Consultancy, Organisational Capacity Strengthening for Civil Society Organisations At ActionAid

1. Background and Rationale

ActionAid is a global federation working for a world free from poverty and injustice.

Nearly two years since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the resulting refugee influx to Romania, the role of local civil society, particularly young leaders, has become critical in navigating the next phase of the refugee response. Approximately 85,000 Ukrainian refugees in Romania, primarily women, children, and youth, heavily depend on essential assistance from humanitarian organizations. However, diminishing funding and capacity among local groups are leaving vulnerable populations at greater risk as international focus shifts to other crises.

Romanian civil society has been central to the refugee response, despite facing significant organizational and political challenges, such as bureaucratic hurdles, limited operational capacity, and heavy reliance on international donors. These issues are further compounded by political changes, including elections, fiscal adjustments, and budget cuts, which exacerbate the funding challenges for grassroots and small-scale organizations. Additionally, populist narratives criticizing the perceived preferential treatment of refugees over local communities have intensified societal tensions and hostility toward Ukrainians.

Youth groups and movements have been at the forefront of efforts to foster social cohesion and improve emergency services, striving for a better future and democratic participation. Yet, the pressure on International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) to withdraw due to resource constraints is creating a service gap, which local civil society must fill. A proposed strategy aims to transfer knowledge and capacity from INGOs to local organizations to prepare them for a post-humanitarian response context, ensuring the continued provision of essential services to refugees.

In summary, the Romanian civil society, led by its youth, faces the dual challenge of sustaining essential services for refugees amidst dwindling international support and addressing the mental health needs of aid workers, while striving for greater empowerment and participation of young people in a rapidly evolving post-humanitarian landscape.

ActionAid, together with a number of local partners, has been working across Romania since 2022 to strengthen civil society actors in leading the refugee response but also in strengthening their organisational capacity in order to improve social cohesion, the engagement of youth and young people, and support vulnerable people from all backgrounds and layers of society.

2. Purpose and Objective of the Consultancy

ActionAid is starting a new Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC)-funded project focusing on on Increased resilience and sustainability of local organisations to respond to humanitarian needs more autonomously and sustainably to ensure continuity in the delivery of effective, inclusive, qualitative, and timely emergency services.

As part of this project, ActionAid seeks to recruit an experienced consultant to assess and strengthen the organisational capacities of two local/national civil society organisations that are implementing partners of the project.

The objective of the assignment is to ensure that the local partners have the tools and systems in place to operate more independently, access funding through winning competitive bids, manage complex projects and activities in line with project management standards and good practices, have an increased understanding of logistics and financial management and procedures, have all necessary policies and procedures in place to pass Due Diligence Assessments with high scores, and have tailored capacity building plans in line with their programmatic strategies that allow for continuous development.

In particular, the assignment consists of delivering two interlinked activities under the project’s Output 2, “Increased capacity and reach of civil society through systematic targeted capacity-building’’

2.1.1 Grassroots Capacity Assessment

Two local organisations central to the emergency response will undergo a detailed capacity assessment. The goal is to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, focusing on governance, finance, and operations. This assessment, utilising interviews and document reviews, aims to provide a practical overview of the organisations’ current capabilities.

2.1.2 Tailored multi-day Project Cycle, MEAL and Operations Capacity-Building

In response to the assessment, a three-day training programme will be crafted and delivered. The training focuses on practical aspects such as project cycle management, monitoring and evaluation, communication, and leadership skills. It’s designed to equip participants with tools and strategies to enhance efficiency in the specific context of the ongoing crisis.

3. Deliverables

• 1 Assessment and capacity strengthening toolkit.
• 2 Assessment workshops.
• 2 Programmatic strategy documents developed in collaboration with local partners.
• 2 Tailored capacity building plans.
• 6 days of in-depth, tailored project management training for local staff.
• 1 Impact assessment.
• 1 Final lessons learnt report.

4. Timeline

The consultancy is an 18-day assignment, that should be conducted in person on the ground in multiple locations in Romania (Bucharest, Baia Mare and potential other locations TBD).

• 10/09/2024: Start of the assignment.
• Development of assessment methodologies (3 working days).
• In-depth capacity assessment workshops in two locations (2 working days).
• Development of capacity building plans and programmatic strategies for both partners (4 days).
• Delivery of in-person technical trains for partner staff (6 days).
• Design and conducting an impact assessment of the activity with local partners (2 days).
• Compilation of a final activity report (of no more than 5 pages) for ActionAid (1 day)

5. Payments

The payment will be in two tranches:

• Tranche 1: 40%, upon signature of the contract.
• Tranche 2: 60, upon acceptance of the final activity report.

6. Requirements for Consultants

ActionAid is looking for a Senior Consultant with substantial experience in working with, and strengthening civil society’s capacity in Romania.

• Relevant master’s degree.
• Significant professional experience in the development sector working on civil society programming, partnerships, economic development, youth engagement, governance, public policy, or other relevant programmatic sectors.
• Proven experience in delivering capacity strengthening training sessions.
• Excellent understanding of the context of civil society in Romania.
• Proven ability to integrate new tools and methodologies into their work.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and diplomacy skills.
• Confidentiality in treating any project or assignment related activities/reports.
• Fluency in Romanian and English.