Our client in Yemen is committed to promoting sustainable, locally-led development. A cornerstone of this approach is empowering local civil society organizations (CSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as essential partners in service delivery, community engagement, and fostering social cohesion.

During our client’s high-level mission to Al-Ghaydah from September 8-14, 2025, productive meetings were held with representatives of local NGOs alongside engagements with local authorities. These organizations expressed a strong and clear need for support in strengthening their institutional and technical capacities to effectively participate in the development process, access funding, and implement projects. This request is directly aligned with the governorate's move towards Area-Based Development Planning (ABDP), which requires capable local partners for successful implementation.

This consultancy is a direct response to that request. It aims to quickly identify active local organizations, understand their capacity gaps, and deliver targeted training to enhance their ability to contribute meaningfully to Al-Mahrah's development and resilience.

This assignment is initiated in direct response to the formal request from local NGOs in Al-Mahrah Governorate. The consultancy aims to provide rapid, high-quality technical assistance to strengthen the local NGO sector. The consultant will conduct a swift mapping and capacity assessment of active NGOs in Al-Mahrah, followed by the design and implementation of a practical training program focused on core organizational skills.

The goal is to equip these organizations with the fundamental skills needed to design sound projects, write successful funding proposals, manage implementation effectively, and report on results, thereby enhancing their sustainability and their role as key development actors.

The primary objective of this consultancy is to rapidly strengthen the technical and institutional capacities of local NGOs in Al-Mahrah to make them more effective and sustainable partners in development and resilience-building. This will be achieved through:

• A comprehensive mapping of active local NGOs in Al-Mahrah Governorate.

• A rapid assessment of their institutional and technical capacities and needs.

• The design and delivery of a targeted, practical training course on project proposal writing, project management, and report writing.

 Rapid Mapping of Al-Mahrah NGOs

• Develop Methodology: Create a methodology and criteria for identifying and categorizing active local NGOs in Al-Mahrah.

• Conduct Mapping Exercise: Perform a desk review and field-based mapping to create a master list of organizations, detailing their geographical coverage, thematic sectors of work, and key organizational details.

• Produce Mapping Report: Generate a mapping report with a visual dashboard (e.g., tables, charts) summarizing the NGO landscape in the governorate.

 Rapid Capacity Assessment

• Develop Assessment Tool: Create a simple but effective tool to evaluate the technical and institutional capacities of a representative sample of mapped NGOs.

• Assessment Areas: The assessment should cover key areas such as:

• Organizational Governance & Management: Structure, leadership, strategic planning.

• Programmatic Technical Capacity: Experience in relevant sectors (e.g., health, education).

• Program Cycle Management: Skills in needs assessment, proposal development, budgeting, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.

• Resource Mobilization & Financial Management: Experience with donors and financial systems.

• Conduct Assessment: Utilize surveys and key informant interviews (KIIs) with NGO leaders.

• Analyze Findings: Identify common capacity gaps and training needs, producing a succinct Capacity Assessment Report.

Training Course Design and Delivery

• Design Training Curriculum: Based on assessment findings, develop a comprehensive, practical, and interactive training curriculum focused on:

• Project Proposal Writing: Logic/model framing, theory of change, developing objectives, activities, budgets, and logical frameworks.

• Project Management: Planning, team management, risk management, monitoring, and adaptive management.

• Report Writing: Progress reporting, financial reporting, final reporting, and demonstrating results to donors.

• Develop Training Materials: Create all necessary training materials (pre-reads, presentations, handouts, practical exercises, templates).

• Participant Selection: Identify and finalize a list of participants from the mapped NGOs, ensuring inclusivity and representation.

• Organize and Deliver Training: Logistically organize and conduct an intensive 5-day training workshop for selected NGO staff in Al-Ghaydah.

• Evaluate Training: Conduct pre- and post-training evaluations to measure knowledge acquisition.

Final Reporting and Handover

• Submit Final Report: Provide a final consultancy report synthesizing the mapping, assessment, and training activities.

• Include Recommendations: The report must contain actionable recommendations for our client and other partners on how to continue supporting the NGO sector in Al-Mahrah.

• Handover Materials: Deliver all raw data, final datasets, and training materials to our client for future use.

Direct Project Manager

•  Advanced degree (master’s or equivalent) in International Development, Social Sciences, Business Administration, or a related field

•  Minimum of 7 years of proven experience working with and building the capacity of civil society organizations or NGOs.

• Demonstrated experience in conducting organizational capacity assessments and mapping exercises in fragile or development contexts. o Proven track record in designing and delivering high-quality training on project proposal writing, project management, and reporting for NGOs.

• Previous experience working in Yemen or the Middle East region is a strong asset.

• CSO/NGO Capacity Building: Expertise in organizational development principles and training methodologies.

• Programme Cycle Management: Excellent practical knowledge of the entire project cycle.

• Assessment & Mapping: Strong skills in data collection, analysis, and report writing.

• Facilitation & Training: Exceptional skills in facilitating workshops and adult learning.

• Excellent communication, facilitation, and report-writing skills in English.

• Proficiency in Arabic is mandatory.

• Strong interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity.

• Integrity and professionalism .

• Ability to work rapidly and effectively under a tight timeline.

• Capacity to transfer knowledge and motivate learners

N/A

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.