Consultancy Terms of Reference : Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership (ICSP) Gender & Climate Change Research
Consultancy, Research Jobs
Job Description
Background
Trócaire has funding from Irish Aid under a five-year Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership
(2023-2027) funding scheme. Trócaire’s programmes contribute to a Better World by
implementing interlinked Long-Term Development, and Humanitarian Crises interventions
in Zimbabwe. Trócaire’s work is delivered in partnership with local organisations to tackle the
root causes of poverty, injustice, and violence, supporting people to use their power to create
positive and lasting change, focusing on four goals:
• Goal 1: Defend human rights. Trócaire supports the protection and empowerment of
individuals and communities who have suffered or are at risk of human rights violations.
• Goal 2: Achieve climate and environmental justice. Trócaire supports poor and
marginalised rural communities to sustain their livelihoods and to mitigate and adapt to
the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation.
• Goal 3: Ensure women and girls' protection, voice, and leadership. Trócaire
helps women and girls increase their safety, psychosocial wellbeing, meaningful
participation, and leadership.
• Goal 4: Save lives and protect human dignity. Trócaire supports a locally led
response to save lives, reduce suffering and ensure human dignity is protected.
Over and above support to Goal 2’s work is an allocation of funds which focuses on
strengthening work on climate justice through promoting evidence generation on the impact
of climate change on biodiversity, food security, for women and Female Headed Households
(FHHs). The findings also seek to strengthen actions towards supporting women’s resilience
in the face of climate change through strengthening their knowledge and uptake of climate
sensitive practices such as agroecological practices, natural resources management etc.
Implementation of Goal 2 work targeting 1000 Female Headed Households (FHH) and 3000
Male Headed Households (MHH) is currently in Bikita and Gutu Districts in Masvingo
Province, Makoni District in Manicaland Province, and Insiza and Matobo Districts in
Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe. The districts lie in agroecological regions 4 and 5
of Zimbabwe that are prone to natural disasters including extreme weather events (droughts,
prolonged dry spells, and floods), animal diseases, and crop pests. Drought is the most
common hazard that affects the regions, resulting in widespread food insecurity and loss of
livelihoods assets leading to multiple negative social impacts such as displacement.
It is against this backdrop that research must be conducted towards evidence building on
‘Climate change and its impact on food security, livelihoods, biodiversity and natural resources
from a gender perspective in Bikita, Gutu, Insiza, Makoni, and Matobo Districts of Zimbabwe’
Purpose and scope of the research
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The research will contribute towards informing policy and advocacy as well inform Trócaire’s
climate Justice programming. This is aimed at mitigating and adapting to the impacts of
climate change, particularly on women. The research will:
1. Analyse and Identify gender-specific impacts of climate change in the areas of, inter
alia, food security, livelihoods; biodiversity and natural resource management and
disaster risk management (DRR).
2. Analyse strategies, laws, policies and plans in the food security and agricultural sectors
and other areas, e.g., trade, environment, education, and health to improve household
food security, dietary diversity, and livelihoods in the face of climate change impacts.
3. Analyse and identify opportunities and threats that exist at national level that are
geared towards building community resilience against the impact of climate change.
4. Understand the role of local farmers (particularly female farmers), leaders,
environmental management committees, and government actors’ platforms for
engagement and learning on climate change adaptation and mitigation e.g.,
sustainable agricultural practices, biodiversity, natural resource management, DRR, etc.
The research, which is mostly on evidence building, will enable Trócaire to participate and support local, regional, and international solidarity and networking from an evidence and informed position.
Thus, the research outcomes will improve the implementation of Goal 2 work by informing policy, advocacy, and programming strategies for government and local partner organizations on sustainable agricultural systems, including agroecology and traditional seed systems and biodiversity, and natural resource management and alternative livelihoods. The research could bring evidence on the need to strengthen the voice of women farmers and Women Centered Organizations (WCOs) on climate justice. The research will build on work being undertaken
under Goals 2 and 3 which seek to strengthen women farmers’ resilience to the impacts of climate change.
