Draft Terms of Reference (ToRs) for an external consultant to carry out an organisational and management review at FPP
Section / Contents/Comments1. Title / Organisational and Management Review of the Forest Peoples Programme
2. Background / The Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) is a medium-sized international human rights NGO registered as a UK Charity. We work in solidarity with tropical forest peoples in their efforts to secure rights to their lands and forests and determine their own futures. FPP pursues its mission through direct partnerships and field programmes with forest peoples’ organisations and communities across more than twenty countries in Central and South America, Africa (West, Central and East) and SE Asia. In the 25 years since its formation, FPP has secured notable achievements at the local and global levels, including important international public and private sector standards on the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. FPP has built up a team with a high level of expertise on forest peoples, human rights and local struggles to secure community rights and achieve self-determined developmentover the last few decades.
Key FPP activities include local level training and capacity building with forest communities; local, national and international legal actions (litigation) with and on behalf of forest peoples; standard-setting advocacy on forests and sustainable development locally and globally; action research with communities to counter top-down development, challenge rights abuses and put forward community solutions to the forest crisis [for more information on our work and partners, see
3. Context / Forest peoples and their territories are under increasing pressures driven by intensifying globalisation, which is driving the expansion of resource frontiers and rapid growth of industrial infrastructure at the expense of community rights and resources. While many progressive global standards on human rights and accountability have been secured in the last 25 years (many as a result of actions taken by FPP and other allies in solidarity with forest peoples’ movements), a glaring “implementation gap” remains in most forest nations resulting in continuing and widespread rights violations. Alongside growing threats to forests, land and food security, there is a proliferation of forest, climate, conservation and ‘sustainable development’ policies and initiatives at the global, regional and national levels, which requires NGOs, social movements and their allies to prioritise and focus efforts to counter harmful development, promote positive reforms and put forward alternatives. At the same time, NGOs and networks engaged in forest policy campaigns and field programmes are multiplying, offering opportunities for alliances and collaboration, but also requiring clear differentiation and division of labour between different organisations. FPP occupies a niche in the NGO landscape as a specialised human rights organisation applying a rights-based and bottom-up approach and working in solidarity with forest peoples and connecting local, national and global processes to secure justice and promote change.
4. Objective of the Review / Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of FPP’s current organisational structure and management system(s) in achieving its goals in the context of recent rapid growth (staffing, budget, number of projects), and recommend doable actions for changes or adjustments to ensure optimal organisation and management to assist FPP in accomplishing its mission.
5. Reasons for Review / We have identified the need to evaluate our current organisational and management structure in light of:
- The recent change in the FPP Director. The founder of FPP (Marcus Colchester) was Executive Director of FPP for 20 years, and stepped down from this role in May 2013, being replaced by Joji Carino (previously an FPP Board member) after an open recruitment process. Joji has now been in post for 2 years.
- The rapid growth of the organisation in the last 18 months, with a jump from 31 to 47 staffand increased staff in-country.
- Increased levels of funding and changes in funding complexity and scale, including increased demand for accountability from funders.
- Increased numbers of implementing partners.
6. Scope and Focus / The Scopewill cover the roles and actual performance of director(s) and members of the Executive Committee in relation to organizational structures and lines of authority and management and the Expanded Executive Committee with respect to strategic and operational planning and decision-making. It will also include an assessment of the Board's role and functioning.
The Focus will consider whether FPP’s senior management - in its current composition and division of roles and time allocation - is skilled, committed, equipped and with adequate capacity to deal with the specific tasks of programme management, guidance, supervision and support of staff and FPP's positioning and performance, including risk management.
Possible Lines of Enquiry:
- Change in Directorship
Impact of the new changes on the organisation and on the staff.
Benefits and the challenges related to this change.
