Programs and Organizational Learning Partner Job in Nairobi, Kenya

CAP Youth Empowerment Institute, Kenya
 
Terms of Reference
 
Assignment: Programs and Organizational Learning Partner
 
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
 
Duration of Assignment: Two Years
 
Expected Start Date: February 2017 

1.1 Background Information: CAP Youth Empowerment Institute (CAP YEI) is a Kenyan NGO established in 2010 with the mandate of providing employability skills training and support to marginalized Kenyan youth. 

This is done through the Basic Employability Skills Training (BEST) model, which was developed by CAP Foundation. 

This dynamic, demand-driven market-based model has been successfully applied in more than 10 countries in Asia and Africa, benefiting over 200,000 youth. 

In 2015, the model was voted one of the leading models for youth skills training Africa following a continent-wide competition organized by the Africa Union. 

Using the BEST model, CAP YEI aims to provide basic work entry level skills for disadvantaged youth in Kenya with particular focus on the poor and other vulnerable youth who may not have any opportunity to continue with higher education and training. 

CAP YEI targets youth for obvious reasons: 

(i) to help reduce their vulnerability to participate and involve others in extremism and violent crime; 

(ii) support government policy to create employment and achieve its 2030 blue print. 

The basic approach used to address (ii) is by facilitating the youth to access promising labor market oriented opportunities, savings, and credit that support their pathways to safe and positive futures.
 
To ensure countrywide youth support, CAP YEI has also extended its focus from previous demonstration and replication training centers to broader approach through empowering TVETs and Vocational Training Centers to increase the outreach of the program by creating local applying some of the principles of the BEST model. 

The aim is to build capacity by integrating the most successful elements of the BEST model into the TVET curriculum and processes and this way support the application of the Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) framework of the government.
 
To deliver its programs CAP YEI has now established a nationwide network comprising 20 training centers and over 1500 employer, business and mentor partners. 

CAP YEI is also working with 46 VTC partners under the capacity building component and intends to expand this to 100 partner VTC’s. 

The organization has also helped the start 600 youth micro businesses across the country and plans to expand this number to 4000 over five years
 
1.2 In Partnership with the MasterCard Foundation
 
The most successful initiative of CAP YEI has been the Learn, Earn and Save initiative for Sub Saharan Africa, a five year project In Partnership with the MasterCard Foundation. 

The first phase of this project run from 2011 to 2016 and was successful in reaching 14000 youth with employability skills and support, achieving a transition rate (from learning to earning or further learning) of 88% (employment – 75%, entrepreneurship – 8%, further learning – 5%). 

This project has now been renewed for a further 5 years with the aim of scaling up and sustaining the program through partnership with the Government TVET system and the expansion of the training and entrepreneurship delivery components.
 
The key deliverables of this new partnership will include: directly training 23,000 youth; indirectly reaching and supporting 39,000 youth through the capacity building initiative and supporting the establishment of 4000 youth led businesses. 


The organization aims to maintain a successful transition to employability rate of 75% and to also establish a level 2, post BEST training stream focused on providing additional skills and support to alumni.
 
1.3 Learning Partner
 
CAP YEI is seeking the services of a learning partner to work with the organization during the implementation of this program by providing an external view of program implementation, results and processes, giving critical feedback and helping identify opportunities for improvement and growth. 

This assignment has four broad objectives
 
1.3.1 Conduct annual impact assessment of the employability training and support including component: BEST, TVET capacity building, and entrepreneurship and provide feedback through a structured process that will include one annual report.
 
1.3.2 Design and apply tools and processes to assess the long term impact of CAP YEI’s program on Kenyan youth.
 
1.3.3 Assess and feedback on the potential policy implications of the CAP YEI program for the youth employability and skills sector in Kenya
 
1.3.4 Participate in peer review consultations with similar organizations with a view to identifying areas of improvements and or setbacks to help in “learning from others” and or maintaining quality and to identify potential for collaboration.
 
1.4 Detailed Description of the Scope of Work
 
In view of the objectives described above, the successful learning partner shall:
 
1.3.1 Review the monitoring and evaluation (M & E) needs and plans of the said assignment and extract the relevant indicators that could be used to monitor the outputs.
 
1.3.1 Design the operating model and required tools of this partnership in collaboration with CAP’s relevant departments.
 
1.3.2 Prepare the documents necessary to guide both partners on the implementation of this assignment. This should include procedures and operating manuals that should guide project coordination in processing and disseminating information.
 
1.3.4 Develop data collection and reporting framework, instruments for capturing both quantitative and qualitative longitudinal and summative data and analyses.
 
1.3.4 Ensure that the data is analyzed and presented in a simple enough to understand manner and is disaggregated by different parameters such as gender, social economic situation, vulnerability and others
 
1.3.5 Support CAP YEI in hosting government, civil society peers, youth and other stakeholders through which such information can be shared for purposes of dissemination
 
1.5 Deliverables
 
The learning partner shall provide the following deliverables to CAP YEI:
1.    A manual outlining in detail the partnership model to be applied in the partnership, which should include detailed activities to be undertaken to provide the required services. This should include a section that sets out the needs of CAP YEI in relation to the assignment and Project M & E indicators.
2.    A presentation to CAP YEI in respect of the said model and within two after such presentation, provide a revised inception report.
3.    Timetable with complete timelines on how the exercise shall be conducted and when the survey reports shall be disseminated.
4.    One Evaluation report every year providing details and summary of findings and recommendation for improvement
5.    Participation in one dissemination workshop each year bringing together CAP YEI staff and partners as well as other peer organizations to review findings and make recommendations for the future
6.    At least three communications products (summaries, articles, presentation) based on the learning partnership and findings provided to CAP YEI
1.6 Required Competencies
 
The learning partner can be an individual, organization or institution with demonstrated skills and experience in carrying out similar activities. 

A combination of the following experience and competences (preferably gained in the Africa region) are desired:
 
(i) Provision of TVET related learning/curricular at national or regional level
 
(ii) Demonstrated international and local operations or policy research experience.
 
(iii) Experience in youth education and training
 
(iv) Recent project experience in similar assignment(s).
 
(v) Demonstrated competence in monitoring and evaluation/auditing of educational and training projects and well versed in project cycle management.
 
(vi) Knowledge of market based, demand driven employability models and programming and strong experience in entrepreneurial research and development.
 
(vii) Capacity to engage University students in this work for purposes of their further learning and capacity building is desired, though not mandatory
 
1.7 Anticipated Duration: Initial appointment will be for two years but with possibility of extension by mutual agreement.
 
1.8 Confidentiality: The learning partner shall uphold integrity in the use of any confidential information received from CAP YEI or any other stakeholder affiliated to CAP YEI. 

Such materials should be used exclusively for the purpose of preparing deliverables relevant to this assignment. 

The confidentiality obligations shall not apply to any information already in the public domain.
 
1.9. Application Process
 
Interested and qualified applicants are invited to send their applications to: learning@capyei.org by 15th January 2017.
 
The applicant should provide:
 
(i) All relevant information providing proof of experience and competence
 
(ii) A technical application demonstrating briefly how the applicant would perform the job as defined in this TOR
  
(iii) Financial estimate of costs – total budget should not exceed $25,000 per year.