Request for Proposals: Leadership Capacity Building Programme for Board Governance and Finance for Non-Finance Executives

1.     This TOR document frames a training and capacity building service aiming to strengthen capacities among the National Directors and the Regional management team of SOS Children´s Villages in the Region Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAF) as well as to enhance their competence in two critical areas: Board Governance and Finance for Non-Finance Executives programme with a touch of partnership management related to the two topics.

2.     Relevant consultancy firms are called to design and offer a leadership capacity-building programme on these two main areas based on this TOR document.

The Context

3.     Introduction to SOS Children´s Villages

SOS Children’s Villages is a non-profit, non-denominational, social development organisation with the vision that every child belongs to a family and grows with love, respect, and security.  The organisation’s mission is to build families for children in need, help them shape their own future and share in the development of their communities. SOS Children’s Villages is organised as a federation of autonomous and inter-independent Member Associations (MAs), which support each other in a spirit of solidarity.

The General Secretariat (GSC) is currently the federation´s operating arm and it is represented by the International Office (IO) based in Austria, and 5 Regional Offices (IORs) located in Vienna (Austria—IOR EUCM), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia—IOR ESAF), Dakar (Senegal—IOR WCNA), New Delhi (India—IOR ASIA) and La Paz (Bolivia—IOR LAAM).

The organisation is present in 136 countries and territories worldwide through its MAs, who offer the various care programmes and services to the children and young people in our target group (children and young people without adequate parental care or those who are at risk of losing parental care).

4.     Capacity building initiatives in SOS CVI  

National Directors and Regional management team are the most senior executives in each Member Association and region level respectively and are responsible for leading organizational strategy, managing resources and engaging with national Boards and donors and partners. SOS CVI is currently undergoing a transformation process changing its overall operating model and structure that transforms its financial as well as governance and partnership models as well. Leaders in the organizational are therefore expected to adopt to these changing contexts and develop and strengthen new skill and acumen related to strategic financial management, governance management as well as managing complex stakeholder and partnership processes.  As part of continuous leadership development and to better facilitate these transformation processes, the ESAF Regional Office plans to organise a two-day learning programme that build National Directors and Regional Management team capacity in the following areas:

1. Managing Governance systems and working with Boards – one full day programme
2. Financial management for non-finance executives and - One full day programme

SOS CVI recognizes that these topics are somehow independent requiring different expertise areas from Consulting/training institutions. As a result, we encourage applying consulting companies to submit their proposals either for one of the trainings topics only with a technical and financial proposal for one of the topics or come under one umbrella and provide proposal for both topics. However, the technical and financial proposals should be designed and submitted separately for each topic to enable the organization select providers for each of the programme separately.

5.     Objectives and expected contents of the NDs Training on Board Governance - while the trainer/ consultants can add other pertinent topics to the below, the programme should at least aim to cover areas training content on the following areas:

• Equip the participants with knowledge and skills on governance and Board engagement.
• Facilitate understanding of governance principles in federated INGOs.
• Clarify roles of National Directors/executives Vs. Boards as well as Board and committee roles.
• Enhancing board and executive relationships and Navigating Board dynamics
• Aligning governance boards with strategic goals and promoting Board accountability and leadership effectiveness. ss
• Supporting effective board decision making
• Effective governance reporting practices and processes
• Supporting effective board meetings
• Manging diverse Partners and partnership processes in the governance management process

6.     Objectives and expected contents of the NDs Training on Finance for Non-Finance Executives and Partnership management

• Demystifying strategic financial concepts and improving participants' ability to analyze financial performance and contribute to strategic discussions and applying financial insight to make informed strategic and finance decisions.
• Strengthening oversight of financial controls and risk, reporting, audits, and resource stewardship.
• Read and interpret budgets, financial statements, and reports.
• Lead budget planning aligned with strategy and support accountability and transparency in resource management.
• Confidently forecast and monitor the financial outcomes of strategic decisions. 
• Explore the interplay of financial resources and systems for financial management and control, grasp and use financial management techniques including assessing capital budgeting, cash flow, valuation, and risk analysis. 
• Effectively manage the balance between financial sustainability and growth  
• Building and managing effective and strategic partnerships with donors and other stakeholders
• Other strategic topics the consultant deems relevant.

7.     Participants

• A total of about thirty-five participants is expected to participate in this programme, including 25 National Directors and 10 regional management teams from ESAF region. The target group are responsible for strategic financial decisions of their respective Member Associations and offices and have either direct responsibility for governance topics or closely work with the governance structure of their respective offices.

8.     Scope of work

The Consultant will be responsible for:

1. Preparation

Conduct a brief needs assessment with selected National Directors and Regional management team

Review relevant SOS frameworks (e.g., statutes, governance manuals, strategies, budget templates, grant and partnership agreements, etc).

Conduct Pre-training virtual meeting: Participants share their current experience with organizational transformation and change leadership and their personal goals for the training.

1. Design

Create a modular 2-day training program, including practical case studies, exercises, and tools – allocating one day for each of the learning topics. If the consultant choses to focus on one of the topics only – this is also possible and encouraged.

Customize content and exercises and case studies to SOS’s overall context

1. Delivery

Facilitate training in-person, using adult learning methods

Incorporate peer learning, group exercises, and real-case simulations

1. post-training

Submit a report summarizing participant feedback, lessons learned, and recommendations for future capacity building and other interventions

Provide all training materials (slides, handouts, exercises) in editable format for future internal use

9.      Training Venue, duration and schedule

• The selected consultant/s should be willing and be available to provide the required two days face to face trainings in Karen, Nairobi Kenya during the week of Sept 22- 26, 2025.