The research will consolidate the collaboration between government ministries and departments such as the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) on efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Duties and Responsibilities
3. Methodology
The consultant is expected to describe the study approach and methodology that are most
appropriate and effective for engaging the participants and other stakeholders, as well as other
data sources, for the purpose of collecting data and analysis. The consultant must to share
tools for verification by Trócaire before use.
Generally, however, it is expected that a mixed methodology (to include both women and men)
will be adopted which may consist of:
• A quantitative/qualitative survey
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)
• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs)
• Desk review at local, national, regional and global levels
For ease of access, the study sample should be taken from the Irish Aid funded livelihoods
programme participants and non-participants within the current ICSP geographic areas
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(district, ward, or village) in Bikita and Gutu Districts of Masvingo Province, Makoni District
in Manicaland Province, and Insiza and Matobo Districts in Matabeleland South Province.
The number of FGDs and interviews conducted will depend on the size and scope. However, it
is expected that a sufficient number will be conducted to produce reliable information on key
trends and themes to accompany quantitative and qualitative data.
While the research is expected to employ both quantitative and qualitative data analysis
methods, the consultant is expected to use suitable data collection and data analysis software
that has reputable data security features. Trócaire and its partners may accompany the study
team during the pre-test, pilot, or actual survey phases. This is to ensure quality and provide
on-site supervision of data entry and data cleaning processes.
Sampling. The consultant is expected to employ sampling designs that consider
representativeness and generalizability and statistical power of the sample size. That is, the
sample size should be representative and large enough to draw valid conclusions to the results.
4. Research process
It is broadly expected that the research will be conducted in the following phases:
1) Stage 1: Preparation- The preparatory phase involves reviewing the country ICSP
Grant Management framework and narrative proposal, outlining the purpose of the
research study, identifying the planned outputs, establishing the research team,
establishing the study sample, developing or becoming familiar with the
methodology and tools, and putting in place your plan for data collection, analysis
and communication.
✓ The Research Plan (Inception Report) which presents the methodology and
tools, timeline, stakeholder analysis, and logistics plan for the research. The tools
should be in the language that will be used in the field by the enumerators.
2) Stage 2: Data Collection and Analysis: Data collection and analysis will be done
by the consultant. This stage will involve conducting the enumerator training, the
piloting, validation, and revision of tools, and conducting research data collection
and analysis.
3) Stage 3: Reporting and Communicating of Results: The consultant will
conduct an initial analysis and develop initial findings and recommendations from
the research exercise. This stage will involve the following tasks and outputs:
✓ Sharing initial findings and analysis with stakeholders including
communities to support the validation of findings and the development of
recommendations.
✓ The written Research Report.
✓ Disseminating the research results to all stakeholders including
communities in accessible and useful format(s).
Qualifications and Experience
The consultant must have a varied mix of skills and competencies and they must have
undertaken similar work in Zimbabwe in the last five years. The following qualifications are
mandatory.
• Postgraduate degree in social sciences or equivalent.
• Proven experience in carrying out development research, including evaluations.
• Minimum of five years of experience in coordinating and administering research
studies, evaluations/ baseline/end-line studies, preferably for international non-
governmental organizations or multilateral agencies
• Demonstrated experience in facilitation and supervising data collectors/enumerators
and data entry clerks to collect and enter data as per high-quality standards.
• Demonstrated experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis
methods.
• Ability to produce high-quality work within scheduled timeframes.
• Proficiency in statistics.
• Experience on cross-cutting issues such as disability, gender, and inclusion as well as
awareness on child protection and child rights issues.
• Knowledge and experience in community resilience building, SGBV, Agroecology,
Climate Change and Adaptability gender equality, and social inclusion, and advocacy
issues are desirable requisites.
• Experience working with local communities in local languages (isiNdebele and
ChiShona) is also desired.
How to Apply
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In this regard, Trócaire is looking for a Consultant for ICSP Gender and Climate Change Research in Zimbabwe. All proposal applications should be emailed to infozimbabwe@trocaire.org by the 20th of October 2023. The assignment is expected to commence by no later than 30 October 2023.
For more information, kindly refer to the attachment.
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