TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF A CONSULTANT FOR THE MAINTENANCE AND EVALUATION OF ONLINE TRAINING COURSES ON BEHALF OF THE CONSULTATIVE INTERNATIONAL CASHEW COUNCIL

1- BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE

The Consultative International Cashew Council  (CICC) is an intergovernmental organization working to promote cashew value chains through policy coordination and cooperation among its member states.

The Organization currently has twelve (12) Member States, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

As part of the implementation of the RSA-CICC project 5200000411– “Supporting and strengthening the activities of the Consultative International Cashew Council”, funded by GIZ, the CICC plans to appropriate and integrate on its WordPress website the e-learning courses initially developed in the framework of the MOVE/GIZ project and currently available on the Atingi platform.

The scheme aims to provide producers, processors and traders in the cashew sector with simplified and centralized access to online training, without dependence on an external platform. The content concerned includes courses digitized in SCORM format.

The technical environment for hosting and administering these courses is based on WordPress/LearnDash, with the use of GrassBlade xAPI Companion for monitoring training data and Articulate 360 for the design and operation of interactive e-learning content.

In order to guarantee the quality, relevance and updating of the training as well as the autonomy of the CICC in the administration of the platform, it is necessary to mobilize a consultant specialized in educational technologies and LMS platforms.

2– OBJECTIVE OF THE MISSION

2.1. General objective

The general objective of the mission is to support the CICC in updating, evaluating and optimizing online training, while strengthening the capacities of its staff to ensure the operation, administration and routine maintenance of the e-learning platform.

2.2. Specific objectives

The mission aims in particular to:

• Review existing e-learning courses and identify content that needs to be updated;
• Update training based on the most recent content available;
• Verify the quality, coherence and pedagogical relevance of the courses;
• Evaluate the user experience and ergonomics of training;
• Verify the functioning of learner monitoring mechanisms;
• Analyze the available data on the use and completion of training;
• Make recommendations to improve the quality and effectiveness of the system;
• Support the CICC in the use of the LearnDash, GrassBlade xAPI Companion and Articulate 360 tools;
• Train CICC-designated staff in the administration and routine maintenance of the platform;
• Produce the technical documentation and guides necessary for the autonomy of the CICC.

3. SCOPE AND DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPECTED SERVICES

Under the supervision of the CICC, the consultant will be responsible for providing the following services:

3.1. Review and update of training courses

The consultant will:

• Review existing training and currently available content;
• Identify content that is outdated, incomplete, or in need of updating;
• Proceed, in consultation with the CICC, to update the content concerned;
• Check the consistency between the different modules;
• Verify the compatibility of the content with the platform’s technical environment;
• Ensure the proper functioning of interactive content and multimedia elements.

When the content comes from Atingi, the consultant will have to work from the most recent versions made available by the CICC/GIZ.

3.2. Pedagogical and functional assessment

The consultant will have to carry out an evaluation of the training courses relating in particular to:

• The quality and relevance of the content;
• The structure and pedagogical progression;
• The clarity of the information presented;
• Ergonomics and user experience;
• Ease of navigation;
• The functioning of quizzes and other evaluation mechanisms;
• The use of multimedia content;
• Accessibility and compatibility with different devices;
• Monitoring learners’ progress;
• The completion and, if applicable, certification mechanisms.

The consultant will be expected to identify the main shortcomings and propose corrective or improvement measures.

3.3. Evaluation of learner follow-up

The consultant will have to check:

• How learners’ progress monitoring works;
• Feedback and exploitation of training data;
• How xAPI/SCORM mechanisms work;
• Reporting opportunities;
• Available metrics, including enrollment, progress, and completion rates.

The analysis should lead to recommendations enabling the CICC to improve the monitoring and management of training.

3.4. Training and skills transfer

The consultant will be expected to provide practical training to CICC-designated staff on:

• L’administration de LearnDash ;
• Creating, modifying and managing courses;
• User and learner management;
• The management of quizzes and certificates;
• Using GrassBlade xAPI Companion;
• Monitoring of training data;
• Exploitation of SCORM/xAPI content;
• The use of Articulate 360, when necessary;
• Routine maintenance operations;
• Backup and restore procedures;
• Identification and resolution of common incidents.

The training should focus on a practical approach that allows CICC staff to gradually ensure the autonomous administration of the platform.

3.5. Documentation technique

The consultant will be required to develop documentation that will provide CICC staff with clear procedures for:

• The administration of the platform;
• user management;
• Course management;
• Integration and updating of content;
• Learner monitoring;
• Routine maintenance operations;
• Backup and recovery;
• Resolving common incidents.

4. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

At the end of the engagement, the consultant will be expected to provide at least the following deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Training review and diagnosis report

The report should include:

• The status of the courses examined;
• Content that needs to be updated;
• The main shortcomings identified;
• The results of the pedagogical and functional assessment;
• Recommendations for improvement.

Deliverable 2: Updated training

• Updated training and modules;
• Corrected and/or improved content;
• Verification of their proper functioning on the platform;
• Quiz checks, assessments, and completion mechanisms.

