Terms of Reference: Inception Phase Consultant – The Women in Textile and Apparel Vietnam (WITA Vietnam) Program

Stichting IDH (“IDH”) accelerates and up-scales sustainable trade by building impact-oriented coalitions of front running companies, civil society, governments, knowledge institutions and other stakeholders in several commodity sectors. We convene the interests, strengths and knowledge of public and private partners in sustainability commodity programs that aim to mainstream international and domestic commodity markets. We jointly formulate strategic intervention plans with public and private partners, and we co-invest with partners in activities that generate public goods.

The Textile and Manufacturing Business Unit of IDH leads efforts to embed sustainability and inclusivity across the global textile value chain. The unit focuses on strengthening social sustainability in global textile and apparel supply chains by improving working conditions, enabling responsible purchasing practices, and advancing gender equity. By engaging manufacturers, brands, and other supply chain actors, we foster sustainable business practices.

This Terms of Reference (ToR) seeks a qualified consultant to coordinate and support the inception phase of the EU-funded "The Women in Textile and Apparel Vietnam (WITA Vietnam) Program" jointly launched by IDH, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOI) and the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

In 2025, IDH together with VITAS and coordinated with MOIT as the program’s government lead launched a three-year program titled the Women in Textile and Apparel Vietnam (WITA Vietnam) Program (the “Program”), funded by the European Union in Vietnam. The Program aims to address two intersecting challenges in Vietnam’s textile sector:

· The need to reduce pre-consumer fabric waste from factories and industrial parks (IP), which contributes significantly to environmental degradation.

· The limited representation of women in sustainable business development and leadership roles, particularly within circular economy initiatives.

The program’s core objective is to strengthen and support 10 pre-identified women-led start-ups and small-medium enterprises (SMEs) that are developing circular business models focused on fabric waste repurposing. These businesses were shortlisted by IDH and VITAS through consultations and scoping missions conducted in early 2025. Their participation is key to catalysing innovation and scaling inclusive, waste-reducing solutions across Vietnam’s textile sector.

The program is structured across three interconnected Work Packages (WPs):

· WP1: Strengthening the capacity and coordination of key public and private stakeholders to provide effective support to women-led circular economy business solutions for the textile sector.

· WP2: Enhancing the capacity and improving sustainable business practices of at least 10 women-led start-ups for scalable and viable solutions on pre-consumer fabric waste and generating more income and decent jobs for women, and reducing environmental impact.

· WP3: Strengthening the pre-consumer waste management systems at textile factories and industrial parks by actively empowering and engaging women in the management process.

The upcoming Inception Phase (July–December 2025) is crucial to laying a strong foundation for program delivery. It will focus on:

· Conducting baseline assessments of SMEs and selected factory environments.

· Mapping and aligning with key stakeholders including MOIT, Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU), industrial parks, and global brands.

· Designing tailored SME support packages and early-stage policy recommendations.

· Preparing implementation frameworks, communications outputs, and donor reporting tools.

To support this phase, IDH is seeking an experienced individual consultant to provide strategic and technical support during the inception period. The consultant will work under the supervision of IDH Vietnam’s Senior Program Manager for Textiles & Manufacturing (Acting as the project manager) and collaborate with both local and global IDH Textile & Manufacturing team. The consultant will not work alone but will be embedded within a core implementation team based in Hanoi, including a dedicated Program Officer and Senior Program Manager.

This assignment presents a unique opportunity to contribute to a pioneering program that sits at the intersection of gender empowerment, circular economy, and textile sector transformation in Vietnam.

Objectives

The overall objective of this assignment is to provide strategic coordination and technical advisory support to structure and lead the inception phase (July–December 2025) of the Women in Textile and Apparel Vietnam (WITA Vietnam) Program. The consultant will be responsible for operationalizing and overseeing the delivery of key outputs under all three Work Packages (WPs), ensuring that the program is well-positioned for effective implementation from 2026 onward.

