Technical Assistance Team for the Safe Seas Africa and Red Sea/Horn of Africa Programme II

The purpose of this contract is to provide technical assistance for the implementation, coordination, monitoring and strategic support of two European Union funded regional maritime security programmes in SubSaharan Africa: one covering the Western Indian Ocean and one covering the Red Sea/Horn of Africa. The services shall support the effective, coherent and visible delivery of programme activities, reinforce coordination among implementing partners and stakeholders, and contribute to the sustainability of the regional maritime security architecture. It shall cover five interlinked objectives:

1. To ensure effective coordination, supervision and coherence of actions implemented at programme level, including complementarity and synergies among implementing partners.
2. To strengthen effective ownership of programme activities at country and regional level.
3. To strengthen coordination and cooperation between regional and national partners and the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) and Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC).
4. To ensure effective results-based management and reporting at programme level
5. To ensure coherence and coordination with other EU initiatives and policies.

The expected outputs of this contract are as follows: 1.1 The supervision of implementation of activities and the coordination of the work between the different implementing partners is ensured at programme level. 1.2 The joint planning and information sharing practices to support coherent implementation at programme level and across the two programmes is strengthened. 1.3 The coherence, complementarity and strategic alignment between the two programmes and implementing partners is strengthened. 2.1 The engagement of national and regional stakeholders in the planning, implementation and follow-up of activities is ensured at programme level. 2.2 A mechanism to ensure follow-up, accountability and sustained engagement in programme implementation is established. 3.1 Information sharing between national actors and the RMIFC and RCOC is strengthened. 3.2 Sustainable partnerships and mutual trust between national and regional stakeholders and the two centres is improved. 4.1 A comprehensive results-based monitoring system is established and applied at programme level. 4.2 Timely, accurate and comprehensive reporting by the implementing partners is ensured at programme level. 4.3 The programmes are adjusted and steered on a need-to basis, informed by evidence and analytical insights. 5.1 The activities of the two programmes are systematically aligned with relevant EU policies, strategies and initiatives. 5.2 Synergies and complementarities between different EU interventions are identified and operationalised. 5.3 Structured information sharing and communication with EU institutions and stakeholders is ensured. Tasks shall include support to planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, communication, knowledge management and coordination with implementing partners, donors, regional organisations, national authorities and relevant international actors. The contractor shall among others support the preparation of agendas, discussion papers, progress reports, terms of reference, technical specifications and other operational documentation required for implementation of specific result areas.

It shall also provide ad hoc advisory services and short term expertise. The contractor shall also ensure capitalisation and sharing of knowledge generated through implementation, including technical observations and lessons learnt of wider professional value, using the designated knowledge sharing platform. It shall support programme audit, evaluation and visibility requirements and contribute to the preparation and functioning of technical and steering coordination mechanisms.