Introduction

The Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) is a pan-African, non-profit, and public charity organisation that supports, strengthens, and promotes science and innovation in Africa. The SFA Foundation is committed to improving African people's quality of life and promoting research uptake in communities, industry, and the public sector. We serve the African research ecosystem by designing, funding, and managing programmes that support excellent science and innovation; and that build and reinforce environments that are conducive for scientists to thrive and produce quality research that impacts development.

Background

SFA Foundation is committed to strengthening the capacity of its managers to effectively plan, implement, and report on programmes/departments while ensuring accountability and stewardship of resources. A recent internal survey identified significant gaps in financial management knowledge among non-finance managers. Four thematic priority areas were highlighted: 

• Financial Planning & Budget Management 
• Financial Analysis & Decision-Making 
• Costing & Resource Allocation 
• Financial Accountability & Governance 
• Risk Management & Compliance in Financial Decision-Making 
• Grant life-cycle financial integration  

Purpose of the Assignment 

The SFA Foundation seeks to engage a consultant (individual or firm) to design and deliver a customised Finance for Non-Finance Managers training programme. This programme will equip SFA Foundation’s leaders and programme staff with the knowledge and practical tools needed to plan, implement, and report on resources effectively and responsibly.  

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Objectives of the Assignment 

The consultant is expected to design and deliver a training programme that will: 

• Strengthen participants’ capacity in financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting. 
• Enhance understanding of financial analysis and reporting for decision-making. 
• Build practical skills in costing, resource allocation, and variance management. 
• Promote accountability and stewardship in resource management. 
• Clarify the linkages between finance, grants, and programme management. 
• Introduce the use of managerial finance tools, including activity-based budgeting (ABB) as a tool for aligning financial planning with programme activities and outcomes. 
• Enhance financial literacy among non-finance managers to support evidence-based decision-making. 
• Strengthen capacity in financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and variance management. 
• Improve understanding of cost structures, resource allocation, and accountability frameworks. 
• Clarify linkages between finance, grants, and programme management processes under SFA Foundation’s operating model. 
• Build practical skills in interpreting reports, managing cost extensions, and applying activity-based budgeting (ABB). 
• Promote a culture of financial stewardship, transparency, and cross-functional collaboration. 

Scope of Work 

 The consultant will: 

• Design practical exercises and case studies that demonstrate the use of ABB in programme budgeting and cost management. 
• Review background documents, survey findings, and relevant SFA Foundation policies. 
• Develop a detailed training agenda, comprehensive curriculum, and materials aligned to the four thematic areas. 
• Design and deliver an interactive learning sessions, practical training program using diverse methodologies (case studies, group work, exercises, etc.) relevant to SFA Foundation. 
• Conduct pre- and post-training assessments to evaluate learning outcomes. 
• Submit a final training report summarising content, participation, knowledge gains with recommendations for follow-up learning. 

Instructions on the Proposal Submission Process

1. Proposal to be sent by email to [email protected] on or before 25 November 2025 at 5.00 pm (EAT)
2. Protect your proposal with a password and share the password on 26 November 2025 by 8.00 am (EAT)
3. The proposal to be marked as follows on the subject line:

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) CONSULTANCY SERVICES TRAINING FOR NON-FINANCE MANAGERS - RFP/027/2025:

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