Call for Expression of Interest Women Voice & Leadership Organizational Development (OD) & Institutional Strengthening Opportunity for Women Rights Organizations of Pakistan
A. Background
Oxfam has been working in Pakistan since 1973. Driven by the vision of a just world, Oxfam in Pakistan works to create lasting solutions to the injustice of poverty. We recognize the opportunities available in Pakistan to achieve social justice, lasting peace and sustainable development for all its citizens. Together with our partners, Oxfam in Pakistan is working to empower people to create a future which is just and free from poverty. We work with local groups, media, academia, private sector, think tanks and the Government to improve livelihoods, provide humanitarian aid, create safer communities and promote economic and gender justice.
Under the auspices of Canada’s support, Oxfam is launching a five-year project Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL) under its Gender Justice Programme Pillar. WVL Initiative is a central component and priority of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) and the WVLI-Pakistan initiative builds on a strong legacy of 30 years’ cooperation of Canada working alongside Pakistani women’s rights organizations to advance women’s and girls’ rights.
B. Project Overview
Women’s Voice and Leadership project seeks to increase the enjoyment of human rights by women and girls and the advancement of gender equality in Pakistan. One of the areas of focus is to strengthen the capacities of Women Rights Organizations (WROs – including associations, groups, unions, social enterprises, firms, companies etc.).
In this connection, Oxfam will work with diverse Women’s Rights Organizations, who through this organizational capacity building, core, and responsive programmatic and knowledge-based support will be better equipped and positioned to effectively realize the direction of change they prioritize and their vision of gender justice.
An intersectional lens will be applied in the selection process through this Call for EOIs to ensure that we cover all the provinces, with representation from ethnic, religious, and linguistic minority groups as well as representation from urban and rural areas, and different thematic gender expertise.
The selected WROs (through this EOI process), particularly those representing vulnerable and marginalized women and girls, will have the opportunity to improve their management and sustainability. We will focus on selected WROs’ capacity building by 1) strengthening the organizational capacity to manage their own organizations and mobilize resources effectively; and 2) enhancing women’s leadership capacity rooted in gender transformative values and practices.
Organizational capacity building will be offered to the WROs who will be selected through their EOIs, based on self-identified needs determined using Oxfam’s Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (CAT). From these assessments, each participating WRO will develop a capacity building strategy reflecting their 2 needs. Building on Oxfam’s experience of capacity building with WROs, in collaboration with external organizational development expertise targeted specifically to the needs of WROs, capacity building processes and modules will be designed. Focus themes for modules are likely to include Resources Management and Mobilization; Risk Assessment for WROs; Organizational Management and Strategic Planning; Gender Transformative Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.
C. Project Summary
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Sectors / Program Name
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Gender Justice
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Project Name
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Women Voice & Leadership
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Project Location
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Pakistan
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Ultimate Outcome
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Increased enjoyment of human rights by women and girls and the advancement of gender equality in Pakistan
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Intermediate Outcome
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Improved management and sustainability of local women’s rights organizations in Pakistan, particularly those representing vulnerable and marginalized women and girls
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Immediate Outcome
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1) Strengthened capacity of WROs to effectively manage their organizations
2) Enhanced women’s leadership capacity rooted in gender transformative values and practices
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Project Start Date
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August 2019
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Project End Data
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December 2023
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D. Oxfam Partnership Principles
Oxfam works with a range of partners applying following five partnership principles:
1. Complementarity of purpose and added value;
2. Mutual respect for values and beliefs;
3. Clarity around roles, responsibilities and decision-making;
4. Transparency and accountability;
5. Commitment and flexibility, in the way that we work with them.
These principles reflect our values as an organization. They aim to support and guide us to make judgements about our partnerships based on the context, the programme, our own local knowledge, and discussions with our partners.
