External Consultant – Programme Quality Improvement Master Plan (PQI-MP) At Christian Blind Mission

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1. Role Title

External Consultant – Programme Quality Improvement Master Plan (PQI-MP)
(Total 4 months assignment with the possibility of extension)

2. Purpose of the Assignment

To lead the analysis, design and development of CBM’s Programme Quality Improvement Master Plan — an integrated, organisation‑wide framework for maximizing impact on beneficiaries, improve donor engagement, strengthening planning, implementation oversight, partnerships, and capability systems linked to human resources across Country Offices and HQ teams. The consultant will first facilitate the development of CBM’s desired future state, in terms of programme quality, in the different work streams and then develop the desired future state into a coherent, prioritised, resourced, and actionable roadmap.

3. Key Tasks and Deliverables

The consultant will be responsible for leading a 12-16 week design phase followed by optional follow up during the implementation phase. This includes coordination with:

  • Project Lead (Global Head of Programme Quality)
    • Project Manager
    • Technical Working Group
    • Key Internal Stakeholders

The consultant is accountable for delivering a rigorous, evidence based PQI Master Plan aligned to CBM’s strategic priorities. Following are some of the key expected tasks:

  • Analytical, Diagnostic & Synthesis Work
  • Conduct structured consultations across Country Offices, HQ teams, Initiatives and enabling functions.
  • Reconfirm the desired future state ‘Delivering reliably on CBM’s programme promise by optimizing matching of beneficiaries impact with donor engagement with enablers linked to higher level capabilities, processes, behaviours’. (sample framework in Annex)
  • Lead a current state assessment of the following:
    1. Donor engagement strategies
    2. Impact of programme work on beneficiaries
    3. Predictable & Strategic Planning
    4. Reliable Delivery & Accountable Performance
    5. Capable & Accountable Teams
    6. Strategic Partnership Ecosystem
    7. Integrated & Reliable Data
    8. Effective Advisory & Collaboration between Divisions
  • Identify gaps across systems, processes, competencies, tools, behaviours and accountability.
  • Design
  • Develop solution pathways and high‑level work packages for each pillar.
  • Map dependencies, sequencing/ critical path, risks/ assumptions and resourcing needs (people/ competencies, time, budget).
  • Develop KPIs, quality criteria and monitoring architecture, including dashboard, to track progress.
  • Provide options, trade‑offs and prioritisation logic (e.g., value/effort, risk reduction, compliance urgency) for leadership decisions.
  • Early Implementation Support (Optional, to be discussed)
  • Possibility to provide advisory support at the initial stage of implementation (on call clinics, design clarifications, handover).

Out of Scope (examples): Building or procuring software; developing detailed SOPs for all units; full change management rollout; long form training curricula; donor specific manual rewrites (unless agreed as a discrete work package in the Plan).

Following are the expected deliverables:

  • Evidence pack (current state → desired state → gaps per pillar/ workstream)
  • Integrated PQI Master Plan
    • Structured into workstreams with resourcing estimates
    • Monitoring & KPI framework
    • Implementation roadmap (24–36 months) with mechanisms for management of workstreams
  • Handover materials for transition to implementation phase

4. Required Expertise & Profile

A. Technical Expertise

The ideal consultant will have:

  • 10+ years in programme quality, organisational development or programme excellence in INGOs or international development organisations.
  • Proven experience designing and delivering organisation-wide quality improvement frameworks.
  • Expertise in project/programme management systems, planning workflows, risk assessment, and implementation oversight.
  • Experience with audit, compliance, monitoring, and reporting systems.
  • Strong understanding of capacity development frameworks, competency models, and performance enablers.
  • Familiarity with partnership management, partner strategies, and donor alignment.
  • Understanding of digital transformation for programme systems (ERP, PMIS like platforms, automation, Artificial Intelligence Agents).

