1. Background 

The Dhobi Women Network (DWN) is a non-profit organization established in 2010 as a loose network and formally registered in 2013 as a community-based organization. In 2018 it transitioned into an NGO with the goal being to transform society through empowering casual, permanent and migrant women domestic workers and expanding frontiers for women domestic workers’ rights and freedoms.  

DWN seeks to develop a five (5) year strategic plan 2023 – 2027 that will define and steer its mission, vision, and goals. This will build on the delivery of the 2018 – 2022 strategy which enabled DWN to raise its profile and niche to that of an authoritative voice on women’s domestic worker’s governance issues, achieving significant success.  

The scope and focus of the assignment is to provide technical, strategic, and facilitation support to enable the development of DWN’s new strategic plan in line with the rapidly transforming socio-political environment, labour and gender landscape.

2. Purpose and Objectives of the Assignment 

DWN is seeking a professional consultant who will work closely with the DWN’s Board of Directors and the Executive Director to lead the technical process and development of the new strategic plan for the five (5) year period (2023 – 2028). 

Specific Objectives: 

1. a)Define the scope of Strategic Plan Development (SPD) process by describing the key steps and milestone in consultation with DWN’s Board and management. 

1. b)Review and analyze DWN’s existing strategic plan for the period 2018-2022 and other key documents with a focus to understanding “Where DWN is?” The consultant will be required to carry out complementary analysis of other external documents to enable a better understanding of relevant aspects of the current policy, social and economic landscape in Kenya.

1. c)Define DWN’s value proposition, its strategic priorities and activities to achieve these priorities.

1. d)Undertake strategic consultative forums with DWN’s Board of Directors,  management,  members, and other stakeholders to synthesize DWN’s key learnings and identify strategic opportunities in the current environment with a focus on understanding “Where do we want to be? How will we get there”?

1. e)Develop an effective internal evaluation mechanism to enable a review of DWN’s internal systems, processes and procedures, and how these could be strengthened over the next strategic plan period so that DWN can be more effective in achieving its strategic goals. 

1. f)Draft the Strategic Plan 2023- 2028 and present it to the Board of Directors,  members, and other stakeholders for validation and approval upon finalization.

3. Proposed Methodology: 

The consultant will be required to propose a methodology that will result in the deliverables outlined in these terms of reference. A participatory approach together with a critical reflection by the Board, management, members, staff, and other stakeholders will make the process meaningful. 

The following steps are highly recommended for the process. 

1. Development of proposed strategic planning scope and key milestones in preparation for consultations with DWN management. This will be refined after the inception meeting.
2. Inception meeting with DWN leadership to review the Strategic plan following which the consultant will prepare an inception report detailing the key steps, specific deliverables and timelines agreed upon for the SPD process. 

iii.           Review and analysis of existing documents, including but not limited to DWN’s current Strategic Plan and key project documents, including those of sector/partner/donor as appropriate to the Strategic Planning process. The aim is to identify focus areas and develop strategic objectives and key result areas for the same as well as key opportunities and gaps, national and global priorities, and what works. 

1. Undertake stakeholder mapping and analysis: this will be required to be a consultative process hence the application of an appropriate tool of analysis. The consultant will conduct consultations/FGDs with the Board of Directors, staff and key stakeholders to identify key strategic areas, critical issues, opportunities and gaps to be addressed in the Strategic Plan.

1. Develop and administer a questionnaire to DWN members to include a participatory approach to the development of the Strategic plan.

1. Develop Draft one of Strategic Plan guided by the following questions: 
2. a)What is the purpose of DWN as an organization? 
3. b)Where does DWN want to go in 2023-2028? 
4. c)What does DWN want to achieve during this period? 
5. d)Who does DWN need to collaborate and partner with to achieve its vision and goals? 
6. e)What resources and systems will DWN require to get there?
7. f)How will DWN work to deliver its targets? 
8. g)How will DWN get there? 
9. h)Which risks might DWN encounter and how will they be mitigated? 
10. i)How will DWN know when it gets there? 
11. j)What is the social, economic, political, etc., context in which DWN is working? 

1. Review and validation of the draft Strategic Plan. 

vii.  The DWN Board members will formally approve the final document once satisfied and adopt it in a Board meeting.

4. Roles and Responsibilities 

1.       DWN

1. a)The Board of Directors will provide guidance to the Executive Director on the development of the Strategic Plan, and will participate in the consultations, review and analysis sessions. 

1. b)The Executive Director will lead the process, to guide and supervise the SPD process including selecting, contracting and managing the Consultant; managing the costs of the SPD process, overseeing the logistical plans for meetings, engaging with the Consultant during the entire process, identifying stakeholders and linking them to the consultant, within the time agreed. 

1. c)DWN staff will be required to provide assistance to the consultant through, among others, sharing relevant program documents and other information needed for the SDP process, linking stakeholders with the consultant and handling logistical arrangements. 

1.       The Consultant 
2. a)The Consultant will be responsible for preparation of an inception report and a work plan with clear timelines, undertaking consultations with DWN Board members, management, beneficiaries and other stakeholders, assessing and analyzing data to identify gaps and critical issues, and actively engaging with beneficiaries, staff, Board members and other stakeholders through the use of participatory processes and providing regular progress reports to the Executive Director.

1. b)Preparing a first draft of the Strategic Plan and presenting it for review to DWN Board members, beneficiaries and staff, modifying the draft based on feedback received and preparing the final strategic plan document. 

5. Duration of Assignment 

The duration of the assignment is thirty (30) working days spread over a three-month period slated to run from September 30^th  to November 30^th 2022. 

6. Key deliverables: 

2028. A comprehensive inception report outlining the steps and methodology to be used in developing the Strategic Plan 2023 – 2028. 
2029. Agenda and participants list for the consultative forums. 

iii.         Conduct FGD/interviews with key beneficiaries/stakeholders to identify key strategic and program priorities 

1. A comprehensive report of document review and analysis. 
2. Draft Strategic Plan for review and feedback (with clear vision, mission, TOC, strategic objective) 
3. Final Strategic Plan document that includes: Executive summary, background (including strategic plan development process), internal and external context analysis, vision and mission statement, organizational values and guiding principles, strategic priorities, key strategic milestones, metrics to assess progress in the attainment of these strategic priorities, budget, Operational plan and M&E Plan. 

7. Qualifications for the Consultant

1. a)A holder of a Post-Graduate degree (PhD or Masters) in organizational development, social sciences, business management, strategic planning, or other related fields. 
2. b)At least 10 years of relevant experience in NGO sector (Strategic Plan development and organizational development). 
3. c)Experience in working with women’s rights and human rights organizations. 
4. d)Knowledge and understanding of the women’s rights movement, labour issues as well as the gender approach to programming. 
5. e)Experience with participatory approaches in conducting assessments and facilitating strategic planning processes.

8. Application process 

Send an electronic application responding to the Terms of Reference that includes a CV, a proposed methodology (maximum 4 pages), an activity time schedule and a financial proposal/ budget to info@dhobiwomennetwork.org   and      cc dhobiwomennetwork@gmail.com with the subject line “Development of the DWN Strategic Plan 2023 – 2028”

Applications should be duly submitted by 20^th September 2022.