Mangrove Specialist - Technical Consultancy
About the Employer
Job Description
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Mangrove Specialist - Technical Consultancy
12-month consultancy to strengthen research, technical quality, proposal development and donor engagement for ChildFund Sri Lanka's mangrove portfolio.
1. Background and Rationale
ChildFund Sri Lanka's Building Sustainability framework positions Building Sustainability as a core result area, with specific attention to climate action, adaptation and environmental care. Mangrove restoration and conservation sit within this result area and contribute to climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, safer environments for children and youth, sustainable livelihoods and community stewardship.
ChildFund Sri Lanka is developing and positioning a community-based mangrove ecosystem restoration and conservation portfolio, including the Mangrove Guardian initiative in Jaffna and Batticaloa. The reference proposal identifies potential restoration locations in Arali Thurai - Chanthalak, Jaffna and Mullaitivu North, Batticaloa, and frames the intervention as a science-driven, community-centered and scalable pilot model. ChildFund Sri Lanka is currently planning for a larger-scale program in the Northern, Eastern and North-East provinces.
The initiative requires strong technical leadership to ensure that restoration design, research, donor proposals, technical inputs and monitoring are scientifically sound, donor-aligned and practically useful. ChildFund Sri Lanka therefore seeks a highly professional Mangrove Specialist with exceptional technical skills and proven ability to translate science into action for program design and donor reporting.
2. Purpose of the Consultancy
The purpose of this consultancy is to provide high-level technical support to ChildFund Sri Lanka's mangrove restoration, conservation and climate-resilience work. This includes technical quality assurance, guidance for proposal development, donor commenting and follow-up, field preparation, and knowledge management related to mangrove restoration and conservation.
3. Overall Objective
To ensure that ChildFund Sri Lanka has technically robust, evidence-based and donor-ready mangrove restoration and conservation products, supported by sound ecological analysis, practical field guidance, quality assurance and timely donor response capacity.
4. Specific Objectives
- Generate and synthesize technical evidence, good practices and lessons on mangrove restoration, conservation, community stewardship and nature-based solutions.
- Provide high-quality technical inputs to proposals, concept notes, budgets, logframes, donor presentations, technical reviews and donor responses.
- Review and strengthen project design to ensure robust restoration locations, ecological relevance, site suitability and long-term sustainability.
- Support ChildFund Sri Lanka in responding to donor queries, technical comments and follow-up requests in a timely and credible manner.
- Contribute to monitoring, research, learning, documentation and technical positioning of ChildFund Sri Lanka's mangrove portfolio.
- Build capacity of ChildFund and partner teams on practical mangrove restoration principles, proposal quality and technical monitoring.
5. Scope of Work
The consultant will perform tasks under the following scope:
- 5.1 Technical research and good-practice documentation
- Review national, regional and global good practices on mangrove restoration, conservation, ecological monitoring and nature-based solutions.
- Compile technical evidence, case studies and guidance on mangrove species selection, site assessment and restoration methodologies.
- Prepare concise, field-ready guidance for program staff and partners.
- 5.2 Proposal development and resource mobilization support
- Provide technical inputs to proposals, concept notes, budgets, logframes and donor communications.
- Support proposal development with evidence-based arguments, credible assumptions and robust monitoring plans.
- 5.3 Donor comment follow-up and technical backstopping
- Address donor technical comments in a timely and professional manner.
- Coordinate with program teams to incorporate feedback and produce revised drafts.
- 5.4 Project design, field assessment and quality assurance
- Provide oversight and quality assurance for mangrove project designs, including site selection, hydrology considerations and species suitability.
- Assist in field assessments, data collection and reporting templates.
- 5.5 Capacity strengthening
- Conduct practical capacity-building sessions for ChildFund and partner staff on mangrove ecology, restoration principles, technical background, site assessment and monitoring.
- Develop tools, checklists and templates that can be reused by program, MEL and partner teams.
- Provide coaching to relevant staff during proposal development, donor engagement and technical review processes.
- Provide training and mentorship to field teams on mangrove restoration and monitoring activities.
6. Key Deliverables and Performance Standards
- Deliverable 1: Inception report with methodology and workplan. Indicative timing: Month 1. Minimum performance standard: Clear alignment with ChildFund Sri Lanka's program strategy and donor expectations.
- Deliverable 2: Technical guidance notes and field-ready tools on mangrove restoration. Indicative timing: Month 2–4. Minimum performance standard: Practical, scientifically robust and user-friendly.
- Deliverable 3: Proposals, concept notes, budgets and logframes with technical inputs. Indicative timing: Ongoing across contract. Minimum performance standard: High-quality, donor-ready materials.
- Deliverable 4: Donor comment responses and revised proposals. Indicative timing: As required. Minimum performance standard: Timely and credible management of feedback.
- Deliverable 5: Capacity-building materials and training sessions. Indicative timing: Months 5–12. Minimum performance standard: Active participation and measurable improvement in staff readiness.
7. Required Qualifications and Experience
7.1 Essential qualifications
- Advanced university degree in mangrove ecology, coastal/marine ecology, environmental science, forestry, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, climate adaptation or closely related discipline.
- Minimum of 6 years of relevant professional experience, including mangrove restoration, conservation and nature-based solutions.
- Proven expertise in mangrove restoration design, species selection, hydrology-related considerations and monitoring approaches; experience with field-based research and data analysis.
- Strong written and oral communication skills, experience in proposal development and donor reporting; ability to translate scientific information into actionable guidance.
- Experience working with international donors and NGOs; track record of delivering high-quality outputs on time.
- Fluency in English; knowledge of Tamil and/or Sinhalese is an added advantage.
7.2 Desired experience
- Experience supporting proposal development and donor engagement for mangrove restoration and coastal conservation projects.
- Experience in program design, monitoring and evaluation, data analysis and knowledge management.
- Strong networking and coordination skills with partners, government agencies and communities in Sri Lanka.
8. Application Requirements
- Interested applicants should submit the following: Updated CV or profile of the proposed specialist clearly demonstrating relevant mangrove and coastal ecosystem experience to [email protected].
- At least two relevant writing samples, such as a technical brief, restoration plan, proposal section, research paper or donor-report example.
- Only shortlisted applicants may be contacted for further clarification or presentation.
9. Payment Modality
Payment will be made against satisfactorily completed outputs and acceptance of agreed deliverables, subject to the final contract. ChildFund Sri Lanka may agree a monthly retainer linked to specific outputs, or a deliverable-based payment schedule. No payment will be made for outputs that do not meet the agreed quality standard or require substantial rework due to consultant error or insufficient technical quality.