B. Strategy & Process Skills

  • Strong ability to articulate future-state capabilities and back cast into actionable roadmaps.
  • Excellent systems thinking, able to connect processes, behaviours, and enablers.
  • Skilled in gap analysis, organisational diagnostics and design.
  • Ability to simplify complexity into clear models and prioritisation logic.

C. Facilitation & Leadership

  • Experience engaging multicultural, multi-level stakeholders.
  • Ability to manage sensitive discussions (capacity, quality issues, compliance risks).
  • Skilled facilitator for workshops, TWG sessions, and leadership briefings.
  • Able to navigate organisational politics constructively.

D. Deliverables & Communication

  • Excellent written communication; able to produce executive-grade documents.
  • Capable of producing models, diagrams, decision frameworks, KPIs and dashboards.
  • Structured, deadline-oriented, able to work autonomously.

5. Experience & Credentials

  • Minimum Master’s degree in International Development, Public Administration, Organisational Development, or related fields.
  • Prior experience working with INGOs or bilateral/multilateral donors.
  • Demonstrated experience producing strategic frameworks or quality assurance systems.
  • Experience in change management and embedding new processes/behaviours.
  • Familiarity with disability-inclusive programming (desired but not required).

6. Contract Duration

  • 12-16 weeks for design phase
  • Key milestones:
    • W1–4: Inception & consultations
    • W5–8: Diagnostic dossier
    • W9–14: Draft PQI MP
    • W15–16: Validation & finalisation
  • Option to support the roll out and initial implementation phase

7. Reporting Structure

  • Reports to: Project Lead (Global Head of Programme Quality)
  • Works closely with: Project Manager, Technical Working Group
  • Accountable to: Steering Committee, involving the Leadership of the organization

8. Evaluation & Selection Criteria

Proposals need to be submitted in a Word document with a corresponding Power Point presentation. The proposal will be evaluated as part of a competitive process by a selection committee using the following criteria:

Technical Criteria (45%)

  • Demonstrated experience in PQI, PM systems, oversight, partnerships
  • Quality of methodology proposed
  • Strength of past organisational change work. Please share previous assignments.

Facilitation & Strategic Skills (45%)

  • Ability to lead cross-functional processes
  • Ability to synthesise complex issues

Value for Money (10%)

CBM will invite the top 3 applicants for an interview/presentation

9. Budget & Payment Terms

  • Payment schedule (indicative):
    • 20% on Inception Pack approval (Week 2)
    • 30% on Diagnostic Dossier approval (Week 8)
    • 30% on Draft PQI MP submission (Week 14)
    • 20% on Final PQI MP & handover (Week 16)
  • Invoices payable within 30 days of acceptance of deliverables.
  • Expenses must be pre-approved and claimed per CBM policy (if applicable).

10. Institutional Arrangements

  • CBM provides access to relevant documentation, stakeholders, and meeting logistics.
  • CBM assigns a Project Manager as day to day counterpart and coordinates TWG/SteerCo sessions.
  • The consultant will ensure appropriate data confidentiality and information security.

11. Ethical Standards, Safeguarding & Compliance

  • The consultant must adhere to CBM’s Code of Conduct, Safeguarding Policy, Anti-fraud & Corruption, Data Protection, and Confidentiality requirements.
  • Conflicts of interest must be declared.
  • All data and outputs are CBM’s property (see IP below).

12. Intellectual Property & Data

All materials, tools, templates, datasets and deliverables produced under this assignment are the exclusive property of CBM. The consultant may not use or share them without prior written consent.

13. Risks & Assumptions (to be tracked during assignment)

  • Stakeholder availability across time zones;
  • Competing priorities and limited bandwidth;
  • Data gaps or quality issues in existing artefacts;
  • Change saturation in some teams.

The proposal should include risk mitigations for these factors.

14. Eligibility & Disclaimers

  • CBM reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal, to cancel the procurement, or to negotiate scope and budget.
  • Bidders must confirm tax compliance and legal eligibility to contract for this work.

How to apply

Submission Instructions