Request For Proposal: Terms of Reference for a child care management consultant in Kakuma-Kalobeyei Area

1. The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund

The AECF, is a leading development organization that supports innovative enterprises in the agribusiness and renewable energy sectors with the aim of reducing rural poverty, promoting climate resilient communities, and creating jobs.

We catalyze the private sector by surfacing and commercializing new ideas, business models and technologies designed to increase agricultural productivity, improve farmer incomes, expand clean energy access, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve resilience to the effects of climate change. We finance high risk businesses that struggle to access commercial funding; we are committed to working in frontier markets, fragile contexts, and high-risk economies where few mainstream financing institutions dare to go.

To date, we have supported over 510 businesses in 26 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, impacted more than 33million lives and created over 35,000 direct jobs.

AECF is headquartered in Kenya and has offices in Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Sudan, Benin, and Somalia.

2. About Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF)

Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund (KKCF) is a five-year Program of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), implemented with Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), Turkana County Government, and UNHCR. KKCF originates from the market data from IFC’s “Kakuma as a Marketplace” study which quantified Kakuma’s economy and confirmed that it was a dynamic and potential marketplace triggering a lot of interest that resulted in Kakuma Kalobeyei Challenge Fund being developed as an initiative supported by multiple partners.

KKCF is designed to support private sector investment and unlock the economic potential of refugees and their hosts in Kakuma Kalobeyei refugee hosting area in Turkana West District of Turkana County. KKCF aims to attract private companies and grow the local entrepreneurship potential to create jobs and improve service provision in the Kakuma Kalobeyei area. KKCF targets all private sector players from small companies to medium-size family businesses to social enterprises and large firms. For more information, visit https://kkcfke.org/

The KKCF applies a competitive financing mechanism for disbursing donor funding to incentivize for-profit companies, social enterprises, and local and refugee entrepreneurs to start or scale existing operations in the Kakuma-Kalobeyei area. This is achieved through advertising for a call for proposals during which interested businesses submit their proposals and businesses models which are then subjected to a competitive selection process leading to identification of those businesses that are best aligned to the market dynamics and pose the highest socio-economic impact to the host and refugee communities in Kakuma.

Attracting the private sector to the area and supporting local entrepreneurs creates more job opportunities for refugees and the host community, creates more consumption choices, and potentially reduces the prices of commodities and consumables. This, in turn, enhances the self-reliance and socioeconomic integration of refugee and host communities while also contributing to the development of Turkana County.

With Kakuma being a marginalized and fragile setting, KKCF is designed to support the private sector to manage business limitations prevalent in such challenging environments including limited access to financing, low availability of technically qualified and experienced staff, complex social and cultural conditions, slow and bureaucratic regulatory environment and fragmented, low income and remote markets with poor infrastructure. KKCF supports established companies, social enterprises, and local entrepreneurs to address these challenges by providing concessionally costed capital, technical assistance and support at the policy level to encourage new businesses to emerge and existing businesses to move into the operating environment. This collaborative project focuses on building commercially viable and sustainable businesses that can:

• Increase incomes for both refugees and host communities.
• Provide essential goods and services.
• Create jobs and stimulate economic growth.
• Improve living standards for those in the refugee camp and surrounding communities.

The KKCF program therefore fosters socioeconomic integration and self-sufficiency for displaced populations and host communities within Kakuma/Kalobeyei. This is achieved by supporting the development of 104 commercially viable and sustainable micro enterprises and 19 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across diverse economic sectors.

3.  About the assignment

3.1  Purpose of the assignment

A social SME that was a KKCF Program beneficiary identified and supported formation of daycare centers in Kakuma and Kalobeyei. Through the daycare centers, parents and guardians could get a reputable and safe daycare facility that they could leave their children under professional care as they engaged in day-to-day social economic activities to fend for their families and dependents. The daycare centers received training and capacity development from the SME geared towards quality standards improvements adoption, compliance with Ministry of Education daycare guidelines and implementation of a pay-for-services model which would culminate in the daycares’ self-sustainability. While the KKCF supported SME was not able to conclude the project, KKCF Program is keen to support 31 of the SME’s daycare centers that have demonstrated a good level of pay-for-service model adoption. These daycare centers are however facing a number of challenges such as lack of a structured daycare curriculum, documented child safeguarding and protection policies and procedures and financial sustainability.

