About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative is funded by both the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. It assists ASEAN Member States (AMS) in meeting their commitments and realising the advantages offered by the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.

Through the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP) and the RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), RT4D provides tailored support to enhance the capabilities of ASEAN Member States by strengthening skills, building networks, facilitating policy options and ensuring that trade benefits everyone, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and people with disabilities.

Also operating under RT4D is the Trade and Gender Equality Incubator (TGEI), an initiative funded by the Australian Government. The incubator tests ideas and methods, drawing on promising examples, that integrate gender in trade policy, technical cooperation, and development programming.

The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 53.3 million to fund RT4D from 2020-21 to 2027-28. 

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Project Summary

The RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), implemented RT4D Facility, aims to support AMS to realise the full benefits of RCEP through the provision of capacity-building support and access to technical expertise. 

The following project is approved under RISP.

Project Name: Strengthening MSME Capacity for Food Supply Chain Integration in Indonesia

Project Objective: The project focuses on strengthening upstream and downstream segments of the supply chain. Upstream, it engages in agricultural and food producers and suppliers, while downstream it supports the delivery of free nutritious meals and the conversion of waste into high value products. Across these streams, MSMEs will benefit from improved access to markets and trade, finance, certification, enterprise development, product processing, and opportunities for partnerships, business matching, or supply chain collaboration. These will be tailored to the specific needs of each MSME and consider the needs of women, people with disabilities and other disadvantage groups.

In line with the aims of the project, the following objectives have been set:

  • Objective 1: To empower and facilitate MSMEs to effectively integrate into Indonesia’s food supply chains. This involves strengthening their capabilities to meet established product standards and overcome common challenges like limited access to capital, including stronger understanding or product safety, and downstream MSMEs (kitchen partners and waster processors) improving managerial capacity, including food safety and MBG waste processing practices.
    • Indicator 1.a: # of upstream MSMEs demonstrating improved managerial capacity.
  • Objective 2: To promote inclusive market and trade by facilitating MSME participation in food supply chains. This objective focuses on expanding MSMEs’ access to both domestic and regional markets while strengthening their participation in cross-border trade. It ensures that their products comply with quality, safety, and certification standards, enabling them to reach local consumers and benefit from international trade opportunities, including export markets under agreements like the RCEP. Support also includes capacity building, access to technical expertise, digital tools, and managerial guidance. Supply chain partnerships established between upstream MSMEs and SPPG kitchens or other markets, partnerships established between waste-processing MSMEs and SPPG kitchens, and kitchen partner MSMEs gaining broader market access through integration with SPPG and other trade networks.
    • Indicator 2.a: # of partnership made within participated MSMEs.
  • Objective 3: To develop a replicable pilot model for MSME integration and gather input for policymakers. This initiative will establish a best-practice framework that demonstrates how to successfully link MSMEs with formal food supply chains, as well as create a scalable model that can be adopted and implemented in other regions across the country and in RCEP member countries. The pilot will cover waste-processing MSMEs (circular economy), kitchen partners, and upstream MSMEs (farmers, local producers, food processors, and aggregators), and documenting best practices in managerial capacity building, product safety, and supply chain partnerships to enable replication in other regions and support MBG-related policy development.

The Opportunity

The project will be running from December 2025 to the second quarter of 2026. All project outputs will be subject to comments, amendments, and approval from the RT4D Facility Team, the Project Proponent and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Closing Date for Queries: 21 November 2025

 

 Queries

Terms of Reference

General competencies and qualifications the Consultant should demonstrate, include (but are not limited to):

  • Skilled and experienced team of experts with the technical, stakeholder management, workshop facilitation and private sector engagement and support expertise, bandwidth, and capabilities to support the RT4D Facility to deliver all outputs in alignment with the remit and timelines set within this ToR.
  • Demonstrable technical expertise and experience conducting research, providing policy and technical support and/or provide technical assistance in capacity building, event facilitation, mentoring, monitoring and evaluation, training delivery, and knowledge product development, reporting writing development and quality control. Previous experience in those areas within Indonesia and/or the South-East Asia context is a distinct advantage.
  • Demonstrable experience developing regional guidelines and/or policy handbooks for government stakeholders through consensus-based approaches that consider and incorporate the needs, priorities and concerns of diverse government stakeholders (i.e. stakeholders representing countries with different priorities and capacity constraints and agencies with different mandates and priorities). Experience developing these types of materials for customs authorities and officials is a distinct advantage.
  • Demonstratable ability to provide project coordination and management support in Indonesia. Such support should ensure that the Project Proponent and other relevant Indonesia public and private sector stakeholders are adequately engaged and consulted throughout project implementation. Previous project experience working with or supporting Ministry of Micro and Small Medium Enterprises (MoMSMEs) of Indonesia is a distinct advantage.
  • Demonstrable experience designing, facilitating and delivering online and on-site consultations, training, and mentoring that effectively engage diverse stakeholder groups. Experience managing consultations in line with GEDSI principles and requirements is a distinct advantage.
  • Demonstrable experience designing and developing research and policy documents for a government audience that follow a robust methodology, embed multi-stakeholder and inputs and provide evidence-based recommendations.
  • Experience working and engaging with multiple ASEAN governments (including Indonesia) is a distinct advantage. The organisation must be comfortable with engaging with the ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN stakeholders and following ways of working (or comparable governance arrangements).
  • Proven excellent report drafting experience, with ability to incorporate comprehensive feedback at multiple stages in a timely manner.
  • Experience and demonstrable capacity and resources to design and deliver projects in line with robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) and Communications and Business Engagement requirements outlined in the above sections of this ToR.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Apply by 30 November 2025

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