Delivering Tailored Capacity Building Activities for SABIR Implementing Partners. At Expertise France

1. Introduction

Expertise France

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created on 1st January 2015 and merging 6 French public agencies under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers project engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, post-crisis/ stability, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance.

1. Context

Syrian conflict

The Syrian conflict is having a devastating and lasting impact on Syria and across the region. With the conflict almost entering its ninth year, the needs of the affected populations for assistance, including 13.1 million people inside the country and more than 5.6 million refugees plus their overstretched host communities in neighboring countries, are of an unprecedented scale. In 2013, the Syria crisis has transformed itself from a humanitarian emergency to a multidimensional and protracted crisis directly affecting several countries in the region – mainly Lebanon and Jordan, but also Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt – whose social and economic capacity to deal with the ever-growing influx of refugees is all but exhausted. All actors involved in the response agree that this massive challenge requires a comprehensive regional response not only including humanitarian aid but also longer-term structural support to host countries and communities, especially as no political solution to the crisis is in sight in the short-term.

Many communities inside Syria are facing disrupted humanitarian support and quickly deteriorating public services and infrastructure. In that context, and since 2013, Expertise France has developed and manages direct stabilization projects to conflict-affected communities in Syria, through support to civil society organizations.

1. Programme background

Supported by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Expertise France has launched the second phase of the Syria Area-Based Integrated Recovery (SABIR) project in order to respond to the protracted crisis in NES following the same integrated area-based approach, targeting a cluster of communities in specific geographic areas in the south of Al Hasskah and Ar-raqqa provinces, and taking into account the links and exchanges between sectors, local regions and stakeholders to maximize impact.

The SABIR II project was built on lessons learned from SABIR I, maintaining and expanding good practices, especially the successful area-based and holistic approach to respond to the inter-related and multi-sectoral needs as a mean for stabilization, while adopting a more active community engagement and localized approach under SABIR II through forming community-based committees who would represent the targeted communities and their interests. Particular attention is devoted to mitigating climate change, prevailing environmental degradation, and water scarcity in the NES.

SABIR project’s overall intended impact is to contribute to addressing the post-crisis recovery challenges to pave the path towards sustainable development. The sub-objective of SABIR II is to build more resilient local communities towards greater stabilization in the northeast of Syria.

SABIR II focus areas:

1. Support the recovery of essential services through the rehabilitation of public infrastructures.
2. Promote access to livelihoods and empower the local economy through agriculture, livestock, TVET, entrepreneurship, micro-grants, and other income-generating activities.
3. Reinforce the capacity of social capital through capacity development to partnered organizations and the Community-Based Committees.

The main activities of the project that will be supported within the first and second focus areas:

1. Rehabilitation of public infrastructure:

Activities that could improve access to essential services such as: (i) water supply for domestic and irrigation purposes complemented by climate smart techniques; (ii) electricity; and (iii) education infrastructures:

• Rehabilitation of water stations.
• Rehabilitation of irrigation networks and canals.
• Rehabilitation of small groundwater wells/equipping wells with solar energy systems.
• Rehabilitation of electricity networks/installation of new lines and transformers.
• Rehabilitation of schoolsto provide a better and safer learning environment.

1. Livelihoods and Economic Recovery:

Activities that could improve access to livelihoods and income generation for local households, including sustainable agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods through input materials, cash-for-work opportunities, climate-smart techniques, extension, and training to create an enabling environment for efficiency and sustainability of interventions:

• Provision of agricultural inputs**.**
• Supporting the agriculture of fodder crops for piloting to cope with the water scarcity and climate change.
• Training for farmers on innovative agriculture techniques.
• Supporting environmental principles; household composting, organic farming, intercropping, crop rotation, etc.
• Provision of vaccines, veterinary care, fodder and training to livestock farmers.
• Provision of technical and vocational training/apprenticeship to increase the employability of local youth.
• Provision of small grants (in-kind) to expand startups.
• Supporting Cash for Work (CfW) activities.

1. Strengthening local capacity:

• Establishing Community Based Committees (CBCs) through SABIR II to build stronger links with local communities where the activities are to be implemented. These CBCs would ensure good coordination, outreach and communications with communities, conflict resolution during all project cycle from beneficiary selection to hand over of the implemented activity.
• Provide training to CBCs on coordination mechanisms, community dialogue, conflict management and resolution, and accountability.
• Conduct organizational capacity assessment for the eight implementing partners contracted under SABIR II to develop a tailored capacity building strategy and plan to be implemented.

1. Job Description/ Assignment

Purpose of the assignment:

EF, under SABIR II project, aims to reinforce the capacity of the partnered NGOs through delivering tailored capacity building activities and supports. For this purpose, EF seeks to contract a private consulting firm or a non-governmental organization with solid experience and capacity in CSOs and CBOs capacity development.