AECF is seeking the services of a consulting firm (Consultant) to support these daycare centers in Kakuma and Kalobeyei. This support will entail enhancing business management skills, improving the quality of childcare services, strengthening child protection and safeguarding practices, and boosting operational efficiency and financial sustainability of the daycare centers beyond the KKCF program period in December 2025.

The Project Implementation Consultant will be responsible for overseeing the planning, coordination, and execution of the following key activities:

1. Conducting a comprehensive needs and risk assessment of daycare operations, including safeguarding practices, to determine existing gaps.
2. Documenting what is working well for the daycares, lessons learned, and providing insights on how to replicate successful models while ensuring safe, inclusive, and protective environments for all children.
3. Developing a comprehensive daycare curriculum aligned with best practices, including but not limited to the Kenyan National Early Childhood Development Policy Framework (2006) and international frameworks such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS).
4. Conducting capacity development training for daycare staff in the following areas: effective operations, safeguarding and child protection protocols, early childhood education, health and safety, and prevention of violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect.
5. Preparing a resource mobilization strategy for fundraising and partnership development to support improvements in the quality and safety of daycare centers.
6. Developing a comprehensive sustainability strategy with a path to profitability that will ensure continuity of the daycare centers beyond the program.
7. Identifying and addressing any other gaps arising from the assessment, including those related to child safeguarding risks, inclusion, and accessibility.

The purpose of these terms is to define the scope, responsibilities, expectations, and deliverables of the engagement between AECF and the selected Consultant. The successful Consultant must demonstrate experience and understanding of childcare management, daycare operations, safeguarding standards, and related policies and procedures.

3.2 Specific duties and responsibilities (the “Services”) of the Consultant

The Consultant will support the 31 daycare centers to deliver on the following scope of the assignment:

1. Review current daycare operations, policies, and procedures, including child safeguarding and reporting mechanisms.
2. Assess what has worked well in the operations of each daycare and explore how this could be replicated across centers, with a focus on maintaining and enhancing child safety and well-being.
3. Engage with stakeholders (management, staff, parents, and relevant authorities) to gather insights, including on safe recruitment, safeguarding culture, and parental awareness of child rights.
4. Assess compliance with national daycare regulations and standards, including those related to child protection, safety protocols, and safeguarding reporting obligations.
5. Develop a structured daycare curriculum, including play-based learning activities, positive discipline approaches, and childcare and protection guidelines.
6. Design and deliver training workshops for daycare staff, including safeguarding awareness, incident reporting, code of conduct, PSEA, and early identification of child protection concerns.
7. Draft a detailed resource mobilization strategy to secure funding and/or partnerships for sustainable improvements, including partnerships for child protection referrals and mental health support services.
8. Provide a final report with findings, recommendations, and an action plan, including strategies for institutionalizing safeguarding measures and adoption of best practices in daycare management,

3.3 Deliverables

The Consultant is expected to deliver the following:

1. A daycare needs and gaps assessment report detailing operational weaknesses and improvement recommendations, including child protection and safeguarding risks and mitigation strategies.
2. A comprehensive daycare curriculum that meets all legislative standards and integrates age-appropriate child protection education and nurturing care principles.
3. Training materials and a report on capacity-building sessions conducted, including pre- and post-training evaluations on safeguarding knowledge and competencies.
4. A resource mobilization strategy with a focus on partnerships that enhances both the quality and protective environment of daycare centers.
5. A final report summarizing findings, insights, interventions, and strategic recommendations, including a safeguarding improvement plan.
6. An impact measurement framework to track improvements in quality and safety of care, including indicators on children’s well-being, protection outcomes, and staff safeguarding compliance.

