Consultancy Service: Oxfam Yemen Country Strategy Review (INT10854)

Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty.

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR THE CONSULTANCY SERVINCE “OXFAM’S YEMEN COUNTRY STRATEGY REVIEW”

1. Background:

Oxfam’s Yemen Country Change Strategy is designed to guide and align its humanitarian, development, and advocacy work in Yemen amidst the ongoing crisis. Oxfam Yemen Country Strategy (OCS) for 2022-2025 envisions:

Yemeni civil society and communities direct their own development, actively address root causes of fragility, conflict and inequality, and advocate for their human rights.”

To build towards this vision, three Country Goals have been identified:

1) Saving Lives and Building Resilience – Yemeni women, girls, men and boys and their communities affected by conflict, disease outbreaks and climate disasters have their basic needs met and are more resilient in times of crisis.
2) Civil Society Leadership – Yemeni civil society actors can safely and freely take a leadership role in advocating for the protection of human rights, the accountability of power holders and in responding to humanitarian needs.
3) Gender Justice – Yemeni women and girls can claim their rights, engage meaningfully in decision-making and access gender-just basic services.

This strategy aims to ensure that Oxfam remains adaptable and responsive to the evolving needs of communities, partners, and stakeholders in Yemen. The context in Yemen has significantly changed in the past two years. To adapt to changing context, Oxfam would like to hire qualified and experienced consultant (s) to facilitate the review of the ongoing strategy and develop new country strategy for the next 3-5 years. The consultancy will support the process of reviewing, evaluating, and redefining Oxfam’s strategy, with the goal of optimizing the impact of its programs in the country. This strategic review and update is necessary due to changes in the political, social, and humanitarian landscape in Yemen, as well as Oxfam’s own organizational learning and priorities.

2. Objectives

The major objectives of this consultancy are:

Objective 1: To conduct a comprehensive review of the current Yemen Country Strategy, identifying successes, gaps, and challenges in the implementation of OCS pillars.

Objective 2: To engage with key stakeholders, including affected communities, donors, and partners, to gather inputs for the new strategy and ensure its relevance to the evolving context.

Objective 3: To facilitate the development of a new, forward-looking, and adaptable strategy that reflects the needs of Yemeni communities and aligns with Oxfam’s global mission and priorities.

Objective 4: To develop an adaptive monitoring and evaluation framework that can be used to track the implementation and effectiveness of the new strategy over time.

3. Scope of Consultancy

1) The consultancy will cover the following key aspects Alignment of Oxfam’s Yemen strategy with the changing political and humanitarian context.
2) Engagement of local stakeholders in the strategy development process, ensuring the voices of affected populations are heard and incorporated.
3) Integration of long-term development goals with immediate humanitarian needs in a fragile and complex protracted crisis Adaptability of the strategy to future shifts in Yemen’s political, social, and economic conditions.
4) Addressing gender and Social Inclusion barriers to promote the rights and participation of women, girls, and other marginalized groups.
5) Coordination and partnership with other humanitarian actors and initiatives
6) Achievements, progress, and challenges encountered during the implementation of the strategy:
7) Identification of resource gaps and the alignment of the strategy with Oxfam’s funding and operational capacity.
8) Effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure accountability and learning.

The scope of the consultancy mainly focuses on development of tools for the review, facilitating the review processes, and use the review findings to draft the new strategy for the next 3-5 years.

4. Methodology

The consultancy will be divided into the following phases:

Phase 1: Inception and Planning (Duration: 1 week):

o Kick-off meetings with Oxfam’s senior management and key staff.
o Review of existing documents related to the current Yemen Country Strategy, including progress reports and one program report, and footprint report.
o Development of a workplan and methodology for stakeholder engagement.

Phase 2: Stakeholder Engagement (Duration: 1 week)
o Conduct interviews and focus group discussions with key stakeholders, including Oxfam staff, local partners and community members and their representatives (men, women, girls, persons with disabilities).
o Collect feedback and data on current needs, challenges, and priorities.

