1. PURPOSE OF THIS CONSULTANCY
The direct motive for this procurement for consultancy services is to facilitate an independent evaluation of the Oxfam in Southern Africa (SAF) cluster strategy framework (2021 – 2025) and to lead a process of refinement and realignment culminating into a Program and Influencing Strategy for Oxfam SAF Cluster 2026 to 2030.
The End-of-Strategy Evaluation will aid in assessing program performance, impact and contributions to wider systemic change, lessons learned, and cross-cutting issues in line with the SAF cluster strategy ambitions during the period from 2021 to 2025.
The Strategy Refinement Exercise aims to align the next five-year strategic framework with both the newly adopted Oxfam in Africa Programme and Influencing Strategic Framework, Oxfam’s Global Strategic Framework, and the evolving operational context in the region.
2. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
Oxfam in Southern Africa is part of a broader movement working with marginalized and vulnerable communities to challenge structural inequalities and advocate for transformative development models. Our current regional strategy framework (2021–2025) outlines our commitment to fostering a just and sustainable future for all in the region.
This strategy is built around three key thematic pillars or programs:
Just Economies
Humanitarian Action
Gender Justice
The strategy also has two cross cutting themes: Accountable Governance and Civic Space. The interventions, implemented primarily in countries where Oxfam has a physical presence, are also strategically leveraged to influence
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regional and global platforms. For instance, our work on fiscal justice, including sustainable debt management and domestic resource mobilization, connects directly to global advocacy efforts on debt cancellation and aid effectiveness.
Our approach is centred on empowering local actors to influence the systems and institutions that govern power and resource distribution. We are driven by a commitment to impact, quality, relevance, legitimacy, and solidarity. Oxfam in Southern Africa also contributes to national development frameworks, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
This regional strategy aligns with Oxfam’s Global Strategic Framework (to 2030), which aims to:

•Mobilize resources for sustainable, poverty-alleviating development.
•Strengthen resilience, protect lives, and support rights in times of crisis.
•Tackle structural inequalities and drive durable systemic change.
•Advance intersectional feminist approaches to challenge injustice.

In preparation for this end-of-strategy evaluation and strategy refresh, a number of internal processes have taken place that will be of interest to this Consultancy. First, Oxfam SAF cluster has conducted a meta-synthesis of evidence and learning in line with cluster’s knowledge and learning agenda and has also curated potential secondary sources of knowledge and learning in the form of a knowledge and evidence database. The meta-synthesis provides a general overview of some of the lessons learnt from programming during the strategy period and the database also maps the knowledge resources to key learning questions that were outlined in the knowledge and learning framework. Oxfam SAF cluster has also recently completed a mapping of results and milestones to the cluster’s program framework to build a general trend analysis of progress achieved over the strategy period.
This Consultancy will build on this background work to provide more concrete rigorous analysis of impact attribution and contribution to wider systemic change, lessons learnt and objective analysis of the predetermined and other emerging critical learning questions.
The strategy review and strategy refresh process are intrinsically linked to Oxfam confederation wide strategy processes. As such reference to and engagement with various Oxfam resources and tools such as the Oxfam Global Strategic Framework (GSF) and Horizon Roadmaps, Oxfam in Africa Program and Influencing Strategy, Oxfam Influencing for Impact Guide, among others, will be critical for the Consultancy.
3. SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work for the End-of-Strategy Evaluation includes:
1.Reviewing the overall strategy and program performance against set strategic objectives, thematic pillar change goals and pathways to change, or outcomes.
a. Reviewing the extent to which the Thematic Pillars; Gender Justice, Just Economies and Humanitarian have met their pillar goals and the extent to which there was alignment of activities with identified pathways within each Thematic Pillar
b. Review extent to which each Pillar was able to achieve influencing outcomes.
c. Determine impact (short-term and long-term) of the strategy on the target populations and communities, and environment, providing evidence of the value created by the strategy (identifying both positive and negative, intended and unintended changes) resulting from the SAF strategy and operations.
2.Review the extent to which the Pillars were able to achieve outcomes related to the crosscutting themes: Accountable Governance and Civic Space
3.Review the barriers and enablers that have led to the achievement of the results for the current strategy

4.Provide informed recommendations based on evaluation findings that can guide future programming, policy development, and resource allocation building up to the strategy review/refresh.
5.Document best practices, effective strategies and methodologies utilized during the strategy period that can serve as reference material for practitioners, policy makers and organizations working in similar fields.

