Terms of Reference – Baseline survey DONUTS 2 Ethiopia Flowers

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Background

1.1 Overview of Fairtrade Africa (FTA)

Established in 2005, Fairtrade Africa (FTA) is a member of Fairtrade International and the umbrella network organization representing Fairtrade-certified Producer Organizations in Africa and the Middle East. It has four regional networks: Eastern and Central Africa; Southern Africa; West Africa; and the Middle East and North Africa. Fairtrade Africa currently represents 1,445,265 farmers and workers in 684 Producer Organizations spread across 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East by providing services to them that contribute to the improvement of their livelihoods.

1.2 Overview of the DONUTS 2: Workers' Improved Rights at Ethiopian Flower Farms (WIRE) Project

The Ethiopian horticulture sector is one of the country's key export industries and a major source of employment, particularly for youth and women. The cut flower sub-sector contributes significantly to national export earnings and provides livelihoods for thousands of workers across production farms and surrounding communities.

Despite the sector's economic importance, workers continue to face challenges related to decent working conditions, including limited enforcement of labour standards, weak grievance-handling systems, inadequate occupational safety and health practices, limited collective bargaining capacity, and the underrepresentation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in leadership and decision-making structures.

In response to these challenges, the DONUTS Phase II — Ethiopian Flowers Project (2026–2029) seeks to strengthen decent work practices and improve labour rights systems within the Ethiopian flower sub-sector. The project will be implemented across six Fairtrade-certified flower farms: Herburg Roses PLC, Sher Ethiopia PLC, Ziway Roses PLC, AQ Roses PLC, Sunrise Flowers, and Tinaw Business Share Company.

The project targets approximately 18,223 workers, including women, youth, and persons with disabilities, with additional indirect reach at household and community level. The intervention focuses on strengthening workplace systems for labour rights protection, improving grievance-handling and occupational safety mechanisms, enhancing trade union capacity and social dialogue, promoting gender equality and disability inclusion, and supporting policy engagement on decent work within the flower sub-sector.

The baseline study will establish benchmark data against the project indicators and assess the current status of labour rights, workplace systems, inclusion, occupational safety and health, collective bargaining structures, and worker well-being across the targeted flower farms. Findings from the study will inform project implementation, monitoring, learning, and evaluation throughout the project period.

3. Purpose and Objectives of the Consultancy

3.1 Purpose

The purpose of this baseline study is to establish a comprehensive foundation for measuring the project's progress and impact toward the realization of decent working conditions. The study will determine baseline values for all key project indicators outlined in the Project Logframe and confirm the current conditions of workers, workplace systems, and institutional capacity for project performance tracking.

3.2 Specific Objectives

The consultant will:

• Establish starting values for all Logframe indicators with data disaggregated by gender, age, and disability status.
• Assess the current awareness and ability of workers to claim their labour rights.
• Evaluate the functionality and accessibility of current grievance mechanisms and workplace committees.
• Analyze the current participation levels of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in workplace decision-making structures.
• Examine the current state of industrial relations, social dialogue, and trade union capacity at the farm level.
• Provide actionable recommendations to refine implementation targets based on the current context.

4. Scope of the Study

The study will cover the period prior to the full roll-out of activities (Year 1, 2026). It will assess the six target flower farms in the Oromia region — AQ Roses PLC, Ziway Roses, Sher Ethiopia PLC, Herburg Roses PLC, Tinaw Flowers and Yassin Legesse Johnson Flower Farm — their respective trade unions, workplace committees, and the broader sectoral policy environment.

Specifically, the consultant will:

• Validate the relevance of the project design in aligning with the priorities, needs and aspirations of the target beneficiaries including consideration of contextual and human rights factors.
• Assess the level of workers' voice representation and labour rights awareness in Ethiopia's flowers sector.
• Analyze the capacity of trade unions and the current policy landscape regarding minimum wages, collective bargaining and labour rights in Ethiopia.
• Assess the extent to which the target organizations address cross-cutting objectives particularly gender and vulnerable groups inclusion, and participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
• Assess existing mechanisms for addressing gender-based violence and sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Review the validity and robustness of the project's logframe and monitoring plan including the underlying assumptions.

5. Deliverables

The consultant will be expected to produce the following deliverables:

• Inception Report: Detailing the evaluation approach, methodology, data collection tools, sampling strategy, and analytical framework.
• Draft Baseline Report: Presenting preliminary findings, supporting documentation, indicator baseline tables, and recommendations.
• Cleaned Datasets: Excel/CSV datasets, transcripts, and supporting materials.
• Validation Presentation: Presentation of findings to FTA, partners, and worker representatives to validate findings.
• Final Baseline Report: Incorporating feedback from stakeholders and providing clear benchmark values.

