Job: Partner Capacity Assessment Myanmar

Location: Myanmar 
Deadline: Friday, 25 October 2013 

Description

Date: 4 October 2013 VYP/Admin/029/2013

Country: Myanmar Description of the assignment: Consultant for Organisational Capacity Assessment Project name: Empowering civil society to promote the enhanced socio – economic wellbeing of vulnerable young people in Myanmar Period of assignment: 1st November to 18th December 2013

Proposal should be submitted at the following address: Daw Eve Nan HR secretary ymca.vyp.evenan@gmail.com Dr. Lydia Soe Project Manager ymca.vyp.lydiasoe@gmail.com National YMCA, 263 Mahabandoola Road, Botatung Township, Yangon by 25th October 2013.

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Organisational Capacity Assessment For Myanmar YMCA

Consultancy Summary:

1- Name of consultancy: Organisational Capacity Assessment of Myanmar YMCA & 3 Associate CSOs as part of the Empowering civil society to promote the enhanced socio-economic wellbeing of vulnerable young people in Myanmar

2- Duration of consultancy work: 25 days Background Summary: Y Care International (YCI) works in partnership with young people worldwide through the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) movement to help them enrich their lives & to build a more just world, free from poverty.

YCI works in the following thematic areas:

life kills & livelihoods, conflict situations, emergencies, health and wellbeing and youth justice. Myanmar Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was established in Myanmar in 1897, and today has 30 local branches across the country. It aims to be the leading youth focused organisation in Myanmar, addressing the needs and rights of young people regardless of their race, ethnicity or gender.

Purpose of the consultancy:

To ensure that the implementing partners are able to deliver the above programme and strengthen their roles as youth organisations, the project includes an organisational capacity building component with the intended result of strengthened capacity of 4 civil society organisations to meet the needs of vulnerable young people

The aim of the consultancy is to undertake a capacity assessment of all four of the implementing partners and establish organisational benchmarks against which progress can be measured throughout the project.

This assessment will enhance YCI , Myanmar YMCA and the three associate CSOs' understanding of priority needs to be addressed and highlight tangible actions to be taken to improve organisational capacity.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the social and economic empowerment of vulnerable young people in Myanmar:

• programmatically: to address the needs and rights of particularly vulnerable young people through high quality targeted service delivery;
• and ii) organisationally, to strengthen the managerial, technical and operational capacity of 4 CSOs including supporting better inter-agency coordination of activities and networking for improved service delivery.
• 2 3- Partner agency(s): Y Care International, National Council of YMCA's of Myanmar (referred to hereafter as Myanmar YMCA);
• 3 Associate CSOs 4- Project funding sources: European Commission 5- Consultancy starting date: 1st November 2013

The specific objectives of the project are:

• To strengthen civil society organisations in Myanmar to better address the needs and rights of vulnerable groups and more effectively participate in Myanmar's development
• To improve the socioeconomic status of extremely disadvantaged young people in 6 locations of Myanmar Scope of this assignment: The consultancy will cover the following areas: 1-Target locations: Yangon (National YMCA and three associated CSOs), Pathein YMCA, Maubin YMCA, Mandalay YMCA, Taungyyi YMCA, Monywa YMCA. 2-Stakeholders involved: Myanmar YMCA, Associate CSOs; YCI. 3- Focus: The assessment should focus on and collect information on the following capacity areas. The assessment should seek to set benchmarks for all capacity areas, the sub-questions should be referred to in the data collection and analysis process however the report should not be confined to answering just these questions. The capacity assessment tool will be accompanied by a set of guidance notes:

Organisational Identity and Integrity

• Does the organisation have a well-articulated vision?
• To what extent is there a shared understanding of the organisational values and vision?
• Do staffs have a clear understanding of whom they are accountable to and how?
• How committed is the organisation to transparency?
• Do they have a clear vision of their funding opportunities?

Leadership and Strategic Focus

• To what extent is there inspiring and well executed leadership?
• Is there an organisational strategy? Is it understood and being effectively implemented?
• How strategy developed and who is involved in the process? Does strategy development take a youth and gender perspective? To what extent? Participatory Decision Making
• How are decisions relating to the organisation and its programmes made?
• What opportunities are there for feeding into decision making by different actors e.g. staff, board, members, partners?
• How do young people participate in the organisation, at both an operational and decision making level? How meaningful is their participation?
• How representative is the board e.g. gender, age etc.? How does the board function? Managing Effective Programmes
• How are programmes managed and by who?
• Are projects sufficiently planned for and resourced?
• Is organisational sustainability prioritised and planned for?
• How effective have efforts been?
• Do projects take into account longer term sustainability issues?
• If so, how?
• How are projects designed?
• What type of funding is sought and from where?
• How diverse are funding sources?
• How is gender and disability incorporated into project design?
• How effective are MEL systems?