10.  Roles and responsibilities of external consultant(s)

As part of the methodology, the consultant has the role of providing capacity building training on agreed topics by providing tools and approaches, triggering and facilitating a structured discussion around the current global and local trends and challenges around the training topics, asks probing questions to encourage a deeper analysis of the status quo  and required changes needed around the learning topics in the organization to support the ongoing transformation process.   

More specifically, the consultant is also expected to:

• Deliver a preparatory 2-hour virtual session 5-7 days before the face-to-face training,
• Prepare, deliver, and facilitate face-to-face trainings in Kenya (according to the agreed drafted agenda topics and proposed assignments for a 2-day training designed based on the TOR – within in the week of Sept 21^st, 2025. The programme is blocked for these days and availability during this week will be a requirement.
• The Board governance training is expected to last 1 day, and the Finance for Non finance executive and partnership management training is expected to also last 1 day.
• Design and deliver the overall structure and content of the training sessions based on the TOR above using:
• Interactive workshops to develop personalized action plans.
• Breakout sessions for peer learning and sharing best practices.
• Compile a training guide and running sheet, incorporating existing state of the art and cutting-edge training resources and best practices.
• Facilitate interactive discussions, group activities, and presentations.
• Understand the organization’s current trends, agendas and processes and milestones.
• Delivers a protocol or minutes of the training, summarizing key lessons, impressions, and topics to follow-up.
• Conducts evaluation at the end and provide summarized input and development area topics for future development of the National Directors other executives.

11.  Required skills and experiences:

General requirements:

• Experience training senior executives, preferably in international NGOs or federated governance structures.

• Multiple experiences of working in different political and cultural contexts.
• An excellent collaborative work style, with an openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback.
• Experience in coaching for the executive level.
• Expertise in leadership development and excellent facilitation, presentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to engage and motivate diverse groups of top-level leaders.
• Provision of practical tools and actionable insights.

Specific Requirements

• For the governance training - Experience in designing and facilitating capacity building workshops and leadership development programmes on topics of engaging and effectively working with board development and governance boards, preferably in an INGO environment is a requirement.
• For the finance for non-finance executives programme - knowledge and expertise on financial management for the non-profit sector, grant and partnership management and a strong experience in designing and delivering finance for non-finance executives training programme for different sectors, but more specifically for similar organizations in the INGO sector will be required.

12.  Application requirements:

13.  General Provisions

SOS Children’s Villages International Eastern and Southern Regional Office Reserves the right to:

• Undertake reference, credit, and other checks, and by responding to this request for quotation, the service provider hereby gives SOS Children’s Villages International consent/authority to conduct such checks.
• Withdraw this request for quotation and/or amend the terms of reference by notice in writing (email or posting on the website) to only shortlisted bidders who responded to this call prior to the closing date.
• At its sole discretion, the award of the contract is based on the best value for money, experience and qualification of consultant, the number of proposed days, daily rate, environmental, and social benefits (if applicable), in addition to other requirements.
• To negotiate prices or rates based on an available budget as part of the contracting processes.
• A selected consultant will be required to sign a service contract in adherence to the organizational policies and regulations.

14.   Eligibility to apply

• Experienced firms/companies have experience in providing leadership development programmes targeted at board governance, Finance, and grants management for non-finance executives in all sectors but with specific experience within the INGO sector are eligible to apply for this consultancy service.
• The consultancy/training firms can bid for one or both topics by providing separate technical and financial proposals for each of the topics.

• Application Information

General Information

Applicants must submit all the required documents below:

• Application package – technical proposal including training methodology and content based on content outlined in the TOR including proposing changes if required, facilitators CVS and profile, organizational profile, business license and tax certificate.
• Price quotations must be submitted in English in MS Excel Document with password encryption.
• The password for the financial proposal will be submitted separately after technical analysis is completed and up to the request from the organization contact person.
• Price quotations and costs must be quoted in US Dollars
• Taxes and payments: As per the regulation of the country where payment will be made.
• The consultant is responsible for paying all relevant taxes.
• Payment should be presented in scheduled formats.
• All Application and any requests for information regarding this Terms of Reference shall be sent jointly to umutoni@sos-kd.org and stephen.muthui@sos-kd.org.
• Selection and communication to bid winners will be communicated by 22 August 2025.

15.  Deadline for application

• All the proposals must be submitted using this emails address nairobi@sos-kd.org and must be received at the latest by August 18, 2025, 5:00PM EAT.
• Submissions received after the deadline will not be considered.

Annex 1

Bid submission / identification form.

This bid form must be completed, signed, and returned to SOS Children’s Villages International ESAF. Bids must reflect the instructions described in the Terms of Reference.

The Undersigned hereby offers to supply the services specified in the TOR at the price indicated in the Price Schedule Form (Annex 5.2).

Validity of Offer: valid until: ______________________ (Date)

Signature and Stamp

Annex 2

Price Schedule form

The financial proposal needs to include all taxes.

Daily rate: ____________

Payment will be made only upon SOS Children’s Villages ESAF acceptance of the work performed in accordance with the deliveries described in the TOR. Financial proposals should include proposed stage payments. Payment will be affected by bank transfer in the currency of billing and is due 30 days after receipt of invoice and acceptance of work.

This proposal should be authorized, signed and stamped.

________________

(Name of Organization)

Name of representative

Address:

Telephone/Email

Annex 3

Technical proposal

The technical bid should be concisely presented and structured in the following order to include the following information listed below.

1. High level proposed methodology and timeline for the desired Leadership development programme:

• Review proposed contents and make modifications (if required), list all proposed contents/training agenda and content schedule • Develop work plan with timelines in accordance with this ToR. Confirm availability for the proposed training dates.

2. Qualification and expertise of the consultant submitting proposal

• CV or of the main trainers/ capacity building consultant
• Previous experiences (relevant to ToR)