Children’s Rights and Violence Prevention Fund (CRVPF), in partnership with gnuGrid CRB and with support from the Mastercard Foundation, is seeking a qualified consultant to conduct a Training of Trainers (ToT) on Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) under the Empowering Youth through Data and Community Development (EYDCD) Program.

Interested consultants should submit a technical proposal, financial proposal, updated CV, and references.

For full details on the scope of work, qualifications, and deliverables, please review the Terms of Reference below.

 TERMS OF REFERENCE

Consultant – Trainer of Trainers (ToT) for Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA)

1.0 Background:

Children Rights and Violence Prevention Fund (CRVPF), in collaboration with gnuGrid CRB, with support from Mastercard Foundation, is implementing the Empowering Youth through Data and Community Development (EYDCD) program. The primary objective of this program is to equip young people and their enterprises with market-relevant skills, business development resources, and digital financial literacy, particularly aimed at strengthening financial inclusion and household resilience through the establishment and strengthening of Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA)  through the cluster model i.e. each supported by trained Community Facilitators and Cluster Supervisors to ensure quality implementation, coordination, reporting, and sustainability, thus facilitating greater access to dignified & fulfilling work as well as an expanded range of financial products and services from local financial institutions.

To strengthen standardized implementation and quality assurance of VSLA across EYDCD clusters, CRVPF seeks to engage a highly qualified consultant to conduct a Training of Trainers (ToT) for selected cluster-level staff and Community Facilitators and EYDCD program staff on the VSLA methodology and equipping the trainees with standardized and high-quality facilitation skills. This 5-day intensive training will target community Facilitators and Field Staff from EYDCD Clusters i.e. West Nile, Northern, Western, Central I & II and EYDCD Program Team

CRVPF and gnuGrid coordinate with a network of 200 grassroots Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to reach and provide support to vulnerable young men and women with the objective of creating a conducive environment for their development of skills, integration into the marketplace, and increased access to financial services and employment opportunities. A key element of the program is the establishment of digital wallets for youth-led VSLAs, thereby widening their access to financial products and services from local financial institutions that we have partnered with under Young Africa Works in Uganda.

CRVPF is a child rights and social justice regional intermediary organization that was founded in April 2015. We are a grant making entity which supports and builds the capacity of Community Organizations in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. CRVPF currently partners with 251 community organizations to prevent violence and sexual violence against children and young people, building their power to make the right choices and decisions, and facilitating safe and dignified employment opportunities. CRVPF provides grants and strengthens the capacity of its partners through its three programs: Prevention of Violence against Children and Young People (PVAC), Adolescent Girls Power Program (AGPP) and Empowering Youth Through Data and Community Development Program (EYDCD).

2.Project Overview.

With support from Mastercard Foundation, CRVPF in collaboration with gnuGrid are implementing a 5-year project targeting 200 Community organizations reaching 400,000 youths and enabling 250,000 transitions into dignified work.

The project will reach 70% women and 30% men including 5% Persons with Disabilities and Refugees.

Project Goal:

To reach 400,000 young people and enable the creation of 250,000 new and sustained dignified and fulfilling work opportunities (70% young women) while strengthening & digitizing 3,000 youth-led VSLAs

Project Objectives.

Objective 1: Enhance economic stability and self-sufficiency of program participants through skilling, linkages to work, markets, and increased productivity, as well as building resilience to navigate through challenges.

Objective 2: Digitization of Productive Individuals and Self-Governed groups (VSLAs) to establish a footprint through digital wallets for members creating visibility and scoring them to have access to the wider financial ecosystem/market to promote data-driven credit decisions and other added digital financial services.

Objective 3: Strengthen formal and informal grassroots organizations (CBOs) that provide support and opportunities for young people, to aid their personal development to access dignified and fulfilling work.

3.Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this consultancy is to build the capacity of Cluster Supervisors and Community Facilitators to effectively establish, train, mentor, supervise, and monitor VSLAs within their respective clusters while ensuring adherence to standardized VSLA methodology and reporting frameworks

4.Objectives of the Consultancy

The overall objective of the assignment is to engage a Master Trainer to conduct a 5-day Training of Trainers (ToT) session. The Master Trainer will ensure that participants are not only technically proficient in the VSLA methodology but are also capable of mentoring and monitoring new groups effectively.

Specific Objective:

The training is aimed at achieving the following objectives:

1.  Strengthen understanding of the cluster-based VSLA implementation model.
2.  Build technical capacity on standard VSLA methodology (formation, governance, savings, lending, share-out).
3. Strengthen facilitation and mentorship skills for supporting multiple VSLAs within clusters.
4.  Equip participants with cluster-level coordination, supervision, and reporting skills.
5.  Enhance knowledge on quality assurance mechanisms and performance monitoring across clusters.
6.   Integrate safeguarding, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth participation, and accountability mechanisms within cluster operations.
7.  Prepare trainees to cascade VSLA training effectively at community level.

8. Introduce and familiarize participants to the key VSLA training materials and data collection/reporting tools.
9. Share experiences on VSLA implementation strategies, systems, structures and key lessons learned.

5. Scope of Work: