Request For Proposal (RFP) Consultancy: Development And Delivery Of Facilitation Skills

Request For Proposal (RFP) Consultancy: Development And Delivery Of Facilitation Skills

About

Zimbabwe Health Interventions (ZHI) is a not-for-profit human development organization which is registered as a Private Voluntary Organization PVO Number 17/22. ZHI’s mission is to develop and deliver innovative and sustainable high impact integrated health interventions with local communities while working with and strengthening existing institutions. ZHI is currently implementing the Re-Ignite Innovate Sustain and Empower (RISE) program which is a five-year (October 2021 – September 2026) United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded program. The RISE Program is one of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funded programs through USAID that aims to disrupt the main drivers of HIV risk for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Zimbabwe using a proven approach called Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women (DREAMS). The RISE Program is largely a community-based intervention with a lot of demands and expectations.
Background The RISE program is largely implemented within community settings using evidence-based curricula in a group-based approach targeting community beneficiaries who are mostly adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and their caregivers/parents. Implementing curriculum-based programs like DREAMS requires well developed facilitation skills to effectively communicate with beneficiaries, transfer knowledge and skills, navigate critical issues and life challenges affecting AGYW and their parents/caregivers, and deliver the program results. Part of the DREAMS-RISE program role in HIV prevention is to facilitate transfer of knowledge and skills to the beneficiaries. And facilitation skill is key in the delivery of our program results. The core mandate of the program is to break down technical concepts from the curricula into a form that program beneficiaries can relate with. The primary program beneficiaries are AGYW who are faced with multiple vulnerabilities such as school dropouts, teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, etc. They are not homogenous. They have faced different adversities that have negatively impacted their lives, and this requires a skilled facilitator to build their agency and positively influence their decision making to enable them to exploit their life potentials. In addition, most of our district staff are relatively young professionals who are just starting-off their careers in community development, with limited capacity to transfer knowledge and skills to others. It is against this backdrop that it has become imperative for the ZHI-led DREAMS-RISE program to design and deliver a customized facilitation training course together with attendant resource materials (i.e., facilitation skills handbook) to equip district staff with requisite facilitation skills to effectively manage and deliver expected program results within the stipulated timeframe.

Scope Of Work

The overall goal of this consultancy is to strengthen staff capacity on facilitation skills, and ensure the program has the requisite capacity to transfer knowledge, skills, and competences to AGYW in line with program scope. Specifically, the ZHI-led DREAMS-RISE program  seeks services of a qualified consultant to:

 

• Conduct a capacity gap assessment of approximately 65 Community Facilitators (CPF) on facilitation skills:
• Deliver a two-hour facilitation skill (nuggets) during the integrated CPF trainings;
• Develop a customized DREAMS-RISE facilitation skills handbook;
• Conduct a five-days training of trainers (TOT) training on facilitation skills using the newly developed facilitation handbook; and
• Provide onsite supportive supervision and mentorship to the newly trained TOTs as they deliver the sessions in their natural settings.

 

1. Mode of Delivery

The delivery of this assignment will take the form of participatory methodologies, and experiential learning using adult learning methodologies including role plays, lecture presentations, case studies, discussions, simulations of real-life scenarios, fun outdoor team, and group activities. The consultant(s) may use other additional methodologies to effectively deliver the scope.

 

2. Expected Deliverables

The service provider is expected to provide a customized evidence-informed package of services that meets the needs of the DREAMS-RISE program to achieve the above-mentioned purpose.  The following deliverables are required under this assignment.

 

1. Conduct a two-day capacity gap assessment on facilitation skills, including a four-hour training (nuggets) on facilitation skills, during the planned CPF training scheduled for 29^th October – 13^th November 2023. There will be two regional CPF training courses. Therefore, the capacity assessment exercise will be one day each per training, including 2-hour training on facilitation per each CPF training.
2. Develop resource material for facilitation skills (facilitation skills handbook).
3. Pre-test the facilitation skills resource materials.
4. Develop a five-days TOT program.
5. Conduct five-days TOT training targeting 50 individuals (i.e., a class of 25 each).
6. On-site support to the TOTs as they facilitate sessions in their settings.
7. Post-training report including feedback analysis report on the exercises, recommendations, and next steps.

