Technical Assistance to Revise the Finance and Administration Policies and Procedures Manual of the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association

Background

Palladium develops and delivers solutions that create positive impact for communities, businesses, societies, and economies, transforming lives and creating enduring value by working with governments, corporations, and non-profit organizations. We currently implement more than 100 projects with more than 2,000 employees operating in over 90 countries.

Palladium is implementing the New Partnerships Initiative EXPAND: New Partners for Better Health (NPI EXPAND) activity, a five-year (October 2019-October 2024) USAID-funded cooperative agreement (7200AA19CA00015). The goal of NPI EXPAND is to increase the availability and utilization of high-quality services through local partners globally. NPI EXPAND will contribute to health goals equitably and sustainably through enhanced participation of capable local partners to increase demand for and deliver high-quality, high-impact health services at scale. NPI EXPAND will help reach USAID’s goal of increasing the availability and utilization of high-quality health services across all its priority health areas. It will also catalyze opportunities to scale up innovative interventions by strengthening the capacity of local partners. In line with USAID’s localization agenda, Palladium supports countries to identify and strengthen local organizations to expand their level of engagement in health service delivery while preparing them for direct USAID financial support. NPI EXPAND a combination of a sub-grants program, organizational and technical capacity strengthening, and supporting opportunities for effective engagement and relevance within the broader health system.

In Kenya, NPI EXPAND supports locally driven solutions to increase access to and use of health services in Narok County. Specifically, the program provides grants and tailored assistance to local organizations to implement context-specific approaches to remove barriers to family planning access and use and improve maternal health outcomes. The activities also promote continuity of services and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on routine health services. The primary beneficiaries of the program include adolescents and youth (girls and boys) who are in- and out-of-school, women, men, and couples. While the NPI EXPAND program focuses on the health sector, this activity forms part of an integrated program that also advances livelihoods, food security, sustainable livestock raising, and conservation in the Mara Landscape. Grantees coordinate closely with county government representatives and other organizations working in health, conservation, and development spaces in Narok County.

Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) is one of the local organizations NPI EXPAND is supporting in Kenya. In May 2023, NPI EXPAND conducted an organizational capacity assessment (OCA) and Organizational Performance Index (OPI) of MMWCA. The assessment aimed to identify gaps in MMWCA’s organizational and technical capacities and develop a capacity strengthening plan to address priority gaps. This scope builds on the outcome and recommendations of the assessment to support MMWCA in implementing specific capacity strengthening activities.

Consultancy Purpose

The baseline capacity assessment identified gaps in MMWCA’s finance and administration policies and procedures. To address this gap, NPI EXPAND seeks the services of an individual consultant to provide technical assistance to MMWCA in reviewing and updating its finance and administration policies and procedures.

Scope of Work

The consultant will use a consultative approach to implement the entire scope of this assignment. The assignment is anticipated to involve the following specific tasks:

• Attend an inception meeting with MMWCA and NPI EXPAND to discuss and ensure a common understanding of the assignment objectives, scope, and methodology.
• In consultation with MMWCA’s management and NPI EXPAND staff in Kenya, prepare and submit a work plan for the assignment.
• Review the current MMWCA’s finance and administration policies and procedures manuals to identify gaps. Some gaps NPI EXPAND identified through the baseline capacity assessment include inadequate annual budgeting procedures, inadequate segregation in procurement, procurement thresholds and approvals, and lack of in specific areas, including travel/transport, records management, and ITC.
• Discuss with MMWCA management and staff to understand the challenges MMWCA may have in meeting all the current Government of Kenya and funding partners’ compliance and regulatory requirements.
• Prepare a report outlining the gaps and challenges identified and recommended remedies in the relevant policies and procedures.
• Discuss the suggested revisions with MMWCA management to ensure they concur.
• Revise the manuals using the outline agreed on with MMWCA management.
• Prepare an initial draft of the revised manuals and present it to the MMWCA management and NPI EXPAND for review and input.
• Use MMWCA management and NPI EXPAND input to prepare the final policies and procedures manuals.
• Present the final manuals to MMWCA management in meeting the organization convenes to validate the policy documents.
• Train/induct MMWCA staff on the revised policies and procedures manuals.
• Based on feedback from the validation meeting, prepare and submit the final version of manuals to MMWCA and NPI EXPAND.

Deliverables

a) A report outlining gaps and amendments required in MMWCA’s finance and administration policies and procures manuals, and an outline of the suggested new policies for functions not covered.
b) Revised finance and administration policies and procedures manuals, including new areas the existing policies do not cover.
c) A report on the staff training/orientation on the revised policies and procedures.

Supervision and Reporting

The consultant will report to the NPI EXPAND Kenya Country Team Lead. The Capacity Development Director will provide the required technical backstopping to the country team. The NPI EXPAND Country team will arrange and manage the logistics necessary for the assignment, including meetings and travel to Narok County, where MMWCA is based.

Anticipated Period of Performance and Level of Effort

This consultancy is anticipated to take a maximum of 10 days February 1st, 2024 – March 30th, 2024

Qualifications

This opportunity is open to individual consultants with the following qualifications:

• Must be a Kenyan national legally registered with the Government of Kenya and compliant with government tax laws.
• A university degree in finance, business administration, or a related field.
• Relevant professional qualifications in finance and accounting.
• At least 10 years’ experience in finance and administration in the non-profit sector.
• Demonstrated knowledge about the legal and regulatory environment for businesses and non-profit organizations in Kenya.
• Demonstrated knowledge about the funding rules and regulations of USAID and other key donors.
• Experience in helping non-profit organizations to set up management and administration systems and conduct audits of existing systems.
• Ability to work under tight deadlines.
• Proficiency in English.