We commit to putting women’s rights at the heart of all we do by:
• Basing all our work on the understanding that gender is key to overcoming poverty and suffering
• Working with women and men to address specific ideas and beliefs that create and reinforce gender-related poverty
• Empowering women and girls through our programmes and ways of working
• Reflecting gender equality in our own internal practices and ways of working
E. Specific TORs for Selected Partner
• Provide Governance & Leadership commitment to identify, recognize and develop institutional strengthening areas with a focus on women rights and empowerment with the support and agreement with Oxfam
• Identify, develop and implement community-based actions/projects as emerge during course of the partnership
• Participate and engage in identifying subject and institutional strengthening experts to improve on specific capacity areas
• Monthly / Bi Annual and Annual Reporting and documentation of progress, spending and documentation of monitoring visits
• Participate in periodical workshops & meetings while ensuring the right level of participation from senior leadership to front-liners
• Provide access to all staff, systems, organizational policies, strategies, plans, reports, financial documents etc. for the purposes of Capacity Assessment, Development and Monitoring
• Implement agreed actions ensuring value for money with respect to women’s rights programming and institutional strengthening
• Actively engage with broader civil society and collaborate for joint advocacy on women rights issues in the country at various levels
• Financial management and accountability of grant/s
• Any other mutually agreed assignment
F. Partner Selection Criteria
Criteria used to select partner will be aligned with project and its operational requirements. Some of the specific criteria are defined as under while the word Organization represent Non-governmental Women Rights Organization (including NGOs, Associations, Groups, Unions, Social Enterprises, Firms, Social Contractors, Companies etc.)
• Status of Registration & MOU with the Government
• Organizations’ Vision and Mission have women rights and empowerment specifically mentioned and built in.
• Organizations have a strategy and/or plan (in any form) to work on women rights and empowerment in the coming 2 years.
• Organizations have specific focus on women rights and empowerment (in general and in specific such as early marriages, gender-based violence, legal assistance, domestic violence, girls education etc.)
• Organizations’ Board and Leadership are committed to strengthen their institutional capacity with specific focus on women rights and empowerment.
• Organization’s board and leadership are committed to provide adequate time from their schedule for their organization’s development as part of partnership with Oxfam.
• Organizations are headed by a woman as Chair of the Board and/or Chief Executive Officer.
• Organizations have at least 50% of women in their board/governing body.
• Organizations have at least 40% of women in their senior leadership positions.
• Organizations have at least 30% of women at mid-level management positions.
• Organizations have strong connection to the local community in their target areas.
• Organizations’ Annual Financial Portfolio should not be more than PKR 30 million.
• Organizations have an office and basic organizational structure in place.
• Organizations have at least 3 years of experience of implementing programs, projects and/or community-based actions to uplift women rights agenda at grass root levels.
• Organizations have received at least 2 formal funds from any government or non-governmental agencies to implement any program, project and/or actions for women rights and empowerment.
• Organizations have maintained their financial records at least for the past 2 years.
• Be able to provide a certificate that they have never been blacklisted or denied work by Government/LEA in the past.
• Track record of working experience with service providers, private and govt departments.
• Good network and alliances with NGOs, local CBOs, women-led organizations and community activists.
G. Oxfam Partnership Process
Oxfam has four mandatory partnership processes after the selection of partner that help us to apply partnership principles and get the most out of our partnership:
1. Capacity Assessment (which shall also serve as Baseline for this specific project);
2. Good Partnership Conversation; and
3. Letter of Agreement
H. Application Submission Process
Interested or prospective partners that comply with above stated criteria may submit Expression of Interest on specified format annexed with this call as Annexure-A.
Thoroughly filled EOIs should reach Oxfam office by July 19, 2019 at the following address:
Attention: Mr. Muhammad Imran Qureshi
Oxfam GB
Plot # 2, Street 11-A, Idrees Market, F-10/2, Islamabad
Please clearly mention “EOI for Women Voice & Leadership Project” over the envelop with the address.
I. Duration Of Partnership
The exact duration of partnership will be driven by the findings from Baseline however shall be maximum till December 2023. Additionally, yearly partnership contracts will be signed with partner and will be renewed based on successful delivery of the project every year. The partnership is expected to start desirably by August 2019.
NOTE: EOIs received after the mentioned date will not be considered for evaluation. Please ensure your EOI reach within time.