interview a determined number of people in the public and private sectors of Rwanda coffee stakeholders to get an overview of perceptions of existing gaps and potential opportunities for improvement. • The consultants will study and include international best practices of policy and strategy for quality management benchmarking current Rwanda structures • It is also envisaged that a number of international coffee buyers are interviewed for their perceptions of current gaps and opportunities of improvement of Rwanda coffee quality management to supplement national perceptions • The output will be a draft recommendation for further public and private sector engagement with a subsequent final National Coffee Quality Strategy (see Expected Deliverables). • There are four target segments in the national quality management structure as outlined in the background Copyright Clause: The consultant has to ensure that she has obtained the necessary permissions with regard to intellectual property rights required to perform her services under this consultancy contract and for the subsequent dissemination by ITC in any form. Documentary proof is to be submitted to ITC. Should any license fee be due for the use of copyrighted materials of third parties, the consultant shall request the prior written permission from ITC. ITC champions workforce diversity, inclusion, gender equality and gender parity and considers all qualified persons - of all genders - equally, including those with disabilities, without discrimination or prejudice of any kind. Qualifications/special skillsPreferably a master’s degree in agriculture, agribusiness, food science and quality management Interested consultants are invited to submit a motivation letter and CV to ITC, which will evaluate applications and select a candidate in coordination with NAEB. Qualifications required are: • An international consultant with 8-10 years’ experience in global coffee quality management, certifications systems and connections with regulatory institutions and coffee buyers. • experience in institutional assessments and strategy development and working with government institutions and value chain stakeholders. • Experience within roles of working in or managing coffee processing, exporting, roasting or training business • Demonstrated experience in coffee quality control and in quality related training. • Preferably have coffee quality assessment related certifications (SCA, CQI) • Excellent analytical, report writing, and communication skills. LanguagesNot available. Additional InformationNot available. No FeeTHE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.