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Career Counseling and Recruitment Resources Consultancy at CICan – May 2026

Tender Notice

Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan)

Dar es Salaam

Tender information

Tender Details

Request for proposals: Develop and deliver career counseling and recruitment resources training to staff at the partner FDCs

Empowerment through Skills Program

Request for proposals

Develop and deliver career counseling and recruitment resources training to staff at the partner FDCs

Date RFP issued: 08 May 2026
Date RFP closes: 22 May 2026

Submission email: [email protected]
Submission deadline: 22 May 2026 at 5.00 PM

Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) is implementing the Empowerment through Skills Program (ESP) in Tanzania. The ESP is a 7-year program, running from 2021 to 2028, implemented by CICan in close collaboration with the Tanzanian Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) through the Department of Technical and Vocational Training (DTVET). The ESP is funded by the Government of Canada.

ESP’s ultimate outcome is:

Improved economic participation by women and adolescent girls in Tanzania.

Refer to Annex 1 for an overview of the project and the list of partner Folk Development Colleges (FDCs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), and Canadian colleges and institutes.

A critical component of ESP’s success is the ability to strengthen FDCs capacity to provide comprehensive wrap-around services to attract, retain, graduate, and support the transition of female trainees into skilled employment in key economic sectors.

Short-term consultancy requirement

ESP seeks to engage a qualified individual consultant or consultancy firm with expertise in career counselling and creation of recruitment resources to support the development of training materials and delivery of training for staff across its 12 partner Folk Development Colleges (FDCs).

The individual consultant or consultancy firm will be responsible for:

Developing three comprehensive career counselling and recruitment toolkits.
Facilitating training sessions for FDC staff.

The aim is to capacitate FDC staff with skills to provide structured, gender-responsive guidance to students in:

Career planning.
Job market integration.
Personal development.

Kiswahili is the language of instruction in the partner FDCs, as well as the most common language used in the districts that the program is working in.

The consultant or consultancy firm will need to:

Prepare the training materials in both Kiswahili and English.
Have facilitators who understand both languages to deliver or co-deliver the training.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified individual consultants or consultancy firms that meet the requirements outlined in this RFP.

This is an equal opportunity for qualified individuals or firms. Firms owned or led by women are particularly encouraged to apply.

RFP outline

The RFP is outlined as follows:

Key Tasks
Timelines and Deliverables
Qualifications, Experience and Attributes
Reporting
Duration
Submission Requirements

1. Key tasks

Note: The target beneficiaries of this consultancy under ESP are FDC staff.

The consultant or consultancy firm will:

Discuss with CICan/ESP the FDC training needs and make recommendations for the content development and required training materials.
Conduct desk reviews of:
- Existing FDC programs.
- ESP short courses.
- National TVET and labor policies.
- Labor market trends.
Conduct a minimum of three site visits to partner FDCs to engage with staff and students and gather insights into existing gaps in career guidance services.

The consultant or consultancy firm must provide a report on the findings with a focus on how they will inform the development of career counselling and recruitment toolkits and training.
Develop three comprehensive career counselling and recruitment modules within a toolkit covering the following thematic areas:
- Career path advising and career planning:
  Tools and strategies to help students identify interests, assess strengths, explore occupations, and set goals.
- Employer alignment and recruitment readiness:
  Resources for aligning trainees with employer needs, preparing CVs, job searching, interview preparation, and networking.
- Counseling techniques, transition to work and personal awareness:
  Practical guidance for FDC staff on effective counseling methods, soft skills training, confidence building, and life planning.
Note 1: The training toolkit should be prepared in both Kiswahili and English. Machine translation is strictly prohibited.
Submit the career counselling and recruitment toolkits for review.
Submit the training plan for review by CICan.
Revise the plan, the toolkit and training content based on CICan/ESP recommendations.
Deliver a minimum of three regional training to FDC staff on how to use and adapt the toolkit according to the agreed plan.
Provide a facilitator’s guide/manual to support implementation and sustainability.

Note 2: The training will need to be delivered in Kiswahili.

Note 3: CICan/ESP will organize and cover the costs of travel for the participants as well as the logistics, venue, etc. The consultant or consulting firm will arrange for and bill for their travel expenses.
Write and submit the final consultancy report.

2. Key deliverables and estimated timelines

The draft work plan will be submitted to CICan by 30 June 2026.
Feedback on draft workplan received from CICan by 7 July 2026.
Final workplan submitted to CICan by 10 July 2026.
Submit a site visit report to CICan by 31 July 2026.
Submit the first draft of the training toolkits for career counselling and recruitment for review by CICan by 14 August 2026.
Feedback on the first draft of the training delivery plan and materials and training toolkit received from CICan by 21 August 2026.
Submission of the final version of the training plan and, toolkit and materials to CICan by 26 August 2026.
Deliver training sessions to FDC staff as per training plan by 30 September 2026.
Submission of a short final report with recommendations on key observations during the training and final activity reports, timesheets, and invoices to CICan by 31 October 2026.

