TENDER NOTICE: National Consultant Lead the Development of a National Community-Based Organization (CBO) Policy for Sierra Leone

Job Description

TERMS OF REFERENCE

National Consultant

Lead the Development of a National Community-Based Organization (CBO) Policy for Sierra Leone

Consultancy Period: October – December 2026

• Background and Rationale

The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL), through the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED) and the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLGCA), recognizes the important role Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) play in advancing grassroots development, strengthening citizen participation, and complementing government efforts in service delivery. Across Sierra Leone, CBOs contribute significantly to community development initiatives in sectors such as health, education, agriculture, social protection, environmental management, livelihoods, and local governance.

Over the years, CBOs have mobilised resources and implemented interventions that directly improve the well-being of vulnerable populations and support local development priorities. Their contributions are essential to the successful implementation of Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2024-2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Union Agenda 2063, and the National Localisation Framework.

Despite their growing significance, the CBO sector remains largely unregulated and fragmented. The absence of a comprehensive policy framework has resulted in inconsistent registration practices, weak accountability mechanisms, duplication of interventions, limited coordination with local councils, and inadequate recognition of CBO contributions to district and national development processes. Furthermore, there are currently no clear standards governing the establishment, operation, categorisation, monitoring, capacity development, or graduation of CBOs into larger civil society or non-governmental organizations.

To address these challenges, the Government of Sierra Leone intends to develop a comprehensive National CBO Policy that will provide strategic direction for the establishment, registration, regulation, coordination, monitoring, and strengthening of CBOs nationwide.

The policy will seek to:

• Establish a clear legal, policy, and institutional framework for the operation of CBOs.
• Clarify the roles and responsibilities of government institutions, local councils, traditional authorities, development partners, and CBOs.
• Strengthen accountability, transparency, and coordination within the CBO sector.
• Establish district-level institutional mechanisms for registration, coordination, monitoring, and support of CBOs.
• Promote inclusive participation, gender equality, youth empowerment, disability inclusion, sustainability, peacebuilding, and social cohesion.
• Strengthen the capacity of CBOs to effectively contribute to national and local development priorities.

To support this process, MoPED and the CSOs (comprising National and International NGOs) under the umbrella of the Technical Committee (TC) on CBO Policy Formulation seek to engage a qualified National Consultant (or team of consultants) to lead and facilitate the formulation of the National CBO Policy through extensive stakeholder consultations at district, regional, and national levels and to produce a high-quality policy document for government approval.

• Objective of the Assignment

The overall objective of this consultancy is to lead the development of a comprehensive, evidence-based, and consultative National Community-Based Organisation (CBO) Policy for Sierra Leone.

Specific objectives are:

• Conduct a review of relevant national policies (and where necessary international policies), legal frameworks, and best practices.
• Facilitate inclusive stakeholder consultations across all regions, districts and national level in Sierra Leone. 
• Document and assess challenges, gaps and good practice within the current CBO landscape and out of these draw out opportunities.
• Develop a policy framework that provides guidance on the regulation, coordination, support, and development of CBOs.
• Prepare and finalise a National CBO Policy for submission to MoPED for onward submission to Cabinet.

• Scope of Work and Key Responsibilities

• Inception and Policy Review

The consultant shall recruit, supervise and take care of all financial and operational responsibilities of 3 to 4 rapporteurs to undertake the following:

• Conduct a comprehensive desk review of relevant policies, legislation, and frameworks including:

• NGO Policy;
• Local Government and Decentralization Policy;
• National Localisation Framework;
• National Development Planning Frameworks;
• Relevant Acts, regulations, and guidelines governing CSOs and community development;
• Regional and international best practices relating to CBO governance and regulation.

• Review existing CBO Policy Guidelines and identify policy gaps and areas requiring strengthening.
• Develop an inception report outlining the methodology, consultation approach, work plan, stakeholder mapping, and data collection tools.

