Term of Reference (TOR), for Hiring a consultant to Review and Update Partners Policy Tender at SNV

1. About SNV

SNV is a global development partner rooted in the African and Asian countries where we operate. With 60 years of experience and a team of approximately 1,600 people, it is our mission to strengthen capacities and catalyze partnerships that transform the agri-food, energy, and water systems to enable sustainable and more equitable lives for all.

2. Background and Objectives of the Assignment

The Youth Entrepreneurship in Agriculture in Rwanda (YEA-R) program is a multi-year initiative aiming to create dignified and equitable work opportunities for 40,000 young women, men, and persons with disabilities. The YEAR program seeks to make sustainable impact in Rwanda by enhancing the capacity of the YEA-R program Rwandan based-partners to lead this work in the future. Therefore, the Program includes capacity strengthening and co-creation processes with the partners. YEA-R will transfer relevant knowledge, resources, and responsibilities to partners over time to support the implementation of the program. The more the capacity of the partners increases, the more resources allocated to them for the implementation of the program and the role of the lead partners remains to oversight. The Program’s capacity strengthening initiatives entail institutional capacity building for compliance, funds utilization and partners organizational sustainability. 

The SNV YEA-R team used a three-pronged approach for the Partner Capacity Assessment which included:

• Policy, procedure, and organizational governance document review.
• Partner self-assessment
• On-site key informant discussions

Across 6 partners several common gaps were observed including Governance and internal policies and procedures. To strengthen compliance, governance, and operational efficiency, SNV Rwanda is seeking experienced consultant company to conduct a comprehensive review and revision of partners existing policies including the development or refinement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and template forms to support consistent and effective implementation. The Consultant will propose areas for revision, missing policies or guidelines, develop them and then facilitate a validation and dissemination session. 

3. Objectives of the assignment

• To strengthen partners’ governance, compliance, and operational implementation
• Develop clear, step-by-step Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to operationalize policies.
• To Review, update, harmonize, and support the implementation of partners’ policies in the following areas: Operations, Human Resources, Procurement, and Grant Management. 
• Develop or refine template forms and tools to to promote consistency and audit readiness.

4. Scope of work

The overall objective of the scoping study is To strengthen partners’ governance, compliance, and operational effectiveness by reviewing, updating, and standardizing existing policies, procedures, and tools to ensure clarity, alignment with best practices, and consistent implementation

4.1. Policy Review and gap analysis

I. Review existing partners policies, manuals, and practices related to:

• Financial Management and internal controls,
• Budgeting, accounting, cash management, and financial reporting, 
• Procurement method, thresholds, and approval processes,
• Asset management and inventory control
• Ensure clear role definitions, approval authorities, and segregation of duties.
• Human Resource policy and procedures manual
• Administrative Management Manual 
• Operational Manual 
• portfolio management frameworks
• partner performance dashboards
• governance manuals or policies.

II. Revise and update the grant management policy 

• Clear grant lifecycle stages (pre-award, award, implementation, close-out)
• Defined roles and responsibilities
• Internal control mechanisms
• Risk management measures
• Monitoring and reporting requirements
• Compliance and audit provisions
• Clear approval thresholds and documentation requirements

III. Develop or revise practical SOPs and standardized templates, including but not limited to:

• Finance SOPs (e.g., payments, advances, reconciliations)
• Procurement SOPs (e.g., requisitions, bid evaluation, contract award)
• Grant management SOPs (e.g., budget revisions, reporting, audits)
• Recruitment SOPs and related templates (e.g., requisitions, announcement, shortlisting, communication, hiring process, and contract offer)

IV. Template format 

• Purchase requisitions and purchase orders
• Bid evaluation and procurement committee forms
• Payment requests and advance liquidation forms
• Grant tracking, reporting, and compliance checklists.
• Hiring approval form
• Leave template 
• Recruitment evaluation form 
• Disciplinary action forms 
• Performance review 
• Budget templates
• Grant monitoring tools

V. Policy Validation

• Facilitate validation meetings with partners leadership and relevant staff
• Support policy dissemination and implementation

5. Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver the following:

• Updated and approved policy documents for each thematic area per partner.
• Policy dissemination guidelines and developed tools.
• Capacity-building session materials and attendance lists.
• Final consultancy report summarizing activities, achievements, challenges, and recommendations.

6. The expected outcome

Partners have updated, compliant, and operationally effective policies that strengthen governance, financial management, internal controls, and accountability, ensuring improved compliance with donor requirements and reduced organizational risk. 

7.  Required Qualifications and Experience

• Minimum of a master’s degree in business administration, Finance, and Accounting, or a related field
• Minimum of 8–10 years’ experience in Audit or systems strengthening for NGOs or donor-funded organizations
• Professional certification is a strong advantage: PA, ACCA, CA, or equivalent Certified Internal Auditor (CIA
• Experience as a policy consultant in a related field 
• Demonstrated experience developing HR, Finance, Grant Management and operation management policies
• Strong knowledge of donor compliance and requirements
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks in Rwanda 
• Excellent analytical, writing, and facilitation skills

8. . Evaluation criteria and submission

This assignment is limited to local firms and individual consultants. Interested applicants are requested to submit the following:

Applications should be submitted to rwandaprocurement@snv.org no later than March 15, 2026.

9. Key compliance issues 

Consultant must comply with SNV’s environmental and Social Safeguarding policies and procedures as well as take into consideration donor-specific requirements. 

10. Data Protection assurance 

SNV will not retain your Personal Data for longer than is allowed by law or is necessary for the Purposes.

If you are selected and offered employment, the Personal Data you have provided will be used by SNV for the purpose of this bidding administration. If you are unsuccessful on this occasion to secure tender with SNV, SNV will retain your Personal Data for required period for the purpose of any future internal or external audit.