Terms of Reference (ToR)

Capacity Building and Organizational Development Consultancy

General information:

Job title: Capacity building and organizational development Consultant

Project title: Sustainable and Inclusive Rural Economic Development, SIRED

Donor contract no.: 8191/00-2019

Donor: Austrian Development Agency and Municipality of Prishtina

Project country: Kosovo

Project Background

In Kosovo, even though agriculture is considered to have great potential for economic development, the agriculture sector is characterized by limited production and organizational capacity, lack of access to technology and updated knowledge, as well as environmental risks. The Sustainable and Inclusive Rural Economic Development (SIRED) project funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation Agency aims to facilitate more sustainable and inclusive market systems and contribute to poverty reduction for rural populations, particularly women and marginalized populations.

The project works to increase the income of agricultural producers, processors and other market actors, to enhance access and cross-border trade as well as improve women’s participation, agency and growth in the project’s priority market systems. The empowerment of women and inclusion of marginalized populations is a cross-cutting theme mainstreamed throughout the project. The project builds on Caritas Switzerland’s (CaCH) sound experience in capacity development, organic certification, agricultural development, market systems development and cooperation with smallholder farmers in Kosovo. The project applies the Market System Development Approach (MSD) and aims this way at a higher impact on a systemic level.

The project is implemented by Caritas Switzerland, in cooperation with the Initiative for Agricultural Development of Kosovo (IADK), EcoKosWomen (EKW), Mjedra e Kosovës, Organika, PePeKo, the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Kosovo.

The objective of the assignment:

Based on the Capacity Development Plan developed after conducting the partner risk assessment of the partner national associations, the SIRED project intends to provide a series of capacity-building training as well as to develop specific guidelines, policies and procedures for partner National Associations. The overall objective of the assignment is to develop and improve their overall capacities and their proper functioning in the following fields:

• Human Resource management
• Financial Management
• Project implementation with a special focus compliance and on the development of a “complaint mechanism”
• Application of safety and security in the workplace

Duties and responsibilities:

Under direct supervision of the SIRED Project manager, the contracted capacity building and organizational development expert/agency will be responsible for carrying out the following key tasks:

• Get acquainted with the Programme concept, objectives and priorities particularly in relation to institutional strengthening and organizational development of partner national associations and in the fields defined with Organizational Capacity Development Plans.
• Develop and deliver the methodology/approach and training modules.
• Designing training materials and activities that are practical, interactive, and relevant and in accordance with the recommendations arising from the Association's Capacity Development Plan.
• Delivering training programmes in a variety of formats, including workshops and other formats as per beneficiaries’ needs.
• Development and distribution of materials, forms, and documents as per recommendations from the organizational Capacity Development Plan.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of the training programs by assessing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the participants before and after the training and gathering feedback to identify areas for improvement.

Deliverables

• Human Resource Guide document/forms (this manual should provide guidance on the human resource policies and procedures for the NAs, including recruitment and selection, employee capacity development, compensation and benefits, and Performance Evaluation procedures).
• Complaint Mechanism feedback forms (Complaint handling manual/procedures, feedback response template).
• Financial management training: (This training should provide guidance on financial management with a special focus on Auditing standards)
• Workplace safety and security guide: (expectations and requirements for workplace safety and security, including steps to be taken in the event of an emergency, including procedures for evacuation, communication, emergency services, incident report forms, Security response plan, corrective actions, etc.).
• Final work report and presentation

Timeframe and Module:

The assignment is planned to commence once the contract has been fully signed by both parties and will end by 1st September 2023. For this activity, the level of effort shall be up to 20 days for the local consultant/agency, unless negotiated in advance and based on the offer otherwise.

Qualifications and experience:

• Master’s degree (e.g., social or natural sciences, organizational development, management or related);
• At least 5 years of experience as a professional/consultant on issues related to management, HR development, moderation/facilitation and/or similar projects;
• Proven relevant experience in organizational development / institutional strengthening, organizational effectiveness, design and change management methodologies;
• Strong analysis and report writing skills;
• Proficiency in spoken and written Albanian and English; knowledge of Serbian is an advantage;
• Excellent moderation/facilitation skills;
• A proactive, energetic, and highly motivated personality.
  • CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and professional references;

Application process

The applicant/team are requested to submit the following documents to kosovo@caritas.ch with vrruka@caritas.ch in CC latest by 15 April 2023

• Expression of Interest: which will include the comprehensive methodology, work plan (milestones, team members assigned) previous experience that demonstrates knowledge of the sector and the proposed approach;
• Suggested Budget/Financial Plan broken down by deliverables and individual daily fees.

The proposal will be evaluated by using the Best Value for Money Approach (combined scoring method). The technical proposal will be evaluated with 80% weight, whereas the financial section will be evaluated at the remaining 20%. Offers that do not include all submission requirements will not be evaluated and considered ineligible.