Consultant

I. Overview

The Bahamas contains one of the largest and most carbon-dense seagrass ecosystems on Earth, with extensive meadows extending across the archipelago and locking away an estimated 420 to 590 million metric tons of organic carbon in seafloor sediments. The Bahamas Blue Carbon Project seeks to operationalize this extraordinary natural asset as a vehicle for climate finance, generating Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) through the protection, restoration, and improved management of seagrass meadows, while delivering measurable co-benefits for coastal communities, marine biodiversity, and national climate commitments.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) seeks a qualified individual or firm to provide specialized technical

analysis to conduct an expert review of the Bahamas Blue Carbon Project’s seagrass carbon methodology and Monitoring Reporting & Verification (MRV) framework to ensure they are globally accepted, technically accurate, appropriately sized to deliver the level of confidence required for ITMO generation, while maximizing the funds available for seagrass conservation/restoration and sustainable development activities. The consultant will be selected through a competitive process, and the consultancy is anticipated to be a two-to-three-month engagement, with the possibility of extension depending on findings and the needs of the Project.

V. Qualifications

CRS is seeking a consultant with strong experience evaluating blue carbon credit programs with a

preference for experience on jurisdictional level programs, compliance markets and article 6 transactions. The ideal candidate brings both technical rigor and the interpersonal skills necessary to work effectively across a multi-partner, cross-cultural program. The following qualifications are sought:

Core Technical Competencies

1. Demonstrated understanding of seagrass carbon dynamic

2. Direct, project-level experience applying or assessing carbon programs, ideally with seagrass or

tidal-wetland projects rather than only terrestrial work.

3. Working knowledge of Article 6.2 cooperative-approach requirements and the 6.4 mechanism

including understanding of corresponding adjustments, double-counting avoidance, and host country reporting obligations.

4. Familiarity with the IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement and relevant coastal-wetland carbon

accounting guidance.

5. Experience designing or auditing monitoring plans that combine remote sensing with in-situ

sampling, including statistically defensible sampling design.

6. Strong command of uncertainty quantification, QA/QC, and the conservativeness principles

required for credit programs

7. Familiarity with adjacent standards (Verra, Gold Standard, Plan Vivo) is a plus for benchmarking.

8. Validation/verification background is highly desirable

Organizational and Interpersonal Skills

1. Experience working with government-led and/or public-private partnerships in developing

country contexts.

2. Prior work in small island developing states is an advantage but not required.

3. Ability to work across a multi-partner consortium with diverse institutional cultures —

government, NGO, and private sector.

4. Strong written communication skills, particularly for producing findings and recommendations

accessible to non-financial audiences including sovereign partners and program leadership.

5. Proven experience with complex commercial transactions

VI. Required Applicable Component

Technical proposal maximum 5 pages, that includes:

1. A detailed methodology for completing each anticipated deliverable, including a proposed

timeframe.

2. A summary of the consultant's or team's relevant expertise and capacity

3. Examples of comparable work carried out previously

Financial proposal maximum 1 page, that includes:

4. A detailed summary of your financial details (a) Compensation rate per day or hour, (b) Total

cost for completing the assignment, and (c) Confirmation of the level of effort (i.e., number of

billable days) or a fixed fee for the total assignment.

5. Resume/CV of the lead analyst and any supporting team members.

6. Contact information of two engagements of comparable scope and nature, with the following

details about the references: (a) name, (b) position, (c) company, (d) phone number, (e) email

address, and (f) city, state, country.

7. 1-2 sample work product such as a redacted report or assessment memorandum.

8. Proposals shall remain valid for 90 calendar days from the proposal submission deadline.

9. Completion of Annex A.

10. Conflict of interest disclosure — given that the consultant may have existing professional

relationships with the vendor or other Project partners, all actual or potential conflicts must be

disclosed. CRS will assess disclosed conflicts on a case-by-case basis and reserves the right to

disqualify proposals where conflicts cannot be adequately mitigated.

Note: Applicant that do not include the requirements noted above will not be considered.

IX. Clarifying Questions and CRS Response

Prospective bidders may submit any clarifying questions by singular request to [email protected] by July 15, 2026, 11:59 PM EST. The solicitation name “US10371.07.2026 Technical Due Diligence

Consultant for the Bahamas Blue Carbon Project” must be included in the Email Subject line.

Responses will be provided to any known prospective bidders on July 16, 2026. Questions submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

X. Proposal Submission

All proposals must be submitted to [email protected] no later than July 17, 2026, 11:59 PM EST. The

solicitation name “US10371.07.2026 Technical Due Diligence Consultant for the Bahamas Blue

Carbon Project” must be included in the Email Subject Line.

Please note that all prospective bidders will receive a notification regarding the outcome of the Request for Proposal (RFP) promptly following the decision-making process.