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1. Background
Since 1944, Heifer International has worked with over 52 million people worldwide around the world to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. Working with rural communities in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, including the United States, Heifer International works with market actors, in the center of which are the smallholder farmers, in strengthening local economies and building secure livelihoods that provide a sustainable living income.
Heifer International has worked in Kenya since 1981, supporting more than 682,000 smallholder farming families across the dairy, poultry, and red meat value chains. Through its focus on inclusive market systems, climate-resilient agriculture, and strengthened farmer organizations, Heifer Kenya helps farmers improve productivity, nutrition, and incomes. Its seven-year Signature Program, Practice for Change (P4C), aims to enable 1,000,000 farming households to achieve a sustainable living income by 2032 through market-based interventions in poultry, dairy, beef, and horticulture.
To strengthen strategic alignment, impact, and sustainability, Heifer Kenya seeks to develop a Country Strategy that aligns with Heifer Kenya’s P4C Signature Program framework, Kenya’s national development priorities, and donor, partner, and private sector ecosystem realities. Heifer Kenya therefore intends to engage a qualified consultant to lead the development of this Country Strategy.
2. Purpose and objectives
The purpose of this consultancy is to develop a clear, evidence-based, and forward-looking three-year Country Strategy for Heifer Kenya that operationalizes the P4C Signature Program and guides programming, partnerships, resource mobilization, and learning over the strategy period.
The specific objectives of the assignment are to:
a) Assess Heifer Kenya’s current portfolio, partnerships, and results in relation to the P4C Signature Program.
b) Analyze Kenya’s agricultural, agribusiness, and market systems context, with emphasis on women and youth inclusion, and in the context of the P4C selected Value chains.
c) Identify strategic opportunities for scaling impact through P4C-aligned pathways/themes.
d) Define Heifer Kenya’s strategic priorities, outcomes, and implementation approaches for the strategy period.
e) Strengthen alignment with Heifer International’s global strategy, impact measurement framework, and the Kenya Practice for Change Signature Program themes (Business Efficiency, Gender Empowerment, Youth and Innovation; Climate Resilience; and Access to Finance).
3. Scope of work
The consultant will undertake the following tasks:
i. Desk review of relevant documents including:
a) Heifer International global strategy and Country Signature Program, P4C framework and MEL Framework
b) Heifer Kenya projects documents, evaluations, and reports
c) Kenya national policies and sector strategies
d) Relevant donor and private sector strategies
ii. Conduct stakeholder consultations (virtual and/or in-person) with:
a) Heifer Kenya leadership, advisory board and program technical teams
b) Farmers and farmer organizations (including cooperatives)
c) Private sector partners, relevant youth enterprises, financial institutions and other ecosystem actors
d) Government, development agencies(donors) and sector stakeholders
iii. Conduct a secondary review of contextual and strategic analyses done by Heifer and other organisations, around P4C aligned themes including:
a) Market systems and value chain analysis aligned to P4C
b) Gender, youth, and social inclusion analysis
c) Climate and environmental sustainability considerations
d) Access to finance for smallholder farmers and agribusinesses
iv. Develop a Country Strategy that includes:
a) Strategic vision
b) Priority pathways and focus areas for P4C value chains
c) Target populations and geographic focus
d) Partnership and private sector engagement strategy
e) Implementation and operational considerations
f) Human resources and organizational capacity
g) Monitoring, evaluation, learning, and adaptation (MEL) framework
h) Resource mobilization and sustainability considerations
v. Validation and Finalization
a) Facilitate a strategy validation workshop with Heifer Kenya and key stakeholders
b) Incorporate feedback and submit the final Country Strategy document
4. Key Deliverables
i. Inception report with methodology and workplan
ii. Stakeholder consultation summary
iii. Draft Heifer Kenya Country Strategy aligned to P4C
iv. Validation workshop report
v. A precise, high quality Country Strategy document (maximum 25 pages)
5. Working conditions
The consultant is expected to gather a great piece of the data through stakeholder consultative meetings and reporting directly to Country Director. The assignment is expected to take four months and commence in May 2026.
6. Qualifications and Experience
The assignment should be undertaken by a consultant or firm with strong expertise in strategy development for development organisations, business administration, development studies, or related fields.
The consultant or firm should demonstrate the following qualifications and experience:
• An advanced degree in Development Studies, Business Administration, Project Management, Economics, Agriculture, or a related discipline.
• At least seven (7) years of demonstrated experience in strategy development for development organisations.
• Ability to provide at least three (3) samples of previously developed strategies, together with a minimum of three (3) references or recommendation letters.
• Strong understanding of market systems, agribusiness, private sector engagement, and agritech.
• Proven experience in integrating gender, youth, and climate considerations into strategy and programme design.
• Excellent facilitation, analytical, and report writing skills.
• Familiarity with Heifer International’s approach and/or the Practice for Change (P4C) framework will be considered an added advantage.
7. Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on four key areas:
1. Comprehension and Relevance of the Proposed Approach and Methodology (25%): The proposal should demonstrate a clear understanding of the assignment and present a relevant approach and methodology for delivering the scope of work outlined in the Terms of Reference.
2. Workplan and Schedule of Activities (15%): Applicants are expected to provide a clear and realistic work plan, including timelines and activities that align with the proposed methodology.