6. Final Report Requirements

The consultant shall submit the following reports:

a) Final Baseline Study Report containing the following elements:

• Short background information on the project.
• Methodology — tools and methods used for data collection and analysis.
• Findings — the data (baseline levels of the indicators) resulting from the study.
• Analysis of findings — interpretation of the data resulting from the study and recommendations.
• Length: not to exceed 35 pages, excluding annexes.
• Annexes: include data collection tools, sampling methodology, and detailed disaggregated indicators tables.

b) Executive Summary Report: A concise summary of key findings and baseline indicator values (maximum 5 pages).

7. Location of Assignment

The assignment will be conducted in Ethiopia and entails the baseline study of the DONUTS 2: Workers' Improved Rights in Ethiopia project, to be implemented across 6 flower farms in Ethiopia: AQ Roses PLC (1,513 workers), Ziway Roses (1,590 workers), Sher Ethiopia PLC (16,385 workers), Herburg Roses PLC (1,330 workers), Tinaw Flowers (1,420 workers), and Yassin Legesse Johnson Flower Farm (708 workers).

8. Timeframe

The baseline study is expected to take place over 2 months, from 1 July to 31 August 2026. A detailed workplan/schedule of activities will be finalized during the Inception Phase.

9. Methodology

The evaluation will adopt a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. Methods will include:

• Desk review of project documents, previous Phase 1 reports, union records, and relevant national labour policies.
• Worker surveys to gather quantitative data on wages, working conditions, and rights awareness.
• Key informant interviews (KIIs) with farm management, trade union leaders, government officials, and sector associations.
• Focus group discussions (FGDs) with specific groups including women, youth, persons with disabilities, and seasonal workers.
• Workplace assessments to evaluate the functionality of grievance mechanisms and OSH systems.

The consultant must ensure structured and meaningful engagement with workers. The sampling methodology must ensure representativeness across all six flower farms and diverse employment arrangements, while intentionally creating safe spaces for marginalized groups to provide honest feedback.

10. Contact Persons for the Assignment

The Project Manager will serve as the primary contact for this assignment.

11. Assignment Qualifications

Interested consultants or consultancy teams should demonstrate:

• At least six (6) years' experience conducting baseline studies or evaluations in the labour rights, decent work, or horticulture sectors.
• Specific experience working with trade unions, worker organizations, and farm management in Ethiopia.
• Demonstrated expertise in mixed-methods research and transformative Human Rights-Based Approaches (HRBA).
• Deep understanding of gender equality, youth empowerment, and disability inclusion in workplace contexts.
• Strong analytical, communication, and report writing skills in English.
• Proficiency in relevant local languages (Amharic, Afaan Oromo) for field team members.

12. Submission Guidelines

All applications must include the following:

• Separate technical and financial proposal documents.
• A technical proposal demonstrating the consultant(s)' understanding of the TORs and proposed methodology approach including the sampling strategy and data quality assurance measures.
• A cover letter outlining how the consultant(s) meet the required qualifications and expertise, duly signed and stamped.
• Detailed curriculum vitae (CVs) of the consultant(s), highlighting relevant skills, experience, and roles in the assignment.
• Three contactable references from organizations for whom similar assignments have been conducted within the last three (3) years, with supporting evidence.
• A detailed financial budget including all costs and applicable taxes.
• Any additional information the consultant(s) believe demonstrates added value to Fairtrade Africa within the scope of this assignment.

13. Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation method for this procurement will be Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS). Technical criteria will account for 70% of the weight while cost/financial score will account for 30% of the weight.

Mandatory/Eligibility Criteria

• Copy of valid Tax Compliance Certificate.
• Copy of Registration/Incorporation Certificate.
• Copy of a valid business permit.

14. Payment Schedule

The total contract value shall be paid in installments linked to the satisfactory completion and approval of agreed deliverables.

• An initial payment of 30% will be made upon submission and approval of the inception report, including the survey methodology, workplan and data collection tools.
• A second installment of 40% will be paid upon submission of the draft baseline report and presentation of preliminary findings to project stakeholders.
• The final 30% will be paid upon submission and formal approval of the final baseline report, incorporating all comments from the project stakeholders.

Submission Instructions

Proposals must be submitted electronically to: procurement@fairtradeafrica.net

Subject line: RFB — Baseline Study Improvement Workers Right in Ethiopia Project

Deadline for Submissions: Friday, 12 June 2026 at 17:00 hrs EAT.

Only shortlisted firms will be contacted.

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