Phase 3: Strategy Development and Drafting (Duration: 2 weeks)
o Synthesize the findings from the stakeholder engagement process.
o Develop a draft strategy, including key strategic priorities, objectives, and interventions.
o Present the draft to Oxfam’s management and stakeholders for feedback and revisions.

Phase 4: Finalization and Monitoring Framework (Duration: 1 weeks)
o Finalize the Yemen Country Change Strategy based on feedback from stakeholders.
o Develop an adaptive monitoring and evaluation framework, including key gender-sensitive indicators and tools with attention on context-driven issues.
o Provide recommendations for implementing the strategy.

5. Workplan

Timeframe: The total duration of the consultancy is 5 weeks, with the following breakdown:

• Inception and Planning: Inception and Planning: 11 weeks
• Stakeholder Engagement: Stakeholder Engagement: 11 weeks
• Strategy Development and Drafting: Strategy Development and Drafting: 22 weeks
• Finalization and Monitoring Framework: Finalization and Monitoring Framework: 11 weeks

Resources Required:

• Access to Oxfam staff and partners for consultations.
• Logistic support such as vehicle, accommodation, timely travel permits for field visits and stakeholder engagement.
• Access to key documents and data related to Oxfam’s programs and operations in Yemen.
• Availability of necessary communication tools for remote consultations.
• Ensure safe space to have in-person consultations with communities, local partners and other stakeholders.

6. Expertise

Number of Individuals Involved: The consultancy should involve one lead consultant who should hire local consultant to facilitate the review process: a lead consultant, a local expert (familiar with Yemen’s political and humanitarian landscape).

Skills and Abilities Required:
o Lead Consultant: Experience in strategic planning, humanitarian work, and program design in conflict and post-conflict settings.
o Local Expert: In-depth knowledge of the Yemeni context, including socio-political dynamics, humanitarian needs, and local stakeholders.

Period of Engagement:
o Lead Consultant: Full-time engagement for 5 weeks.
o Local Expert: Part-time engagement for 2 weeks (to be hired by lead consultant).

Team Relationships:
o Oxfam in Yemen’s Country Director will oversee the review process and Oxfam in Yemen’s Country Director will oversee the review process and provide overall leadership and direction. provide overall leadership and direction. The consultant will report to DCD programme and work closely with country MEAL manager on the day-to-day work and coordination.
o The Lead Consultant will be responsible for the overall management of the consultancy and deliverables, coordinating with the local expert and M&E expert.
o The Local Expert will provide contextual knowledge and ensure relevance to the local realities of Yemen.
o The M&E Expert will focus on developing the monitoring framework and tools to assess strategy implementation.

7. Outputs (Reports and / or Deliverables)

Deliverables:
1. Inception Report (due at the end of Week 1): This will outline the methodology, workplan, and timeline.
2. Draft Yemen Country Change Strategy (due at the end of Week 4): A draft of the new strategy based on the consultations and analysis.
3. Final Yemen Country Strategy (due at the end of Week 5): The finalized strategy document, incorporating feedback from all relevant people.
4. Monitoring & Evaluation Framework (due at the end of Week 5): A detailed M&E framework to assess the strategy’s implementation.

Table of Contents for OCS review Reports:
• Executive Summary:
• Background and Context
• Methodology
• Key Findings and Analysis
• Stakeholder Feedback
• Strategic Priorities and Objectives
• Monitoring and Evaluation Framework
• Recommendations

Report Templates: Reports will follow standard Oxfam format guidelines, including sections for executive summaries, conclusions, and annexes. Reports should be concise, with the use of bullet points, tables, and visual aids where necessary.

Annexes: will include detailed data, interview transcripts, consultation summaries, and any additional documents that support the main findings. All annexes must be clearly referenced in the body of the report.

Our values and commitment to safeguarding

Oxfam is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom Oxfam GB engages. Oxfam expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.

The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. Oxfam GB also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.

About us

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