Deadline: 25-Jun-2026
The United Nations Development Programme in Guinea is seeking a national NGO for a six-month mission under the West African Women’s Small and Medium Enterprises in the Rice Value Chain Programme. The selected NGO will support social and cultural engagement activities that address barriers limiting women’s economic participation, especially in rice processing, storage, and sales. Eligible applicants must be legally registered NGOs with at least five years of experience in gender equality, community mobilisation, and rural development.
Overview
The United Nations Development Programme, known as UNDP, in Guinea is seeking a national NGO to support community engagement activities under the West African Women’s Small and Medium Enterprises in the Rice Value Chain Programme.
The programme is also referred to as EWASME.
The selected NGO will carry out a six-month mission focused on social and cultural engagement, community dialogue, gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment.
The mission will support women-owned and women-led small and medium enterprises and very small enterprises working in the post-harvest phase of the rice value chain.
Key Opportunity Details
- Opportunity Name: National NGO Mission under the EWASME Rice Value Chain Programme
- Organisation: United Nations Development Programme in Guinea
- Country: Guinea
- Project: West African Women’s Small and Medium Enterprises in the Rice Value Chain Programme
- Mission Duration: 6 months
- Start Date: As soon as the contract is signed
- Target Sector: Rice value chain
- Main Focus: Women’s economic empowerment, gender equality, community mobilisation, rural development, and social norm transformation
- Eligible Applicants: Legally registered national NGOs
- Target Regions: Upper Guinea and Lower Guinea
Purpose of the Mission
The purpose of the mission is to create a supportive social and cultural environment for women entrepreneurs in the rice value chain.
The selected NGO will work with communities to address social norms, cultural barriers, and community-level challenges that limit women’s access to land, productive resources, and economic opportunities.
The mission will help strengthen women’s participation in economic activities, especially in rice processing, storage, and sales.
About the EWASME Project
The EWASME project aims to improve and develop women-owned and women-led small and medium enterprises and very small enterprises in the rice value chain.
The project focuses particularly on the post-harvest phase of the rice value chain.
This includes activities related to:
- Rice processing
- Rice storage
- Rice sales
- Women-led enterprise development
- Capacity building for women entrepreneurs
- Access to productive resources
- Economic empowerment
The initiative seeks to build the capacity of at least 1,000 women-led enterprises involved in the rice sector.
Focus Areas
The opportunity focuses on gender equality, women’s entrepreneurship, community mobilisation, and social norm transformation.
Key focus areas include:
- Women’s economic empowerment
- Gender equality
- Rice value chain development
- Women-led enterprises
- Small and medium enterprises
- Very small enterprises
- Community mobilisation
- Social and cultural engagement
- Transformation of social norms
- Access to land
- Access to productive resources
- Community awareness campaigns
- Dialogue with traditional leaders
- Rural development
- Behaviour change communication
- Local language outreach
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Documentation of lessons learned
Main Objectives
The mission aims to support social and cultural change that enables women to participate more fully in economic activities.
Main objectives include:
- Engaging communities in awareness campaigns
- Facilitating dialogue on women’s economic participation
- Identifying social and community barriers affecting women entrepreneurs
- Creating an enabling environment for women-led enterprises
- Designing community awareness campaigns
- Conducting awareness sessions in local languages
- Engaging community leaders, elders, and women’s groups
- Developing communication materials
- Promoting gender equality and economic empowerment
- Monitoring behavioural changes
- Documenting lessons learned and recommendations
What the Selected NGO Will Do
The selected NGO will support implementation of community engagement activities under the EWASME project.
Key responsibilities include:
- Establishing a dedicated project team
- Conducting community outreach activities
- Diagnosing social and cultural barriers
- Designing awareness campaigns
- Facilitating community dialogues
- Engaging traditional and community leaders
- Working with women’s groups
- Organising training sessions
- Developing communication materials
- Disseminating messages through radio, posters, and community theatre
- Monitoring changes in attitudes and behaviours
- Preparing technical reports in French
- Preparing narrative reports in French
- Documenting lessons learned and recommendations
Community Engagement Activities
The NGO will work directly with communities to promote awareness and dialogue on gender equality and women’s entrepreneurship.
Community engagement activities may include:
- Awareness sessions in local languages
- Public dialogues with community leaders
- Discussions with elders and traditional authorities
- Meetings with women’s groups
- Community theatre activities
- Radio messaging
- Poster campaigns
- Local training sessions
- Participatory discussions on women’s access to resources
- Community-based monitoring of behavioural change
These activities should help shift social norms that limit women’s participation in economic life.
Communication and Awareness Materials
The selected NGO will develop and disseminate communication materials adapted to local contexts.
Materials may include:
- Radio messages
- Posters
- Community theatre scripts
- Awareness tools
- Gender equality messages
- Economic empowerment materials
- Local language communication content
The materials should be accessible, culturally appropriate, and designed to support behavioural change.