The expected results of this assignment are to deliver capacity building activities for 8 local NGOs and community-based organizations in 5 main aspects:

• Financial management.
• Logistics and Supply chain.
• Project management.
• MEL and accountability.
• Media and communications.

This capacity building activities needs to be tailored to each organization (be different for each of them) based on an Organization Capacity Assessment that EF has commissioned and will share with the selected organization for the assignment.

Capacity building activities needs to be conducted physically in the north east of Syria.

Mission Objectives:

For each modules, Expertise seeks to achieve the following objectives:

InFinance management:**

• Improve financial policies and procedures.
• Improve internal financial controls.
• Develop a policy that specifies the spending authorization levels.
• Develop a policy that specifies how funds are handled, transferred and manipulated.
• Develop a policy that specifies the grant information that needs to be disseminated to staff.

Identify – or strengthen the use of – relevant accounting or finance management softwares that can enhance the quality of financial and admin management of the organization (and that can be sustained further to the project)

InLogistics and Supply chain:**

• Develop the supply chain (Logistics, Procurements, Assets, Inventory, Fleet) policies and procedures.
• Ensure the segregation of duties in procurement.
• Develop or improve the suppliers code of conduct.
• Develop or improve the staff code of conduct (Conflict of Interest)
• Develop the depreciation procedure that secures how to deal with missing, damaged, surplus, or redundant stocks.
• Develop the waiver procedure in the procurement policy and conduct a regular check for the cases.
• Build the capacity of the supply chain staff.
• Establish supply chain software to enhance the quality of work.
• Identify – or strengthen the use of – relevant supply chain softwares that can enhance the quality of financial and admin management of the organization (and that can be sustained further to the project)

In Project management:

• Project Charter Development to initiate your project and define the project stakeholders.
• Project Management Plan Development outlines how to manage the project to get results.
• Directing and Management of Project Work focuses on the production and release of the project’s deliverables.
• Project Knowledge Management is about knowledge acquisition and sharing. It’s especially important if your team works in international or cross-functional teams. This way team members build knowledge and share it with their colleagues, improving project quality. Ensuring that it finishes on time without exceeding its budget.
• Monitoring project activities and desired outputs/outcomes including project performance monitoring, estimation of achieved results, identification of possible project challenges, and changes.
• Performance of Integrated Change Control if your project needs changing administrative parts, such as a project sponsor or reviewing the project documentation, then it involves integrated change control tasks.
• Project closing phase including main steps to keep in mind to close a projectevaluation, archiving, auditing, asset handover, closing workshops etc
• Report writing to donors or stakeholders of the project
• Emergency and incidents reports writing, contingency planning design.

In Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL):

• Establish information management systems inclusive of the beneficiary, quality, and accountability data.
• Develop confidentiality policy
• Vetting procedure for staff, supplier or vendors
• Build the capacity for analyzing data.
• Build the capacity to present data through graphic design and geospatial mapping, among other formats.
• MEAL department needs developments to play a demonstrable role in strategic, management, and technical decision-making.
• Develop a clear mechanism to measure the beneficiaries’ satisfaction with the delivered service.
• Develop a lesson learned database for easy access and usage.

In Media and communications:

• To provide a space for partners to share their experiences relating to communications issues, challenges, and successes.
• To strengthen communications skills.
• To enhance understanding of communications and advocacy on projects management and related policy issues,
• Improve communications policies and plan.

1. Deliverables:

• An inception report including a work plan and detailed methodology and timeframe
• Training Package includes but not limited (Training curriculum, Presentation, Pre/Post test…)
• The sessions recording whether delivered through online.
• Pictures of training sessions
• Attendance sheets
• A final report of the Capacity Building Activities for each workshop which documents and summarizes all conducted activities including but not limited to: details of the activities and training evaluation.

All deliverables must be provided in English.

Training and coaching must be provided in Arabic.

1. Eligible entities to apply:

• Local or international private consulting firm or NGO with a valid bank account
• Field team and easy access to NES (EF cannot be responsible of facilitating crossing procedures or authorizations to NES)
• Proven previous experience in undertaking capacity building activities for local NGOs.
• Previous experience working with small NGO with limited capacity. Previous experience with Syrian NGOs would be a plus.
• Extensive experience (at least 5 years) experience in delivering training/workshops for organizations.
• Extensive experience of the Civil Society Sector.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills including experience of facilitation of training/workshops and presentations.
• Proven and demonstrated a broad knowledge of and ability to utilize interactive teaching methods.
• Ability to deliver high-quality products in a timely manner.
• Excellent communication and writing skills in Arabic are essential, English is a strong advantage.
• The consulting firm may comprise a minimum of 5 members that have experience in the following areas:
• Financial management.
• Logistics and Supply chain.
• Project management.
• MEL and accountability.
• Media and communications.

1. Selection Criteria:

• Team members experience in conducing capacity building development (40%).
• Technical Proposal (30%).
• Financial proposal (30%).