Strategic Plan Review and Development – Kakenya’s Dream

Introduction

These are the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the required technical support to review the current strategy and develop the new Strategic Plan for Kakenya’s Dream (KD). The developed Strategic Plan will provide strategic direction for the subsequent KD interventions during the next five years’ strategic plan period 2025 – 2029 towards the achievement of KD’s aspirations with respect to the vision, mission, and strategic objectives. Additionally, the Plan will serve as a tool for resource mobilization from a network of partners. The ToRs, therefore, provide information on the overall objectives of the consultancy, the general methodology, tools, and approaches, the expected deliverables, and the required qualifications and experiences of consultants to facilitate the review and refinement of the five-year strategic plan for KD. KD’s ambition is to invest in the development of a comprehensive Strategic Plan for 2025-2029, which would entail:

• A reflection on the organization’s previous work with a critical and learning lens (where is the organization particularly effective and successful, where is it not, what can it build on, etc.),
• Consultations with staff, management, board, key target groups and stakeholders,
• Updates to the context analysis, including anticipated trends and adaptation measures that KD can take,
• Working to attain operational clarity around the organization’s overall future trajectory, including by closely anticipating the implications of strategy design on the organization’s internal structure and processes.

About KD

Kakenya’s Dream (KD) is a nonprofit organization that invests in girls from rural communities through education, health, and leadership initiatives. It is registered as a Trust under the Perpetual Succession Act and is domiciled in Kenya. It has two offices, one located in Nairobi and the other in Isampin, Transmara West Sub County, Narok County. Our programs operate in Transmara, one of Kenya’s remotest and most marginalized regions, where nearly 66% of girls continue to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) at puberty, 50% are married before age 19, and only 17% complete primary education. Girls’ education is not a family or community investment priority, and social norms perpetuate low educational achievement. Investing in girls’ education yields profoundly positive outcomes not only for the girl but for her family and community as well.

Background and Purpose of the Consultancy

KD has witnessed significant changes in its community, inter-ethnic relations, political context, and the immediate CSO environment. These changes have impacted KD in different ways and require strategic agility, including regarding KD’s programmatic focus and its strategic positioning. Therefore, KD is engaged in the process of Strategic thinking and planning and has decided to develop a new organizational strategy with expert support.

The 2025-2029 Organizational Strategy should:

1. Be based on:
   • a basic review of the organization’s previous work with a critical and learning lens (where is the organization particularly effective and successful, where is it not, what can it build on, etc.), and
   • an updated context analysis, including anticipated trends and adaptation measures that KD should take to position itself in this environment.
2. Chart a compelling vision informed by consultation of KD’s stakeholders, target groups, and governance bodies and outline KD’s unique value proposition.
3. Articulate clear strategic objectives and spell out the intervention logic, approach, and capacities that KD should deploy to achieve the set objectives and/or outcomes in the strategic period.
4. Map the implications of the new strategy on the organization’s internal structure and processes and chart a clear operational plan to make the internal changes required for the implementation of the strategy.
5. Create a sufficient basis for KD to articulate measures and articulate its results.

Role and Deliverables of the Consultant

Under the direct supervision of the Country Manager and support from the board, the consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

Phase 1- Assessment and Diagnostic Stage

This Preliminary Assessment will provide the team conducting the Strategic Review with insight into the organization’s current state, i.e., KD. Key elements for review include:

1. Overall organizational review (which will also aid in understanding bottlenecks and successes in service delivery, efficiency, and effectiveness issues based on programs). Also, the review must assess the current strategic framework for KD and develop proposals for high-level business process changes.
2. Analyze the KD’s Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities, and Threats (SCOT Analysis) in relation to its current operations and performance.
3. Human Resources (Current and future needs)
4. Information technology (as part of the ease of doing business and the creation of efficiencies)
5. Finances and grant management (including general resource management, Workplans- including target setting (e.g., review of performance framework for the ongoing programs that identifies key outputs and outcomes, performance indicators, and targets)
6. Service Delivery

Phase 1 deliverables:

1. Inception report with detailed workplan, tools for review, desk review
2. Preliminary assessment report based on the current strategy

Phase 2- Development of the New Costed Strategic Plan

KD will expect the selected consultant(s) to:

1. Based on the assessment and feedback in phase 1, facilitate strategy development workshops and support KD in drafting the corresponding strategy document.
   • Deliverables: preparation and facilitation of strategy development workshops; drafting support on the strategy as required by KD.
2. Ensure that the final strategic framework clearly identifies KD’s impact ambitions and provides a stronger basis (key impact ambitions and indicators) for stronger monitoring and communication of results.
   • Deliverables: finalization of the strategy based on KD feedback; co-development of the results framework part of the strategy; identification of how M&E will be performed at the strategic level and budget.
3. Help KD identify how it should organize itself (structure/division of organizational roles) to deliver on the strategy optimally.
   • Deliverables: Facilitate the development of an operational plan that charts out how the organization will deliver on its strategy (approaches, structure, capacities) and clarifies the organizational division of roles and responsibilities.

Timeframe & Coordination

This assignment is expected to be completed by March 2024 and should start in early November 2023, with the goal of finishing phase 1 in mid-January.

The consultant(s) will work closely with the KD staff, who will supervise the consultant’s work, progress, and deliverables. The progress will be assessed on a regular basis so that any required adaptation can be agreed upon in a timely manner.

Consultancy Competencies, Experience, and Skill Requirements:

Individual consultants and a team of consultants possessing the qualifications outlined below are invited to apply.

• Demonstrated track record of successfully facilitating participatory strategy development.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating organizational development of non-profit organizations, including in relation to the development/revision of organizational structures
• An understanding of the context (socio-political context)
• Familiarity with KD’s thematic areas of focus (Health, Education, Young People Programming, human rights advocacy). Program design and methodological experience in relation to KD’s fields of work will be considered assets.
• Experience with the development of results and resource frameworks
• Experience with donor relations will be considered an asset.