Working in close collaboration with the IDH Vietnam team (including a dedicated Senior Program Manager and Program Officer), relevant IDH Global team, and key public-private stakeholders, the consultant will:

• Supporting the planning and execution of inception phase activities aligned with the specific deliverables under Work Package 1 (stakeholder coordination and enabling environment), Work Package 2 (baseline SME assessments and support planning), and Work Package 3 (industrial park scoping and policy inputs).
• Coordinating the planning and implementation of a consolidated baseline assessment report, drawing on diagnostic data from 10 women-led start-ups and SMEs, to inform start-up and SME support planning and program design.
• Developing 10 start-up and SME profiles by assessing their operational capacity, business maturity, circularity practices, and level of gender inclusion, and identifying tailored support needs to enhance their growth and impact.
• Facilitating alignment with key public and private sector stakeholders including MOIT, VITAS, VWU, brands, and operators of at least five industrial parks and forty factories.
• Supporting the co-design of capacity building and technical assistance packages tailored to the specific needs of the 10 women-led start-ups and SMEs.
• Providing strategic and technical input to the development of five draft policy recommendation briefs—co-designed with program stakeholders—focused on creating an enabling environment for gender-inclusive circular textile practices. These briefs aim to inform future policy dialogue and sector-level advocacy under Work Package 1.
• Advising IDH and implementation partners on how to integrate gender mainstreaming across program design and in approaches to stakeholder engagement—ensuring women’s participation and leadership are prioritized throughout the inception phase.
• Documenting results, preparing briefing materials and lessons learned, and contributing to donor (EU) reporting and visibility outputs.

By the end of the inception phase (December 2025), the consultant will have helped establish a robust foundation for the program roll-out, including but not limited to stakeholder coordination mechanisms, SME engagement pathways, and policy advocacy priorities.

Scope of Work 

The consultant will report to the Senior Program Manager for Textiles & Manufacturing at IDH Vietnam who also is acting as Project Manager. While the consultant will lead the delivery of the inception phase, they will be supported by the IDH Vietnam Program Officer, who will dedicate approximately 2 to 3 days per week to provide embedded implementation support—covering day-to-day coordination, stakeholder engagement, and progress monitoring. The Senior Program Manager will commit around 2 days per week to provide strategic oversight, ensure the quality and coherence of deliverables, and engage in key stakeholder processes.

In addition to the current scope, the consultant will also support the establishment of a multi-stakeholder coalition through stakeholder convening, co-development of the coalition’s governance structure and collaboration mechanisms. The consultant will contribute to designing and initiating the implementation of a coordinated, time-bound support program for the selected SMEs in close alignment with coalition partners. Furthermore, the consultant will provide technical support to the baseline assessment process; lead stakeholder mapping and industrial park scoping; and contribute to planning for capacity building, market access, financing, and appropriate circular technologies. The consultant will also advise on gender mainstreaming across all work streams, contribute to donor communications and case studies, and support the early-stage design of the program’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, ensuring outputs and indicators from the inception phase align with longer-term impact pathways.

Scope of Work include:

A. Project Coordination & Planning

• Refine and operationalize a detailed inception phase implementation plan, activity calendar, and milestones—building on preliminary drafts developed by IDH—and align them with EU requirements and evolving program needs.
• Coordinate the timely and integrated execution of the inception phase activities across all three Work Packages.
• Facilitate alignment and ongoing coordination with stakeholders, including MOIT, VITAS, VWU, industrial parks, brands, start-ups, and SMEs.

B. Baseline Assessment

• Coordinate the planning and delivery of a consolidated baseline assessment that draws on enterprise diagnostic data from 10 pre-identified women-led start-ups and SMEs.
• Deploy IDH’s pre-existing enterprise diagnostic tool (not to be developed by the consultant) to assess 10 pre-identified women-led start-ups and SMEs business readiness, gender inclusion, and circularity potential, as part of the baseline assessment process
• Produce individual start-up and SME profiles (10 total) summarizing baseline findings, including capacity gaps and proposed quick-win interventions (e.g., sourcing, branding, early-stage financing).

C. Technical Advisory

• Co-design tailored capacity-building and incubation support packages for each of the 10 start-ups and SMEs.
• Provide advisory input on business development, market access, innovation, and financing opportunities.
• Provide strategic and technical input to the development of five policy recommendation briefs led by IDH and developed in consultation with MOIT, VITAS, VWU, and other key stakeholders, focused on fabric waste management and gender-inclusive green entrepreneurship.
• Support the design of the program’s M&E framework, aligning outputs from the inception phase with longer-term indicators and outcomes.