Expectations from ZHI

ZHI will:

 

• Provide the venue for the training, accommodation, and food for the participants and trainers.
• Provide flipcharts, projector, and stationery (writing materials for the participants).
• Provide transport for the consultant to access program sites, and trainings venues to deliver the assignment. 

Also Available: Experienced Senior Health Specialist needed at The World Bank in Harare

4. Duration of the Assignment

This consultancy is expected to take approximately six (6) months, effective 1^st November 2023. ZHI has planned for two 5-days CPF trainings. The first CPF training will be on 1^st – 6^th November 2023, whilst the second training will be on 9^th – 13^th November 2023. The successful consultant is expected to use these training platforms to conduct the needs assessment exercise and provide the 2-hour facilitation training/nuggets.

Application Requirements

5. Qualifications

 

• The lead experts must have a Master’s degree with specialization in Community Development, Adult Education, Psychology, Development Studies, or any related social sciences.
• The service provider must have expertise in training and facilitation skills.
• The service provider must have at least 10 years of hands-on experience in handling similar projects/assignments within the international not-for-profit sector.
• The lead expert must have practical and hands-on track record in trainings and facilitation. S/he must have been a trainer for not less than 10 years.
• Demonstrated and proven track record of delivering similar assignments.
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills. Spoken and written fluency is required in English.

6. Application Procedure

Interested candidates/companies are requested to submit the following:

 

• Technical and Financial proposals (as a single document) of not more than 10 pages, outlining the following:
  • Clear understanding of the Terms of Reference
  • Capacity statement including ability to handle the assignment.
  • Clear description of the proposed methodologies, and training program. The training program should be as practical as possible.
  • Budget breakdown detailing consultancy and any other related costs i.e., daily rate.
• Brochures/company profiles (for those submitting as a company or partnership), CVs for key consultants, and other supplementary materials which will not be accounted for as part of the 10-page limit.
• Additional requirements for company applications include:
  • Certificate of incorporation
  • Valid Tax Clearance Certificate
  • CR14 and CR6
• A Letter of Interest indicating significant work experience relevant to the assignment.
• Two reference letters related to the execution of similar assignment from recent clients.

7. Evaluation and Selection

Proposals will be evaluated and ranked according to the conditions described in the evaluation criteria below, with a total overall maximum point value of 100:

 

Criteria	Score
Capacity statement and relevant experience that shows an understanding of terms of reference and demonstrated ability to handle the assignment. It should include descriptions of similar work and solid references.	30%
Technical proposal, outlining a clear description of the proposed methodology, training program and timelines for consultancy deliverables.	30%
A list of two (2) recent organizations where similar services of the consultant have been utilized including contact details and title of the assignment.	15%
Cost-effectiveness of Financial Proposal and Payment terms	25%
Total	100%

Also Available; An NGO In Harare Zimbabwe Is RecruIting Graduates In Political Science, Social Science, Public Administration, International Studies, Economics Or Related area

Selection will be based upon “Best Value”.   Applications will first be evaluated and scored from a technical standpoint. Applications that are technically acceptable shall then be evaluated in terms of cost. The award shall be issued to the offeror with the highest combined technical and cost score. Interviews with shortlisted candidates may be held, and references checked.

 Payment conditions

The consultant should detail how their payments are structured and any related terms thereof. Payments shall be made directly to the vendors’ Nostro bank accounts, subject to applicable taxes, after approval by Executive Director or his/her designate.

8. Submission Instructions and Deadline

Proposals, attendant documents, including a Letter of Interest/Cover  and trade references, should be emailed to: tendersrise@zhi.co.zw  with subject: “Consultant for Development & Delivery of Facilitation Skills”. The deadline for submission of proposals is 23:59pm on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.

9. Terms and Conditions

 

• ZHI reserves the right to eliminate bids deemed not to be in the best interest of ZHI and award the contract to the bidder whose submission is in the best interest of the organization.
• ZHI reserves the right to accept or reject any proposals received at any time, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder(s) or any obligation to provide information on the grounds for the action.
• ZHI reserves the right to enter into agreements not specified herein. All responses must be received on or before the deadline of submission date.
• Incomplete proposal submissions that do not comply with all specifications will be rejected.