For the end-of-strategy evaluation, the Consultant(s) may apply the OECD evaluation criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, coherence and impact and should be able to develop an evaluation matrix of the proposed evaluation questions covering each of these criteria at inception stage.
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The scope of work for the Strategy refinement and realignment includes:
1.Produce an updated context analysis, regional and thematic which shows the key changes in the external context and highlight any key changes that will inform the choices for the next Strategic period. This should include but not limited to political, economic, social, technology, environment legal and policy context.
2.Align the 2026 to 2030 SAF Cluster Program and Influencing Strategy to the Global Strategic Framework, Horizon Roadmap and Oxfam in Africa’s Program and Influencing Strategy informed by the relevant issues from the context analysis.
3.Using the Oxfam Influencing for Impact guide, working with an internal technical team, support the development of the Influencing Strategy that will be integrated within the overall SAF Program Strategy to create a Program and Influencing Strategy.
EXPECTED OUTPUTS
Output 1: Inception report and data collection tools
Consultant(s) are expected to develop an inception report within 7 days after being engaged by Oxfam in Southern Africa and receiving an information package of the required reference tools and documentation. The inception report should summarise the consultant’s understanding of the ToRs, evaluation design, sampling methods to be used, detailed data collection methodology, a workplan, and a full budget. The consultant(s) should also submit all data collection tools to be used for data collection during the evaluation and a suggested report outline for approval by Oxfam in Southern Africa.
Output 2: Preliminary Results Validation Meeting
Preliminary findings should be presented by the consultant for initial feedback after data collection and analysis. This process will assist the consultant to produce a draft and finalise the analysis of findings.
Output 3: Draft End of Strategy Evaluation Report
After the feedback meeting, consultant(s) should submit the draft end of strategy evaluation report to Oxfam in Southern Africa for review.
Output 4: Final Evaluation Report
The final evaluation report will be submitted after review of the first draft report by Oxfam in Southern Africa. The final evaluation report will include findings from data collection and analysis, lessons learned and recommendations for future programming and the strategy refresh.
Output 5: Submission of Reports and Final datasets
The consultant shall provide copies of each of the inception report, draft and final reports. All soft copies of the final data sets should be provided in common statistical package such as Excel and SPSS. The data will be owned by Oxfam.
Output 6: Updated Context Analysis for the Strategy refinement
The consultants will produce a detailed context analysis both at regional level and covering each thematic Pillar.
Output 7: SAF Cluster Program and Influencing Strategy
The Consultant will produce a SAF Cluster Program and Influencing Strategy document.
4. METHODOLOGY
The terminal evaluation of the SAF Cluster Strategy should follow a systematic, comprehensive, and tailored collaborative and participatory mixed methods approach that draws on both quantitative and qualitative data to address the evaluation questions. Consultant(s) should describe and justify data collection methods to be used throughout the evaluation and strategy refresh process. Data collection should include but not limited to the following.
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Literature review of available documents.
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Focus group discussions with relevant target groups
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Key informant interviews with key stakeholders and/or beneficiaries
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Proposed sample design
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The total sample for the project areas should cover the four countries, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia that the Cluster is covering.
Conducting the surveys
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Based on the sample frame, the consultant will develop plans for implementing the sample design.
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The consultant will have primary responsibility for field testing and piloting of the questionnaire.
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The consultant will be accountable for all field operations hence should include ethical considerations.
DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT
The consultant will collaborate with the Oxfam in Southern Africa, Policy Advocacy and Influencing Lead, Program Quality Lead, MEAL Officers, and Partner MEAL Assistants to define key deliverables and timelines. The end of programme evaluation of the SAF Cluster Strategy and refinement of the new strategy will be conducted over a period of 50 days. A detailed time schedule of various activities to be undertaken during the consultancy must be provided by the Consultant.
The key steps to be followed though not explicit and the detailed modality and work plan will be agreed during consultation meeting include.

More details are available on link https://oxfam.box.com/s/5j9cik9y1lcp69q5f5l2sylsac9dzitr

How to Apply:

Submission deadline
Quotations and applications must reach Oxfam no later than 1st June 2025, 17: 00hrs CAT
Submission instructions
Responses must be submitted electronically to: Zimtenders@oxfam.org.uk
The subject of the mail should be:
[ToR Reference – End of Strategy Evaluation and Strategy Refresh + [Name of bidder]] Clarifications
Any questions, remarks or requests for clarification can be sent up to 7 days before the submission deadline in writing. The (anonymised) questions will be answered to all applicants.
Administrative compliance
Responses must be submitted and prepared in English and received by the deadline.

More details available on link https://oxfam.box.com/s/5j9cik9y1lcp69q5f5l2sylsac9dzitr