Training and Capacity Building
The NGO will organise training sessions on gender equality and economic empowerment.
Training activities should help communities understand the importance of women’s participation in the rice value chain and the wider local economy.
Training may focus on:
- Gender equality
- Women’s rights and participation
- Economic empowerment
- Social norms and behaviour change
- Women’s access to land
- Women’s access to productive resources
- Support for women-led enterprises
- Inclusive community development
Monitoring and Evaluation
The selected NGO will monitor and evaluate behavioural changes linked to the project.
Monitoring activities should help track whether community attitudes, practices, and engagement patterns are changing over time.
The NGO will also document lessons learned and provide recommendations to support future programming.
Monitoring and reporting may include:
- Tracking awareness campaign results
- Recording community participation
- Measuring changes in attitudes
- Documenting engagement with leaders and women’s groups
- Reporting on training outcomes
- Identifying challenges and solutions
- Preparing recommendations for future action
Institutional Collaboration
The selected NGO will work closely with several partners throughout implementation.
Key partners include:
- EWASME project team
- UNDP Guinea
- Financial institution involved in the project
- Technical capacity-building partner
- Community leaders
- Traditional leaders
- Women’s groups
- Local facilitators
- Rural communities in target areas
This collaboration will help ensure that social and cultural engagement activities are linked to the wider goals of women’s enterprise development in the rice value chain.
Who is Eligible?
Eligible applicants must be national NGOs legally registered in Guinea.
Applicants must demonstrate relevant experience and capacity to implement community-based gender equality and rural development activities.
Eligible NGOs must have:
- Legal registration as an NGO
- At least five years of experience in gender equality
- Experience in community mobilisation
- Experience in rural development
- Demonstrated work with traditional leaders
- Demonstrated work with women’s groups
- Presence for at least three consecutive years in one of the targeted regions
- Presence in Upper Guinea or Lower Guinea
- Capacity to provide technical experts and facilitators
- Ability to produce reports in French
Required Regional Presence
Applicants must have a presence of at least three consecutive years in one of the targeted regions.
The targeted regions are:
- Upper Guinea
- Lower Guinea
This requirement is important because the selected NGO must understand local contexts, community structures, languages, and social norms.
Required Project Team
The selected NGO must provide a qualified project team.
The team should include:
- Team Leader
- Gender and Social Inclusion Expert
- Technical experts
- Community facilitators
- Local outreach staff where needed
The team must have the expertise needed to work with communities, traditional leaders, women’s groups, and project partners.
Team Leader Requirements
The Team Leader must have a master’s degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant field.
Relevant fields include:
- Social sciences
- Gender studies
- Community development
- Anthropology
- Human rights
- Related disciplines
The Team Leader should have experience in:
- Coordinating development projects
- Gender equality programming
- Women’s empowerment initiatives
- Managing multidisciplinary teams
- Stakeholder engagement
- Community mobilisation
- Project monitoring and evaluation
Gender and Social Inclusion Expert Requirements
The Gender and Social Inclusion Expert must have qualifications in a relevant field.
Relevant fields include:
- Social sciences
- Anthropology
- Sociology
- Gender studies
- Community development
- Related disciplines
The expert should have experience in:
- Implementing community development initiatives
- Transforming social norms
- Promoting gender equality
- Working with community leaders
- Working with traditional leaders
- Developing awareness materials
- Adapting messages to local contexts
- Supporting inclusion in rural communities
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit a complete proposal package.
Required documents include:
- Technical proposal
- Supporting documents
- Evidence of previous similar assignments
- CVs of proposed experts
- Certificates of proposed experts
- CVs of facilitators
- Certificates of facilitators
- Separate financial proposal
The technical proposal should clearly explain the NGO’s approach, methodology, team structure, relevant experience, and implementation plan.
How to Apply or Prepare
Applicants should prepare a strong proposal that demonstrates technical expertise, local presence, community trust, and experience in gender equality and rural development.
Step 1: Confirm NGO Eligibility
Applicants should first confirm that they are legally registered national NGOs.
They should also confirm that they have at least five years of relevant experience in gender equality, community mobilisation, and rural development.
Step 2: Demonstrate Regional Presence
Applicants should provide evidence that they have worked for at least three consecutive years in Upper Guinea or Lower Guinea.
This evidence may include previous project records, local office details, partnership records, or assignments conducted in the region.
Step 3: Describe Relevant Experience
Applicants should highlight previous assignments related to:
- Gender equality
- Women’s empowerment
- Rural development
- Community mobilisation
- Work with traditional leaders
- Work with women’s groups
- Behaviour change communication
- Awareness campaigns
The proposal should clearly show that the NGO has experience in similar community-based assignments.
Step 4: Prepare the Technical Approach
The technical proposal should explain how the NGO will implement the six-month mission.
