Civil Rights Defenders is Seeking Consultants to Conduct Organisational Capacity Assessment

Civil Rights Defenders is conducting an Organisational Capacity Assessment of 10 Civil Society Organizations in South Sudan. Terms of reference are listed below.

1. Background

The South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN) is a non-profit, non-political civil society network working to protect and promote human rights in South Sudan. It is a coalition of civil society organizations and individuals seeking to provide protection, build the capacity of and create operational space for HRDs in South Sudan as a means of promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms to safeguard democratic principles through concerted participation of all the populace.

Civil Rights Defenders is an international human rights organization that partners with and supports human rights defenders (HRDs) globally. It has extensive experience in supporting HRDs most at risk in several of the challenging country situations to create a democratic society in which human rights are protected. Civil Rights Defenders, working through flexible, context-sensitive and, when needed, fast interventions, operates to support local actors who are at the core of ensuring the respect of human rights. Civil Rights Defenders work in the Africa region with the same mission of partnering with local HRDs to support their work to guarantee the respect and protection of human rights.

In South Sudan, the SSHRDN in collaboration with Civil Rights Defenders are working closely together with its local partners to provide support that improves their continued presence and the impact of their work. Conducting an Organizational Capacity Assessment is part of the SSHRDN and Civil Rights Defenders´ joint effort to understand the internal capacity of local partners and design tailored interventions.

Many civil society organizations (CSOs) have multifaceted limitations in their institutional capacity; a common gap affecting their work is the lack of financial and administrative systems that guides their activities. This creates challenges regarding institutional development, human resource management, management and mobilizations of resources, relationships with other local and international partners, and ensuring institutional and programmatic sustainability.

Currently, the SSHRDN and Civil Rights Defenders are implementing a capacity support partnership with local CSOs working in the areas of human rights in South Sudan. The 10 local CSOs participating in this project show a keen interest in having their internal capacity assessed so that they can strategize to address the gaps and build on existing opportunities.

We are recruiting competent and experienced consultant(s) to conduct organizational capacity assessments of these selected human rights organisations in South Sudan.

2. Main objectives of the assignment

The main objective of the assignment is to conduct an Organizational Capacity Assessment of 10 CSOs operating in South Sudan. The assessment is expected to analyse existing capacities, challenges and opportunities in the internal institutional standings of participating CSOs in South Sudan and provide recommendations to strengthen their work.

The findings and recommendations of the assessment are expected to enable the organisations involved, the SSHRDN, Civil Rights Defenders and other potential partners to identify, design and deliver appropriate technical assistance. The assessment will be a valuable exercise to benchmark their organizational capacities and then decide where and what type of assistance in developing those capacities would be most fruitful. Furthermore, the assessment outcome will be used to design a capacity development plan/road map for each CSOs assessed, identifying high priorities areas for capacity development interventions, implementation of which will be supported by Civil Rights Defenders through its South Sudan project.

3. Scope of the consultancy

3.1 Methodology

The consultant/s will use a sound combination of desk review (where the information is already available it will need to be assessed by the consultant/s) as well as other methods, such as individual and/group interviews (in-person or virtual) and potentially on-site visits to conduct capacity development assessments for the 10 CSOs. The consultant/s will consolidate information from all available sources to inform the findings.

3.2 Specific tasks

The consultant/s will conduct the Organizational Capacity Assessment to review the administrative, financial, and programming policies, guidelines, management and practices to understand their capacity and identify gaps.

The consultant/s shall:

a) Conduct a detailed Organizational Capacity Assessment for 10 CSOs in South Sudan, in its capital Juba and the other States where the CSOs are based or operate, especially regarding governance, administration, human resources management, financial management, organizational management, and program management.

b) Hold face-to-face and virtual meetings with the organizations’ representatives and relevant staff members, especially program, administrative and financial staff where available. The consultant/s may be expected to travel outside of Juba, for participating CSOs based outside the capital.

c) Develop a pre-assessment survey followed by a post-assessment survey for the financial and administrative staff to analyse the impact of the assessment and the follow-up support by CRD.

d) Draft and submit a detailed report of the assessment for each organization separately detailing the existing capacity gaps, challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for organizational capacity development.

e) Submit final reports and capacity development plans that incorporates feedbacks from the organizations on the draft assessment report.

4. Expected deliverables and timeframe

This consultancy will be undertaken in three months from the day of the signing of the agreement.

1. Deliverable: Assessment Work Plan reflecting key activities and stages.
   Timeline: 2 calendar dates from the contract signature date
2. Deliverable: Capacity assessment toolkit
   Timeline: 5 calendar days from the contract signature date
3. Deliverable: Meeting with CRD to exchange about toolkit and work plan
   Timeline: Within 10 calendar days from the contract signature date
4. Deliverable: Assessment of current level of organizational development of each of 10 CSOs completed, including desk review, interviews, on-site visits (when possible)
   Timeline: 8 weeks from the contract signature date
5. Deliverable: Draft organizational capacity assessment report and capacity development plans
   Timeline: 10 weeks from the contract signature date
6. Deliverable: Final organizational capacity assessment report incorporating all feedbacks from the CSOs
   Timeline: 11 weeks from the contract signature date

5. Required expertise and qualifications

5.1 Educational Background

• Individual consultant(s): at least a master’s degree in management, administration, or other related fields.

5.2 Experience

• Individual consultant/s should have extensive and documented experience in conducting similar assessments.
• Proven experience in developing and/or assessing management, administrative, and financial systems.
• An experience working with civil societies in South Sudan is a strong advantage.

5.3 Ethics

• An understanding and strict adherence to all human rights principles provided in international instruments and jurisprudence is mandatory.

5.4 Others

• For consultancy firms: a legal registration and professional recognition from competent authority is required.
• The consultant should be based in South Sudan.

6. Payment schedule

The consultant will receive 20% of the total payment upon signing the consultancy agreement, and additional 30% after completing the pre-assessment survey of the 10 organizations. The consultant will receive the remaining amount (50% of the total payment) upon the completion of all deliverables approved by Civil Rights Defenders.

7. Criteria for selection 

Selection will fully be based upon the proposal submitted by the applicant. The technical proposal will be 70% and the financial proposal will have 30% weight.

7.1 Technical proposal (70 percent)

A) Applicant Qualification (30 percent)

• Educational qualification (5 %).
• Knowledge and experience on administrative and financial systems (10 %).
• Experience in conducting organizational assessments especially as it relates to civil society organizations (15 %).

B) Proposed Methodology (40 percent)

• Technical understanding of the scope of the work, proposed methodology and timelines for deliverables (40%).

7.2 Financial proposal (30%)

• The best offer made and consideration of best value for money will be used in the financial evaluation.

8. Application for this consultancy should include:

Interested applicants should send their application to Africa@crd.org not later than October 10, 2021.

Applicants should use the phrase “Organizational Assessment South Sudan” in the subject line to submit their application. The application should contain the following documents:

• The applicant’s profile (max. 1 page) focusing on what makes the applicant the right person/firm for the work.
• CV and relevant experience.
• Narrative proposal that, among others, shows how the consultant understands and operationalize the work (methodology), outline of the activities involved against deliverables, timelines, and potential risks.
• Financial proposal.
• At least two key reference contacts for most recent relevant work undertaken.

Download the Terms of Reference as a pdf here.