Company Background: The Kaizen Company is an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Our proven solutions catalyze locally driven organizational and institutional performance improvements and establish communities of practice that facilitate peer-to-peer learning and achievement of shared goals.
We leverage existing knowledge, technology, and new media, and local peer networks to support local reforms. Since our inception, we have provided support to more than 100 government, private-sector, and non-profit organizations in markets worldwide. We have created solutions that achieve outcomes across a broad range of sectors including education, governance, economic growth, environment and water, energy, and global law enforcement.
Description of Activity: Kaizen is implementing the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) 5-year system strengthening activity for three Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (RIGOs) in East Africa: The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The aim of the RIGO System Strengthening activity (RIGO SSA) is to achieve a demonstrable, evidence-based improvement in the organizational systems of COMESA, EAC, and IGAD. The priority systems are the following: financial management, performance management including monitoring and evaluation (M&E), strategic planning, and donor coordination.
Position: Short Term Technical Expert – To Strengthen EAC Linkages between Strategic and Operational Planning Processes.
Duration: The assignment is expected to start in May 2021 and is estimated to take no more than forty (40) days level of effort over three months.
Description of Position: The East African Community (EAC) is a regional organization mandated by the Governments of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda to spearhead the East African economic, social, and political integration agenda. The scope of cooperation among the six Partner States is clearly indicated in The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community which was signed in November 1999 and entered into force in July 2000. The regional cooperation and integration envisaged in EAC is broad based. Article 5 (1) of The Treaty states that “The objectives of the Community shall be to develop policies and programmes aimed at widening and deepening cooperation among the Partner States in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research and technology, defense, security and legal and judicial affairs for the mutual benefit.”
Operationally, EAC uses five-year development strategies to facilitate the implementation of the Treaty in a systematic manner. This involves formulation of detailed sector strategies and annual operational plans. An assessment carried out in July 2019 under the on-going EAC/RIGO Systems Strengthening Activity found out that the EAC needs to adopt the “Theory of Change” concept to ensure defined strategic interventions are sufficient to lead to desired outcomes/impacts. Additionally, the assessment noted that the EAC Development Strategy needs to explicitly define the value propositions to its primary stakeholders, mainly Partner States, Development Partners, and the EAC Citizenry in general. Therefore, the proposed assignment seeks to strengthen the linkage between strategic and operational planning process at regional and national levels through better coordinated and participatory planning.
The Kaizen Company is seeking services from a Consultant to propose a system to strengthen the linkages between strategic and operational planning process.
Scope of Work
The Consultant is expected to undertake the following;
- Review the current strategic and operational planning/budgeting processes at the EAC Organs and Institutions and in the Partner States to determine the status of forward and backward linkages.
- In undertaking (i) above, the Consultant shall refer (but be not limited) to: The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (the Treaty), various EAC Protocols, the EAC Financial Rules and Regulations, the EAC Planning and Budgeting Guidelines, the EAC Budget Act, EAC Budget Circulars, the EAC Strategic Planning Manual, related Partner States’ policy and planning frameworks, and policy/operational planning frameworks of other RECs (AU, SADC, and COMESA).
- Conduct literature review on strategic and operational planning frameworks and practices in other Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
- Conduct literature review of budgeting frameworks in other RECs, especially the allocation of direct and indirect funds.
- Identify gaps in the existing EAC strategic and operational planning/budgeting process, especially as it impacts the delivery of programmes, projects, and activities. Such gaps may include misalignment between priorities of the Community and those of the Partner States, and limited inclusivity and participation of key stakeholders.
- Organize national workshops to collect and collate views from a wide range of stakeholders.
- Propose a new “Strategic and Operational Planning/Budgeting Framework for the East African Community” that incorporates standard planning and budgeting frameworks that have been successfully implemented in the public sector and ensures a wider collaboration and stakeholder participation in the Community’s strategic and operational planning/budgeting processes to achieve a higher level of outcome and impact; (for example a review of the way the annual EAC Pre-budget Conference is conducted to make the Conference more efficient and informative to the subsequent planning and budgeting processes).
- Clearly define and outline the linkages between the proposed new strategic and operational planning/budgeting framework and the Community’s performance management system at strategic, tactical, and operational management levels.
- Determine and recommend the optimal approach in the operationalization of the new “Strategic and Operational Planning/Budgeting Framework for the East African Community (for example, through adoption of standard project management methodologies and restructuring of the EAC Planning and Budget Committee with revised Terms of Reference among other options.
In carrying out the assignment, the Consultant shall conduct wide literature review of the Community’s existing planning processes (mainly strategic planning, operational planning, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring & evaluation), particularly as outlined in the key EAC policy and operational documents. Literature review shall also cover strategic and operational planning and budgeting practices among other Regional Economic Communities (RECs). In addition, the Consultant shall conduct consultative meetings with the EAC Organs and Institutions and EAC Partner States’ Ministries and Agencies responsible for national planning and budgeting to collect, collate and analyze the required information for purposes of this assignment.
Description of Deliverables
The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:
- An inception report highlighting the background and objectives of the assignment, expected deliverables, technical approach, methodology and management of the assignment, and work schedules.
- A draft Strategic and Operational Planning Framework for the East African Community.
- A final and clearly written and reader friendly Strategic and Operational Framework for the East African Community.
Qualifications and Experience
The Consultant should possess the following qualifications and experience:
- Preferably a PhD holder or a Master’s degree in Development Economics or Economics with Statistics, Business Administration, Political Science, Financial Management, International Relations, and other related fields.
- At least ten (10) years of relevant professional experience on strategic and operational planning, with a bias towards regional integration.
- Sound knowledge and exposure on strategic and operational planning issues among the various Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
- Extensive knowledge and exposure in budgeting processes/models in Partner States and various RECs.
- Strong analytical skills.
- Ability to write clear and concise reports.
- Strong computer and presentation skills.
- Proven ability to work in a multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environment.
Application Requirements
Qualified applicants should submit a resume/CV outlining their qualifications and suitability for the assignment, including a one-page proposal, demonstrating their understanding of the Terms of Reference and their methodology in undertaking the task as well as the contact details of three references. Include all materials in one document in the submission of your resume. Applications are due April 29, 2021. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and only finalists will be contacted.
At The Kaizen Company, we find strength in our diversity. We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive working environment in which everyone has an equal opportunity to fulfill their potential. We know that we can only do development differently if we are open to and inclusive of new and unique perspectives. We encourage candidates of all abilities, ages, gender identities and expressions, national origins, races and ethnicities, religious beliefs, and sexual orientations to apply. Further, we urge parents and non-parents, married and unmarried, those from different or non-traditional educational backgrounds, and persons of all other diverse identities or experiences to apply. The Kaizen Company is an equal opportunity employer.
