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I. WCS ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity.

With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding, and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities.

Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat, and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of vulnerable rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct use of natural resources.

II. WCS MONGOLIA PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Established in Ulaanbaatar in 2003, WCS Mongolia has dedicated over two decades to the conservation of Mongolia’s rich wildlife and expansive landscapes. The organization focuses on science-driven, landscape-level conservation, with key efforts in the Southern Gobi and Eastern Steppe, alongside initiatives in Central Mongolia.

At the national level, WCS Mongolia collaborates with government, community groups, civil society organizations, and the private sector to promote biodiversity preservation, landscape connectivity, and sustainable natural resource management. In 2024, WCS Mongolia launched a five-year strategy focused on three key pillars: enhancing ecological function, strengthening landscape connectivity, and building resilience to climate change. These pillars guide the organization’s work, with the overarching vision of ensuring Mongolia’s ecological integrity for future generations.

III. PROJECT BACKGROUND

Project title: Rehabilitating and conserving the mountain landscapes in the Khangai region of Mongolia for improved ecosystem services and community livelihoods.

Implementation Agency: The UN-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 

Execution Agency: WCS Mongolia/Operational Partner

Government partner: the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC)

The GEF-funded project "Rehabilitating and conserving the mountain landscapes in the Khangai region of Mongolia for improved ecosystem services and community livelihoods" is implemented by the FAO and executed by WCS Mongolia as the Operational Partner, in collaboration with MECC and other relevant government agencies. WCS Mongolia is responsible for the day-to-day management and technical implementation of the project, ensuring compliance with GEF and FAO fiduciary, technical, environmental, and social standards, as well as WCS’s internal operational procedures and policies.

The project aims to restore the ecological integrity of the Khangai mountain landscapes, enhance ecosystem services such as water and soil health, and strengthen community resilience through sustainable land management and climate adaptation. It also seeks to improve rural livelihoods while conserving biodiversity. More information can be found here. 

In its role as the project’s Operational Partner, WCS Mongolia implements actions and commissions consultancies and service providers to deliver specialized expertise, support technical implementation, and ensure that project outputs meet GEF, FAO, and WCS quality standards.

IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The purpose of this consultancy is to develop a standardized but adaptable set of governance and administration tools to strengthen the institutional functioning, transparency, accountability, participation, and administrative capacity of CBNRM groups.

The consultant shall:

• Assess relevant national and international best practices in governance and administration of CBNRM groups and identify approaches suitable for adaptation in the Khangai project area.
• Identify priority governance and administrative functions for which practical tools would be required, through stakeholder consultation in the project’s target area (using a participatory approach involving implementing partners, government counterparts, local institutions, community organizations, and beneficiaries, where appropriate)
• Develop a practical user-friendly governance and administration toolkit and accompanying user guidance for CBNRM groups.
• Validate and refine the toolkit based on relevant stakeholders feedback and piloting testing, in collaboration with WCS.
• Deliver a final, quality-assured, editable toolkit and a brief completion report.

V. SCOPE OF THE WORK

The consultant will develop a practical Governance and Administration Toolkit for CBNRM Groups to strengthen internal governance, accountability, participation, and routine administration. The assignment will focus on producing simple, user-friendly, and field-applicable tools that CBNRM groups can use in their day-to-day operations.

The consultant shall:

• review existing CBNRM governance materials from Mongolia, supplemented by relevant national legal/policy documents and comparative global CBNRM guidance, including manuals, by-laws, constitutions, templates, and administrative practices.
• consult relevant stakeholders to identify the most important governance and administration gaps affecting CBNRM groups
• develop a practical toolkit. The toolkit is expected to include, as appropriate:
• constitution or by-law template
• governance structure and roles
• committee terms of reference
• membership and attendance registers
• meeting agenda and minutes templates
• annual general meeting and election procedures
• code of conduct and conflict of interest forms
• records management and filing tools
• action planning and reporting templates
• grievance, accountability, and handover procedures
• prepare short user guidance for each tool, explaining its purpose, use, and responsibility.
• revise the draft toolkit with relevant stakeholders based on practicality and fit for field use. Pilot test it with at least one CBNRM group designated by WCS and revise the toolkit based on lessons learned.

The emphasis of the assignment is not only on producing templates, but on ensuring that the tools are relevant, easy to apply, and supportive of stronger community governance and administration in practice.

VI. DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

Deliverable	Description
1. Inception Report	Detailed methodology, work plan, consultation plan, and proposed toolkit structure
2. Brief Diagnostic Review Note	Summary of the desk review and stakeholder consultations on existing CBNRM governance materials in Mongolia and global best practices, identifying key governance and administrative gaps, and outlining priority tool requirements to strengthen the practical functioning, legal clarity, and institutional usability.
3. Draft Governance and Administration Toolkit	Draft tools, templates, forms, and user guidance
4. Final Toolkit and Completion Report	Final editable toolkit, PDF package, and brief completion report summarizing the consultation process, pilot testing, revisions made and recommendations for future use.

 

VII. REPORTING AND SUPERVISION

The consultant/firm will report to the WCS Mongolia Lead Technical Advisor and work closely with the Community Engagement and Natural Resource Governance Expert of WCS’s Khangai team (PMU). Regular progress meetings (virtual or in-person) will be scheduled as needed.

VIII. DURATION OF THE WORK

The assignment is estimated to require 40 working days within a total contract period over August 2026 to October 2026. This duration encompasses all project phases.

IX. THE CONSULTANT SHOULD MEET FOLLOWING CRITERIA

The consultancy firm/team is expected to have a mix of skills relevant to the assignment. The required background and experience for the consultancy team is as follows:

• Advanced university degree in natural resource management, governance, public administration, law, community development, rural development, environmental management, or related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in governance, institutional development, local administration, community development, or CBNRM-related programming.
• Demonstrated experience in developing manuals, toolkits, guidelines, by-laws, templates, or institutional strengthening tools.
• Proven practical experience working with community groups, community-based organisations, producer groups, local natural resource institutions, or similar local governance structures.
• Professional proficiency in English and Mongolian is essential; reports, toolkits, guidelines, and templates deemed insufficient in terms of writing will not be accepted. 

X. PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

Deliverables	Payment %
Inception report	20%
Brief Diagnostic Review Note	30%
Final Toolkit and Completion Report	50%

 

XI. SELECTION ASSESSMENT WEIGHTING:

Applications will be evaluated using the Combined Scoring Method, whereby the technical proposal will be weighted at 70% and the financial proposal at 30% of the total score.

The technical proposal will be evaluated against the following criteria:

Technical Criteria	Max. Points
Academic qualifications	30
Relevant professional experience	30
Language skills	10
Total technical score	70

 

Financial Proposal	Max. Points
Financial proposal	30
Total financial score	30

 

XII. SUBMISSION DETAILS

Interested consultants are invited to submit a single PDF document containing:

1. Technical Proposal – outlining your understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, and CV.
2. Financial Proposal – Provide a detailed, itemized budget inclusive of all professional fees, applicable taxes, social insurance, per diem, and travel-related expenses (including transportation, vehicle, and accommodation costs)
3. Profile/Legal Documents –Proof of legal status.
4. References – at least two references from similar assignments, including contact details.

All proposals must be submitted electronically to WCS Mongolia by 9 August 2026 via email at procurementmongolia@wcs.org and please include the subject line: Development of governance and administration tools for CBNRM groups”.

Only complete applications submitted by the deadline will be considered. Shortlisted candidates may be invited for an interview or follow-up discussion.