Consultant: Development of an Operations Manual

Terms of Reference

Consultant to undertake the development of an Operations Manual

BACKGROUND

The Palestine Children's Relief Fund is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious humanitarian relief organization. PCRF established in 1992 to arrange medical care for sick and injured Palestinian children who cannot get treatment in their homeland. Since our founding, we have expanded and grown into one of the leading relief organizations in the Middle East, helping thousands of children each year get the care and support they need to live better lives.

Operations take a considerable part in the PCRF daily work throughout the local and international offices. It is starting from planning the procedures, implementing, testing, controlling, and evaluating each aspect related to the operations programs and functions. Primarily, the operations department is concerned with all the strategies, structures, and mechanisms performed to offer our patients the most exceptional services promptly. Therefore, and in light of its importance, we're seeking to contract an outstanding candidate that has the ability and experience in developing a comprehensive Operations Manual for PCRF. PCRF plans to contract the services of a consultant/firm with proven experience in developing, reviewing, and setting up an Operations Manual.

OBJECTIVE

To review all existing operations' policies, test their effectiveness, monitor the current case and test it, and create new policies, procedures, practices, and templates that are not currently available. In the end, an inclusive, transparent, and comprehensive manual should be ready to address all programs, including the current and potential needs.

SCOPE OF WORK

Assess the existing operations procedures and practices and identify gaps and areas which may require improvement and strengthening.

• Collect, review, and analyze all necessary documents, which include due diligence reports, to fully understand and substantiate all stages of the different operations programs. 
• Liaise with the PCRF - team in close coordination and under the full supervision of the VPO.
• Document and analyze current policies and procedures for all programs. Prepare and include in the operations manual, a comprehensive list of gaps to ensure the preparation of thorough leading practices, policies, and procedures.
• Facilitate two sessions, one in the West Bank and another in the Gaza Strip, present the initial findings to the PCRF team, and incorporate staff input to the final draft outline.  
• Formulate a well-written and comprehensive operations manual highlighting:
• The necessary policies, procedures, practices, templates, and training materials to build capacity gaps and strengthen the PCRF operations system.
• Recommendations to further strengthen the PCRF operations system.
• Index the entire operations manual and include a reference list of all documents and templates.  
• Review and finalize the operations manual following the review of the PCRF management.
• The consultant will make a detailed final presentation after the completion of the operations manual.  

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EXPECTED DELIVERABLES / OUTPUTS

The consultant will be expected to deliver, at a minimum, the following outputs:

• An inception work plan within a maximum of two weeks of commencement of the assignment.
• Written Assessment of the existing operations policies, procedures, and practices: collect, revise, and analyze all up to date policies, procedures, and practices.
• Quality Assurance Operations Standards (QAOS) to ensure PCRF commitment to delivering quality services to beneficiaries. 
• Leading practices control checklist for the different activities of operations programs.  
• Leading guidelines for operations data management system (DMS).  
• A first draft of the operations manual that covers existing and proposed policies and procedures, QAOS, control checklist, and DMS.  
• A final written version of the operations manual that provides a clear and comprehensive description of the context.
• Two consultation sessions and a final presentation of the final operations manual document. 

DURATION OF THE WORK 

• The duration of the assignment shall be for a maximum of thirty-three working days between October and December 2019.
• The consultant will work closely with the VPO, Programs’ Leads, and Managers, and will submit and share weekly the progress of activities. 

DUTY STATION 

• The consultant will be at the PCRF offices based on the agreed work plan and methodology. 
• The consultant is expected to use his/her computer and other equipment required for the task.

PAYMENT TERMS

• 20% on signing the contract, and the submission of a work plan including an outline which describes the logical structuring of the information, methodology for drafting the operations manual, and table of contents that describes the structure of the paper.
• 40% on completion of the first draft of the operations manual and delivering two consultation sessions. 
• 40% on completion of the final draft of the operations manual and delivering the final presentation. 

EXPERTISE & QUALIFICATIONS 

• A Master's Degree in Development Study, Humanities, Business Administration, Operations, or any other relevant field.
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant assignment experience. 
• The consultant demonstrated knowledge and experience in undertaking policies and procedures review and formation, especially in the humanitarian field.
• Demonstrated relevant experience with humanitarian NGOs and skills in facilitating working group consultations.  
• Relevant regional and international experience will be an added value. 
• Personal commitment and effectiveness.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks at the time of meeting strict deadlines.
• Excellent English and Arabic skills.

PCRF seeks to identify a consultant/firm that fulfills the above criteria and has demonstrated the ability to bring a broader perspective in developing operations policies and procedures.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF THE BEST PROPOSAL

The evaluation of the consultant will be based on the combined scoring method - where the qualifications, expertise, and methodology will be given 70% weight, and the financial offer will be given 30% weight. Only consultants meeting a minimum of 55 points under technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation. Following specific criteria would be assessed:  

DISCLAIMER

The material arising from the contract shall be the property of the PCRF, and it cannot be used without expressed written consent by PCRF.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

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

• Detailed CV(s) and a Cover Letter (max. 1 page) explaining the rationale behind their most suitability for the assignment.
• Related services and experience that were carried out in the past three years (max. 2 pages).
• Detailed proposed methodology and conceptual framework with expected deliverables and timelines, and level of effort for performing the assignment.
• Detailed reference list – at least three references.
• Financial Proposal that specifies the total lump sum fee amount and the number of working days.  

Complete proposals should be sent to the following email address: [email protected], no later than September 28, 2019. Please note that PCRF will accept only applications sent by email, and we will only contact shortlisted candidates.