People Management

• How many staff and volunteers are in the organisation?
• What are the demographics of staff and volunteers e.g. gender, age etc.
• What roles and responsibilities are there within the organisation? How are women represented in positions of seniority?
• Is staff recruitment fair and equal?
• Are employment policies in place? Do they represent the needs of the employer and employee?
• What policies and procedures are in place to support staff?
• Do policies support the promotion of women through the organisation?
• How well qualified are staff and volunteers?
• How is continual career and skills development promoted?

Financial Management and Administration

• What financial and administrative systems are in place? How effective are these systems?
• Do staffs understand financial procedures?
• Are projects and budgets assessed for risk?
• Are annual organisational financial reports produced? How often are accounts audited?
• What risks to organisational financial stability have been identified?

Managing Quality Relationships

• What internal and external relationships does the organisation have? How well are these relationships managed?
• What is your relationship with your members? Is there a diverse range of members?
• What type of relationship do you have with your partners?
• What qualities are sought in partners? Is there a systematic approach to assessing potential partnerships?
• What alliances is the organisation part of? How effective are these?
• What type of relationship do you have with other civil society organisations?
• Do you maintain a regular relationship with local and central government?
• How is the YMCA perceived by stakeholders; communities; beneficiaries?

Communication

• How do you engage with the wider public? How effective is this?
• How responsive is the general public?

Learning and Effectiveness

• To what extent is there a learning culture in the organisation?
• How well embedded is learning in the organisation?
• How does learning inform programme practice and development? 4
• Do you have time to reflect upon your work? Do you share your knowledge? With who?

Gender

• To what extent is gender mainstreamed throughout the organisation?
• How well represented are women in the organisation? To what extent are female staffs in positions of authority?
• Are female staffs supported in accessing relevant trainings? Do they receive the same amount of trainings as their male counterparts?
• What policies are in place to protect against gender based discrimination?
• How are the gender specific needs of young women and men taken into consideration in project planning, implementation and monitoring?

The capacity assessment must also establish a clear baseline for the following indicators relating to the organisational capacity result in the Project: 1- 100% of supported CSOs demonstrate improved capacity in project cycle management by the end of the project75% of supported CSOs are actively participating in networks / coalitions / partnerships by the end of the project 2- At least 75% of targeted CSO staff register an increase in their skills and knowledge relating to project cycle management by the end of the project 3- At least 75% of targeted CSO staff demonstrate an increase in their skills and knowledge relating to working with young people and vulnerable groups by the end of the project 4- At least 75% of targeted CSO staff demonstrate an increase in their skills and knowledge relating to livelihoods programming and civic education by the end of the project 5- 75% of supported CSOs are actively participating in networks / coalitions / partnerships by the end of the project by the end of the project

Capacity Building

Plan The report should establish the key needs for capacity building and tangible actions to build capacity in these areas. This should be a comprehensive assessment that takes into account the finding of the above organisational areas however, it should be noted that not all of these needs will be addressed through this project. Process and methodology YCI will provide the consultant with the Partner Capacity Building Assessment tool and guidance note which should be applied through a variety of methodologies as determined by the consultant. Although it is the responsibility of the consultant to determine the most appropriate methodology in order to collect the information needed, it is advised that the consultant should use the following methodologies during the consultancy. All data collection methodologies must be shared and agreed with and approved by YCI prior to their use.

Methodologies could include:

• Desk review of all relevant documentation e.g. strategy papers and budgets.
• Interviews with the Myanmar YMCA senior management team and members of the board.
• Interviews with the management teams and members of the board of the 3 associate CSOs
• Surveys with staff members of all four CSOs.
• Workshops with relevant staff members of all four CSOs.

Stakeholder Participation:

• The consultant should use participatory methods during the implementation of the survey. The consultant and Myanmar YMCA must ensure that a wide range of stakeholders participate in the survey. These will include: - Myanmar YMCA Senior Management team - Myanmar YMCA staff and volunteers - YMCA Board of Trustees - Staff, board members and volunteers of the associate CSOs - Y Care International Key Reference Documents: The consultant/s shall refer to the following documentation in the design and implementation of the survey: - Strategy documents - Organogram - Financial records - Human Resource policies e.g. discrimination policies - Membership records - Communication materials - Programme Management Systems - Details of all projects Roles and Responsibilities The assessment will be carried out by the consultant(s), supported by YCI, Myanmar YMCA and the partner CSOs.

