Consultancy: Facilitation of Capacity Building Sessions During the Africa Team Retreat

Role Overview

This consultancy supports a strategic retreat for an Africa-focused international development team, scheduled to take place in Nairobi in late September 2026. The role spans a six-day engagement, with two days of preparatory design, three days of on-site retreat facilitation, and one day dedicated to synthesising outcomes and reporting. The facilitator will guide collaborative discussions that turn broad ambitions into a concrete 2027 work plan, define country portfolio priorities, and help the team operationalise power-shifting principles across its internal structures and external partnerships — while also strengthening cohesion as new colleagues join the group.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct preparatory meetings with the Africa Team leadership, review relevant background materials, and co-develop a retreat agenda and facilitation plan that aligns with the team’s strategic objectives.
• Design and lead interactive work-planning sessions for 2027, helping team members define workstreams, activities, deliverables, dependencies, timelines, and individual accountabilities using the organisation’s agreed planning template.
• Structure country-focal presentations so each country team can share its context, then guide the broader group through evidence-based discussions that result in clear portfolio and priority decisions for the coming year.
• Facilitate team-building exercises and communication sessions that specifically support the smooth integration of new staff members into an established team operating across remote and distributed settings.
• Use facilitation techniques that create psychological safety, encourage honest dialogue, and ensure quieter voices are heard during sensitive conversations about power, governance, and partnership dynamics.
• Capture decisions, insights, and action items in real time during sessions, and photograph team-building activities as a visual record of the retreat.
• Compile and deliver a comprehensive post-retreat report that summarises discussions, decisions, recommendations, and participant feedback, supported by pre- and post-retreat evaluation data.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Proven experience facilitating strategy operationalisation, organisational development, or change processes for teams in the international development sector.
• Demonstrated ability to design and lead working sessions and workshops that produce concrete decisions and actionable, documented outputs rather than open-ended conversations.
• Strong expertise in team building, communication, and collaboration strategies, with practical approaches for welcoming and integrating new staff into existing, distributed teams.
• Familiarity with power-shifting and localisation concepts in international development, and the ability to translate those principles into day-to-day organisational practices around hiring, governance, partnerships, and member engagement.
• Deep understanding of how remote and distributed teams function across diverse regional contexts, particularly in Africa, and sensitivity to cultural and contextual differences among country teams.
• Prior experience with Africa-focused teams or international development organisations operating across multiple African countries.
• Excellent facilitation and interpersonal skills, including the ability to create a safe environment for open dialogue, manage differing opinions constructively, and keep discussions focused on achievable decisions.
• Full computer literacy, including proficiency with virtual collaboration tools and document preparation, and fluency in English in both written and spoken communication.
• Relevant academic or professional background in organisational development, facilitation, international development, management consulting, or a related field.