Identification of Livestock Methane Mitigation Practices Consultant, Mexico

Please note that the deadline is based on Korean Standard Time Zone (KST, UTC+9)

INTRODUCTION TO GGGI

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting and promoting strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth in developing countries and emerging economies. To learn more please visit about GGGI web page. 

General Information

• Project output: ROB029-E1-2
• Duty Station: Remote, Mexico
• Contract Duration: 3 months (July 13^{th –} October 13^th, 2026)
• Consultant Level: Level 3
• Total Fees: 15,000 USD

Livestock production is a pillar of Mexico's rural economy and, at the same time, a major source of greenhouse gases, accounting for close to 13% of the country's national emissions. Within the sector, methane is the principal greenhouse gas of concern, released through two main pathways: enteric fermentation, the digestive process of ruminants that is especially intense on degraded pastures and with low-quality feed, and the anaerobic decomposition of manure. Beef and dairy systems concentrate most of this footprint, so the way cattle are fed, grazed and managed, and the way their waste is handled, largely determines the methane intensity of national production.

Mexico has committed, under the Global Methane Pledge, to cut 30% of methane emissions by 2030 compared to 2020 levels, and the livestock sub-sector is central to meeting that target. The FIRA Methane Reduction Strategy responds to this agenda from the financial side. As a second-tier development bank with deep exposure to the agrifood sector, FIRA can guide credit and investment toward lower-emission production models, translating climate goals into concrete financing conditions and investment concepts for producers across the value chain.

FIRA’s Methane Reduction Strategy prioritizes the bovine sector, covering the dairy, beef and dual-purpose chains across both their upstream and downstream segments. This sector concentrates the largest mitigation potential and represents one of the largest proportions of FIRA's overall financing portfolio, which means that interventions here deliver the highest methane abatement per unit of financing. Focusing on bovine systems, therefore, aligns the institution's climate ambition with the segment where its capital can have the greatest mitigation effect. 

Reducing these emissions requires investment concepts aligned with livestock-management practices that cut methane along the value chain, from feeding, grazing, and herd management that lower enteric emissions to improved manure handling and effluent treatment at corrals, feedlots, abattoirs and dairy plants. The viability of each practice, however, depends heavily on the production system, its level of intensity, the agro-ecological zone and the breed and socioeconomic context of the producer, so a practice that performs well in one setting may be unfeasible in another. Aligning financing with mitigation therefore requires a clear, regionally tailored understanding of which practices work best in specific locations.

This is the gap that the present assignment addresses. By regionalizing production systems and characterizing the relevant management practices per zone and context, it provides the technical evidence base that the FIRA Methane Reduction Strategy needs to design sound, context-appropriate investment concepts and financial instruments.

The result is a robust matrix of methane-reduction practices characterized per zone, system and context, where each practice is associated with the type of investment concept it would eventually require. The matrix thus serves as the technical reference base from which GGGI and FIRA can design investment concepts and financial instruments, and it must allow both institutions to confirm that emerging practices per zone, system, and context are robust enough to anchor those future concepts.

• Develop a detailed workplan defining activities, methodology, data sources, fieldwork plan and timeline.

• Map the country's bovine production systems (dairy, beef, and dual-purpose) by intensity level and agro-ecological zone, and propose a strategic regionalization for the analysis, drawing on existing public and institutional datasets (such as SIAP and INEGI).

• Trace the flows of live animals and products between producing and destination states to accurately attribute methane emissions along the value chain.

• Build the inventory-matrix of methane-reduction practices for enteric fermentation, manure management and agro-industrial effluents, with greater focus on the first two, characterizing each practice across the matrix fields.

• Validate and document the practices in all the identified zones, with fieldwork in at least one productive region per zone, complemented by documentary review and stakeholder consultation.

• Consolidate the matrix into the final regionalization and classification framework.

Deliverables and Payment Schedule

Deliverable 1. Workplan.

A detailed workplan outlining activities, methodology, data sources, fieldwork plan and timeline. It will serve as the operational reference for monitoring progress and coordinating with GGGI throughout the assignment.

Deliverable 2. One report containing the national mapping of bovine production systems and the zoning proposal.