Consultant's Responsibilities:

1. To adequately prepare for the field work by reading background information.

2. To design the methodology for implementing the capacity assessment with the sign off from Myanmar YMCA and YCI.

3. To apply YCI's capacity assessment framework to Myanmar YMCA and the three associated CSOs.

4. To deliver a report on the findings of the capacity assessment, including recommendations for capacity development priorities, as per the format requested by YCI.

5. To regularly communicate with YCI Asia and Middle East Programme Coordinator based in the UK.

6. To share the draft report with YCI and Myanmar YMCA for review and feedback prior to finalisation.

YCI's responsibilities:

1- To provide the YCI Partner Capacity Building Assessment Tool to the partner and the consultant.

2- To provide a draft report template for the consultant.

3- To review and approve the report.

4- To manage the consultant and provide frequent communication and support where needed.

5- To ensure payment to the consultant as per the consultancy contract.

Myanmar YMCA's responsibilities:

1. To review the tools and methodology designed by YCI and provide feedback prior to finalisation

2. To participate in the capacity assessment and ensure all relevant staff and resources needed by the consultant are accessible.

3. Support logistical arrangements needed by the consultant

4. To provide feedback on the consultant's draft report.

CSOs

1. To participate in the capacity assessment and ensure all relevant staff and resources needed by the consultant are accessible.

2. Support logistical arrangements needed by the consultant

DELIVERABLES and TIMEFRAME

Timeframe: The timeframe allocated to the assessment process and finalising of the report is a maximum of 25 days. The capacity assessment process should start no later than 1st November 2013 and a first draft report should be submitted to Myanmar YMCA and YCI by the 6th December. The assessment should last not more than a total of 25 working days, to include:

A) Planning and preparation, including development of the methodology and desk research ( 3 days)

B) Field work ( 14 days)

C) Data analysis and writing the report ( 8 days)

Deliverables

The report should include all four individual capacity assessments. The report must be no longer than 60 pages excluding cover page, contents page, summary and annexes. Annexes should include: work schedule of survey team; list of key informants interviewed; relevant background information; completed assessment tool. YCI will provide the consultant with a report format template. The report must be submitted in English language. Consultants should be able to produce a high quality report in English. Otherwise, translation costs shall be included in the quotation, and it will be responsibility of the consultants to hire and pay the translator. After reviewing the draft report, Myanmar YMCA and YCI will provide the consultant with comments and feedback within one week (13th December 2013) of receipt of the draft report. The final report will be submitted to Myanmar YMCA and YCI by the 18th December 2013. The report will not be considered final until approved by Myanmar YMCA and YCI.

PAYMENT

The payments will be as follows: - 50% upon signature of the consultancy agreement - 50% upon satisfactory completion of the assignment, and presentation of an invoice. The assignment will not be considered complete until both the Myanmar YMCA and Y Care International have signed off on the final report. The Consultant will submit the invoice for payment to YCI no later than 30 days after completion of the assignment, otherwise it may be disregarded. Bank charges: neither YCI nor Myanmar YMCA will be responsible for bank charges incurred by the Consultant during funds transfer. YCI/ Myanmar YMCA will pay the sender's fees, whereas the Consultant will pay any fees occurring at the receiving end.

Qualifications and Experience required

• University degree in Development Studies, Social Studies and/or other related fields;
• At least three years' experience in the international development sector in Myanmar;
• Experience of providing capacity building support to organisations;
• Strong interpersonal and representational skills with a range of external actors;
• Excellent communication and writing skills;
• Experience of working on youth-focused projects (desirable).

Application Procedure:

Qualified candidates may submit their CV and a proposal detailing their experience as per the above criteria, as well as their proposed plan, time frame and budget for the consultancy work (maximum 5 pages) to Daw Eve Nan, HR secretary, ymca.vyp.evenan@gmail.com or Lydia Soe, Project Manager, ymca.vyp.lydiasoe@gmail.com National YMCA, 263 Mahabandoola Road, Botatung Township, Yangon by 25th October 2013.

THE PROPOSALS MUST INCLUDE:

1. THE APPLICATION FORM HERE INCLUDED (ONE FOR EACH MEMBER OF THE TEAM)

2. PROPOSED METHODOLOGY AND TOOLS THAT THE CONSULTANT WILL USED (as much detailed as possible)

3. PROPOSED INDEX WITH THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT

4. DETAILED BUDGET PERSONAL DETAILS Name Surname(s) Address 8

Telephone No. E-mail PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE EVALUATIONS CONDUCTED Date Project Organisation Donor

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Start/End Company/Organisation Date

Post

EDUCATION Start/End Date University Degree obtained

Start/End Date

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING Study centre

Course

More Info and Application