Terms of Reference (ToR) for Translation and Training Consultant for District Bank Committee (DBC)

Terms of Reference (ToR) for Translation and Training Consultant for District Bank Committee (DBC)

1.    Project Background

Oxfam is a global movement of people working together to end the injustice of poverty. It has been working in Somalia/Somaliland since the 1970s and plays a key foundational role in supporting Somali people and communities to provide development and lifesaving programs. It supported civil society organizations and has been called by many current and past partners "the mother of Somali civil society."

Oxfam’s support of women's rights, advocacy, and gender equality has been a steady component of the program, and many leading advocates for women's rights, gender equality, and women's issues were once partners or trainees of Oxfam. We are an international confederation of 19 organizations (affiliates) working together with partners and local communities in humanitarian, development, and campaigning, in more than 90 countries. All our work lead by three core values: Empowerment, Accountability, and Inclusiveness.

In 2021, Oxfam developed a 10-year strategy with new program directions focusing on just economy and economic development, Inclusive governance, gender justice, Conflict-sensitive humanitarian response, and resilience to climate and fragility

Oxfam is implementing a five-year resilience project funded by DFAT through ANCP, channeled to WVI Australia, which partnered with the Somalia Resilience Program (SomReP) - a consortium of seven international NGOs (ACF, ADRA, CARE, COOPI, DRC, Oxfam, and WVI) and a local NGO (Shaqadoon).

The project aims to tackle recurrent droughts and chronic vulnerability among pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, and peri-urban households in Somalia. It focuses on supporting women, people with disabilities, and agricultural communities in accessing markets, financial inclusion, and business development services to achieve food security and economic advancement.

Oxfam, along with SomReP and the MSD advisor, has been working on finding solutions for key markets in the El Afweyn district to improve community livelihoods. However, community mobilization and project kick-off meetings have been conducted to engage the community and ensure their understanding of the project's objectives and their roles. Various assessments, including market, GEDSI, and baseline assessments, were conducted to develop appropriate business models tailored to the specific needs of the community. The main markets found during these exercises are meat and livestock trade as potential and lucrative markets in the El Afweyn district. Co-creation events were conducted to further identify and explore additional markets, with workshops providing clarity on key market findings and roles, leading to the development of specific business model interventions.

The specific interventions outlined during the co-creation workshops are:

-          Procurement of meat processing machines and equipment

-          Training of meat producers on meat hygiene, processing and quality assurance

-          Formation of district bank committee (the existing VSLAs amalgamated with other producer groups)

-          Provide credit risk management training for district bank committee members

-          Prepare full documentation for DBC, including training manuals, forms, and templates (operating procedures).

2.    Overall Objectives of Consultancy

The main objective of this consultancy is to translate key DBC documents from English to Somali, support the DBC board in familiarizing themselves with these documents, and advise on an appropriate Islamic banking model. Post-translation, the consultant will conduct a three-day credit risk management training for women managing the DBC.

a.    Specific Objectives of the Assignment:

-          Review and translate DBC documents (Operating Procedures, Training Manuals, Forms, and Templates)

-          Ensure accessibility by translating all materials into Somali

-          Train VSLAs and DBC members using the translated tools and procedures

-          Conduct a three-day training on credit risk management

Roles and Responsibilities:

For the Consultant:

-          Translate key documents, manuals, forms, and templates into Somali

-          Train DBC members on using the translated materials

-          Familiarize DBC members with the translated documents and conduct credit risk management training

For Oxfam:

-          Provide transportation for the consultant

-          Cover consultant fees and translation costs for 200 pages.

-          Conduct community mobilization

-          Provide security briefing and necessary arrangements

3.    Scope

The consultant will translate 200 pages of DBC documents and support the familiarization of these documents with DBC members. This will be followed by a three-day credit risk management training for the women managing the district bank.

4.    Deliverables

-          An inception report

-          A complete translated DBC 200 pages

-          A complete translated training outlines

-          A narrative report detailing the experiences and challenges encountered in the process of carrying out the translation and training assignment, including recommendations and the way forward

5.    Duration and Location of the Consultancy

The duration of the assignment will be a total of 15 working days, starting from the day of signing the contract. The scope of the activity is to translate 200 pages of DBC documents from English to Somali and provide training. This consultancy will take place in Hargeisa, with 4 days allocated for travel to Burao.

1.    Qualification and experience of the consultant

-          Bachelor’s degree in business administration (BBA), majoring in banking and finance , Economic development.

-          Preferred: Master's degree in Islamic banking and finance

-          Solid experience in banking operations, regulatory compliance, and procedural documentation

-          Proven track record in developing banking documentation and translations

-          Samples of previous similar work

2.    Application procedure

Interested individuals should submit.

1.    Technical proposal

2.    Financial proposal with itemized budget

3.    An application cover letter and CVs

4.    Samples of previous similar work 

5.    Training Work Plan

6.    Methodology of translation and Work Plan

Interested consultants should submit their applications via email to [email protected] latest by 05th June 2024.