RKH Policy and Influencing Consultant – Mercy Corps

The Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund (ZRBF) is a multi-donor programme managed by UNDP and co-funded by DFID, EU, Sweden and UNDP. The implementation period is from 2015 to 2021. ZRBF seeks to improve the resilience of about 830,000 people through a combination of i) the generation and use of evidence to inform programming and policy; ii) projects building capacities to absorb (or withstand), adapt to, and transform livelihoods and systems to reduce risks at the individual, household, community, ward, district and province levels; and iii) a risk financing mechanism (“crisis modifier”) that enables early action in response to early warning of crises in order to protect the development gains of the programme. Seven ZRBF consortium partners operate in 18 districts of Zimbabwe to build the resilience of individuals, households, communities and systems.

The purpose of the Resilience Knowledge Hub (RKH) is to enable Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund Programme (ZRBF) grantees and local institutions to collaborate across silos, strengthen mutual trust and confidence, translate theory into action, adaptively manage programming, influence programming and policy, and maximize the impact of ZRBF investments for the improved absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities of vulnerable communities across Zimbabwe. The RKH supports ZRBF consortia and government partners to surface evidence and generate knowledge, building a repository of actionable learning on what matters and works for building absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities in Zimbabwe. These efforts will strengthen practitioner ability to apply evidence to adaptive programming and to leverage knowledge for influence on policy makers, implementers and other key stakeholders.

A critical component of RKH’s work is its policy and influencing objective, which is to use evidence from the ZRBF programme to contribute to government strategic planning processes, resource allocation, and policy to enhance resilience capacities (absorptive, adaptive and transformative) and increase equitable and inclusive well-being. Policy opportunities and messages identified through research and practice will be amplified to the sub-national and national levels through active participation in policy working groups, policy dialogues and development of evidence-based policy materials (e.g., policy briefs, fact sheets and tailored learning materials). The evidence to inform ZRBF’s policy and influencing work draws directly from ZRBF programming in eighteen districts, non-ZRBF resilience programming in the country and regional and global experience. The policy and influencing component is not an isolated activity with stand-alone outcomes, but rather intrinsically linked to the capacity building component, research and learning work as well as knowledge management and communications work at RKH. This policy and influencing work will use learning and knowledge generated through ZRBF activity implementation and research to inform strategic planning and investments of policy makers, academia, the private sector, donors and other key external decision makers, amplifying the influence of the ZRBF Programme.

Success of this policy and influencing component will be demonstrated by evidence of policy design and implementation that includes resilience thinking, which leads to more equitable and inclusive well-being gains for all citizens of Zimbabwe in both long and short-term horizons. Getting buy-in to resilience thinking hinges on RKH’s inclusive and participatory process which invites engagement from multiple stakeholders: local communities, civil society, government departments and local authorities (Rural District Councils), non-governmental organizations (consortia) and academia. This is in addition to co-creating policy and influencing approaches with the RKH leadership team and ZRBF PMU. This highly inclusive approach intends to reinforce the group ownership and ultimately the sustainability of the policy and influencing component.

The selected policy and influencing consultant will be requested to: Lead a process to jointly identify specific, impactful and achievable policy opportunities to mainstream evidence-based resilience thinking into national or sub-national policy together with RKH leadership, ZRBF PMU, donors and government partners; Based on the identified policy opportunities develop an action plan with deliverables that the partner will be held accountable to; Support the operationalization of National Agricultural Policy Framework (NAPF) through participation in relevant pillars; Support ZRBF consortia members that are working on policy initiatives either at a national or subnational level; Participate and facilitate in policy dialogues on a wide variety of technical topics. Before the policy dialogues the consultant will be expected to familiarize themselves with relevant technical work and lessons learned from within ZRBF and other resilience projects in Zimbabwe and global experience on that topic with the expectation of applying a resilience lens to the discussions and providing evidence-based examples; Successfully build positive relationships with a large range of stakeholders including; national, provincial and district government officials, civil society resilience implementers, donors, academia, members of the private sector, and all ZRBF stakeholders. This will require a collaborative, proactive, positive, adaptable, assets first approach to all interactions; Adapt work plans based on changing needs and contexts within Zimbabwe in consultation with RKH leadership and the ZRBF PMU.

The Consultant will: Develop a draft policy and influencing work plan; Refine and finalize the policy and influencing work plan based on stakeholder feedback; Implement the work plan completing the agreed upon deliverables per the work plan timeline.

Timeframe / Schedule

Draft policy and influencing work plan – 1-week after meeting with donors and Ministry stakeholders; Implement work plan through June 30, 2021 per agreed timelines.

The Consultant will report to: RKH Team Leader

The Consultant will work closely with: The RKH team

Advanced degree in a resilience related field

At least 7 years of relevant or associated experience applying resilience concepts, policy development, or applied research in Zimbabwe or sub-Saharan Africa; Proven experience in developing evidence-based strategies to influence resilience related policy; Superior ability to manage complex relationships with policy makers, government agencies, donors, civil society organizations, academia, private sector and the general public; Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including a sound ability to adapt material for different audiences; Capacity to prioritize multiple tasks, meet deadlines even in imperfect conditions and thrive as part of a small and fast moving team; Must be adaptable to and comfortable with shifting priorities; Sense of humor and grace under pressure.