Request for Expression of Interest

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is seeking to engage the services of an Individual Consultant to support the establishment of infrastructure for the safe, local production and distribution of Aflasafe in Madagascar. The Aflasafe biocontrol technology (based on atoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus) has been scaled and industrialized in several African countries, transforming laboratory-scale production into modular manufacturing plants using a dry-process method. To support safe, local production and distribution of Aflasafe in Madagascar, the World Bank is financing renovation and setting up of laboratory and manufacturing infrastructure.

The purpose of this assignment is to lead the design, renovation, equipping, commissioning, and validation of such facilities, ensuring compliance with biosafety, quality, regulatory, and operational standards in alignment with the project's overall goals and donor requirements.

In line with this, we invite suitably qualified and experienced individuals to express their interest in providing the required services.

Scope of Work / Key Responsibilities

The consultant will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

Facility Design & Layout

·       Review existing site, building structure, utilities (power, water, HVAC, air handling, drainage, waste, HVAC, clean rooms)

·       Propose architectural / civil works renovation plans, partitioning of zones (grain intake, sterilization / roasting, cooling, coating, packaging, QC labs, spore production lab, storage, offices)

·       Provide detailed layouts showing equipment placement, utilities routing, personnel flow, biosafety separations, contamination control, clean air zones

·       Ensure modular design options (scalable modules) to allow incremental expansion, following lessons from modular Aflasafe plants in Kenya and elsewhere. 

Utilities, HVAC, Biosafety, Environmental Controls

·       Specify HVAC / clean air systems (e.g. HEPA filtration, sterile air, pressure differentials)

·       Ensure design of sterilization systems (e.g. grain roaster, cooling, dry sterilization) in line with the dry-process methodology adopted for Aflasafe in Africa

·       Design water, steam, clean utilities, drainage, waste disposal, and environmental controls

·       Ensure biosafety measures, containment, monitoring of microbial hazards

Equipment Specification, Procurement, and Installation

·       Define technical specifications and acceptance criteria for equipment: grain cleaners, roasters, coolers, seed treaters (coating machines), conveyors, bagging & sealing, weighing & printing, QC instruments, spore-production fermenters, incubators, autoclaves, analytic instruments, etc.

·       Issue tender documents, evaluate bids, support selection

·       Supervise equipment delivery, installation, alignment, calibration, IQ/OQ/PQ (installation / operational / performance qualification)

·       Interface with manufacturers and subcontractors

Training & Capacity Building

·       Prepare training plan for local staff (lab technicians, manufacturing operators, QC personnel) in GMP, biosafety, equipment operations, maintenance, QC assays, data management

·       Oversee first pilot production runs and scale-up ramping, mentoring local team

Project, Stakeholder & Reporting Duties

·       Coordinate with the Project Management Unit, donor / World Bank, local institutions

·       Ensure compliance with WB procurement, safeguards, environmental, health & safety requirements

·       Provide periodic progress reports, risk assessments, work plans, budget estimates for the facility component

·       Monitor quality, schedule, cost, and resolve construction / technical issues

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D) in relevant field – e.g., Biological Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering, Microbiology, Chemical Engineering or related discipline.
• Minimum of ten (10) years of relevant professional experience leading the design, construction, and commissioning of biological / microbiological laboratories and pilot / full-scale manufacturing plants.
• Demonstrated expertise in QA/QC / validation / GMP or equivalent quality systems in biotech / food / seed / microbial production with experience in microbial fermentation, spore production, inoculation / coating, dry-process manufacturing systems.
• Excellent technical writing, reporting skills, stakeholder engagement abilities and project management skills with ability to supervise contractors, multitask and manage cross-disciplinary teams.
• Previous experience working with international organizations, donor-funded projects, developing countries/ Africa will be an added advantage.

Duration and Location of the Assignment

The consultancy is expected to last for a period of six months.