Terms of Reference : Development of the of a Five-Year Strategic Plan for the MICGBV 

  • Consultancy
  • Malawi

Concern Worldwide

CONSULTANCY OPPORTUNITY

 Terms of Reference: Development of the of a Five-Year Strategic Plan for the Malawi Irish Consortium on Gender-Based Violence (MICGBV) 

  1. Background

The Malawi Irish Consortium on Gender-Based Violence (MICGBV), set up in 2014 has diverse membership, representing humanitarian, development, human rights, advocacy, and gender-focused organisations. Currently, MICGBV comprises six (6) member organisations: ActionAid Malawi, Concern Worldwide, Irish Rule of Law, and Oxfam in Malawi, Self-Help Africa and Trócaire with support from the Irish Embassy in Malawi. Concern Worldwide serves as the Chair, whilst Irish Rule of Law is the Vice-Chair organisation. A formal Secretariat for the Consortium was set up in 2022 and is led by a Secretariat Coordinator.

MICGBV is committed to promoting evidence-based programming on gender equality and gender-based violence (GBV). It supports the Government of Malawi, particularly the Ministry of Gender, Community Development, and Social Welfare (MoGCDSW), as well as other key stakeholders, in addressing GBV through shared learning, joint programming, advocacy, and research.

Despite having an advocacy strategy in place, MICGBV has not yet developed a strategic plan to guide its long-term vision, objectives, and sustainability. The absence of a strategic plan and unified vision, leads to fragmented efforts leading to duplication of efforts, inability to measure its impact and missed opportunities for collaboration.

  1. Rationale

MICGBV’s five-year strategic Plan will mark a pivotal step in its efforts to maximise impact and strengthen institutional capacity, through a clear roadmap. This Strategic Plan will define the Consortium’s vision and priorities in a way that reflects Malawi’s unique socio-cultural and policy landscapes.

In addition, the Strategic Plan will strengthen accountability and impact measurement of the consortium to its beneficiaries, government, donors, and stakeholders. This will be done by setting clear performance indicators to track progress, adapt to emerging challenges, and demonstrate the impact of the Consortium’s work.

Additionally, the development of the strategic plan for the consortium will help the MICGBV to adapt its interventions to the changing global landscape. This is since the gender equality landscape is evolving, with new challenges and opportunities emerging in areas such as gender, gender based violence prevention. In a larger context, the Strategic Plan will consider the developments of a changing global landscape and position the Consortium to proactively respond to shifts in evolving challenges around GBV and gender issues. This will ensure that MICGBV’s interventions remain relevant, effective, and aligned with global commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Beijing Platform for Action.

To support these efforts, MICGBV is looking for a consultant to develop a comprehensive five-year Strategic Plan that aligns with national and international frameworks on gender equality and GBV. The consultant will be required to facilitate participatory strategic planning with the objective of full consortium member ownership and buy-in.

  1. Objectives of the Consultancy

The overall objective of this consultancy is to develop a five-year Strategic Plan for MICGBV that strengthens MICGBV’s coordination, advocacy, and programming efforts, enhances impact measurement and accountability.

Specifically, the consultant will:-

  • Establish a clear vision, mission, and strategic objectives for the Consortium.
  • Strengthen coordination, joint programming, and advocacy efforts among members.
  • Define an implementation plan, including monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
  1. Scope of Work

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

  1. Conduct a situational analysis of MICGBV, including a review of its existing advocacy strategy, past activities, strengths, challenges, and opportunities.
  2. Facilitate stakeholder consultations with MICGBV members, government, donors, civil society, member organisation partners and other relevant actors.
  3. Review and align MICGBV’s work with key national and international gender and GBV policies and strategies.
  4. Define strategic objectives, key priorities, and thematic focus areas based on findings and based on MICGBV’s niche
  5. Develop an implementation plan outlining roles, responsibilities, and timelines for the MICGBV.
  6. Develop a Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Accountability (MEAL) framework to track progress and impact.
  7. Present the draft strategic plan to MICGBV members for validation and incorporate feedback.
  8. Finalise and submit a comprehensive five-year Strategic Plan with an executive summary.

5. Deliverables

The consultant is expected to produce the following:

  1. An inception report detailing the methodology, work plan, and timeline.
  2. A draft Strategic Plan for review and feedback.
  3. A final five-year Strategic Plan, incorporating feedback from MICGBV members and stakeholders.
  4. A PowerPoint presentation and a paged infographic summarizing key elements of the Strategic Plan.

Qualifications and Experience Required

Interested candidates should have:

  • Master’s Degree in gender studies, development studies, social sciences or relevant qualification.
  • Extensive experience in strategic planning, particularly for gender-focused organisations or networks.
  • Strong knowledge of gender-based violence, advocacy, and policy frameworks in Malawi and internationally.
  • A strong understanding of inter-organisational networking, coordination mechanisms and relationships
  • Proven experience in facilitating stakeholder consultations and participatory planning
  • Excellent communication, analytical and writing skills
  1. Duration and Timeline

The consultancy is expected to be completed within a period of 20 working days from the signing of the contract. A detailed timeline will be agreed upon during the inception phase.

  1. Reporting Lines

The consultant(s) will report to the MICGBV Secretariat Coordinator.  Deliverables will be reviewed by a committee of consortium members specifically chosen for this assignment. The MICGBV Chair and Country Director of Concern Worldwide will be responsible for signing off and approving the final products.

  1. Requirements

A financial proposal should be submitted with the application and outline the costs of Consultancy. The financial proposal presented should cover all other costs including transport, fees, taxes, or any other deductions made by the consultant and others who may be required to provide services to achieve the objectives of the consultancy.

The following will be the technical evaluation scoring criteria 

  • Qualification of Team Leader (Relevant qualification, skills and experience) 10%
  • Team Combination and Skillsets (Composition of team and its complementarity) 10%
  • Experience of the Firm (Experience of the firm in conducting similar or relatable assignments) 10%
  • Study Methodology (Clear and robust methodology including sampling, analytical and impact assessment technique) 50%
  • Quality of Submitted Reports and references of previous work (Quality and precision of previous 3 submitted reports) 10%
  1. Application Procedure

Interested applicants are invited to apply for this consultancy by submitting:

  • A cover letter outlining interest qualifications and experience of similar work.
  • A technical and financial proposal in Malawi Kwacha responding to the terms of reference and outlining methodology to meet the required deliverables.
  • A draft schedule for the completion of the key deliverables.
  • A portfolio with at least three samples of recent similar work.
  • Three professional referees
  • Detailed and up to date CVs of the Core Team: Specify the role of each core team member in this assignment, their qualifications & most recent & relevant experience
  • Compliance requirements:
    • Copy of Company Registration Certificate (if bidding as a company/organisation)
    • Copy of National ID/Passport for individual bidders
    • Copy of Tax Compliance Certificate for all bidders

 

Interested bidders should submit the requirements outlined above to malawi.logs@concern.net with the subject of the email as MICGBV/IG820/R-001961 by 25th April 2025 at 10:00hrs Central African Time. Bids submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.  

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Concern Worldwide reserves the right to accept or reject any bid/offer/proposal prior to the award of contract and to annul the bidding process and to reject all offers at any time