Consultant – Integrated Emergency Response for El Niño Drought Affected Communities

Oxfam is recruiting a Consultant - Integrated Emergency Response for El Niño Drought Affected Communities, to be based in Chigubo, Chicualacuala and Massangena, Mozambique.

Description

• Title of the TOR: Baseline Assessment for the project, “Integrated Emergency Response for El Niño Drought Affected Communities in Mozambique”
• Title of the Project: Integrated Emergency Response for El Niño Drought Affected Communities in Mozambique
• Project Location: Mozambique: Chigubo, Chicualacuala and Massangena Districts, Gaza Province
• Local partner organisation (s) details Mozambique: AJOAGO (Association of Young People and Friends of Govuro)
• Sectors:
• WASH: Protection
• WASH: Humanitarian (CASH and Voucher)
• Donor: GAC
• Thematic area: Humanitarian Programming
• Southern Africa is experiencing one of the most severe droughts in decades, exacerbated by El Niño and the lowest mid-season rainfall in 40 years. Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique are among the hardest-hit countries, with over 29 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The drought has significantly eroded food and water security, increased protection risks—especially for women and girls—and overwhelmed public health systems
• Recent assessments indicate that millions are experiencing IPC Phase 3 and 4 food insecurity, with households resorting to harmful coping mechanisms such as reducing meal portions, skipping meals, and borrowing food. Malnutrition rates, particularly among children under five, pregnant and lactating women, and female-headed households, are rising across the region. In Malawi’s Chikwawa District, 45% of the population is in IPC 3 and 15% in IPC 4. In Zimbabwe’s Mberengwa District, more than half the population is expected to face IPC 3 conditions during the peak hunger period
• Access to clean water has deteriorated significantly, with widespread breakdowns of water points, long distances to water sources, and a rise in waterborne diseases, including cholera. For example, in Zimbabwe’s Mberengwa District, only 250 of 450 water points are functional, and women and girls are walking up to 5 km to fetch water—exposing them to increased risks of exploitation and violence. Protection concerns are mounting, with reports of increased child marriage, transactional sex, and school dropouts as families struggle to meet basic needs
• The baseline assessment will serve as a foundational exercise to establish benchmarks for key indicators across all three pillars. It will support the measurement of change over time, inform program implementation, and contribute to learning and accountability. The assessment will also include a gender and protection lens, ensuring that the project remains responsive to the diverse needs and priorities of affected communities

Information about the Project

• Oxfam’s work in Southern Africa is guided by its Gender in Emergencies Strategy (2022–2025), Gender Justice Framework, and Global Strategic Framework (2020–2030), which prioritises gender justice as a key driver of transformative systems change. This project adopts a feminist, locally led approach to humanitarian action that centres on the rights, needs, and leadership of women, girls, and marginalised groups in crisis-affected communities
• In response to the 2024–2025 El Niño-induced drought, described as one of the worst in decades, Oxfam Canada and its partners are implementing an 18-month integrated emergency response across four of the hardest-hit countries: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique. The crisis has left over 29 million people in need of humanitarian aid. Communities are experiencing widespread crop failure, severe water shortages, rising food prices, and protection risks—particularly for women and girls, who face increased risks of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), child marriage, and exploitation as household coping strategies deteriorate
• The project targets 1500 HH, 7500 individuals across the following high-need districts Massangena, Chigubo, and Chicualacuala Districts, Gaza Province
• The intervention is structured around three core pillars:
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH):
• The project will rehabilitate critical WASH infrastructure—including boreholes, piped water schemes, and latrines—while promoting safe hygiene practices and menstrual health management. These actions aim to restore access to safe water and sanitation for 31,077 households affected by drought. WASH Committees, with a minimum of 60% female representation, will be established and trained to support long-term sustainability and community ownership. The project will also address solid waste management issues with a focus on clinical waste disposal in the rural areas and waste disposal at business centers and in the community.
• Food Security and Livelihoods:
• Through cash and voucher assistance, the project will support 9,260 vulnerable households—primarily women- and child-headed—across the four countries. The assistance will be tailored to country-specific modalities: mobile money (Zambia), direct bank cash (Malawi), and food vouchers (Zimbabwe and Mozambique). Beneficiary selection will prioritise households in IPC Phase 3 and 4 conditions, informed by nutrition screenings and participatory, gender-sensitive targeting
• Protection and SGBV Prevention/Response:
• The project integrates SGBV risk mitigation and response across all activities. This includes establishing 39 safe spaces, training 54 community-based protection focal points, and creating or strengthening 40 referral pathways. Community awareness campaigns will be launched, and dignity kits will be distributed in schools and healthcare facilities to support menstrual health and protection needs. Protection committees, volunteers, and local leaders will receive training on safeguarding, referral mechanisms, and survivor-centred support
• This integrated response is aligned with key global standards, including the CERF Lifesaving Criteria, the IASC Guidelines for Integrating GBV in Humanitarian Action, and the country-specific Humanitarian Response Plans
• Ultimately, the intervention aims to reduce suffering, uphold dignity, and save lives among the most vulnerable communities affected by drought. The baseline assessment will play a crucial role in informing implementation, tracking progress against outcomes, and supporting real-time learning and adaptive management throughout the project lifecycle
• Ultimate Outcome: Reduced suffering, increased and maintained human dignity, and lives saved for El Niño drought affected communities, particularly women and girls, in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe
• Intermediate Outcome: Increased use of adequate safe drinking water and gender-appropriate sanitation facilities and improved hygiene practices for vulnerable drought affected communities, particularly women and girls, in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique
• Intermediate Outcome: Reduced negative coping strategies and improved food security for El Nino drought affected households in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique
• Intermediate Outcome: Improved use of safe and dignified protection services (including SGBV) by drought affected communities at risk in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, especially for women and girls
• Immediate Outcome: Increased equitable access to safe drinking water for people affected by the El Nino induced drought
• Immediate Outcome: Increased access to basic, accessible, safe sanitation facilities and services for people affected by the El Nino induced drought in Zimbabwe and Zambia
• Immediate Outcome: Increased awareness on hygiene and access to basic safe, dignified hygiene services for people affected by the El Nino induced drought
• Immediate Outcome: Increased ability of vulnerable persons and households including the elderly and female headed households to meet their basic food and survival needs
• Immediate Outcome: Increased access to safe and dignified protection services, including SGBV services, for drought affected people
• Immediate Outcome: Increased awareness of lifesaving SGBV information and services by people affected by the El Nino induced drought, especially women and girls

Purpose and Objectives of the study

• a) Purpose of the study
• To generate baseline data and information on the current situation in the targeted communities, informing the implementation of the project. The study will establish benchmarks for the eventual monitoring of the project and measurement of its progress.
• b) Objectives of the study
• The specific study objective includes the following:
• Establish baseline values for the key outcome and output indicators as defined in the project’s Performance Measurement Framework (PMF), across the three pillars:
• WASH (e.g., access to safe drinking water, sanitation, solid waste management and hygiene practices)
• Food Security (e.g., household food consumption and coping strategies)
• Protection and SGBV (e.g., awareness of services, safety perceptions, access to referral systems)
• Assess the current status and quality of WASH infrastructure and services in targeted areas, including access to clean water, sanitation facilities, water treatment practices, solid waste management practices, and hygiene behaviours—especially among women and girls
• Analyze household-level food security and coping strategies, including dietary diversity, food consumption patterns, income sources, and the extent of harmful coping mechanisms (e.g., skipping meals, reducing portion sizes, borrowing food, and selling assets)
• Identify existing protection risks, particularly related to gender-based violence (GBV), child protection, and forced displacement, and assess community knowledge, perceptions, and use of available protection services and referral pathways
• Capture gender, age, and disability dynamics across WASH, food security, and protection sectors to inform inclusive and equitable program design and implementation
• Validate and refine the vulnerability and targeting criteria used for beneficiary selection, ensuring they reflect local realities, promote equity, and align with project objectives
• Document community perceptions of needs, service gaps, and program priorities, including feedback on access, availability, and quality of current services and support mechanisms
• Establish a baseline for accountability and community feedback mechanisms, including community awareness of existing channels and preferences for communication and reporting

Scope of Work

• The baseline study will be conducted across the 3 countries of Mozambique - AJOAGO (Association of Young People and Friends of Govuro)
• Technically, the study will delve into establishing the current situation in regard to the study objectives above in section 3 (b), and will be conducted between April and June 2025

Study Methodology

• The consultant is at liberty to propose the most appropriate methodology to undertake the study. Nonetheless, the expected methodology for the baseline study should include both qualitative and quantitative approaches in generation of primary data that will inform the analysis. The consultant is expected to articulate the detailed study approaches and research design that will be applied during the study. The methods should be sensitive to the target population (unit of analysis), and robust enough to provide adequate responses to the stated research objectives. Overall, the methodology section should cover details of study design and approaches, sampling, sample size determination, data collection methods/instruments, data analysis techniques, plan for dissemination of study findings and a statement on quality assurance and ethical considerations during the study. The expected approach should be described in enough detail to enable any other researcher interested in the same study to apply the same methodology

Study Outputs/Deliverables

• This baseline study will have key deliverables summarized below:
• A study proposal detailing out the technical and financial aspect for the baseline
• An inception report detailing out the understanding of assignment, study, methodology, comprehensive data gathering tools and guidelines as well as a detailed Workplan
• A draft baseline report
• Final baseline report (both soft and hard copies)
• A clean dataset(s), transcriptions, and other study materials
• The report should be well-structured with a standard cover sheet, Table of Contents, Acknowledgements, Acronyms and Abbreviations, Executive summary; Introduction inclusive of study purpose, objectives and scope; study methodology and limitations; study findings, conclusions and recommendations, references and the appendix with data collection instruments, clean datasets. List of key informants, updated Indicator Tracking Table, and ToR for the study
• All written documents are to be submitted in English using Microsoft Word. All primary data collected and analysis conducted for the purpose of the baseline will remain the property of Oxfam and must be submitted electronically in a clear and comprehensible format, Microsoft Excel and Word

Timeframe and estimated working days

• The assignment will be undertaken from May to June, 2025 lasting a total of 31 working days from the date of signing the contract
• Activity - Number of days
• Consultant to sign contract for the assignment - 0.5
• Review of documents and development of the inception report and study instruments - 4
• Presentation of Inception report and data collection tools - 0.5
• Training of research assistants and pre-testing of study instruments - 3
• Primary data collection (field work) - 8
• Data analysis and report writing - 10
• Submission of the draft study report to Oxfam and partners - 0.5
• Presentation of study findings/ sharing feedback on report - 1
• Incorporating comments on draft report - 3
• Final report presentation and validation - 0.5

Requisites

• Qualification and experience of the consultant/team:
• Advanced degree in a relevant field of work like Humanitarian response, development studies, Social Sciences, human rights, project Management, Gender Studies, Monitoring and evaluation, etc.
• Understanding of the assignment and quality research proposal, including a work plan and study team
• Demonstrable expertise and knowledge of projects in the fields of Food Security, WASH, Protection, and gender in emergency situations, as well as Humanitarian (Cash Programming), with similar programs being an added advantage
• Experience and skills in developing and conducting various types of research and baseline studies, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as statistical data analysis
• Experience in data collection and analysis using participatory methodologies
• The consultant team is expected to demonstrate excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, in English
• Applicants will have experience of working with multicultural teams
• Excellent analytical and writing skills

Proposal study Criteria

• The technical proposal will be evaluated based on the Quality Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) Criteria:
• The individual's general reliability, as well as their experience and ability to carry out the assignment - (25%)
• The approach in responding to the TOR and detailed work - (50%)
• The qualifications and competencies of the proposed personnel for the assignment - (25%)
• Proposals obtaining more than 70% of the technical points will be considered technically suitable and qualify for financial assessment

Supervision/management of the assignment

• The consultant(s) will be supervised by the program MEAL team, with whom they will work closely to ensure that all processes are adhered to. The Humanitarian Program Managers (HPMs) will provide oversight to ensure that the study is delivered effectively

Payment

• The consultant will be paid 30% upon approval of the inception report and 70% upon submission and approval of the final report, as well as any agreed-upon products of the study. The technical fees will be subject to statutory requirements, such as withholding Tax

Notes

• Only short listed applicants will be contacted
• Indicate the source of this job post: emprego.co.mz

How to Apply

1. Documentation

Submission of Technical and Financial Proposal

• Interested applicants are expected to submit the following not later than 9 of May
• Technical proposal
• Financial Proposal should provide cost estimate for services to be rendered including consultancy fees, transport, accommodation and living costs, statutory costs, stationeries and supplies needed for data collection etc.

2. Application

• Send your Documentation to vacancies@oxfam.org with the Subject line “Consultant - Integrated Emergency Response for El Niño Drought Affected Communities”