Background:

Banyan Global is an international development consulting firm committed to improving livelihoods through market approaches for a broad and lasting impact. The firm is headquartered in Washington, DC, with staff working in several developing countries. It operates seamlessly within five practice areas: health, economic growth, gender, youth, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.

Banyan Global is committed to diversity and inclusion in our workforce. We do not discriminate against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender expression. We recognize the importance of a diverse and inclusive workplace and intentionally strive for diversity and inclusion at all organizational levels.

Banyan Global implements the USAID/Malawi Learn to Perform (L2P) activity, with the mandate to improve the Mission’s performance management, enhance program efficiency, and advance Mission learning.

USAID/Malawi has tasked the L2P activity to conduct a technical and organizational capacity assessment of the Peri-Urban Land Governance (PULG) pilot activity implementing partners. The objectives of the assessment are:

1. To assess the technical capacity of the three local institutions (Meeting Hub – mHub, Centre for Community Empowerment and Sustainable Development -CCESD, and the Creative Centre for Community Mobilization – CRECCOM) implementing the PULG activity and their staff to effectively implement the activity;
2. To assess the PULG pilot activity management and coordination structure’s capacity to coordinate the implementation of the pilot activity; and
3. To document key lessons learned on the readiness and capacity of the three local organizations to receive direct USAID funding.

The PULG pilot is a four-year (2023-2027) activity implemented by the Meeting Hub (mHub), as the prime implementing partner in partnership with the Centre for Community Empowerment and Sustainable Development (CCESD) and the Creative Centre for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM). The partners implement the activity in collaboration with the Government of Malawi’s Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD), and Local Authorities (Lilongwe and Mzuzu Cities and M’mbelwa, Lilongwe, and Nkhata Bay district councils). The goal of the activity is to improve land rights and security of tenure in the targeted peri-urban areas in Lilongwe, Mzimba, and Nkhata Bay districts.

The PULG activity aims to achieve its goal through the following interrelated objectives:

1. Improve peri-urban land management and administration;
2. Strengthen accountability in peri-urban land management;
3. Improve the economic rights of landholders; and
4. Increase access to peri-urban land management information.

Banyan Global seeks the services of an experienced organizational capacity assessment consultant to lead the assessment, administer USAID’s Organizational Capacity Assessment (OCA) tool, and write the assessment report. The assignment requires the consultant to be physically in Malawi and interact with relevant stakeholders. The consultant will work closely with the designated L2P technical lead, L2P Chief of Party, and Deputy Chief of Party to undertake the assignment.

Objectives:

The objective of this scope of work is to engage an individual local consultant to lead the organizational capacity assessment for the peri-urban land governance activity and develop the assessment report highlighting key findings, recommendations, and lessons learned.

The consultant will work closely with L2P staff. The roles of L2P staff will include the following.

• Engaging with USAID and PULG activity partners on the planning for the assessment including getting all key required documents.
• Develop SOW for the capacity assessment.
• Review the inception report, data collection tools, draft assessment report, and PowerPoint presentation.
• Supervise the consultant.
• Provide overall quality assurance for the capacity assessment.

The consultant will have the following responsibilities:

1. Review the capacity assessment scope of work and participate in a kick-off meeting with USAID.
2. Regularly meet and brief the L2P activity manager on the progress of the assessment.
3. Develop and submit an inception report highlighting the approach the consultant will follow to accomplish the assignment, including the approach to scoring and consensus building.
4. Review all relevant documents related to the PULG activity (PULG pilot activity description, USAID OCA guidelines and tools, and the initial mHub capacity assessment report including the Non-U.S. Organization Pre-Award Survey {NUPAS} report).
5. Adapt the USAID OCA tool to align with the specific OCA domains and sub-domains that this assessment will cover.
6. Develop data collection instruments, conduct data collection, and analyze collected data.
7. Develop an action plan(s) for each partner and one overall for the activity (4).
8. Prepare and present preliminary findings to L2P, USAID, and the PULG team.
9. Draft and submit the capacity assessment report to L2P that addresses all the comments from stakeholders.
10. Develop and submit the final PowerPoint slide deck summarizing the key findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
11. Incorporate USAID’s best practices vis-a-vis localization, including using participatory, locally-led approaches to ensure the assessment supports the empowerment and capacity strengthening of local organizations.

The consultant should have the following qualifications and experience:

• Must have a master’s degree in management, business administration, leadership and organizational development, international development, or a related field.
• At least five years of experience designing and implementing organizational capacity development initiatives targeting local organizations, preferably including experience in Malawi.
• At least five years of experience designing and facilitating organizational capacity assessments targeting local organizations.
• In-depth understanding of USAID’s OCA guidelines and tools.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex assessment tasks in adherence to established deadlines.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to work independently.
• Excellent report-writing, data presentation, and visualization skills.