Terms of Reference for capacity strengthening program

Introduction

BIOCOOR www.biocoor.org.rw has been created mainly by young people dedicated to act and to advocate for biodiversity conservation, ecotourism promotion, community health, environmental management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The BIOCOOR headquarters are in Nyamagabe and Huye districts of the Southern Province of Rwanda. The organization geographical focus is five districts near the Nyungwe National Park plus Huye and Nyanza districts. It integrates conservation projects and sustainable economic development for the communities surrounding Nyungwe National Park. BIOCOOR secured the funding in Common Wealth Foundation for the capacity strengthening Programme. BIOCOOR is seeking to engage reputable consulting companies or individuals to deliver a series of training sessions and workshops aimed at enhancing the capacity of our management and board members. The consultancy will involve delivering refresher courses, facilitating workshops, and arranging learning visits to bolster BIOCOOR's institutional capabilities.

Objectives

The primary objectives of this consultancy are to:

• Enhance the institutional funding strategy of BIOCOOR through targeted training and strategic planning.
• Increase the capacity of BIOCOOR’s management and board members in financial literacy, leadership, negotiation, governance, and advocacy.
• Strengthen collaboration and alignment within BIOCOOR and with external stakeholders.

Scope of Work

The consultancy will cover the following activities:

Activity 1: Enhancing Institutional Funding Strategy

Task 1:Donor mapping and identification of the sources of Organizational Funding

• Deliverable 1:Successful identification of Donors who intervene in BIOCOOR areas of expertise
• Deliverable 2:Development of resources mobilization policy
• Deliverable 3:Development of the needed documents and tools that are used to look for Organizational funding.

Task 2:Facilitate a two-day workshop for BIOCOOR Management and Board to enhance the Institutional Funding Strategy.

• Deliverable 3:Enhanced Institutional Funding Strategy.
• Deliverable 4:Increased capacity of management and board members.
• Deliverable 5:Strengthened collaboration and alignment.
• Deliverable 6:Strategic planning for sustainability.
• Deliverable 7:Established enterprise that helps BIOCOOR to get the funds
• Deliverable 8:Fundraising strategy established within the Organization

Task 3:Provide four-day workshop to staff members on leadership and grant writing through two consecutive two-day courses.

• Deliverable 9:Enhanced leadership and grant writing skills among staff members.
• Deliverable 10:3 winning proposals are written

Activity 2: Financial Oversight and Auditing

Task 4:Conduct a two-day refresher course for board members and management on financial literacy and audit reports.

• Deliverable 11:Increased financial literacy and understanding of audit reports among board members and management.

Task 5:Deliver a refresher course for BIOCOOR management on leadership, negotiation, and governance.

• Deliverable 12:Improved leadership, negotiation, and governance skills among management.

Task 6:Arrange learning visits for BIOCOOR management to other CSOs to observe best practices.

• Deliverable 13:Insightful learning visits leading to the adoption of best practices.

Task 7:Hold a facilitated workshop to review and refine the mission, vision, and values of the organization.

• Deliverable 14:Refined mission, vision, and values integrating learnings from previous activities.

Activity 3: Policy Advocacy

Task 8:Conduct a two-day upskilling workshop on policy and advocacy for BIOCOOR staff.

• Deliverable 15:Improved advocacy skills among BIOCOOR staff.

Task 9:Organize meetings with government officials to initiate advocacy efforts.

• Deliverable 16:Successful initiation of advocacy efforts with government officials.

Expected Outcomes

• Customized Training Plan:Development of a tailored training plan in collaboration with the chosen company, customized to address BIOCOOR's specific capacity strengthening needs.
• Donor mapping:Successfully identification and engagement of Donors who support BIOCOOR
• Partnership Agreements:Negotiation and establishment of partnerships with the Organizations that can fund BIOCOOR
• Increased Accountability:Staff will be accountable and able to write winning proposals, taking ownership and leadership in sourcing funding for their focus areas.
• Advanced Audit Feedback:The Board is able to provide more advanced comments on audit reports and the tender committee provides more complex feedback on bids.
• Active Audit Committee:The audit committee is active in fulfilling its duties.
• Role Clarity:The board and executive committee have increased clarity on their roles and responsibilities in achieving BIOCOOR's strategic goals.
• Improved Learning Culture:Improved learning culture across the organization, adopting best practices from other organizations.
• Leveraged Strengths:BIOCOOR management has the knowledge to leverage existing strengths, expertise, and opportunities.
• Enhanced Advocacy Abilities:Increased advocacy abilities and understanding of policy and policy-making activities among staff.
• New Partnerships: with GovernmentNew partnerships and connections with government and policymakers, leading to a better understanding of policy pathways. The Organization can negotiate the Governments assets and resources to manage them in the Public Private Community Partnership Framework
• Fundraising strategy: Obtain skills for fundraising using physical and online platforms

Consultant Qualifications

The consultant company or individual should possess:

• Proven expertise in delivering refresher courses and facilitating workshops.
• Experience in developing tailored training plans and strategies.
• Strong background in financial literacy, leadership, negotiation, governance, and advocacy training.
• Experience in resources mobilization and grant writing with proofs
• Experience in arranging and facilitating learning visits.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• The expert will be assigned to a topic that is in accordance with the proven experience

 Application Process

Interested consultants are invited to submit:

• A detailed proposal outlining their approach to the consultancy, including timelines and deliverables.
• A budget proposal.
• CVs of key personnel.
• Examples of similar work conducted in the past.
• References from previous clients.

Submission Deadline

All proposals must be submitted by August 5, 2024

Contact Information

For any inquiries and submission of proposals, please contact Dr Ange IMANISHIMWE angeish07@gmail.com or Mr Irene DUHUZUKULI on +250788334621

Dr Ange IMANISHIMWE, PhD

Country Executive Director for BIOCOOR

www.biocoor.org.rw

+250788840755