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.

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

The following project is approved under AISP.

  • Project Name: Cooperation Programme on the Use of Certification with Respect to Recognition of Safe Commodities, Product Treatments and Zones
  • Project Objectives: The project focuses on the use of certification agreements during Serious Animal Disease (SAD) incursions to facilitate ongoing trade in animal product commodities that are recognized by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) as “safe”, or which have been otherwise been subjected to WOAH recognised risk mitigation treatments. The project will also build greater alignment on the principles that need to be applied to develop and maintain internationally credible and WOAH consistent zones and compartments.

This initiative will provide training on the relevant WOAH standards, as well as the essential regulatory frameworks required for the credible implementation and certification of the various risk mitigations within the AANZFTA Parties’ domestic systems. It will support the veterinary competent authorities of participating countries to maintain existing trade while appropriately mitigating risk associated with incursions of serious animal diseases.

Through this RfP, the RT4D Facility seeks a firm/organisation or technical expert (the Consultant) to support the design and delivery of project activities between January – December 2026. The Consultant will be responsible for the completion of the following outputs in close consultation and with the approval from the Project Proponent, RT4D Facility and the AANZFTA Sub-Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SC-SPS):

  • Activity 1 – Enrolment of ASEAN Member States Contact Points
  • Activity 2 – Development of Reference Group Survey of ASEAN members
  • Activity 3 – First Virtual Workshop
  • Activity 4 – Case Study Development
  • Activity 5 – Second Virtual Workshop
  • Activity 6 – In-Person Workshop
  •  Activity 7 – Impact Survey and Project Reporting

The Opportunity

The Regional Trade for Development Facility (RT4D) is seeking a firm/organisation or technical expert (hereafter referred to as the Consultant) to implement the project “Cooperation Programme on the Use of Certification with Respect to Recognition of Safe Commodities, Product Treatments and Zones” to support the design and delivery of project activities between January – December 2026.

Interested organisations and individuals should provide a technical proposal detailing their capabilities in supporting the RT4D Team outlined in the project Terms of Reference (ToR).

Closing Date for Queries: 21 December 2025

Queries

Terms of Reference

 To ensure the above can be effectively managed and completed, interested bidders should fulfil the following criteria:

  • Skilled and experienced expert(s) 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 the ToR.
  • Demonstrable technical expertise and experience conducting applied research, providing policy advice and technical support related to animal commodities trade and animal/veterinary health. Demonstrable expertise on the areas Serious Animal Disease (SAD) risk mitigation, including relevant international standards, is a distinct advantage.
  • Demonstrable experience designing and developing sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) related research, case studies and trainings for a government audience that follow a robust methodology, embed multi-stakeholder and inputs and provide evidence-based recommendations. Experience mapping and analysing SPS certification templates, policies and/or standards within ASEAN and/or AANZFTA context is a distinct advantage.
  • Demonstrable experience developing policy guidelines and/or recommendations 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 within the ASEAN context is a distinct advantage.
  • Demonstrable ability to provide project coordination and management support for a regional project. Such support should ensure that ASEAN Secretariat and stakeholders from all AANZFTA Parties are adequately engaged and consulted throughout project implementation. The organisation must be comfortable with engaging with the ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN stakeholders and following ways of working (or comparable government arrangements).
  • Demonstrable experience designing, facilitating and delivering online and on-site consultations and workshops that effectively engage diverse stakeholder groups.
  • 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), GEDSI & Communication and Business Engagement requirements outlined in the above sections of this ToR.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Apply before 5 January 2026

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