Call for Expression of Interest - Consultancy for a Study Manager and Government Engagement Lead for a Feasibility Study on Rice Residue Aggregation and Supply for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Vietnam

About SNV

SNV is a global development partner, deeply rooted in the countries where we operate. We are driven by a vision of a better world: A world where across every society all people live with dignity and have equitable opportunities to thrive sustainably.

To make this vision a reality, we need transformations in vital agri-food, energy, and water systems. SNV contributes by strengthening capacities and catalysing partnerships in these sectors. We help strengthen institutions and effective governance, reduce gender inequalities and barriers to social inclusion, and enable adaptation and mitigation to the climate and biodiversity crises.

Building on 60 years of experience, we support our partners with our technical and process expertise and methodological rigor. We do this in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia with a team of approximately 1,600 colleagues. By being adaptable and tailoring our approaches to these different contexts, we can contribute to impact at scale, resulting in more equitable lives for all.

SNV has been working in Vietnam since 1995 and currently has over 70 national and international experts. SNV Vietnam implements projects in more than 30 provinces across the country, including the poorest and most remote areas.

About the Study

The aviation sector faces an acute decarbonisation challenge. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is widely recognised as the most viable near-term pathway to reducing aviation emissions at scale, yet its global scale-up is constrained by the availability of reliable, cost-competitive, and sustainably sourced feedstocks. Rice residue (straw and husks left after harvest) produced in vast quantities across the Mekong Delta of Vietnam represents one of the most promising and underexplored feedstock opportunities in Southeast Asia.

SNV Vietnam is undertaking a Comprehensive Rice-to-SAF Value Chain Feasibility Study (USD 240,000, 10-month duration) to assess the technical, economic, environmental, and operational feasibility of mobilising rice residues at scale in Vietnam for use as SAF feedstock. The study covers 3–4 Mekong Delta provinces (including An Giang, Đồng Tháp, and Long An) and addresses five core research questions:

• RQ1: Current Use & Value Mapping – how rice straw and husks are currently used and the financial/agronomic incentives required to redirect them into the SAF supply chain.
• RQ2: Aggregation Bottleneck Assessment – localised logistical, financial, and infrastructure constraints to large-scale residue extraction.
• RQ3: Pricing & High-Integrity Benchmarks – delivered price ranges along the supply chain, benchmarked against ICAO/CORSIA standards.
• RQ4: Environmental Risk Analysis – soil health, safe extraction thresholds, and GHG modelling vs. the open-burning baseline (ICAO/CORSIA aligned).
• RQ5: Offtake Feasibility & Supply Modelling – Monte Carlo simulations of supply reliability, regulatory framework review, and contract precedent analysis.

The study will draw on a substantial body of existing data and evidence alongside additional primary data collection determined necessary during the study design phase. It will also convene a formal Advisory Group (international and national members) and incorporate structured government engagement. Final outputs include a comprehensive study report, executive summary, statistical analyses, data visualisations, and Advisory Group outputs, delivered by March 2027.

SNV Vietnam is now seeking a consultant to serve as the National Study Manager, acting as the principal in-country counterpart to the Team Lead, providing day-to-day oversight of the study execution, serving as the primary liaison with government stakeholders, and overseeing contracted local partners.

Objectives and Scope of Work

The Study Manager will serve as the principal in-country technical, managerial, and government-engagement counterpart to the International Team Lead for the Rice-to-SAF Value Chain Feasibility Study. The role is designed to complement the Team Lead’s overall technical leadership, with the Manager embedded in Vietnam to ensure continuous day-to-day coordination, close engagement with government counterparts at national and provincial levels, and effective management of local partners and stakeholders. A core responsibility of the role is to support structured policy dialogue and relationship management with relevant government institutions, ensuring that the study’s evidence, findings, and recommendations provide timely and relevant inputs into the ongoing SAF strategy roadmap development led by the Ministry of Construction.

The Study Manager will work closely with the Team Lead, the SNV Energy Sector Leader, the SNV Global MEL Advisor, and the rest of the study team, the Advisory Group, contracted survey firms, and government counterparts to carry out the following activities:

• Day-to-day study coordination: Serve as the principal in-country counterpart to the Team Lead, ensuring continuity of study execution between the Team Lead's remote workstreams and in-country activities. Oversee day-to-day progress across all workstreams and troubleshoot delivery bottlenecks in real time and help ensure that the study remains aligned with both technical objectives and policy-relevant priorities emerging from government discussions.
• Government engagement and liaison: Serve as the principal in-country liaison with Government of Vietnam counterparts — including the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Construction (MoC), and provincial Departments of Agriculture and Environment (DAEs). This includes organizing high-level meetings and key informant interviews with government officials from ministries and departments indicated above, organizing bilateral meetings with partners/project funders and technical briefings, and facilitating ongoing dialogue that builds understanding of the study findings and their implications for policy and planning. The Study Manager will also review relevant ministerial strategies and ongoing work related to SAF and facilitate coordination with government counterparts to ensure that the study’s evidence, findings, and recommendations provide relevant inputs into the ongoing SAF strategy roadmap development led by the Ministry of Construction. This will include securing necessary approvals for surveys and consultations, coordinating inputs from relevant institutions, and ensuring that government engagement is timely, well-prepared, and strategically sequenced.
•  Lead all Vietnamese-language communications including simultaneous translation of technical study presentations with government stakeholders, manage in-country phone outreach and correspondence, secure necessary government survey approvals, and organise in-person meetings and briefings, including those aligned with the Team Lead's scheduled travel to Vietnam.
• Advisory Group coordination: Support the Team Lead in convening and managing the Advisory Group, including coordination of Vietnamese national advisory members, meeting logistics, translation of key materials where required, and follow-up on Advisory Group inputs. The role will ensure that Advisory Group discussions are used effectively to reinforce the policy relevance of the study and to help shape practical recommendations that can be carried forward by government partners.
• Stakeholder engagement in-country: Support the coordination and delivery of key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), and stakeholder validation workshops with farmers, cooperatives, aggregators, industry associations, academic partners (e.g., Can Tho University), and other in-country stakeholders. Communicate with various stakeholders to collect secondary data on straw management and straw value chains.
• Reporting and communications support: Contribute technical inputs to interim and final study outputs — including the comprehensive study report, executive summary, and Advisory Group outputs — with particular responsibility for ensuring accurate reflection of Vietnamese context, policy environment, and stakeholder perspectives. Support translation and adaptation of key materials for Vietnamese government audiences as required.
• Partner engagement support: Support the Team Lead in engagement with study funders, providing in-country context, responding to data requests, and participating in progress updates as required. This will include helping ensure that funder communications reflect both the technical progress of the study and the evolving policy engagement process with government counterparts.

The Study Manager will start work from September 2026 to 31 March 2027, over an estimated period of seven (07) months, with a maximum level of effort of 100 working days, Vietnam-based, with work taking place primarily in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City and periodic travel to the Mekong Delta provinces (An Giang, Đồng Tháp, Long An) aligned with fieldwork, government engagement, and key study milestones.

Due Diligence Instructions

Due Diligence (DD) checks apply to individual consultants engaged by SNV for the provision of consultancy services. Conducting these checks supports SNV in managing donor funds responsibly, ethically, and in full compliance with relevant regulations. To apply, download the Microsoft Word Due Diligence and Vetting Form, click https://c.smartrecruiters.com/sr-company-attachments-prod-aws-dc5/58919688e4b0672cc03331a9/b05d7b00-fb6a-428a-b4cf-9489113c94d7?r=s3-eu-central-1

Eligibility and Qualifications

The assignment is open to individual Vietnamese national consultants who meet the following criteria:

• Vietnamese national with permanent residence in Vietnam (required).
• Advanced postgraduate degree in a discipline relevant to the study, such as policy, agricultural sciences, crop and soil sciences, agricultural / environmental / behavioural economics, climate change, energy, monitoring and evaluation, supply chain analysis, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years' senior-level experience in stakeholder engagement including relevant policy expertise in agriculture or sustainable energy; applied research; or feasibility / market studies in Vietnam, with substantive experience managing multidisciplinary in-country delivery for institutional clients (donors, governments, multilateral institutions).
• Established relationships with Government of Vietnam counterparts and expert knowledge of policy context, particularly across the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Construction (MoC), and provincial Departments of Agriculture and Environment (DAEs). Track record of securing government survey approvals and convening government stakeholders is required.
• Substantive technical familiarity with at least one of the following areas relevant to the study: sustainable energy policy, rice systems and rice residue / straw management; low-emission agricultural value chains; biomass, bioenergy, or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) feedstocks; agri-food supply chain analysis; or climate finance and carbon markets in Vietnamese agriculture.
• Excellent stakeholder convening and facilitation skills, including experience leading in-country workshops, government briefings, and multi-stakeholder meetings.
• Strong analytical, writing, and editorial skills, including the ability to translate technical evidence into decision-ready outputs for both Vietnamese government and international investor audiences (sample written products may be required).
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and familiarity with data collection platforms (e.g., ODK, KoBoToolbox, SurveyCTO) and statistical software.
• Native-level fluency in Vietnamese (written and spoken) is required, including the ability to lead Vietnamese-language government correspondence, phone outreach, and in-person meetings.
• Excellent command of English (written and spoken) is required to work effectively with the International Team Lead and international co-investment partners. Preferred:
• Working familiarity with recognised international sustainability and carbon accounting frameworks relevant to low-emission agriculture and SAF feedstocks (e.g., ICAO/CORSIA, Gold Standard, or comparable standards) is desirable.
• Prior experience in the Mekong Delta is strongly preferred, particularly in An Giang, Đồng Tháp, and Long An provinces.

Submission requirements

Interested Individual National Consultants are invited to submit the following documents as per the instructions in this site:

• Letter of Interest
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlights relevant qualifications and experience.
• Completed Due Diligence Document: along with all required supporting documents. The form can be downloaded here: https://c.smartrecruiters.com/sr-company-attachments-prod-aws-dc5/58919688e4b0672cc03331a9/359dc043-cd8a-470f-ae5d-0ffad6533f26?r=s3-eu-central-1

Submission Deadline: 5:00 PM on 17 August 2026.

Selection process

SNV reserves the right to exclude any EOIs that do not meet the guidelines. Please note that SNV is unable to provide detailed feedback to those EOIs that are not selected.

Protection of Information

We request that the EOI responses be free of any intellectual property that the applicant wishes to protect. Should offerors wish to include proprietary intellectual property that they believe would be helpful for SNV, please note the proprietary nature of such information.

Issuance of this Call for EOI does not constitute a commitment, award, or engagement on the part of SNV nor does it commit SNV to any future commitment or engagement.