The approach should include:
- Community diagnosis
- Stakeholder mapping
- Awareness campaign design
- Local language communication
- Dialogue facilitation
- Training sessions
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Reporting and documentation
- Coordination with UNDP and partners
Step 5: Build a Qualified Team
Applicants should identify qualified experts and facilitators.
The team should include a Team Leader and a Gender and Social Inclusion Expert who meet the required qualifications and experience.
The proposal should include CVs and certificates for all proposed experts and facilitators.
Step 6: Plan Community Outreach
Applicants should explain how they will engage communities in targeted regions.
The outreach plan should describe how the NGO will work with:
- Community leaders
- Traditional leaders
- Elders
- Women’s groups
- Local facilitators
- Rice value chain actors
- Rural communities
Step 7: Develop a Communication Strategy
Applicants should describe how they will use communication tools to support social norm change.
The strategy may include:
- Radio messages
- Posters
- Community theatre
- Local language sessions
- Public dialogues
- Training materials
- Community discussion guides
Step 8: Prepare the Financial Proposal
Applicants must submit a separate financial proposal.
The financial proposal should be realistic and aligned with the six-month mission activities, staffing needs, travel, communication materials, training sessions, monitoring, and reporting.
Expected Results
The mission is expected to support women’s entrepreneurship and improve the social environment for women-led enterprises in the rice value chain.
Expected results may include:
- Increased awareness of women’s economic participation
- Stronger community support for women entrepreneurs
- Better understanding of social norms limiting women’s empowerment
- Increased engagement of traditional and community leaders
- Improved dialogue between communities and women’s groups
- More inclusive local attitudes toward women’s access to resources
- Better communication on gender equality and economic empowerment
- Documented lessons learned and practical recommendations
- Stronger support for women-led rice enterprises
Why This Opportunity Matters
This opportunity matters because women entrepreneurs in rural value chains often face social and cultural barriers that limit their economic potential.
In the rice value chain, women’s access to land, resources, training, finance, and decision-making can be affected by local norms and community structures.
By engaging communities directly, the mission aims to create a more supportive environment for women-led enterprises and strengthen women’s economic empowerment in Guinea.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid submitting proposals without clear evidence of legal registration and relevant NGO experience.
NGOs should not ignore the requirement for at least five years of experience in gender equality, community mobilisation, and rural development.
Applicants should avoid weak descriptions of regional presence. The proposal should clearly prove at least three consecutive years of work in Upper Guinea or Lower Guinea.
The technical proposal should not be generic. It should describe a practical approach to awareness campaigns, community dialogue, training, communication, monitoring, and reporting.
Applicants should not combine the financial proposal with the technical proposal if a separate financial proposal is required.
NGOs should also avoid proposing experts without the required qualifications, CVs, and certificates.
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong application should clearly demonstrate local experience, technical expertise, and a practical plan for social and cultural engagement.
Applicants should:
- Show strong experience in gender equality
- Demonstrate community mobilisation capacity
- Prove rural development experience
- Highlight work with traditional leaders and women’s groups
- Provide evidence of regional presence
- Present a clear six-month implementation plan
- Include qualified experts and facilitators
- Use local language outreach methods
- Include radio, posters, and community theatre where relevant
- Explain how behavioural change will be monitored
- Provide clear technical and narrative reporting arrangements
- Submit a separate and realistic financial proposal
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this UNDP Guinea opportunity about?
UNDP Guinea is seeking a national NGO for a six-month mission to support social and cultural engagement activities under the EWASME Rice Value Chain Programme.
What is the EWASME project?
The EWASME project supports women-owned and women-led small and medium enterprises and very small enterprises in the rice value chain, especially in post-harvest activities such as processing, storage, and sales.
Who can apply?
Legally registered national NGOs with at least five years of experience in gender equality, community mobilisation, and rural development can apply.
What regional experience is required?
Applicants must have a presence of at least three consecutive years in one of the targeted regions of Upper Guinea or Lower Guinea.
What activities will the selected NGO implement?
The selected NGO will conduct community awareness campaigns, facilitate dialogues, engage leaders and women’s groups, develop communication materials, organise training sessions, monitor behavioural change, and document lessons learned.
What experts are required?
The project team should include a Team Leader and a Gender and Social Inclusion Expert, along with technical experts and facilitators. The Team Leader and Gender Expert must have relevant qualifications and experience in gender, community development, social sciences, or related fields.
What documents must applicants submit?
Applicants must submit a technical proposal, supporting documents showing previous similar assignments, CVs and certificates of proposed experts and facilitators, and a separate financial proposal.
Conclusion
The UNDP Guinea opportunity seeks a qualified national NGO to support social and cultural engagement under the EWASME Rice Value Chain Programme.
The six-month mission will help address community-level barriers that limit women’s economic participation and entrepreneurship in the rice value chain.
This opportunity is best suited for legally registered NGOs with strong experience in gender equality, community mobilisation, rural development, work with traditional leaders, and local presence in Upper Guinea or Lower Guinea.
For more information, visit UNDP.