Deliverable 3: Evaluation report of the e-learning platform

The report must include:

• The results of the user experience evaluation;
• Analysis of learner follow-up;
• Evaluation of SCORM/xAPI mechanisms;
• The available indicators;
• Recommendations for improvement.

Deliverable 4: Training of CICC staff

• Training sessions carried out;
• Training materials;
• Practical exercises;
• Transfer of skills to designated users.

Deliverable 5: Technical documentation

• Administration Guide;
• User Guide;
• Routine maintenance procedures;
• Backup/restore procedures;
• Procedures for managing and updating content.

Deliverable 6: Final mission report

The final report should include:

• The activities carried out;
• The results obtained;
• The difficulties encountered and the solutions provided;
• The final state of the training;
• Recommendations for the sustainability and continuous improvement of the platform.

5. PROFILE AND QUALIFICATIONS OF THE CONSULTANT

The consultant sought must be a senior IT / e-learning expert, with proven experience in the design, administration and deployment of LMS platforms, particularly under WordPress/LearnDash.

5.1. Academic training

The consultant must hold at least a Bac+4/5 level diploma (Master’s degree or equivalent) in:

• Computer science;
• Information systems;
• Computer Engineering;
• Data engineering;

or any other relevant field.

A specialization in web development, e-learning, educational technologies or multimedia design will be an asset.

5.2. Professional experience

The consultant must justify:

• At least 3 to 5 years of experience in the design, administration and management of e-learning/LMS platforms;
• Proven experience with the WordPress/LearnDash environment;
• Experience in setting up and administering courses, quizzes, certificates and users;
• Experience in the integration and exploitation of SCORM and xAPI content;
• A good command of GrassBlade xAPI Companion or equivalent tools;
• Experience with Articulate 360, including Storyline and/or Rise, or equivalent solutions;
• Experience in integrating content from third-party platforms that is an asset;
• Experience in training and skills transfer to technical and non-technical staff.

Senior IT experience of 10 years or more in web application design and development will be an advantage.

5.3. Technical skills

The consultant must have skills in:

• WordPress et LearnDash ;
• SCORM and xAPI/Tin Can;
• GrassBlade and/or LRS solutions;
• Articulate 360 ;
• Database management, including MySQL/MariaDB;
• Backup and restore of web platforms;
• Platform security and data protection;
• Maintenance and optimization of web applications;
• Production of technical documentation.

Knowledge of DevOps/CI-CD environments and tools such as Git/GitLab will be an asset.

5.4. Pedagogical and linguistic skills

The consultant must also have:

• Strong pedagogical and skills transfer capacities;
• Excellent writing skills in French;
• A good command of professional English;
• Good organizational skills;
• An ability to work independently;
• Ability to work in an international and multicultural environment.

Experience in projects funded by international donors or intergovernmental organizations will be an asset.

6. SUBMISSION PACKAGE

The offer must include:

6.1. Technical offer

The technical offer must include:

• A letter of expression of interest addressed to the Executive Secretariat of the CICC;
• A presentation of the consultant and his experience;
• An understanding of the objectives and challenges of the mission;
• A detailed execution methodology;
• A timeline for completion;
• References from similar assignments;
• The detailed CV of the consultant;

References from similar assignments must, as far as possible, be accompanied by certificates of good performance or, failing that, contact details allowing them to be verified.

6.2. Financial offer

The financial offer should present a clear breakdown of costs by activity or deliverable.

For information purposes:

NB: The above budgetary framework is mandatory. Any service provider who makes a proposal outside this framework will simply see his offer rejected

7. BID EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

The evaluation of the tenders will be carried out on the basis of the technical and financial quality of the proposals.

The following indicative grid will be applied:

The overall assessment will be carried out according to the following weighting:

• Score technique : 70 %
• Financial score: 30%

A minimum threshold of 60/100 in the technical evaluation is required before the opening of financial offers.

The consultant with the highest combined score may be recommended for assignment, subject to compliance with CICC’s administrative and contractual requirements.

This logic is based on that of the TDR, which provides for a selection combining a technical score of 70% and a financial score of 30%.

In the event that the contract is awarded to a Company, it will be required to provide all administrative documents (RCCM, DFE, ARF, RIB) prior to the contract. In the absence of one of these documents, no contractualization can be established.

8. DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The assignment will be carried out over a period from the entry into force of the contract until 30/11/26.

The consultant must propose in his offer a detailed timetable taking into account the different stages of the mission.

9. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The mission will mainly be carried out at the CICC headquarters:

Plateau, Avenue Franchet d’Esperey, Immeuble Ollo, 1st floor, Pavilion B, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Some activities may be carried out remotely, depending on the needs of the CICC and the nature of the services. 

10. SUBMISSION OF TENDERS

Complete offers (Technical and Financial) grouped together in a single PDF must be sent no later than September 07, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. by electronic transmission to the following address: procurement@ciccashew.org with the subject: “Response to the call for applications as part of the recruitment of a consultant for the updating and evaluation of online training courses on behalf of the RSA-CICC N. 5200000411 PN 21.2199.4-506.00 project”.