• Stakeholder Consultation and Evidence Gathering

      The Consultant shall:

• Develop and refine consultation tools and methodologies in collaboration with MoPED and the CBO Policy Formulation and Resource Mobilisation Committee.
• Facilitate orientation sessions for rapporteurs and district focal persons, as appropriate  .
• Lead/coordinate consultations at district, regional, and national levels.
• Facilitate regional and national validation workshops.
• Ensure meaningful participation of:
  • CBOs;
  • Local Councils;
  • Paramount Chiefs and other traditional authorities;
  • Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs);
  • Civil Society Organizations (CSOs);
  • National and International NGOs;
  • Women organizations;
  • Youth groups;
  • Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs);
  • Development Partners;
  • Private Sector Representatives.
• Document key findings, recommendations, and stakeholder perspectives.
• Consolidate consultation reports and produce an analysis highlighting policy implications and emerging priorities.

• Policy Drafting and Finalisation

The Consultant shall:

• Prepare a zero draft National CBO Policy informed by district, regional and national consultation findings and evidence gathered. 
• Present draft versions to the MoPED and Technical Committee (TC) and incorporate feedback received.
• Revise and finalise the policy based on stakeholder comments.
• Support the preparation of Cabinet submission documentation and presentations as required by MoPED.
• Prepare a consultancy completion report summarising achievements, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations for implementation.
• Develop policy provisions relating to:

• Definition of a Community Based Organization (CBO)
• Eligibility Criteria
• Registration, renewal and certification;
• Project Formulation and Implementation
• Project Registration
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Project Funding and Assets
• Waiver of Import Taxes on Imported Goods
• Terms of Reference for Coordinating CBOs at District Level

• Deliverables and Timeline

• Duty Station

The Consultant and team will be based in Freetown with travel across the country as required to undertake stakeholder consultations and validation workshops.

• Qualifications and Experience

The Lead Consultant should possess:

• A master’s degree or higher in Public Policy, Governance, Development Studies, Public Administration, Law, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• At least seven (7) years of demonstrated experience in policy development, governance reform, decentralization, local governance, civil society strengthening, or related areas.
• Proven experience leading national policy formulation processes and multi-stakeholder consultations.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Sierra Leone’s local governance and decentralization systems.
• Strong analytical, report writing, facilitation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Experience integrating gender equality, youth inclusion, disability inclusion, peacebuilding, environmental sustainability, and social cohesion into policy frameworks.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

• Consultancy Payment Schedule

Suggested payment schedule:

• 20% upon approval of Inception Report.
• 30% upon submission of Consultation Reports.
• 30% upon submission of First Draft Policy.
• 20% upon approval of Final Policy and Consultancy Report.

• Reporting and Supervision

The Consultant shall report to the Trócaire and will work under the overall guidance of the CSO Technical Committee on CBO Policy Formulation and Resource Mobilisation, the National Technical Planning Committee established for the formulation of the National CBO Policy.

• Submission Guidelines

• Technical Proposal demonstrating understanding of the assignment, methodology, work plan, and approach.
• Financial Proposal in Sierra Leone Leones, detailing consultancy fees including all financial and operational costs for the consultancy (excluding admin and logistic costs for the consultation process). WHT for Consultancy will be deducted as per statutory requirement.
• Updated CV highlighting relevant experience.
• At least two examples of similar assignments undertaken in recent years.
• Contact details of three professional references.  

• Evaluation Criteria

• Post-level: National consultant 
• Languages required: Proficiency in English (local languages within the geographic scope of the consultancy is desirable). 
• Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance and quality of experience (30%)
• Methodology and approach (30%)
• Financial proposal (25%)
• Work samples (15%)

• Safeguarding 

All consultants who work for Trócaire and affiliates will be required to sign and abide by Trócaire’s Safeguarding and Data Protection principles. Any instances of breach of Trócaire’s or Affiliates safeguarding and data protection policy by the consultant and his or her team members will result into the immediate cancellation of the contract between Trócaire/Affiliates and the consultant. In addition, any pictures taken of the participants by the consultant should be only after the consent of the participant and signing of the Consent Form.

• Application 

Your proposal with the subject “Consultancy Service – ‘CBO Policy Development for Sierra Leone’ should be submitted electronically to: tenders_sle@trocaire.org

The deadline for the receipt of application is 11:59 PM  11th September 2026 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

NOTE: because of the urgency of the consultancy, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.