Telling our stories of Oxfam setting out for change in West Africa
Background:
The Country Map Review (CMR) proposal was approved by the Executive Board (EB) in 2018, it was based on a fundamental premise that Oxfam’s global operations were too stretched. The CMR implication for Oxfam in West Africa (WAF) is to phase out in Benin and Mauritania as well as to put in place new country level business models that will transform three country programmes in Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria to Influencing hubs (office).
In March 2020, the Executive Board (EB) approved Oxfam’s 10-year Global Strategic Framework (GSF) and Coronavirus was declared a global pandemic by WHO. The COVID-19 crisis added further urgency and forced Oxfam to act faster than could have chosen as the organisation resources were hardly hit principally because of lockdowns and its economic impact across many of the affiliates. Following an intensive consultations, the EB agreed to take diverse approaches to respond to the urgency and manage the uncertainties. The implication of this EB’s decision for WAF was the phasing out of Oxfam presence in additional two countries in the region that is, to phase out in Liberia and Sierra Leone with Oxfam in Senegal now to explore Oxfam affiliation.**
Rationale:
Against the background of country presence change, the seven countries concerned in WAF has embarked on series of actions to implement the organisational change ambition now referred to as Country Presence Review (CPR). A regional roll out plan was consultatively developed to provide a guide for all procedures so as to be able to realise the outcomes across these countries. The roll out plan clearly identifies key steps, processes, coordination mechanisms, support needs and requirements within a realistic time frame.
We were deliberate in putting learning at the centre of the change process management as part of the key factors of success consequently, we put in place a knowledge and learning framework to guide the systematic realisation of the learning portion of the change management for accountability, experience capitalisation as well as for continuous improvement.
All concerned countries have now concluded the critical preparation and design phases of the change processes, these phases were realised amidst programs implementation as well as other essential operational responsibilities thus bringing about the generation of vast experiences and learnings across all of the countries.
Objective of the consultancy:
Essentially, the objective of the consultancy will be to engage with all relevant stakeholders involved in realising the preparation and design phases of the CPR process to capture, analyse, and use innovative narrative techniques to document all the various experiences and learnings that has been generated. This will help us to purposefully preserve the organisation memories as well as to contribute to the body of knowledge on change management from a regional perspective.
Specifically, the objectives includes:
a. to use reflective learning approaches to support us in learning through and from our experiences of preparing and designing of the change processes
b. to capture the different experiences and learnings from these seven countries and other relevant stakeholders in a concise and meaningful formats
c. to communicate about actions and share learning experiences captured and presented in readers appealing format to aid dissemination as well as to facilitate engagement with decision makers and other relevant stakeholders
Methodology:
The approach to be adopted is expected to be inclusive and participatory which may include the use of interviews, surveys or questionnaire, focus group, etc to engage key stakeholders in the seven countries and the regional platform to capture their experiences. The critical stakeholders includes but not limited to:
the impacted employees/ their representatives;
partners (especially strategic partners);
Country Leadership Team (CLT); and
the Regional Management Team (RMT).
This assignment is expected to be carried out by the consultants remotely. Under the leadership of the Regional Head of Programs, it will be coordinated by the Regional Program Quality and Knowledge Lead in collaboration with the Regional Communication and Media Advisor.
Broadly, the following are the key questions to be used to further develop more detailed and specific learning questions for data collection to generate needed information:
· How well was Oxfam values and feminist principles conformed with to realize the preparation and design phases?
· To what extent is the understanding of all stakeholders as to the changes happening in their country?
· Can we make sense of what they like or do not like about the change process?
· How would these stakeholders like things to be done differently next time?
· Going forward with the implementation of the change plans, what are the expectations and how do we ensure the expectations are met?
Deliverables:
In essence, the expected deliverable from this assignment is an intuitively-innovative learning product that is presented in users or reader’s appealing format (we are open to discuss all possible innovative means). It will be delivered by:
· A draft story of change or write-up this would be presented by the consultant at the Oxfam in WAF change taskforce quarterly meeting for review and validation
· A final story of change or write-up about 5 pages (or any other possible innovative means) of well-designed layout that tells a coherent narrative of what has been the experiences of the stakeholders involved with regards to the preparation and design phases of the change process. The final product is expected to be delivered in both French and English
· An information matrix detailed data/information generated through different means of engagement with all the stakeholders. It is expected as an annex in either Microsoft word or excel format
Estimated Timeline:
The assignment is expected to be completed within a period 10 but not more than 15 working days.
Budget:
A maximum of 14,000 EUR is available to cover this consultancy. The consultant will establish and propose a daily rate and number of days of work, individually or in pairs, as well as other expenses to be incurred for this assignment. The total proposed budget shall be inclusive of all relevant taxes.***Early submission of bid is encouraged as we will review proposals throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the call for bids early***
How to apply:
We will work with a team of consultants who have better understanding of the objective expressed above with demonstration of similar experience using storytelling or other narrative techniques to capture and document experience, knowledge and learnings. The consultants must be able to fluently work in both English and French language. Proposals/Tenders should include:
• A cover letter introducing the consultants and expression of interest
• Outline of how to execute the task with a clear procedure and timelines
• A two-page resume of each consultant
• Evidence of experience in conducting knowledge and learning events and change process experience capitalization for big international organizations
• Financial proposal
Tenders/proposals should be sent via email to Janet Olaolu (janet.olaolu@oxfam.org) before or by close of business Friday 4th June 2021