3. Qualifications, experience and other attributes of the consultant or consultancy firm

Qualifications and experience

The consultant or consultancy firm experts will have:

Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in relevant fields such as:
- Education.
- Career Development.
- Human Resource Development.
- Psychology.
- Social Sciences.
- Related discipline.
Master’s degree preferred.
Minimum of 5 to 7 years of proven experience in designing, developing, and delivering capacity building programs particularly in:
- Career counseling.
- Employment services.
- Vocational education and training (TVET) in Tanzania.
Experience in developing toolkits, curricula, or training materials for educational or skills development institutions in Tanzania.
Proven ability to integrate gender-sensitive and inclusive approaches into educational resources.
Familiarity with Tanzania’s labor market dynamics, TVET system, and youth employment challenges, especially in relation to women and adolescent girls.
Ability to work with diverse groups and adapt training content to different cultural contexts.
Experience working with FDCs or similar community-based training institutions will be an added advantage.
Excellent spoken and written Kiswahili and English.
Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to convey complex concepts clearly and effectively.
Good understanding of the TVET sector in Tanzania.
Excellent Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills to include:
- MS Teams.
- Zoom.
- Word.
- Excel.
- PowerPoint.
- Outlook / email.

Other preferred attributes

The consultant or consultancy firm will ideally be:

Familiar with Gender Equality policies, procedures, and practices at the national level in Tanzania.
Familiar with the education policies, procedures, and practices of the Government of Tanzania generally.
Familiar with the policies, procedures and practices of CBOs, NGOs, and national women’s organizations in Tanzania.
Familiar with the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Familiar with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), international development cooperation, and working with international organizations.

4. Reporting

The consultant or consultancy firm will work under the direction of the Manager of Operations, Programs and Partnerships, CICan or his designate.

The consultant or consultancy firm is expected to work with a high degree of independence and autonomy.

5. Duration and budget

The expected duration of the consultancy is Six (6) months from the signing of the contract.

Travel and communication costs will be reimbursed based on actuals.

The total expected budget for the consultancy is not to exceed 75,000,000 TZS.

All bids will be assessed on both technical and financial elements.

6. Submission requirements

Bids are to be returned by email to:

[email protected]

The deadline is:

22 May 2026 at 5.00 PM

Subject line

ESP RFP – CAREER COUNSELING & RECRUITMENT RESOURCES & TRAINING

Submission length

Submissions should be limited to 10 pages and include the following documents:

Consultancy Firms must submit:
- Copies of a formally registered business license or NGO Certificate from the Government of Tanzania.
- Proof of conducting operations in Tanzania for a period of at least 3 years.
- Proof of payment of taxes.
- Tax clearance for 2 years.
These documents can be submitted as an annex and are not counted as part of the 10-page limit. Notarized copies will be required before a contract is awarded.
Relevant experience and qualifications of the consultant or consultancy firm, including samples of verifiable previous work.
- Maximum length: 2 pages.
CV of the consulting team members that will be responsible for the fulfilling the mandate.
- Maximum length: 2 pages each.
Proposed workplan and methodology for accomplishing the Key Tasks outlined in Part 1.
- Maximum length: 4 pages.
Proposed budget with detailed costs.

Please download and save a copy of the budget template at the link here:

DRAFT_Budget_Template_CareerCounselingRecruitment.xlsx

Annex 1

Overview of the Empowerment through Skills Program

Program description

The Empowerment through Skills Program (ESP) is a 7-year program from 2021 to 2028 implemented by Colleges and Institutes Canada in close collaboration with Tanzania’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) through the Department of Technical and Vocational Education and Training.

The ESP is funded by the Government of Canada.

ESP’s Ultimate Outcome is improved economic participation by women and adolescent girls in Tanzania.

The ESP will strengthen alternative pathways to education, employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship for women and adolescent girls.

Working with Folk Development Colleges (FDCs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in 12 communities across Tanzania, ESP aims to:

Increase rates of participation among women and adolescent girls in skills training programs.
Improve access to business, skills, and gender and human rights training in their communities.

The Program will also expand opportunities in the informal and formal sectors through post-training support to transition to employment or self-employment.

Program reach

Through an inclusive and participatory approach with the key stakeholders, MOEST, FDCs, CBOs, and with the support of key community leaders to influence social change, the ESP will work with 12 selected FDCs and 12 selected CBOs to:

Establish a network of gender teams and female mentors.
Engage local communities in gender equality awareness raising activities on the benefits of women’s education and economic empowerment.
Provide partner FDCs and CBOs with sustainable capacity building training in:
- Gender equality.
- Human rights.
- Pedagogy and andragogy.
- Environmental sustainability.
- CBET.
- Leadership.
- Guidance and career counselling.
- Occupational health and safety.
- Marketing / recruitment.
- Information and communication technology.
- Labour market assessment.
- Demand driven program design and delivery.
Develop and deliver short gender responsive, environmentally sensitive and demand driven skills programs specifically targeting women and adolescent girls at the partner FDCs.
Develop and deliver short gender and environmentally sensitive and demand driven skills training activities at the partner CBOs targeting women’s organizations and the community.
Review program content and teaching methods to better integrate gender equality and human rights.
Support the Elimu Haina Mwisho (Education without End) and the Early Child Development programs with teaching and learning resources.
Ensure there are appropriate support services for women and adolescent girl students, especially young mothers at the partner FDCs.

Partnerships

The ESP supports six partnerships between Tanzanian FDCs and CBOs, in collaboration with 17 Canadian colleges.

ESP 1

Mto wa Mbu

Partner CBO:
International Collaborative for Science, Education and the Environment (ICSEE) / Maasai Stoves