Consultancy to conduct SIMBISO Baseline survey 2025
Consultancy, Research Jobs
Job Description
Oxfam is a global movement of people who are fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice. Across regions, from the local to the global, we work with people to bring change that lasts.
OVERVIEW
Title and brief description of the assignment
Baseline Survey for SIMBISO: Empowering Farmers for a Climate Resilient Future Through Market Systems
Assignment location
Zimbabwe: Buhera, Bulilima, Gutu, and Mberengwa districts
Contract start date
1 December 2025 to 15 February 2026
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
The SIMBISO project, titled "Empowering Farmers for a Climate-Resilient Future Through Market Systems," is a strategic 36-month initiative implemented by Oxfam GB, in collaboration with four key partners, and financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The overarching goal of this intervention is to achieve improved food security, resilient rural livelihoods, and healthy landscapes across the targeted regions in Zimbabwe. The operational context is characterized by severe climate vulnerability, as communities in the semi-arid districts of Buhera, Bulilima, Gutu, and Mberengwa face escalating environmental stress, including erratic rainfall patterns, recurrent severe droughts, and an increased incidence of crop pests and animal diseases. Within this environment, smallholder farmers, particularly women who constitute over 60% of the agricultural workforce, possess limited adaptive capacity and often operate within exploitative and inefficient market systems that hinder their path to prosperity. The project is strategically designed to address these complex, interconnected issues by employing a private sector-led and market-driven approach to capacity development, aiming to create sustainable, equitable, and mutually beneficial linkages between approximately 100,000 farmers and private sector providers of essential climate adaptation solutions, simultaneously improving local value addition and significantly enhancing access to timely and actionable climate information.
The core of the project's intervention is structured around a three-pronged strategy, or Workstreams, designed to achieve systemic change: Workstream 1 (Adaptation Solutions - Upstream) focuses on enhancing the capacity and incentives of market actors to provide viable, scalable, and gender-responsive adaptation solutions and services directly to smallholder farmers. Workstream 2 (Value Addition - Downstream) is dedicated to stimulating increased investments by both farmers and local SMEs in local value addition processes, which is intended to create sustainable local employment opportunities, result in increased household income, and secure more sustainable market access for their products. Finally, Workstream 3 (Climate Information - Enabling Environment) aims to significantly improve the operational capacity of key government agencies, specifically the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) and the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), to generate and reliably disseminate comprehensive weather, climate, and hydrological information, ultimately leading to increased awareness and capacity among farmers to effectively use this critical data for timely decision-making.
Duties and Responsibilities
I Scope of work
The Baseline Survey is designated to establish the definitive reference point against which the overall success and incremental progress of the SIMBISO project will be rigorously assessed throughout its entire duration. The consultant is required to undertake comprehensive data collection, incorporating both robust quantitative metrics and rich qualitative data across all four target districts: Buhera, Bulilima, Gutu, and Mberengwa. The study will employ a mixed-methods approach, including structured surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs), and key informant interviews (KIIs), to capture the experiences, knowledge, attitudes and perspectives of vulnerable women, youths and men, community leaders and other stakeholders.
Qualifications and Experience
Profile and experience of the consultant
To ensure that the baseline survey is carried out in the most effective manner possible, the consultant must possess the following attributes:
Essential
The company/ individual(s) should have the following competencies:
• The consultants should also have key personnel that are aligned to the three (3) project pillars, namely, Agriculture economics, Livestock Economics and Value chains, Disaster Risk Management and Food Systems.
• A minimum of a MSc/Mphil/PHD qualification in any of the following areas: Agricultural Economics, Gender/Development studies, Monitoring and Evaluation, Economics, Business Administration or equivalent.
• A minimum of 10 years proven experience in conducting baselines, annual surveys, mid-term reviews and programme evaluations in agriculture economics, climate change, livelihoods, resilience building, gender equality and agriculture.
• Demonstrable experience in agribusiness, value chain and market systems approach, gender analysis for development and resilience projects.
• Must have a good understanding of agribusiness in Zimbabwe, climate change and adaptation practices, shifting of social norms, and innovations for resilience building.
• Must have the ability to conduct high quality research, meet deadlines and timeously respond to requests and feedback.
• Should have strong analytical and conceptual skills to clearly synthesize and present findings, draw practical conclusions, make actionable recommendations, and prepare comprehensive reports.
• Regional/Country experience and knowledge: in depth knowledge of Southern Africa
• Language proficiency, fluency in English; good command of local languages Shona and isiNdebele
• Should have a strong reputation for independence and should comply with minimum ethical standards including safeguarding that guide research and evaluations.
Desired
The successful candidate(s) will be selected based on the following criteria
• Sound technical proposal
• Financial proposal
• Experience and educational background
The consultant should also have key personnel that are aligned to the project themes.
While evaluating the proposal the qualifications and experience of the personnel will be considered.
How to Apply
