Consultancy to Conduct Mapping and Organisational Capacity Assessment of Existing and New Implementing Partners on Early Childhood Development at Child Fund International

 Purpose of the Assessment

This assignment is purposed to actualise and achieve the second objective of the project to “assess the potential local implementing organizations and co-develop implementation plans”, ChildFund is thus seeking to engage the services of a reputable and experienced consultancy firm or individual to conduct organisation capacity assessments for 2 existing and 4 potential new implementing partners’ ability to implement ECD and Nurturing Care interventions. This will be done in consultation with the four proposed county governments.

Specific Objectives

• To identify new potential partners in the target counties through county-level engagements for the possible potential of implementing nurturing Care Interventions for an Organizational Capacity Assessment process.
• To map out and list possible partners in target counties in terms of their location, coverage, scope and interventions

Scope of Work

The organisational capacity assessment will be undertaken in the 4 proposed counties of Kisumu, Busia, Homa Bay and Nyamira and cover the following domains.

• Governance: Areas include vision, mission, and values; organizational structure; composition of the board and responsibilities; succession planning and legal status
• Organizational Management: Areas include strategic planning; operational plan; resource mobilization; communication strategy; knowledge management; stakeholder involvement; internal communication; change management and decision making
• Program Management: Areas include donor compliance; sub-grant management; technical reporting; community involvement; referral mechanism; experience in implementing interventions any component of nurturing care for ECD (Good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, safety and security and opportunities for early learning) and advocacy.
• Administration: Areas include operational policies, procedures and systems; travel policies and procedures; procurement; fixed assets control; and information systems
• Human Resources: Areas include recruitment; staffing and staffing levels; job descriptions and staff supervision; volunteers and interns; human resource policies and procedures; and salaries and benefits.
• Financial Management: Areas include financial systems; financial policies and procedures; internal controls; financial documentation and reporting; financial planning and sustainability; budgeting; audits and cost share
• Project Performance Management: Areas include field oversight activities; standards; quality assurance; supervision; monitoring and evaluation.

Outputs and Deliverables

• Develop the Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) tools focusing on the domains, objectives and sub-objectives listed above.
• Administer the OCA assessment tools to the potential partners including the Lake Region Development Program, Western Children’s Community Program, Board of Directors and the Secretariat
• Conduct field visits and physical verification of the feedback in the offices of the partners
• Conduct consultations with relevant county and sub-county government departments in the proposed counties
• Conduct an initial data consolidation from the findings and develop an organizational capacity plan
• Provide leading facilitation of the development of organizational capacity strengthening and building plans for the priority areas
• Compile and finalize an assessment report and share it with ChildFund

Qualifications of Consultant (s)

Consultants/ research institutions and individuals interested in conducting this consultancy should have the following qualifications:

• Knowledge, experience and expertise of civil society organization (CSO) undertaking the organizational capacity assessment.
• At least a Masters/PhD degree in a relevant discipline i.e., Social Sciences, Development Studies, Management, Organizational Development or related field
• Proven experience in organizational capacity assessment and reviews in Kenya.
• Experience in research and data collection
• Knowledge of Early Childhood Development with a focus on components of nurturing care namely good health, adequate nutrition, child protection for IYC, responsive caregiving and opportunities for early learning.
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Swahili. Knowledge of Dholuo, Abaluhya, Abagusii and Abakuria languages is an added advantage.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Experience in leading and facilitating participatory processes.
• Ability to manage multiple, complex tasks being undertaken concurrently.
• Ability and capacity to conduct virtual meetings and interviews
• Experience in conducting key informant interviews and focus group discussions.
• Ability to analyse, interpret and synthesize information from several sources.