Terms of Reference for Developing Quality Management System for Community Based Organisations (CBO) Growing Futures Project at Farm Africa

About the Project

The Need

The majority of Kenyan youths are unemployed, underemployed or underpaid. The country has an unemployment rate of 40%, of which 70% are youths. Youth unemployment prolongs dependency on parents, diminishes self-esteem and fuels frustration which increases the likelihood of violence, crime and conflict.

In the project area, 54% of the population live in poverty, caused by: uneconomical land plots, squatter problems, cattle rustling, landlessness and unemployment.

The Project Intervention

The project started in 2011 with a pilot phase of the project titled Youth Empowerment in Sustainable Agriculture (YESA) in Trans Nzoia East district, North Rift Region. The project has expanded in subsequent phases, and is currently titled Growing Futures (GF). It is designed to combat unemployment among the youth through equipping farmers with skills in agri-business, crop husbandry practices and marketing/enterprise development, with a core focus on the financial sustainability of their businesses.

Project Logic

The overall goal of the project is to increase opportunities for asset-poor and landless youth to participate in horticultural value chains to increase household income and reduce rural youth unemployment.

The project has three objectives:

• Increase production of horticulture produce by rural youth
• Increase household income for rural youth through horticulture production
• Enhance commercial trading opportunities for at least 1,000 youth in advanced group GF groups

Scope of Work

Farm Africa seeks a high level Consultant to undertake the following broad tasks:

To develop the Quality Management Systems (QMS) manual for the CBO that has the following details;

1. Quality objectives
2. Organizational structure and responsibilities
3. Data management
4. Processes – including purchasing
5. Product quality leading to customer satisfaction
6. Continuous improvement including corrective and preventive action
7. Quality instrument
8. Document control

• Awareness and capacity building for the CBOs – The consultancy firm will provide comprehensive trainings for the three CBOs including the technical staff under Farm Africa on QMS (ISO 9001:2015) and recommendations that suits the CBOs as an organization.
• Development and configuration of a Quality Management system – The Consultancy firm will guide the CBO staff and Farm Africa staff to establish a QMS system in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 requirements including but not limited to Quality manuals, procedures, Work instructions and other support documentation that are in line with ISO 9001:2015 standards.
• System implementation and its verification – The consultancy will provide a guide on a comprehensive auditing trail to verify system implementation.

Timing

The Consultant will be required to complete and submit the proposal in a maximum of 45 consultant input days.

Deliverables

• Needs assessment from the CBO’s for the development of the QMS document
• Gap Analysis report
• Training sessions for the CBOs and Farm Africa staff on ISO Awareness and Documentation.
• Development of the Quality management systems for the CBO’s;
• Provision of ISO Mandatory documents.
• Preparation/Provision of ISO – QMS manual development, Quality policy statements and Quality Objectives.
• Formulation of process flow including detailed procedures for the CBO operations.
• Development of technical quality procedures in line with the ISO quality standards.
• Record Management.
• Work Instructions guidelines and other support documents.
• Facilitate development of internal audit process.
• Develop a guide on Precertification Audit process.

Reporting and Responsibilities

The consultant will work directly under the supervision of the senior project coordinator and with support from entire Farm Africa Growing Futures project team constituting of the Programs Manager, Technical expert – Agriculture, senior project officer, Project officers, technical assistants, HR Manager, and Finance Manager.

The consultant will work directly with the Project officers and the Agribusiness Project officer on a day-to-day basis to actualise the task. The team will get oversight support from the Senior Management Team constituting, Program manager, Technical expert- Agriculture and SPC.

Qualifications and required competencies

Applications from consultancy firms or individual consultants.

The following are the key qualifications and competencies required:

Essential

• Experience with ISO training, auditing and certifications for various organizations preferably in the NGO sector.
• Recognized experience in quality assurance and QMS system implementation.
• An outstanding track record of participating and guiding formulation and implementation of process maps, work instructions and establishment of an internal audit of a QMS system. Must have demonstrable experience in analytical report writing.
• Has assisted other demonstrable clients in the establishment and development of a QMS, internal audit process and further ISO 9001:2015 certification.
• Experience in financial matters including auditing;
• Excellent negotiation skills and good knowledge of IT infrastructure that are involved in the development of a QMS.
• Good communicator.

Desirable

• Academic and practical experience in any ISO certification not less than ISO 9001:2011
• Previous knowledge of developing QMS documents.