D. Reporting & Communications

• Contribute to IDH’s donor narrative and financial reporting for Q3 and Q4 2025.
• Document key lessons learned and co-develop 1-2 SME success stories to support EU donor visibility and communications.
• Ensure all visibility and communications activities align with EU donor branding guidelines, IDH brand book, and Vietnam’s regulatory requirements.

Deliverables

The deliverables of this assignment will be:

• Inception phase implementation plan and activity calendar for the three Work Packages: To be finalized within the first two weeks of the assignment to guide implementation; Deadline: July 25, 2025
• One consolidated baseline assessment report, based on 10 start-up and SME diagnostics, with individual start-up and SME profiles: Baseline assessment to be conducted by an external service provider. The consultant will coordinate the process and develop a consolidated report and individual SME profiles based on diagnostic data collected from 10 women-led start-ups and SMEs; Deadline: September 6, 2025
• Stakeholder coordination tracker and engagement summary reports (interim version): Living document; first interim version submitted in September, updated monthly thereafter; Deadline: September 20, 2025 (first version)
• 10 tailored start-up and SME support plans, including quick-win recommendations: Based on assessment findings and SME consultations; Deadline: October 4, 2025
• Input to five draft policy recommendation briefing notes: Informed by WP1 stakeholder engagement; co-created with MOIT, VITAS, VWU, and other partners; Deadline: November 4, 2025
• Contributions to IDH-EU donor narrative and financial reports (Q3 & Q4): Aligned with internal EU reporting timelines; Deadlines: Q3: October 10, 2025; Q4: December 10, 2025
• Coalition formation, industrial park scoping, and preliminary recommendations on circular solutions and technologies: Establish coalition structure, map IP/factory waste flows, and propose feasible circular models; Deadline: October 15, 2025
• Gender integration guidance and a joint M&E framework aligned with EU reporting requirements: Provide tools for gender mainstreaming and align M&E with program outcomes; Deadline: November 10, 2025
• Optional: 1–2 start-up/SME case stories for EU donor visibility and communications: Subject to progress of start-up/SME engagement and early results.; Deadline: November–December 2025 (if feasible)

The procedure will be as follows:

1. Publishing the tender and/or inviting service providers to submit a proposal based on this ToR.
2. Evaluation of the proposals by the evaluation committee. The evaluation committee will assess all complete proposals based on the selection criteria outlined in this ToR. The top three highest-scoring proposals may be shortlisted for further consideration, if needed.
3. Decision on selection of the service provider.
4. Inception meeting with the selected service provider.

The schedule below indicates the timelines for the tender procedure:

Tender process

Timeline

ToR published - 23.06.2025

Deadline for submission of proposals** - 30.06.2025

Selection of service provider - 04.07.2025

Start of assignment  - 11.07.2025

** Proposals submitted after the deadline will be returned and will not be considered in the tender procedure.

After the deadline to submit a proposal has passed, the IDH evaluation committee will assess the proposals.

The proposals will first be tested for completeness:

• The absence of the documents referred to in Section 6 of this document can lead to exclusion from further participation in the tender procedure. This is also the case when the minimum requirements listed in this ToR are not met.
• If the proposal is complete, the selection committee will evaluate the proposal based on the criteria set forth in Section 6.

The assignment will be awarded to the service provider with the most economically advantageous tender. This is determined based on the evaluation criteria, price and quality (see Section 6).

IDH will reject the proposal if any illegal or corrupt practices have taken place in connection with the award or the tender procedure.

IDH is requesting the service providers to hand in a proposal of maximum 5 pages (excluding company biographies, CVs, sample work, and references). The proposal must be submitted in both MS Word and PowerPoint format in addition to a PDF version, to allow copy-pasting of content during evaluation.

The proposal must at least include:

• Technical proposal (maximum 5 pages), outlining the proposed approach, methodology, timeline, and understanding of the assignment, including relevant experience with similar programs.

• Financial proposal with a clear daily rate and an estimated level of effort (LOE), including a cost breakdown per deliverable if possible.

• Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlighting relevant assignments, skills, and qualifications.