3. Relevant Experience in Similar Assignments (35%): The consultant or firm should demonstrate experience in undertaking similar assignments, particularly for development agencies and sector stakeholders within agriculture, livestock, market systems, youth, and private sector development. This should be supported by references and/or recommendation letters.
4. Qualifications and Expertise of the Proposed Team (25%): The proposed consulting team should demonstrate relevant qualifications and expertise in areas such as strategy development, gender and youth integration, value chain analysis, development studies, business administration, project management, economics, agriculture, or related disciplines.
How to apply
8. Application requirements
Only legally registered individual consultants or firms are eligible to apply and should submit the following documents upon application:
a. Letter of expression of interest and demonstration of capability
b. The capacity and portfolio of the consultant, including their qualifications, experience,
c. and expertise relevant to the assignment.
d. At least three references from other clients for which similar assignments have been
e. undertaken with contact information for each.
f. A clear and comprehensive work plan (draft), outlining the major activities and g. schedule.
h. Financial proposal –
i. Individual/firm cost proposal in KES for this assignment based on the workplan. The cost should indicate the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of all the costs. These costs must be broken down by no fewer than the following budget categories: Personnel (including rates and level of effort), Travel, Meetings, Materials, Fee, Tax etc.
j. The individual MUST attach the following documents below with their bid or proposal to Heifer International Kenya:
• Certificate of Incorporation or Business Registration Certificate.
• KRA online PIN Certificate.
• Valid Tax Compliance Certificate.
• Updated Curriculum Vitae (For individuals)
• Relevant industry licenses
9. Application Procedure
The proposal (duly signed) from the consultant should comprise the technical and financial proposals. Applications will be accepted in soft copy through email and mentioning the subject line, “CONSULTANCY TO DEVELOP COUNTRY STRATEGY’’ to [email protected] on or before Tuesday, 2nd June, 2026.
10. Late Submissions and Modifications
Proposals received after the submission deadline will not be considered. Applicants are responsible for ensuring their proposals are submitted according to the instructions stated herein. Heifer retains the right to terminate this request for proposal or modify the requirements upon notification to the applicants.
11. Validity of Proposals
Proposals submitted shall remain open for acceptance for Thirty (30) days from the last date specified for receipt of the proposal. This includes, but is not limited to, pricing, terms and conditions, service levels, and all other information. If your organisation is selected, all information in this document and the negotiation process is contractually binding.
12. Limitations
This Request for Proposal does not represent a commitment to award a contract, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this RFP, or to procure or to contract for services or supplies. Heifer reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted and reserves the right to accept or reject in its entirety and absolute discretion any proposal received because of the request for the proposal.
13. Intellectual Property
Section 1. Ownership Generally. Subject to Section 2 below, any intellectual property (including but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, service marks, and patents), intellectual property rights, deliverables, manuals, works, ideas, discoveries, inventions, products, writings, photographs, videos, drawings, lists, data, strategies, materials, processes, procedures, systems, programs, devices, operations, or information developed in whole or in part by or on behalf of Contractor or its employees or agents in connection with the Services and/or Goods
(collectively, the “Work Product”) shall be the exclusive property of HPI. Upon request, the Contractor shall sign all documents and take all actions necessary to confirm or perfect HPI’s exclusive ownership of the Work Product.
Section 2. Prior-Owned Intellectual Property. Any intellectual property owned by a Party before the Effective Date (“Prior-Owned IP”) shall remain that Party’s sole and exclusive property. Regarding any of Contractor’s Prior-Owned IP included in the Work Product, Contractor
shall retain ownership, and hereby grants HPI a permanent, non-exclusive, royaltyfree, worldwide, irrevocable right and license to use, copy, reproduce, publicly display, edit, revise, perform, and distribute said intellectual property, in any format or any medium, as part of the Work Product.
Section 3. Work Made for Hire. To the extent copyright laws apply to the Work Product, the Parties agree that (a) HPI specially ordered or commissioned the Work Product, (b) the Work Product is a “work made for hire” under United States copyright laws, and (c) HPI shall be deemed the author thereof and shall own all right, title, and interest therein. To the extent such rights, in whole or in part, do not vest in HPI as a “work made for hire”, Contractor hereby irrevocably grants, assigns, and transfers to HPI, exclusively and in perpetuity, all of the Contractor’s rights of any kind or nature, now known or hereafter devised, in, too, and in connection with the Work Product, and HPI shall solely and exclusively own any rights therein, and in the elements thereof, including but not limited to any allied, ancillary, subsidiary, incidental, and adaptation rights. The contractor hereby waives all rights known as “moral rights”, and any similar rights, which Contractor may have in connection with the Work Product. The description of Services and/or Goods provided in this Agreement shall in no way limit the way HPI may use the Work Product.
14. Diversity And Inclusion
Heifer International values diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (“DEIB”), and believe that effectively accessing and managing diverse talent leads to improved outcomes. HPI takes a broad view of diversity, and inclusive of varied backgrounds including, but not limited to, age, experience, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, disability status, national origin, and culture. HPI expect third-party providers to respect and reflect HPI’s value of DEIB. HPI’s ongoing monitoring of third-party service providers incorporates an assessment of vendors’ commitment to, adherence with, and track record of accessing and retaining diverse and inclusive workforces.