Consultancy to Conduct the Review of Governance and Management Systems of 12 Local Implementing Partners of ChildFund Kenya Programme 157 views

Background and Context

ChildFund is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) working in over 25 countries1 to help deprived, excluded, and vulnerable children have the capacity to improve their lives and become young adults, parents, and leaders who bring lasting and positive change to their communities. ChildFund is committed to child-centered change that leads to healthy and secure infants, educated and confident children, and skilled and involved youth. With an annual budget of approximately $233.5M (FY 2017), ChildFund currently reaches over 11.4 million children and family members across 25 countries, managing a portfolio of more than 326 local implementing partners.

In Kenya ChildFund operations started in in the early 1960s, responding to the appalling conditions of children in the country, brought about by the political, economic and social realities of the time. Since 1974, the organization has gone through several developmental milestones some of which being expansion of its work to 26 out of the 47 counties and streamlining its partnership arrangement. In the 1970 and 1980, ChildFund Kenya was working with 102 local partners, mostly parents and guardians interest groups. In early 2000, these groups were amalgamated into 38 registered community based organisations (CBOs). Again in 2016, the CBOs, to make them stronger and with robust operation systems, were consolidated to 13 registered local Non-governmental Organisations (NGO)[1].

Globally, ChildFund works through local partner organisations because it believes that local ownership of change is fundamental to the social change process, and that by working in partnership, a multiplier effect will be experienced. Over the years, experience has however, shown to achieve its core program, the LPs ChildFund is working with must be not only be supportive of its development and program priorities, but also have the required management and technical capacity to deliver what is expected from them. The LPs must be able to design and implement, and/or contribute to programs that meet an acceptable standard of program quality. Thus, for the partnership to succeed, ChildFund in its part must be dexterous and responsive to a variety of types of partnerships, and to be clear on the value they are bringing. It is, therefore within the context of realizing this desire that guided the partner consolidation.

With more stronger LPs, ChildFund expected a significant improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery[2]. To ensure the LPs are strong, ChildFund Kenya supported them reorganize their technical, financial and operational systems and structures. As outlined in the current ChildFund Kenya’s country strategic plan (CSP), the consolidated LPs were supposed to be more visible and a powerful force capable of delivering a core set of child development-focused programs at the local level, while contributing to broader efforts to advocate for and on behalf of children’s development, rights, and protection. However, despite all the efforts made, some of the LPs are still faced with numerous challenges. Among the challenges they are experiencing are poor governance and lack of management structures and systems, non adherence to the set standards outlined by the NGO coordination board e.g. bylaws, articles and memorandum of associations, code of conduct and ethics. LPs boards also have few members who bring competencies and addd value to the work of the organisation, thus often leading to poor decisions and constant interference of the management by the boards. Consequently, the LPs have delayed delivery of programs, continued to have high operation costs and unbale to diversify their source of funding.

Almost four years after the consolidation of the LPs, it is important that the governance and management structures of the LPs Boards, including their constitutions, bylaws and policies are reviewed. The review would also assess how the LPs as local registered NGOs, have performed in delivering their mandate, achievements realized, challenges faced and how their management and government systems can be improved for better governance and management.

Purpose

The purpose of the proposed review of the 12 local partners is to provide an in-depth status of their operations, governance and management systems and structures. The assignment will assess and draw lessons and experience from the current performance of the LPs and provide practical recommendations of how to improve governance and management systems and structures to be more efficient and effective in delivering quality programs and sponsorship interventions of the deprived, excluded and vulnerable children, their families and communities.

Objectives

i. To provide an independent and rigorous assessment of the Boards of management structures, to identify what works, what does not and the reasons thereof.

ii. Assess criteria used in selection of Board members and advise on the best practice on selection based on required skills and qualifications as well as the community participation and involvement in the selection process.

iii. To assess the adherence to relevant regulatory bodies such as the NGO’s Coordination Board, the Kenya Constitution and individual NGO constitutions

iv. To identify best practices, relevant lessons learned following the consolidation process undertaken last 3 years.

Methodology

The consultant is expected to present a clear methodology which s/he will use to actualize the local partners’ governance and management review. The consultant should further elaborate how to capture the following points in his/her methodology:

-Role that ChildFund and LP staff have played in shaping the governance and management process of the Local partners.

-Adequacies or gaps in the governance and management structures and systems, including guiding policies and strategies, as expounded in the LP constitution, Community Development Plans, Annual Operating Plans and Budgets and other relevant documents,

· Analysis of the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the LPs,

· Important lessons learnt by ChildFund, Local Partners, and others so far

· Detailed actionable recommendations to help improve the governance and management of the Local partners.

Despite the restriction of COVID-19, the review process is expected to be as participatory as it is practically possible. Use of virtual/online facilitation or any other innovative participatory review process, where possible, are highly recommended.

Scope

The review process will focus on the 12 LPs operating in the 26 Counties. Looking back for the last 3 years, the review which analyse and compare and contrast the governance and management of the LPs before and after consolidation. It will identify gaps and recommend practical of further strengthening LP governance and management structures and systems.

Deliverables

Report of an Initiation/entry meeting held between the consultant and ChuldFund Management on the assignment.

· A detailed inception report which outlines the consultants approach to delivering the assigning, demonstrates the scope of work as stipulated

  • A Virtual Validation Meeting with ChildFund and LP Management representatives on the key review findings.
  • A final report clearly stipulating all issues raised in this TOR and with clear recommendation.

Qualifications

The proposed consultant must have a vast knowledge in organizational development (OD) and capacity assessment of community-based organizations (CBOs), local NGOs, FBOs operating in rural areas, ASALs and urban informal settlements.

· Specifically, the consultant must possess the following:

  1. An advanced degree in the following or related disciplines: Community Development, Development Studies, Sociology, Organization Development, Economics, Political Science, Strategic Planning

  2. Demonstratable experience in evaluations, community-based training of groups

  3. Prior experience in documentation of OD processes, preparation of strategic plans and project design documents with a reputable international organization

  4. Vast knowledge of governance, policy development and Monitoring and Evaluation.

  5. Strong understanding of communities, civil society and their interaction with government Proven knowledge and practical experience in quantitative and qualitative research.

  6. Excellent analytical, organizational, facilitating, presentation and communication skills.

· Other experiences and capabilities the consult should have are:

  1. Additional training in Governance is an advantage.

  2. Indepth understanding of the Kenya CSO landscape.

  3. Fluency in English and Kiswahili

Management and coordination

The key people that the consultant will be working closely with ChildFund led by the Programs and Sponsorship Director, the Partnership Portfolio Manager and Area Managers.

Work plan and Timelines

The assignment is expected to be conducted for a period of three weeks from May 2021. Specific timelines applicable to this activity will be agreed with the successful consultant during the initiation meeting.

Payment process

Payment upon submission and acceptance of the Inception Report to ChildFund Kenya 30%**

Payment upon submission of first draft of the report to ChildFund Kenya 30%**

Payment upon submission and acceptance of Final report by ChildFund Kenya 40%**

NB:

· The Consultant’s compensation shall be paid NET, within 30 days from receipt of a proper invoice unless otherwise

specified.

· Payment will be made by cheque unless otherwise specified.

· The payment shall be subjected to 5% withholding tax as required by the Law at the time of payment.

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