3.4 Duration of the assignment

The assignment is expected to be completed in 6 months from the commencement date.

4.0 Reporting

The Consultant will report to the Head of Advisory at the AECF and KKCF Program Manager.

5.0 Proposal submission

Qualified consultants are invited to submit a proposal that includes the following:

1. Qualification and experience as indicated in the evaluation criteria.
2. Approach and methodology to undertake this assignment underpinned by a demonstration of value for money.
3. A detailed financial budget (in KES) and work plan.
4. The technical and financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents.

N/B: SUBMITTING THE FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL DOCUMENT AS ONE DOCUMENT WILL AUTOMATICALLY LEAD TO DISQUALIFICATION OF THE APPLICANT.

 6.0 Qualifications and experience

The Consultant should possess the following skills and/or credentials:

• Minimum 5 years of experience in childcare management, daycare operations, early childhood development (ECD), child protection and safeguarding or social work especially in resource-constrained environments.
• Strong daycare management skills with a proven track record of managing projects with multiple stakeholders and complex deliverables.
• Knowledge of the development sector and in particular working in marginalized areas.
• Experience in developing a comprehensive daycare curriculum that incorporates age-appropriate child protection education and nurturing care principles and building capacity within the staff and management working on the daycare.
• Ability to work with diverse stakeholders, ranging from local communities to government agencies, private sector actors, and international development agencies and translate technical concepts into practical recommendations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including report writing and presentation skills.

7.0 Pricing

The AECF is obliged by the Kenyan tax authorities to withhold taxes on service contract fees as well as ensure that VAT, is charged where applicable. Applicants are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position with regards to provisions of Kenya tax legislation when developing their proposals.

 8.0 Evaluation Criteria

MANADATORY EVALUATION CRITERIA.

a. Mandatory Requirements for firms: –

1. Company profile.
2. Trading license or Certificate of incorporation or Certificate of Registration and other statutory documents.
3. Valid Tax Compliance certificate (Applicable to firms).
4. Passport/National Identification of the lead consultant and key personnel (Applicable to independent consultants)

N/B: FAILURE TO ATTACH AND ADHERE TO THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFICATION

b. An evaluation committee will be formed by the AECF and may include employees of the businesses to be supported. All members will be bound by the same standards of confidentiality. The consultant should ensure that they fully respond to all criteria to be comprehensively evaluated.

The AECF may request and receive clarification from any consultant when evaluating a proposal. The evaluation committee may invite some or all the consultants to appear before the committee to clarify their proposals. In such an event, the evaluation committee may consider such clarifications in evaluating proposals.

In deciding the final selection of qualified bidder, the technical quality of the proposal will be given a weighting of 80% based on the evaluation criteria. Only the financial proposal of those bidders who qualify technically will be opened. The financial proposal will be allocated a weighting of 20% and the proposals will be ranked in terms of total points scored.

The mandatory and desirable criteria against which proposals will be evaluated are identified in the table below.

 9.0 Application details

The AECF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The AECF considers all interested candidates based on merit without regard to race, gender, colour, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

• Interested consultancies are requested to submit their technical and financial proposal to aecfprocurement@aecfafrica.org by 24^th April 2025, 5pm (EAT).
• All questions should be directed to the procurement email by 17^th April 2025, 5pm (EAT).
• The subject of the email should be ‘“CHILD CARE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT IN KAKUMA-KALOBEYEI AREA”. The AECF shall not be liable for not opening proposals that are submitted with a different subject or responding to questions that did not meet the deadline as indicated.

10.0 Disclaimer

AECF reserves the right to determine the structure of the process, number of short-listed participants, the right to withdraw from the proposal process, the right to change this timetable at any time without notice and reserves the right to withdraw this tender at any time, without prior notice and without liability to compensate and/or reimburse any party.

The AECF does not charge an application fee for participation in the tendering process and has not appointed any agents or intermediaries to facilitate applications. Applicants are advised to reach out directly to the AECF Procurement Department.