2. Roles and Performance of the Executive Committee and the Expanded Executive Committee and the Board incarrying out identified functions, in conjunction with the strategic plan and organisational structure
The roles and performance of the Board, Expanded Executive Committee, Executive Committee, Executive Director, Managing Director, (and Programme/Line Managers) as informed by the following reference documents:
-Table 1: Clarifying the Roles of the Director, Managing Director, Executive Committee and Board (AGM 2009 Document)
-Notes of May 25 Executive Committee Meeting – What a Successful Management Team Would Look Like
-FPP Organigram
Appropriate time allocation between management and programme work
3. Guidance and Support for Staff Roles and Responsibilities
In oversight of staff and their work decisions (priorities, time allocation, positioning and messaging)
-Do people know who is meant to provide oversight?
-Do they feel supported by those providing oversight?
Timeliness and agility of decision-making
-Are these clear and decisive?
-When decisions are made, are these communicated effectively to those implicated?
Are staff clear what elements in the work are their own responsibility, what decisions need to be subject to wider consultation, agreement and coordination with other staff and what needs to be referred to the authority of their line managers, the Executive Committee and / or the Board?
Do staff feel satisfied that their line managers, the Executive Committee (and its sub-committees) and the Board are helping them to coordinate and make decisions effectively?
4. Organisational structures
How has FPP’s organisational structure evolved
- in response to recent rapid growth in number of staff?
- in response to increased funding and growing complexity and scales of work?
- In light of identified risks?
Location of communications in the organisational structure
Location of new staff and cross programme groups that have been set up during past two years (e.g. CBMIS, Funding, M&E)?
Role of middle managers in the structure of FPP
Role of in-country operations in the structure
Tools and technologies to improve coordination, planning and decision-making processes
Adequacy of office space and arrangements
Remote working
7. Participants in the Organisational Review /
- The participants in this process will be:
- All staff;
- The Board;
8. Roles and Responsibilities /
- The roles and responsibilities of the various participantswill be:
- The consultant shall be responsible for carrying out the review in accordance with the TORs
- The staff and the Board will make themselves available for interviews during the review period and
- The organization will provide the relevant documentation to the consultant
- The Steering Committee will facilitate the process and ensure that the consultant will deliver according to the TOR.
9. Organisational Review process / The consultant is to submit their proposed approach to the organisational review taking into account some suggestions below:
- A suggested approach for the review could be:
- Initial meetings between the consultant, Executive Committee and the Board to explain context of the review, particular issues to be looked at, challenges, expected outcomes, agreement on the scope of work and contents of a workplan
- Consultant desk research to familiarise her/himselfwith the organisational structure, management tools, systems and approaches, decide format of interviews
- Observation of FPP ‘at work’
- Interviews with all members of staff and the Board – either by ‘phone or in person
- Observation of the process of integration of workplans to arrive at a coherent strategic plan for next 3 years , including facilitating participatory SWOT analyses with staff
- One looking at how effective we are at reaching our mission and goals
- One looking at an analysis of organisational management and project oversight and implementation
10. Deliverables and Milestones /
- Regular weekly updates to steering committee by email for the duration of the contract, with options for face-to-face or skype meetings if necessary
- Written interim report end of September, looking at organisational review
- Documentation of SWOT analyses or similar tools suggested by the consultant and agreed by FPP
- Written report consistent with the TORs, including recommendations and options for FPP. Report should summarise and capture the feedback (either in main report or as an annex),containing consultant’s full observations and general and specific recommendations on options for FPP organisational structure and management approach going forwards
- Delivery of final report taking into account corrections and requested changes
- Start date 1st September 2015
- Meeting of consultant with Executive Committee and Board to explain the context of the review, particular issues to be looked at, challenges, expected outcomes, agreement of scope of work
- Consultant to submit of workplan for process of completion of review and report by 10th September
- Interim report by end September
- Draft final report by 15th October
- FPP management response by 20th October
- Final report by 30th October, to be submitted to Board
10. Consultant Qualifications / Experience of internationally operating NGOs used to remote projects and remote staff, experience of carrying out organisational management reviews essential, experience and knowledge of FPP’s area of work desirable. References required
11. Cost parameters for the Organisational Review /
- Quote required with a detailed breakdown of number of days and any associated costs