Consultant to Develop Sub-granting Guidelines  

1. Background

The Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE) is a non-profit and non-governmental civil society organization with more than 175 member organizations. CECOE was licensed by the F.D.R.E. Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO) in 2019 with registration number 4748 under the Civil Society Organizations Proclamation 1113/2019. CECOE was established with the aim of enhancing and coordinating the role of Ethiopian CSOs in election observation, voter education, preventing electoral conflicts, and providing capacity building and support for its member organizations. CECOE is a committed member of the East and Horn of Africa Election Observers Network (E-HORN), African Election Observers Network (AfEONet), a pan-African coordinating platform, and a founding member of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM),  which connects regional networks and individual monitoring organizations across more than 88 countries worldwide.

CECOE is currently implementing a project titled “Strengthening and Promoting Democratic Processes and Peaceful Elections through Enhanced Engagement, Capacity, and Awareness of Electoral Stakeholders.” This project is funded by the Embassy of Ireland in Ethiopia.

In line with its strategic goals, CECOE recognizes the importance of providing financial support to its member organizations to enhance their operational capacities and programmatic impact. To this end, CECOE aims to develop a comprehensive sub-granting guideline that will streamline the process of awarding grants, ensuring transparency, accountability, and efficiency. These guidelines will serve as a vital tool for CECOE to manage sub-grants effectively, fostering a more sustainable and impactful engagement of its member organizations in various democratic and governance initiatives.

The development of these sub-granting guidelines is a critical step towards institutionalizing the grant management process within CECOE, thereby enabling the coalition to better support its members and achieve its overarching mission of promoting democratic values and practices in Ethiopia.

2. Objective

The primary objective of this consultancy service is to develop comprehensive sub-granting guidelines that will enable CECOE to award funds on a competitive basis to its member organizations, to engage in relevant programmatic areas.

3. Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Review of Existing Documents and Practices: Analyze CECOE’s existing documents, practices, and strategies.
2. Benchmarking: Study sub-granting guidelines of similar organizations/consortiums to identify best practices and benchmarks.
3. Stakeholder Consultation: Conduct consultations with key stakeholders, including Donors, CECOE Boards, secretariat, and CECOE member organizations, to gather insights and recommendations.
4. Drafting Sub-granting Guidelines: Develop a draft sub-granting guideline, ensuring it is comprehensive, practical, and aligned with CECOE’s strategic objectives.
5. Validation Workshop: Facilitate a validation workshop with the Donors, CECOE Board, and secretariat to review and refine the draft guidelines.
6. Finalization: Incorporate feedback from the validation workshop and finalize the sub-granting guidelines.
7. Capacity Building: Provide a brief training session for CECOE staff on the implementation of the new sub-granting guidelines.

4. Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver the following:

1. Inception Report: A report outlining the methodology, work plan, and timeline.
2. Draft Sub-granting Guidelines: A comprehensive draft of the sub-granting guidelines.
3. Validation Workshop Report: A report summarizing the outcomes of the validation workshop.
4. Final Sub-granting Guidelines: A finalized version of the sub-granting guidelines, incorporating feedback from the validation workshop.
5. Training Session: Conduct a training session for CECOE staff on the new guidelines.

5. Duration

The consultancy will be carried out for 15 working days.

6. Reporting

The consultant will report to the CECOE Project Manager and will provide regular updates on the progress of the assignment. The final deliverables will be reviewed and approved by the CECOE Project Manager.

7. Qualifications

The consultant should have:

• MA in Academic qualification in Project Management, Economics, Accounting, and Finance, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years experience in grants management, sub-granting, or related areas, preferably within civil society organizations, with a track record of producing high-quality materials.
• Strong knowledge of the Ethiopian electoral context and civil society landscape.
• Familiarity with the political and civic context of Ethiopia and experience working with civil society organizations.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Experience in conducting training and workshops.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and manage multiple tasks effectively.

8. Submission of Proposals

Interested consultants are invited to submit their detailed technical and financial proposals, including:

1. A cover letter expressing interest in the consultancy.
2. Detailed curriculum vitae highlighting relevant experience.
3. A brief proposal outlining the approach and methodology to be used for the assignment.
4. Renewed business license, including VAT registration and Tin Number certificate 
5. A detailed budget including consultancy fees and any other expenses.

9. Submission

Applications should be submitted by August 1, 2024 to  August 10, 2024