A report containing the national mapping of bovine production systems (dairy, beef, and dual-purpose) crossed with intensity level and agro-ecological zone, built on existing public and institutional datasets (e.g. SIAP, INEGI, FIRA registry), with a proposed zoning for the analysis. It includes a database that locates the production systems, either at the municipality level or as a geospatial layer depending on the tools available to the consultant, and accounts for the inter-state flows of live animals and products between origin and destination, so that methane emissions can be attributed to the corresponding state(s).

Deliverable 3. One inventory-matrix of methane-reduction practices document.

An inventory-matrix that records, for each practice within categories (a) enteric fermentation, (b) manure management, and (c) agro-industrial effluents at abattoirs and dairy plants (with greater focus on a and b): (1) practice; (2) what it is and how it is applied; (3) how it reduces methane; (4) reduction reported in the literature (%); (5) double dividend (productivity or profitability gains beyond methane reduction); (6) maturity and applicability in Mexico; (7) enabling conditions, including the investment costs required to implement the practice; (8) viability (technical, financial, operational, and sociocultural, adapted to the Mexican rural context); and (9) barriers, challenges and opportunities for adoption.

Deliverable 4. One consolidated, field-validated practices final report with an executive presentation.

A consolidated matrix that integrates the field validation: the practices documented across all identified zones (fieldwork in at least one productive region per zone, complemented by documentary review and stakeholder consultation) are fed back into the final regionalization and classification framework per zone, system, intensity, and context. This validated matrix complements portfolio analysis and serves as the technical reference base from which GGGI and FIRA can profile investment concepts and financial instruments. The deliverable concludes with an executive presentation summarizing the consultancy's key outcomes.

All products (databases, documents with their annexes, tables, diagrams, and other graphic materials) will be delivered in digital media, in open and editable files.

The total fee is all-inclusive: it covers all travel, per-diem and fieldwork expenses required to conduct the assignment; GGGI will not reimburse or cover any cost directly.

The consultant will be supervised by GGGI's Mexico Program Sustainable Production Senior Associate. The consultancy will be monitored and coordinated mainly through periodic review and planning meetings, with details to be agreed in a kick-off meeting once the consultancy starts and the schedule defined in coordination with the same supervisor. These meetings will address the strategic direction of activities, the coordination of actors, and progress reporting on the consultancy's objective and deliverables.

Deliverables may be submitted in Spanish; the final executive presentation, however, must be delivered in English, in accordance with GGGI's formatting requirements. Fieldwork, interviews, and stakeholder consultation will be conducted in Spanish, and all products must be sent in electronic copy together with the detail of the items associated with each deliverable.

Expertise required

• (REQUIRED) Mexican citizen or a foreign resident with a current work visa.

• (REQUIRED) Master’s Degree in Veterinary Medicine (MVZ), Zootechnics, Animal Science, or a related field.

• (REQUIRED) At least five (5) years of proven experience in Livestock Production and in sustainable / low-emission livestock management.

• (REQUIRED) Demonstrated knowledge of greenhouse-gas (GHG) mitigation in livestock systems.

• (REQUIRED) Fluent in written and spoken English.

• (PLUS) Experience in financing the livestock sector.

• (PLUS) Specific experience in methane mitigation in livestock systems.

• (PLUS) Experience with enteric-fermentation and/or manure-management interventions.

• (PLUS) Experience with agro-industrial wastewater or effluents at abattoirs and dairy plants.

• (PLUS) Established relationships across the bovine value chain (dairy, beef and dual-purpose).

• (PLUS) GIS experience.

• (PLUS) Prior work with the Government of Mexico (GoM), FIRA, international organizations, academia or corporate actors related to the sector.

• Excellent skills in data analysis and critical thinking.

• Strong skills in assertive communication.

• Functional

• A proactive attitude, with an ability to find workable solutions promptly.

• Punctual, professional, and ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with multicultural and interdisciplinary teams

• Corporate

• Understands and actively supports GGGI’s mission, vision, and values.

• Commits to team goals and works effectively across the organization with individuals of different views, cultures, nationality, gender, and age.

• Excellent problem solver.

• Exemplifies the highest standard of honesty, integrity, and professionalism.

• Selection Method: Competitive Selection (CS)

• Timeline of selection: 15 days

•  Interested consultants shall submit the following documentation:  

• Cover letter.

• Curriculum vitae (CV).

Date to close is Korean Standard Time (KST). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered. Application, cover letter, and CV must be sent in English. A consortium or a firm may not be engaged for the individual consultant assignment.