• Two professional references, ideally from similar donor-funded assignments or work in the sustainable textiles or women’s entrepreneurship field.
• A description of how the Applicant meets the minimum eligibility criteria, including:

• 5–7 years of relevant experience in project coordination or technical consultancy in sustainable textiles, MSME development, circular economy, or women’s economic empowerment.
• Proven understanding of Vietnam’s private sector landscape, including the textile sector, gender dynamics, and circularity challenges.
• Familiarity with EU-funded or other donor-funded program implementation, including compliance, reporting, and visibility requirements.
• Experience coordinating multi-stakeholder initiatives and engaging with public and private actors (e.g., MOIT, VWU, VITAS, industrial parks, brands).
• Demonstrated experience using enterprise assessment tools or developing tailored SME capacity-building plans.
• Excellent facilitation, coordination, and communication skills.
• Full professional proficiency in both Vietnamese and English.

Note: Annexes (e.g., CVs and references) are not counted toward the 5-page limit of the technical proposal.

The proposal must be submitted to Thuy Minh Thi Nguyen at thuyminhnguyen@idhtrade.org by 01.07.2025, 17:00 (ICT)

Applicants shall be excluded from participation in this tender procedure if:

They are bankrupt or are being wound up, have their affairs administered by the courts, have entered an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations.

they or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata.

They have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the IDH can justify.

they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established, or with those of the Netherlands or those of the country where the contract is to be performed.

they or persons having powers of representation, decision making of control over them have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization, money laundering or any other illegal activity.

Conflict of interest (see below).

Applicants must confirm in writing that they are not in one of the situations listed above.

Applicants shall not make use of child labor or forced labor and/or practice discrimination, and they shall respect the right to freedom of association and the right to organize and engage in collective bargaining, in accordance with the core conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

Conflict of interest

Applicants shall not have a conflict of interest in submitting a tender application to IDH. Conflict of interest refers to any situation where an Applicant’s application may be compromised or not impartial and objective for reasons involving family, personal life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other connection or shared interest with another person. Should the Applicant suspect any potential conflicts of interest on its part, it shall submit a written statement setting forth all conditions and circumstances of such potential conflict(s) of interest to IDH together with its application. A conflict of interest that cannot be solved effectively by less restrictive means constitutes an optional exclusion ground to an applicant, pursuant to article 2.87(1)(e) of the Dutch Procurement Act

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Particulars 

Weightage

Relevant experience and qualifications - 30%

Proposed methodology and technical approach - 30%

Financial proposal - 30%

Understanding of gender, circularity, and MSME support in Vietnam - 10%

Award

Once IDH has decided which Applicant intends to award the assignment, a written notification thereof is sent to all Applicants participating in the tender procedure.

The Applicant is contracted via a letter of assignment, following IDH’s template (Annex 5).

Please note: the payment schedule set out in the letter of assignment template may be amended, subject to unilateral decision of IDH.

All participants will ensure that all its contacts with IDH, with regards to the tender, during the tender procedure take place exclusively in writing by e-mail to Ceren Coroglu via coroglu@idhtrade.org The participants is thus explicitly prohibited, to prevent discrimination of the other participants and to ensure the diligence of the procedure, to have any contact whatsoever regarding the tender with any other persons of IDH than the person stated in the first sentence of this paragraph.

The documents provided by or on behalf of IDH will be handled confidentially. The Applicants will also impose a duty of confidentiality on any parties that it engages. Any breach of the duty of confidentiality by the Applicant or its engaged third parties will give IDH grounds for exclusion of the Applicant, without requiring any prior written or verbal warning.

All information, documents and other requested or provided data submitted by the Applicant will be handled with due care and confidentiality by IDH. The provided information will after evaluation by IDH be filed as confidential. The provided information will not be returned to the Applicant.

IDH reserves the right to update, change, extend, postpone, withdraw, or suspend the ToR, this tender procedure, or any decision regarding the selection or contract award. IDH is not obliged in this tender procedure to make a contract award decision or to conclude a contract with a participant.

Participants in the tender procedure cannot claim compensation from IDH, any affiliated persons or entities, in any case any of the afore-mentioned situations occur.

By handing in a proposal, participants accept all terms and reservations made in this ToR, and subsequent information and documentation in this tender procedure.

Annex 1- IDH General Terms and Conditions

Annex 2 - Letter of Assignment (Detail Request Form)

Annex 3- Budget Template

Annex 5 - Statement of Acceptance

Annex 6 - Letter of assignment template