Training on Project Management Fundamentals to EuroMed Right Programme staff

Background

EuroMed Rights is one of the biggest and most active networks of human rights organisations in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Our name refers to the vision stipulated in the Barcelona Declaration of an equal partnership between the regions and countries located around the Mediterranean Sea (e.g., North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe).

Operating under Danish law since our creation in 1997, we currently encompass 70 organisations from 30 countries. We have offices in Copenhagen (headquarters), Tunis, and Brussels. Today, we work primarily on promoting and protecting human rights and democracy in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean regions and on influencing the policies of major European actors towards these areas.

Our vision is human rights and democracy for all in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Our mission is to strengthen the collaboration between human rights organisations from the South, the East, and the North of the Mediterranean, and to increase their influence at home and abroad. We achieve this mission mainly by facilitating the creation of joint strategies and action plans between members, and by conveying their shared analyses and views to decision-makers and to the public.

In its new strategy for 2022-2027, EuroMed Rights set ten strategic goals to achieve. To strengthen our ability to implement these goals, EuroMed Rights identified the need to restructure the organisation of its secretariat to a function-based management, as well as to ensure that the staff has the necessary skills to perform. We have now finalised the restructuring, including organising programmes in clusters (team units). This has led to new positions, reshuffling current staff, and employing new staff. We now need to ensure the necessary skills of all program staff on project management and are therefore looking for a consultant that can develop a tailor-made training program on project management for our program staff, considering their different levels of expertise.

One of the 5 organisational goals of EuroMed Rights new strategy 2022-2027, focus on improving internal learning and ensuring the ownership of our Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning system. within the organisation. A first step towards this goal was to establish a PMEL task force consisting of the heads of program units, the heads of communication and advocacy, as well as the PMEL coordinator to ensure the firm anchoring of the process among key personnel in the organisation The training of this consultancy forms part of these endeavours.

Objectives and outputs of the work

• Pedagogical goals

Allow participants to understand and master the needed skillset in project management (tools and techniques) that enable them to develop projects relevant to EuroMed Rights Strategy 2022-2027. This must be done through a hands-on training build on their current projects. At the end of the training, participants must be able to:

• Identify the stakeholders of a project
• Understand the different phases of a project
• Master the framework and the related design and language – the art of balancing between ‘donor language’ and clear ‘project language’.
• Manage resources before, during and after the project (Search for funding, grants. coordination with other departments, needs communication in advance, audit ……)
• Budget management and budget management tools
• Sizing the human resources needed for the project and ability to make grant proposals

Concretely, the training should allow participants to be able:

• To plan objectives and activities (according to EuroMed Rights’ Theory of change & Result Framework)
• To efficiently monitor the execution of a project (Outcome Harvesting& reporting)
• Control the quality of the execution of a project (performance indicators)
• Evaluate the risks inherent to a project (Risk matrix)
• Integrate financial issues into project execution (grants requirements, budget wheel, costs evaluation, indirect costs, procurement policy, audit …)

Methodology

To adapt the training to EuroMed Rights work approach, the consultant will be provided with the non-exhaustive list of the document such as Strategy 2022-2027, Roadmap for implementation of the strategy, overall ToC, Overall Result framework, Risk matrix, fundraising strategy 2018-2021, draft Donor Engagement Plan etc.

EuroMed Rights wishes the design of the training to be done in cooperation with the target group, making use of the skills that are in the target group, and acknowledging that the skills of the target group will vary a lot.

EuroMed Rights would like the training to be interactive, and a mix of presentations, and exercises and/or workshop based on some existing project proposals under preparation. As the target group are diverse, busy and spread out over several offices, a training consisting of shorter modules (possible with homework in between) would be preferred.

Project Management fundamental shall be “standard” and the objective is to inform the teams and link our tools and wording to those standards.  Concretely:

• To plan objectives and activities (according to EMR Theory of change & Result Framework)
• To efficiently monitor the execution of a project (OH & reporting)
• Control the quality of the execution of a project (performance indicators) Evaluate the risks inherent to a project (Risk matrix)
• Integrate financial issues into project execution (grants requirements, budget wheel, costs evaluation, indirect costs, procurement policy, audit …)

• Target group

The training will target mainly program responsible, at different levels (directors, heads of programs, senior coordinators, coordinators and support officers).

• Deliverables and training

The consultant will work towards the following deliverables:

1. Deliverable 1: Establish methodology, training calendar, questionnaire/survey re. participant’s level of understanding of the different elements of project management.
2. Deliverable 2: Provision of a training module and execution of the actual training for EuroMed Rights programme staff ensuring that all the issues listed above shall be included. (Suggested: 6 sessions of 1,5 hr available one in English and one in French).
3. Deliverable 3: Short report with assessment of the training and recommendation for next step, including an annex with list of training materials and/or links to training materials.

• Process and timeline

Within the timeframe detailed below, the selected consultant will propose and finalise the three deliverables detailed above. To help the consultant complete these tasks, he/she will have the opportunity to hold discussions with EuroMed Rights’ Programme & Fundraising team.

Timing of the consultancy shall be discussed and agreed with the consultant, tentatively to be conducted with 2 sessions per week of 1-1 ½ hours duration.

Overall, the consultancy shall be conducted according to the following indicative timeframe:

Step 1	Application deadline	7 October
Step 2	Selection of the consultant	14 October
Step 3	Detailed exchange with the Program & Fundraising team to assess more precisely needs	17-19 October
Deliverable 1:
Step 4	Submission of proposal for methodology, training sheet and calendar	TBD with consultant
Step 5	Feedback from EuroMed Rights on the deliverable	TBD with consultant
Step 6	Final approval of the deliverable	TBD with consultant
Deliverable 2:
Step 8	Module of the Training and its execution
Deliverable 3:
Step 9	Short report with training assessment and recommendations for next step	TBD with consultant
Step 10	Revision of the proposed deliverable, if necessary	TBD with consultant

Required expertise and languages

Expertise

• Demonstrated knowledge of Project management design and training
• Experience in working and collaborating with non-profit organisations at the international level will be an asset

Languages

• Excellent writing and oral skills in English, French desirable

Application procedure

Qualified and interested candidates are hereby requested to apply individually before 7 October 2022. The application shall contain the following:

1. A brief description of why the consultant or agency considers themselves as the most suitable for the assignment and a clear methodology on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
   1. For independent consultants: A curriculum vitae, indicating education background/professional qualifications, all experience, especially in Project management Training, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least two (2) professional references,
   2. For agencies: a presentation of the staff who will be working on the project, including their background/qualifications and experience on similar projects carried out within the agency
2. A budget with an all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs.

Questions and candidacies may be sent to Rim Meddeb, Coordinator PMEAL, at [email protected]

Payment modalities

EuroMed Rights will break down payments in three parts based on the amount agreed with the consultant:

• 50% to be paid once the 1^st deliverable is approved to be paid after the signature of the agreement.
• 50% to be paid after the reception of the report (deliverable 3).